Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1825-09-22
THE HAUNTED HoUsE....A FACT.

"And yells and cries without arise,
That the stoutest heart might shock;
And deafening roaring, like cateract pouring
Over mountain rock" Southey.
The wind blew a terrible southeastern;
the rain drifted fearfully along, and fell
in rushing torrents against the shatter-
ed easements and rafting windows OF
the old tenements occupied by the Nose
lys. The night too, was as dark and
gloomy as clouds and storms could
make it;-frightful sounds were heard
bowling along the blast, and the wall
OF the tree toad from the roof, seemed
ominous of some tragic catastrophe.
-Mosely himself had gone from home,
leaving his wife and eldest daughter,
a girl Of fourteen, to manage affairs in
his absence. When night came on,
the Younger children, 10 the number OF
three or four, we're put to bed in the
chamber, and Mrs Mosely, mos@v.tn-
standing her fears, which had increased
to such degree that she hardly dared
to breathe, after securing all the doors,
retired to her bed in company with her
eldest daughter.
Mrs. Mosely was devout believer
in apparitions and supernatural appear
ances, and her imagination readily sup
piled her with numberless instances, In
which visitan,s from another world had
chosen to make their appearance In the
midst of precisely such storms and
tempests. The house, too, had the
reputation of being Misunderstanding
sights had been seen by the neighbours
fitting about the mansion during a
time it was uninhabited, and number
less were the times in which rum
bling noise, similar to drawing heavy
body over the chamber floor, had COM
menced at the southwest corner OF the
kitchen chamber, and with hesitating
movement, advanced TO the top of the
stairs, and sometimes even descended
them. AS these noises were always
heard in the night, and profound ST.
lence invariably followed, except that
some times light step was heard in
the kitchen it was generally believed
that some unfortunate person had been
murdered in that corner of the house
where the noises commenced, and had
then been dragged across the chamber,
| and down the stairs; how it was after
wards disposed Of, no one knew.
The storm continued to increase. and
the oak which stood in the yard, and
had braved the storms of centuries,
| proaned to its very centre, while the
ends of some of the branches which
| were leaning OH the house as if for sup
| port, by their rafting sweep added not
| little to the din and uproar without
Mrs. Mosely, previous to going to bed,
had gone up stairs to see that the chill,
dren were all safe, and finding every
thing right, Just as in descending the
stairs, her head came on a level with
the floor, her eye caught glimpse OF
some white object in the suspicious cor.
ner and to add to her distress, sudden
gust Of wind which made the old house
rock, extinguished her light, and left
her in total darkness. Sufficiently
frightened, She FASTENED to where the
little fire she had left made the dark
ness and. gloom around, visible, and
without daring to look behind her,crep'
into bed. Scarcely had she been able
10 draw the bedclothes close over hel
head, when the noise which had giver
SO much alarm at previous times, agar
commenced; it crossed the chamber
descended the stairs, and-all was 81
lence, except the storm which was "a
ging without: Mrs. Mosely tremblet
every joint, & the bed shook as though
she had been seized with fit OF tn
ague. At that moment another bias
swept by the old mansion, and sucl
rolling, rumbling, doleiul noise, as tn
Breton peasant hears before his doc
when he is warned that his final hou
Is come. commenced at the souther