Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-04-14
DAILY EVENING STAR
THE MANIAC GIRL.

printed at west chester, Penn, speakln;
of q story now being published, entitle,
" the Longest Night in Life" says:
1t has brought wildly TO our mind
thrilling incident which happens to b
within our own knowledge, and we can
not forbear trying. in our poor way, {,
tell the tale. The intelligent and highl,
respectable gentleman to whom the oc
currence happened, is now resident q
this borough, and in every particular th
story is strictly true. s.s sf.. t....-
A number of years since, the individual
to whom we allude was pupil at
school in this county, boarding at .arm
house about mile distant from the Acad
emy. The house was one of those bull
at different periods of time, and present
ing a long extended front to the roadside
1t was situated in the gorge Of lionel,
wood, and just below it ran deep, dsri
ravinc, which was the haunted ground O
the neighborhood--for it is well know
that every neighborhood has its hauntec
ground. F.e u.a1s gas.- -.s.l.-.
The sleeping apartments of the family
were in the extreme end of the house
while that occupied by their boarder wa,
the furthest removed from them possible
One night he remained late at lectur'
delivered to the school, and by the tim,
he arrived the family had all retired, il
being past the hour of IL o'clock. Ill
passed into the house and immediately
went up to his chamber. The reflected
light of the moon shone in the room, an6
as he entered the doorway and turned
towards his bed, there stood at the sid,
of it, figure dressed in white, dilnly
apparent to him through the shadow J
moonlight.
He was, as may well be sup, osed ter
ror stricken. Turning for moment from
the apparition towards the window, tc
see If 1t were not a fantastic creation
caused by the moonlight falling ON some
object in the apartment, his eye again
looked for the strange sight, but it was
gone, without the slightest perceptible
noise. With his whole nervous system
completely unstrung, he however sue,
ceeded at length in convincing himself
that he had been deceived, quietly un-
dressed and laid down, but not to sleep,
for there was too much agitation to do so.
He lay in this wakeful state for about
three quarters of an hour, when he
thought he felt the bed slowly raised be.
meath him. He again succeeded in per.
suading himself that he was deceived
I'd attributed this to the effects of the
ints nse fear and consequent nervous ex.
citement of the first strange appearance.
After another tedious period of time.
the same rising of the bed was felt, and
Oh this occasion he half arose, leaned
over and looked partially under the bed,
and listened with the most intense ear
nestness; but not the slightest noise,
even of respiration, on any of the different
occasions came to his ear. He again
strove to dismiss the fearful subject from
his mind, and at length, by excess OF
WEAKNESS, fell into an uneasy and dis
tarbed sleep, which must have lasted for
some two hours. He was aroused from
this uneasy repose by something between
a piercing Shrick and frienzied laugh,
unearthly in its tone, breaking upon his
ear in the dead silence of the night, and
Immediately at his side.
The unusual and horrible character OF
the cry, with all the preceding circunl.
stances, renders it difficult, if not impos.
sible, to represent the intense and agoni.
zing fear which crept over the completely
unnamed inmate of that chamber. Ter
years and more have elapsed since thu
circumstance occurred. and yet, at this
distant day, our friend always relates the
incident with an excited tone of voice.
which indicates how dreadful were the
realities that surrounded him. He SAT
up erect in the bed, with every fibre OF
of his flesh quiyering with terror, and
with strainiDg eye and ear, sought tc
solve the fearful mystery.
In the midst of this thrilling and ex.
cited state of feeling, there came wilder
repetition of the mingled scream ano
laugh, and, says our informant, ''it was
such a cry as can never be effaced from
my memory. He instantly sprapg from
the bed to the floor, and in a delirium OF
fear, dragged the bedstead from the cor
ner of the room, and there, behind the
high head-board, stood the apparition
which had presented itself to his astonisII.
ed sight when he first entered the room
OH that dreadful night. 1t was the figure
of woman clothed in white, with long
black, :uxuriant hair hanging wildly
aboCt her person. sc lrI
1t was maniac girl from neighbor.
ing house, who came in the afternoo 4
during his absence to spend the night
and had wandered from the room where
the family supposed they had secured
her. When he entered the room she was
standing as he first described her position,
and while his eye was turned for a
moment towards the window, she silent.
ly crept beneath the bed. We hope the
recital of this story may not have the
effect to disturb the repose of our young
or lady readers. If there are any .ears
on that subject, we advise them, before
locking their chambers at night, to look
under the bed, and into the band boxed
and closets. After such an examination
they may retire without the slightest
alarm. .r.-s .-.-.- -. -..r