The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-12-13
From the Denver Tribune ]
THE DENVER GHOST.
Miss Annette RisIey's Interview with
Murdered Miner.

No Miss Annette RisIey's IntervIew vi
:, n Murdered Miner.
10 For the past two evenings th.
m have been Iars e numbers Of peo,
i, visiting 'he so-called haunted hOu-
i on a hill near the Rio Grande Hot
a The house iemsins uncccupiei, n
r some persons who live in The neig
n borhood, and vino ere afraid
. ghosts and "nobgoblins," IN
threstened 10 burn il 10 the grOuu
o Dir. RisIey, who WIS the last occr
, panl oil the house, has hovei lu G.,
;, fUrnis street. A repCr,,r proceeds
a to his (Risley's) residence last ev-i
iDg for the purpose vi ascertsiniI
> the views of Miss Annette Ri,ley, wi
VOWS she c1cversed with the ''ghost.
= Miss Annette is q sweet seventeen,
or Whereabouts, and of pleasing 81
dress. Miss Annette undertook I
relate her wonderful experience, an
the reporter yss intent W III ear au
pencil:
Il "WeTI. l never did like that hous
even before we went there to live
told lpa that 1t was an awful locality
and that the mountsin view fror
there would not be SO interesting 8
this season # the year; anti the
some of the surroundings we're yer,
Objectionable. Hnt pa insisted Oh
going, and co we went. As Cne o
the frs. unpleasant cOnseque n
ces, we we're unable to sleep wink
after being in the house only day
on account OF the noises aud the my g
teriOus raps and kn''cks, mu-teringi
and groans that were to be Deard al
all hOuls OF the night OI! ma go'
80 scared one night that we had to
send :or a doctor; and ! was awfully
scared, too, at first We then had
some bosrders, but the most Of them
were auch old geese as 10 be afraid
to sleep in the house.
"WelI, Jennie Everson came over
to our house one afternoon To see me,
and said she wasn't afraid of ghosts,
and didn't believe in them. But che
wanted 10 be satisfied, one way or
another, about what had told her.
So she and l agreed to go down into
the cellar, from which the noise al
ways came at night, and stay there
Alter supper l got lamp, and Jen-
ME and l started down stairs. When
we struck the foot of the stairway
the wind ircm a window put the lamp
out, and in an instant it Was pitch
dark. Jennie commenced crying,
and threw Ter arms around me, .eg-
ging me 10 rush up stairs again. !
went over to one side OF the cellar
to get some apples, and On turning
back saw that Jennie had gone up
but just at the side of the steps there
was the head of a man 1t was
bloody on one side. Oh, my! / was
30 frightened. thought 1 would
die! 1 called out aloud, saying: I'll
there are any spirits here, in the
name Of the Lord, won't they let me
aloner / had no sooner ssid that
than l saw the skeleton form of a
man seemingly attached to the
'bloody head.' The throat was red,
AM looked as if marked Ivy blood
TIE figure had on a Ozark cape OF
some kind thrown about its shoulders,
but this fell apart, exposing the
ghsstly igure, in whose right hand
there glowed something bright
As stood there petrified and almost
dead, the figure whispered, Meta
Meta Metsp This was q name nv
ma and pa us,d to call me when l
wss u little girl. was so sstonished
and scared that did not say u word
The mysterious visitor then added,
still in a Whisper Annette Annette =
| was now SO frightened that / begged
to know what the ghost wanted and
what he proposed to do with me The
figure pointed to the corner of the
cellar nearest the stairway, and a
strange voice, that seemed to come
from nowhere, replied: q was muir
dered. 1t was for my 'dCst" that
Matt killed me. We lived here to-
ge,her and were friends Seven
thousand dollars in "dusp' he mur-
dered me for, and buried me here.
He took but half OF my money after
the deed, AMI WAS afraid to come
back for the rest, and there (point
ing toward one of the corners) lies
my body, and the money is buried 10
the other corner, (pointing TO the
spot mentioned. Matt Morrison
should be csughtsn hung. He now
lives at Omaha l visit him as / Wis.,
it this spot. l cannot help it, l must
wander 30 till my bones are given a
Christian burial, and my murderer is
called to account for his wicked
deed. Twas q miner for many years,
and be who makes Matt Morrison die
for killing me shall have this nugget
of gold, (holding up what he had in
his hand, and more than $4,000 bu-
ried there The voice then ceased,
and the form seemed 10 float away
the ghastly head and piercing eyes
and bloody neck being the last thing
visible.
81 screamed in terror and rushed
madly up stiirs. My friend Jenny
was Just recovering from a faiLiing
fit, and 1 told her all the horrible
things that had happened. She be
came so scared that she ran out of
the house, and compelled me to go
home with her at once.
"When | came back ma and pa had
returned, and l told them all that /
had seen and heard.
"The next day We moved. l was
then so alarmed for my own safety
that could not remain in the house
sny longer. My parents felt similar
ly, and here you find US now"
Miss Risley was evidently sincere
in her statement, and believed it 10