The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-09-14
Astonishing Eshensoseness.

The pranks Of ''ghcst' in Monigom-
cry county, Ohio, are exciting more inter
est and attention III that State than the
election. He performs at the house of
farmer named StiYers, and though, like
Mrs. John Gilpiu, on pleasure bent, is
not of frugal mind, as he destroys all the
crockery, and spills The milk and VINEGAR
with ruinous recklessness. He was first
discovered by Mrs. Stivers about week
ago, She went down cellar and found
the skin or top surface of her custard pies
taken off The ghost had also had his
fingers in an apple pie. Then commenced
a scene of wild confusion that lasted nearly
week. Pieces are bitten out of the
bread. Pickle jars are pitched from the
shelf and broken upon the floor. Crooks
of milk are overthrown and all the con-
tents spilled. Jars of milk and crooks of
! butter are silently removed from the places
where they are put, and afterwards found
in different parts of the house. Large fiat
stones placed uoon the bread box 10 keep
the cover down, are pitched off By unseen
hands, even while the people are looking
| at it. Bricks, boards, tubs, and old pieces
of iron are thrown into the basement,
making terrible confusion. The soap
grease is found turned upside down. Rub
bish and boxes are carried from the cellar
and piled up in the milk-trough. Vinegar
barrels are set to leaking and turned up
side down, The people in the house can
scarcely turn their backs without some>
ting happens. The good wife sees the
mouse trap go flying down the cellar stairs.
She moves TO look after il, when the skill
let CONES tumbling after, and lies broken
on the cellar floor. Coming back into the
kitchen, she finds crock of milk 10 the
sink. Another rumble in the cellar leads
her down stairs again to find an empty
barrel and a firkin of lard turned upside
down While in the barnyard the tea
kettle is pitched from the top of tie stove
to the floor, and the hot water spilled, and
up stairs loud noises are heard, and cans
of preserves, boxes, boots and powder
horns are found rolling and tumb,icg on
the floor. While packing up what was
left of the crOckery, preparatory TO re-
moving it from the house in order to save
it, rocking chair bounced six feet to-
ward the center of the room the family
Bible fell from the bureau TO the floor !;
| the other chairs turned summersaults
| the table was turned completely upside
| down, and on being replaced, was tipped
! over again; feather bed moved in an
/ angular direction across the room, and, As
| the wife turned to leave the room, it fell
with the coverlid, on the middle of the
| floor. just at her heels by the way OF
| filling up the time, stools were turned up
! side down, bag was thrown to the floor,
hower>pots turned over on the porch. and
! determination to ''break- up" housekeep-
! ing without the consent of the people who
| lived IN The house seemed TO be at the
bottom of all these performances. The
ssspirits" took the form of "smashes.
This exhibition is ascribed to the in>
strumental,ty of young boy, nine years
of age, in the employ Of the Stivers fam
lily. The phenomena generally occurred
when he was in the house, though his ab-
sence did not always prevent them. He
seemed to enjoy it hugely. Like the boy
who ''waqn't afraid of work. he "would
lie right down by the side of" the rafting
pans and dishes and 60 to sleep. He
would occasionally predict the fate of the
tumblipg kettle and the. lively bag, and
they would hop, skip and jump in ac-
cordance with his prophesy. 1.-The baby
got hit then" he would exclsin, and
scarcely had he spoke when the baby
would scream as if struck or pinched =
Detroit Post.