The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-06-07
THE MANIAC GIRL.

The editor OF the american RePU6ll
can printed at Westchester, Penn, speak
ing of a story published in the Even
Post, entitled The Longest Night in
life" says:
1t has brought wildly to our mind
thrilling incident which happens to b,
within our own knowledge, and cal
not forbear trying, in our poor way, t.
tell the tale. The intelligent and highly
respectable gentleman to whom the oc
currence happened is now a resident O
this borough, and in every particular the
story is strictly true.
A number of years since, the individu.
al to whom we allude was a pupil al
a school in this county, boarding at g
farmhouse about one mile distant from
the Academy. The house was one Of
those built at different periods of time,
and presenting a long-extended front to
the roadside. 1t was situated in the
gorge of a lonely wood, and just below
it ran a deep, dark r~avine, which was
the haunted ground of the neighbor-
hood-for it is well known that every
neighborhood has its haunted ground.
The sleeping apartments ofthe family
were In the extrme end of the house, while
that occupied by their boarder fur
thest removed from them possible. One
night he remained late at u lecture deliy-
cred to the school and by the time he
arrived the family had all retired, it be-
ing past the hour of eleven O'Clock
He passed into the house and immedi-
ately went up to his chamber. The
reflected light of the moon shone in the
room, and as he entered the doorway
and turned towards his bed, there stood
at the side oft, a fgure dressed in white,
dimly apparent to him through the
shadowy moonlight.
He was, as may we'll be supposed,
terror-stricken. Turning for a mo
ment from the apparation towards the
window, to see if it were not a fantastic,
caused by the moonlight falling on some
object i'll the apartment, his y 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
and laid down, but not to sleep for
there was too much agitation to do So
He lay in this wakful state for about
three-quarters of an hour, when he
thought he felt the bed slowly raised
beneath him. He again succeeded
in persuading himself that he was de-
ceived and attributed this to the effects
of the intense fear and consequent ner-
vous excitement of the first strange ap-
pearance.
After another period of time, the
same rising of the bed was felt and on
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, Oh 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
turbed sleep, which must have lasted for
some two hours. He was aroused from
this uneasy repose by something between
a piercing shrek and a 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 cir
cumstances, rendering it difficult, if not
impossible, to represent the intense
and agonizing fear which crept over the
completely unnamed inmate of that
chamber. Ten years and more have
elapsed since the circumstance occurred,
and yet, at this distant day, our friend
always relates the incident with an ex-
cited tone of voice which indicates
how dreadful were the realities that
surrounded him. He sat up erect in the
bed, with every fibre of his flesh quiv-
ering with terror, and with straining eye
and ear, sought to solve the fearful my
stery.
In the midst of this thrilling and ex-
cited state of feeling, there came a
wilder repetition of the mingled scream
and laugh, and says our informant, sit
was such a cry as eve can be effaced
from my memory" He instantly sprang
from the bed to the floor, and in a deliri-
um of fear, dragged the bedstead from
the corner of the room, and there behind
the high head bedstead stood the ap-
paration which hadpresented itself to his
astonished sight, when he first entered
the room on that dreadful night. 1t
was the figure of a woman clothed in
white, with long, black, ~luxuriant hair
hanging wildly about her person.
1t was a maniac girl, from a neighbor-
ing house, who came in the afternoon,
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 eyes was turned
for a moment toward the window, she
silently 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 fears on that subject, we ad-
wise them, before locking their chamber
door at night, to look under the bed,
and into the band-boxes and closets
After such an examination, they may re-
tire without the slightest alarm.
FA western editor cautions his