Adamant in her spiritualistic beliefs, Elst possessed over 3,000 books regarding the occult in her library – an area now used as the Senior Common Room. Van der Elst reportedly held séances in this room in an attempt to contact her second husband, Jean, whose passing she mourned for the rest of her life. There have been claims that the room is haunted and it was exorcised by the Jesuits upon their purchase of the manor.
Harlaxton Manor Archives 