Anne Naylor

Anne Naylor is a famous poltergeist. She has been in London for a few centuries.

History
Anne was a thirteen-year-old girl who was killed by Sarah Metyard and her daughter Sally Metyard in 1758. Anne's death was an accident, but it was the result of extreme neglect and cruelty. Sarah and her daughter, also named Sarah but who went by Sally, were either milliners or haberdashers or both. Sally was also a victim of her mother's brutality, but this didn't stop her from meeting out cruelty on the girls in their care. Several girls from local workhouses were apprenticed to their business, including Anne.

The apprentices were treated badly, especially Anne who had a weak constitution and became the focus of the Metyard's contempt. Sarah never fed Anne enough and worked her to exhaustion. Anne even had to have a finger removed after an abscess went bad, presumably because Sarah didn't get it treated. After Anne was captured trying to escape for a second time, Sarah punished her by beating her and tying her to a door. Sarah and her daughter left her there without anything to eat or drink for four days. The other apprentices called Sally in a panic, saying that Anne was no longer moving. Sally began beating the deceased girl on the head with the heel of a shoe.

The Metyards tried to revive Anne, but she was dead. They tried to conceal her death. They claimed she'd run away and hid the body in a box in the attic for two months, but they couldn't mask the smell of it forever. Sarah removed and burned the hand with the missing finger in case it could identify Anne, but decided not to risk burning the rest in case the neighbors got suspicious. Eventually, they cut up the body and Sarah disposed of the pieces in a public sewer. Some versions of the story also say the Metyards killed Anne's eight-year-old sister Mary, who was also one of their apprentices.

A watchman discovered the pieces of Anne's corpse, but it was assumed that they had been dumped there so nobody investigated. It seemed like they'd gotten away with it, but as the years passed, Sarah grew more abusive towards her daughter. Sally finally went to live with a man named Richard Rooker, who had offered her employment. She moved in with him and became his lover, but Sarah wouldn't leave them alone, worried that Sally would tell someone about the murder. Eventually, Rooker overheard a confrontation between them and had a bad feeling about what he'd heard. He questioned Sally who admitted everything to him. Rooker alerted the authorities, probably thinking Sally would get a lighter sentence as her mother had done so much to influence her behavior, but she didn't. Both Sarah and Sally were hanged at Tyburn in 1768. Anne became a poltergeist, as did Sarah.

The Pale Dreamer
It is 2056 and Didion Waite, has been looking for valuable spirits to auction. He has found Sarah Metyard. He hired someone to bind her, but they messed up and now the spirit is on a rampage. Nick believes that Sarah is after the spirit of Anne Naylor.

Since becoming a poltergeist, Anne has lived in Farringdon tube station in Cheapside, also known as I-5. According to the mime-queen of I-5, Ognena Maria, Anne is unusual for a poltergeist because she appears harmless. Maria's tested this theory herself. Anne is a tortured soul, as if her gentle personality is coming into conflict with her anger about her violent death. Consequently, all she does is wail all day long. Maria has never given anyone permission to sell or move Anne. Anne has never left Farringdon station. Upon learning that her killer is on the loose, she will become frantic.

No one knows why Anne picked Farringdon as her haunt. Poltergeists usually return to places that are significant to them, but perhaps Anne deliberately chose somewhere unrelated so that Sarah would not find her.

After Sarah is bound to Jaxon Hall, Anne returns to Farringdon station. She doesn't scream as often as she had before. Most of the time she is quiet and sanguine.

Appearances

 * The Pale Dreamer