The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-12-04
TROUBLE IN TRADD STREET.

d, uaItz-Chunks of Coal sped
Across h Rooms-No Solution % 'A'
Mystery.
Charleston is determined not be oenlho inc
times. even in things so unsuoslanta' DO
obosts. The excitement Of the surrency mys-
terv has hardly died away, and the memory
Of the dlsh.throwing, brickbatting and CLOCK
twisting is still fresh in The popular mlhu'
when a genuine Carolina spirit, which makes
mn d,stInc1ion on account OF race, Color OF
p~reyious condition, awakes from ls s'umoI
and drives a whole household Into q staVe VI
trenzied terror.
THE SCENE OF THE TROUBLE
ia a oulet-looking two-story house on inc
north side Of Tradd street, three doors "es' ol
Meeting street. 1t has long been looked upon
90 q haunted house, because of the pranks
p1b,cb phostiy visitors were said to play at
n,obt One of the former tenants was slartled
by seeing live Goals hop out OF the fireplace
and skip across the room; unearthly noises
we're heard In rooms, the doors oil which were
locked and holled; Just before cock-croW me
| covering was violently dragged on the oeos,
leaving the hapless sluuberers to ehiVe IN
the cold. The subjects Of these pleasant ex.
| periences moved away In q hurry, and tne
house, which ls now rented by a colored
womau. named Emma MoultrIe, rested In
| peace until lust Monday at noon, when
THE SPIRITUAL H1GH-JINKs BEGAN.
Emma Moultrie was at her shop 10 King
street; two OF her friends, named Priscilla
| Simmons and Carry Butler, remaining In
| charge of the house. The front door, which
| opens on the garden, was not closed, and,
soon after midday, a lump of coal was thrown
into the front room, ard fell upon the floor.
A little later a smaller piece Of the mineral
| whl5zed into the room. No attention was
| paid to these occurrences, 1t being thought
| that some bad boys outside were the cuiprits.
| But Priscilla Summons grew tired of the one
| sided game, aud sent q child to the door to
| drive the boys away. No one was to be seen.
| The child remained on guard, and while 1t
| was there another piece of coal flew across
| the room, coming, this time, from the oppo-
| site or north side. The two women hastily
| olosed and fastened the doors, and ran up
| stairs 10 q small room on the second story,
.yery door and window In which they CAFE
fully shut. They had hardly composed them
selves, when, in quick succession,
TWO CHUNKS OF COAL BANGED ACROSS THE
ROOM,
and these had hardly come to q dead stop
when a chila's doll on the mantel sprang from
its Mace and flew across the room, striking
| heavily against the wall. This was too much
| for ordinary nerves. The two women made
| for the door, but before they could get ont a
hair brush, as II instinct with life, darted after
| them. They new down stairs, closely followed
| by a glass medicine bottle which reached the
ground floor at their heels.
PALsIED WITH FRIGHT,
| the women sent for som OF their friends, and
| dispatched a messenger for Emma Moultrie,
who Ia a quiet, sensible woman, not easily
| scared. When she reached the house, With
| several acquaintances, she closed the outer
| doors and set to work to Investigate the mys'
| terry. This w.s at about half. past SIX. As the
| conceive we're listening to the astounding
histor.
A FISH DARTED FROM TIE CORNER
! of the room, In full view, and fell, without
| breaking, In q rocking chair, which chair
| rocked steadily for several minutes. The
| mysterious part of this operation is that the
| dish was known to be outside OF the house, 10
a tub, whea Emma Moultrle and her friends
| came Ia. Just before this q quantity of nub
| bins oil
COAL %cLATTERED DOWN STAIRS,
to the surprise Of the whole party. These
were growing rather weak in the knees, bat
they managed to keep up their courage until
a large brick was thrown with great force
from the back-room into the front. This de-
moralized the ghost-seekers who beat Q hasty
retreat. The few who remained witnessed
pieces of coal and brickbats dartiug across the
room. at intervals of FIVE or ten minutes, and
late al night Emma Moultrle sent to the Guard
house and asked for help. A detective went
10 the epot, aud examined the whole building.
! Doors were found locked, and windows barred.
| Every hole and corner was looked into, and
| the dust Of ages severely scrutlnized. There
| were the brickbals and the Jumps Of coal, but
| there was
NO SIGN THAT HUMAN AGENCY
had anything to do with the mysterious busi-
ness. Things were quiet for the rest Of the
night. Early yesterday morning a number Of
| curious persons hocked to the spot. Twenty
persons or more We're standing In the rooms
peeripg about when a brick was thrown from
| The north room into the south room, Imme-
| diately afterward a similar brick was thrown
from the south room into the north room.
There was q general stampede. Later in the
day an old man came in who declared that
HE DID NOT BELIEVE IN SPIRITS.
In his opinion it was a stupid trick; he
wasn't afraid, not he! As he spoke q broken
brick came from the dead wall In the north
west corner and sped across the room, just
missing the top Of
THE %sCoRNER's NOsE.
That old man stampeded and has not since
been seen at No. GA Tradd street. This was
at about 4 o'clock. Later in the evening an.
other brick few out, striking a woman on the
wrist and foot. The coal and bricks were
thrown with amazing force, and were seen by
al least twenty persons. All day long crowds
of visitors hung about The spot, but at -