The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-05-09
Bona Fide Circulation, f.S2l.
From Scribner's for April
The Haunted Closet.

My sister wrote me that she la,
taken . house for the summer, ':
queer OId-fashiOned house." away
down on the lonely Georgian coast
where the children would have the
, benefit of the sea-breeZe, and the surl
bathing prescribed for them after Z
sickly spring season. And she urged
me to come at once and join them in
their new abode.
Queer and Old-fashiOned indeed ]
found it-a tumble of brick and stone
and timber, each room of which had
the appearance of having been built
separately, by successive owners, with
regard only to personal convenience,
and i'm open defiance Of all architec-
tural rules. Yet liked this Irregular
ty and odd hooks and corners which
were forever turning up" in the
most improbable places. The halls
were large and airy, and the rooms
abundantIy supplied with closets,
windows and dOOrs-the latter, for
the most part, opening on broad piaz-
zas, or queer little pOrches stuck here
and there, like eXcrescences upon the
walls. Very cold and bleak in win
4 "a
dence delightful.
At the back of the main building
| projected sort of long and narrow
wooden gallery, consisting of a row
| Of three or four small rOOms-last us
ed, it appeared, as store rooms for
grain and Vegetables-all opening up
on a covered passage way connected
with a brick Office which had formerly
stood separate from the house. These
rooms and the Office were unused by
the family; for the gallery was not
in very good repair, and the Office
room, as it was called, was quite too
remote to be desirable; besides, there
was plenty of room i'm the main bull
ding.
Yet the first time I visited this lit
tie brick office it at once took my fam
cy. It was n good sized, comfortable
room, with fireplace on one sidea
a queer little triangular closet cup
board in q corner, bearing the marks
of books and ink-stains on the shelves
There was a door opening into the
gallery, and another upon a quiet and
secluded corner of the garden, out of
sight of the house and the two win
dOws, one looking toward the sea and
the other over the large grassy back
yard, were shaded from the sun by
vine and the long dropping branches
of a weeping-willow, which cast green
shadows and breathed fresh OdOrs
throughout the apartment. The very
place, / thought for a study; q charm
ing nook in which TO lie and read
some interesting volume by day, or
quietly dreaming by night, away
from the noise of the children, of the
screaming baby; so / at once chose
this little room for my Own-bed-
room and study i'm One-and, after
giving it a thorough publication and
airing, took possession.
1t proved quite as pleasant as I had !
Anticipated. Here awakening in the |
morning, l would open the windows |
and let the fresh sea-breeZe with the /
dewy fragrance of the vine leaves that |
clustered on the walls without; here, |
I'm the sultry nOOn-tide, l dOzed or
dreamed away the hours, lying upon |
the little lounge near the window and /
glancing from the book in my hand /
upward into the deep, cool recesses Of |
the willow branches above; and, /
when evening came / wOuldsit i'm my /
little garden door, looking upon the /
neglected wilderness OfbOwery shrubs /
and dewy flowers and rejoice i'm the |
quiet seclusiOn which | loved so |
much.
Thus was sitting, about twill ght, |
a few days after had moved into my |
little hermitage, as 1 called it. The /
air was very still; scarcs a rustic dis
turbed the branches of the willow, and 1
L.. ~ do
but a slight noise. Suddenly, in the
midst of the silence, became aware
of a strange sound near me. faint,
uncertain sound, like the whispering
of voices and the rustliug OF garments.
Fancying that my sister or the chill
dren had playfully stolen upon me in
my abstraction, 1 looked around, but
to my surprise, there was no one visi-
bic.
1t must have been 4 fancy, of
course, thought, and turned once
more to my book; but hardly had I
done 50 when I again heard the rust
ling of drapery, and what sounded
like footballs upon the floor. I was
startled and sat breathless, staring
around and listening. Once or twice
it was repeated, and then all was still
as before.
In order that my story may be fully
and credited, I must
inform the reader that 7 was at that
time a woman of four and twenty, had
never in my life been i'll or nervous,
was the furthest possible from being
superstitiOusly inclined, and had been
to regard with ridicule,
all stories concerning ghosts, gOblins,
and other so-called spiritual manifes-
tations. Such being the case, it is not to
be supposed that the circumstances
above narrated should have made any
deep or lasting impression upon me.
On the cOntary, though regarding it
as certainly very singular, | set il
down as one of those odd and fleetingl
fancies which do sometimes puzzle
and bewilder even the most rational,
and as such, thought no more Of itat
the time.
But on the following day, and again
the next, the mysterious sO1nds
which 1 have described were repeated.
Itwas exactly as though sOms per-
sons were occupying the room with j
with soft footsteps and .
in low whispers, IS if uu-
willing to be heard. Once il seemed
as though some small articles were
dropped upon the floor, with metal .
ic sound dulled by the carpet, though .
there was none in the room and then
I distinctly distinguished Il grating h
noise as of a kew turnedn 4 lock, af- !
ter which, for the rest q the day, all :
was quiet. 3
l said nothing to an one about these !
/ d.
almost convinced that they were not !
the effects of my Imagination. I yet !
decided to wait, t) watch for their re-
aud t. be thoroughly con-
WINGED OF their real existence before :
exposing mysef to laughter and riJi-
cule by relating so improbable q story I:
1t was not long that / was kept i'm !
suspence. a day or two after. about
four O'Clock in the afternoon most .
hour-I was Tecliniugon !
my lounge between the door and the
reading "Phe Woman in
White" then just out. Suddenly, rs I ! !
turned leaf, heard a faint grating
sound, rs of a key, just behind me, :
and then n voice speaking in low,
indistinct murmur, ineXpressibly hOi-
low and sepulchTal. :
/ did not stir. | arrested the hand
which was about to turn the page, and
holding my breath, listened with de-
iberate eagerness. I would now be :
certain that this was no fancy playing
ne fantastic tricks.
Fer an instant only came the indis-
.inet murmur and then n silence. The
was streaming down in slen-
Ter, golden threads through the gen. ,
.ly-swaying branches of the willows:
,ut on the lawn saw the gardener at