The Versailles Time Slip
In 1901, two English academics visiting Versailles experienced what they believed was a journey back to 1789. They saw Marie Antoinette, guards in 18th-century costume, and buildings that no longer existed. Their detailed account remains one of history's most famous time slip cases.
On August 10, 1901, two respectable English women visited the Palace of Versailles. What they experienced there led them to believe they had somehow slipped back in time to the era of Marie Antoinette, witnessing scenes from 1789 or earlier. Their account, published in 1911 as “An Adventure,” became one of the most famous - and debated - time slip cases in paranormal literature.
The Witnesses
Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain were not the type of women to invent fantastic stories. Moberly was the daughter of a bishop and first Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. Jourdain was headmistress of a girls’ school and would later succeed Moberly at St Hugh’s. Both were educated, religious, and by all accounts, psychologically stable.
They were visiting Paris and decided to tour Versailles. Exploring the grounds, they got lost while trying to find the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s private retreat.
The Experience
As they walked, both women noticed something strange. The atmosphere felt oppressive and dreamlike. The people they encountered seemed odd:
- A woman shaking a white cloth from a window of a building that no longer existed
- Two men in gray-green coats and three-cornered hats (18th-century style) near a wheelbarrow
- A man with a pockmarked face sitting by a garden kiosk who filled them with dread
- A young man in a dark cloak who appeared suddenly, told them they were going the wrong way, then vanished
- A woman sketching near the Petit Trianon, wearing an old-fashioned dress and fichu
Both women felt deep depression during the experience, which lifted suddenly when they encountered a modern wedding party.
The Investigation
At first, each woman was reluctant to discuss what she had experienced. When they finally compared notes, they were shocked to discover their observations matched. Over the following years, they researched extensively:
- The buildings they described matched 1789 layouts, not 1901
- The costumes they saw were consistent with the pre-revolutionary period
- The man with the pockmarked face might have been the Comte de Vaudreuil, a member of Marie Antoinette’s circle
- The sketching woman might have been Marie Antoinette herself
They discovered that August 10 was significant: it was the anniversary of the storming of the Tuileries in 1792, when the mob came for the royal family.
The Book
Moberly and Jourdain published “An Adventure” in 1911 under pseudonyms. The book caused a sensation. It was well-written, detailed, and came from unimpeachable sources. Subsequent editions included additional research and corroborating details.
The authors claimed they had experienced a “mental vision” of Versailles on a traumatic day in Marie Antoinette’s life - perhaps August 10, 1789, when the queen knew the revolution was turning violent.
The Criticism
Almost immediately, skeptics challenged the account:
Philippe Jullian (1965): Historian who argued the women may have encountered a fancy dress party hosted by the poet Robert de Montesquiou, who lived near Versailles and was known for historical costume events.
Memory Contamination: The women didn’t write their full accounts until weeks after the event, and much of their detailed research occurred later. Their memories may have been unconsciously shaped by their research.
Suggestibility: The oppressive atmosphere and oddly-dressed people might have been real (perhaps actors rehearsing or historical reenactors), with the women’s interpretation shaped by later research.
Collaborative Development: The two accounts may have unconsciously converged as the women discussed their experience over the years.
Defense
Supporters note:
- The women’s detailed description of buildings and layouts matched 1789 Versailles, information not easily available in 1901
- Their initial reluctance to discuss the experience suggests genuine confusion rather than invention
- Neither woman had anything to gain from publicity
- The psychological effects they described (depression, dreamlike state) are commonly reported in alleged time slip cases
Legacy
The Versailles incident remains a landmark case in paranormal literature. Whether Moberly and Jourdain genuinely experienced a time slip, witnessed a costume event they misinterpreted, or unconsciously created a shared delusion, their detailed and sincere account opened the door to serious consideration of temporal anomalies.
The gardens of Versailles have since been reported as the site of other alleged time slips, though none as detailed or well-documented as the Moberly-Jourdain case.