The hydraulic press., 1861-06-08
Haunted Houses.
by MRS. J. WARREN LEWIS.

Forty years have passed since the men,
brable "Purrington Tragedy" convulsed the
good people of Maine. burlington was a
laboring man in humble circumstances, re-
siding in the suburbs of Augusta, the capi-
tai, and was generally regarded as a quiet,
Aorest and good hearted man. His family
consisted of wife and seven children, six of
whom w,ere girls. For some time he had
been dcsponding, and often expressed a fear
that his family would come to want. One
morning he arose early and read his Bible,
leaving it open at the chapter narrating
Abrahams attempted sacrifice of his son.
Securing an axe, he entered the bedroom,
where he had left bis wife sleeping, and
KILLED her with single blow. His two
eldest daughters were next murdered by re-
lpeated strokes, and he followed up the hor-
rid butchery by killing those of his other
children who slept on the floor. lie then
.ascended to the chamber where his only son
was sleeping, and struck at him with the
axe, inGicting 3 terrible wound. The youth,
however, succeeded in getting up and spring
ing out of the window before the blow could
be repeated, and hastened to neighbors
for assistance. When help arrived, Purring
ton was found dead in the kitchen, with his
throat cut from ear to ear, blood-stalned
razor in his hand, and his wife and entire
family, save the son, lying dead in the
rooms around him. On the wall, over the
mantle piece, was the full imprint of the
wretched mans right hand, as if he had stag
gered forward after cutting his throat, and
caught thus at the wall for support He was
buried in dishonored grave at the crossing
of four roads, without coffin or prayer, after
the ancient mode of disposing of suicides and
murderers His victims were inferred in the
burial ground, and another family moved
into the premises-the scene OF the dreadful
tragedy. But the house did not remain
long tepanted. Rumors of its being haunted
soon were afoat strange noises were heard; /;
and any amount of scrubbing could not
remove the imprint of that bloody hand from
the wainscot The house finally fell into
ruins, and it was eventually RACED to the
ground few years ago, and its site is now
a cornfield.
There has also been, within few years,
another haunted house in Augusta, standing
on Bridge street, on the north side of the
way. This house had stood unoccupied for
several years-its reputation being such that
no one desired to rent or buy it. The owner
finally found a family up country willing to
take possession of the tenement, and they
the middle of the afternoon A few things
were removed from the cart, enough to get
a hasty dinner and set table, and the
family seated themselves to the repast.
While eating and chatting, a strange groan
was heard, and an awful apparition came up
from the cellar-the head and shoulders of
a man without body-which slowly cir
.cuated around the table, and then disap-
peared down the celar-way. Of course the
family did not remove any more of their
furniture from the cart, and stayed long
enough to gather their property, when they
hastily departed, returning to the place from
whence they came. This house is still unoc-
cupied, and rapidly falling into decay.
In the western part of Gardiner, village
eight miles south of Augusta, is cottage
which has long borne the reputation of a
haunted house. This cottage had been
owned by sailor, who went off to sea- and
supposed to have been lost overheard, ship
wrecked, or murdered, as he was never seen
after his departure. In the course of time
it became the belief in the vicinity that this
sailors spirit was haunting the premises-a
shadow being repeatedly seen by the several
members of the family occupying the house.
It was quite harmless manifestation, how
ever, the shadow generally appearing near
the gate, and quietly approaching the house
often causing the occupants to think that
visitors were coming, but always "dissolving
into thin air. before it reached the front
door.
Our informant was once visiting at this
cottage when the shadow was seen by the
eldest daughter, and declares that the entire
family had no doubts of the supernatural
origin of the apparition, although it had
been seen so often that no emotion was
caused by its visit.