Robert Graves (1895-1985) was a poet and scholar, and a captain in the British Army during the First World War.

‘Corporal Stare’, a poem from his 1918 book Fairies and Fusiliers, is a ghost story in verse, taking place in Béthune, France, during the war. But this was not pure invention.

This poem is an account of what Graves claimed was a real otherworldly encounter he had.

One June evening Graves and his men were enjoying a night off after a bitter and bloody tour at Cuinchy, near Béthune. A joyous affair – ‘Seven courses, the most gorgeous meal’, as the poem says – spirits were high, and apparently nearby, as well.

Halfway through the meal Graves looked up and saw a Private Challoner at the window. The private saluted and then walked away. ‘There was no mistaking him’, Graves recounted later. Graves leapt up and looked out of the window. He saw nothing except ‘a fag-end dropped on the silent road’, as the poem says.

Most chilling of all was that fact that Graves knew Challoner had been killed in battle that May – ‘Torn horribly by machine-gun fire!’, as the poem describes. Graves had known Challoner from service at barracks in Britain. The last time Graves had seen Challoner alive was in Britain, when Challoner shook his hand and said, ‘I’ll meet you again in France, sir’.