I didn’t dash out today with my camera to find a subject that would fit the title of Mystery  because as soon as I saw the subject I remembered this photograph taken some years ago on a trip to Switzerland.  There was no time to think about lighting effects, or exposure, or ISO ratings.  It was enough that I had the presence of mind to take the photograph.

It was September and we had been driving with our Swiss friend, Werner, in the Bernese Oberland, searching for a farmhouse he’d heard about, where the mountain cheese was the best in the Canton – if not in the country – and which would be perfect for the planned supper.

The mist was heavy in the mountains, deadening all sound, and we could only see a few yards ahead at this point. We had parked the car and got out to peer over the barricade at the side of the road and to listen to the distant sound of falling water.  No other sound broke the stillness, no dogs barked, no cowbells jingled, no birds sang: then came the faint, ghostly clip-clop, clip-clop of horses’ hooves and out of the mist that swirled around us, came the Victorian carriage and horses you see in the photograph below, four horses and two coachmen.  Neither the horses nor the coachmen appeared to notice the three mesmerized people who stood by the side of the road, and it passed by, silently, and turned the corner.

My husband, a born sceptic, decided it was some actors from a film set, but I’m not so sure.  We were, after all, just by the Reichenbach Falls………… 

Photo by Mari Nicholson

This story is true and I remember it well.   The recollection and telling of it can still send shivers down my spine.