The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-08-28
The Prototype Of the -IiEscGWhoo
(1SCSt.

Our Milwaukee friends, the story of
whose haunted household was 1ehearsed
I'm our columns a few DAYS since, NAV per-
haps be consoied to learn that in Spiritu-
aliStic professions. as in more strictly muir
dane affairs, history repeats itself. and
that the manifestatiOns,w which hayesroused
their terror were almost exactly parallelCd
in series of domestic occurrences 4 little
more than a century ago.
IN the beginning Of January, 1112. one
Mrs. Golding, living at Stoclwel, in tile
County Of Surrey, England, engaged a
maid servant, named Ann Robinson. who
soon Appeared to he a ''medium' oftthe
first water, for within a few DAYS of her
adveut-Eamely, on the 9th of Januarv-a
crash was heard in the Kitchen and she
ran mp stairs in seeming alright to inform
her mistress that the plates and dishes
were spontaneously jun ping from the dress
er. Immediately after this preliminary
warming from the lower regions articles in
other parts Of the house began to show
signs Of being boWitChed, and wherever
Ann Robinson went havoc followed her
\ clock precipitated itself suicidally from
its bracket; au carthsn pot committed
hari-kari bottles and glasses entered into
bacch-ualian orgies, and smashed each
other an egg was thrown with violence
across the kitchen, striking a cat on the
opposite side of the room caudlesSt cks
and other mantle ornaments took to them
selves wings and few madly from their us
ual stations pail of cold water bubbled
ard hiSsed as il boiling vehementlv tables
moved III Il mysterious WaV and were
overturned {; cups and saucers launched
themselves into space from their allotted
shelves when. to avert fulth her breabaUe
mistress and maid placed the rest Of the
glass and crockery- ware upon the floor but
lncontInently several tumb!ers and bowls
icaped frantically to Il height of two feet
or mOlc, and shattered themselves i'm fall
ing, and many other destructive incidents
occurred which we have not space to re-
cord, the course of devastation cnntinuin =
almost unintcnuptcdly for nearly forty-
eight hours, or until the ''mediun'' was
discharged, when peace and quiet were
restored.
In those days there were no "female
magnetic physicians' to explain the l,he-
nomena by seeing visions Of GIGANTIC male
ghosts looking over t he obseSSed maiden 5
shoulder; bat all the W iseacres of Stock
wei agreed that, although the cessation
OF the disturbances dining Ann Robinson S
absence was rather curious, vet the ciIcu1n-
stance hat she was never seen very close
to the animated articles Of furniture was
enough To absolvc her from any direct con
Germ IN the matter. ard. besides ii voI1lI
De more wonderful to suppose that she
couId 90 Such lcatS than to attribute them
10 supernatural agency. They were accord
ingiy attributed, az The pei fOrmauccs OF
the Cock Lane Ghost had beea. But long
afterwards, when Tie events and the super
Sttloh To which they gave rise had PASSED
from public memory Ann Robinson let out
tne secret, and confessed that the whole
a'ialt was mISci!icyCUS practical iuIle oC
her own invention. She had attached
long horsehaiis t. somel light wares, andover-
set diners by means OF suIreptitious vines:
nm chervosciuS powder had caused the
ebullllion Of the pail Of water: and when
the lma8inations of her simule-miu,i~d
dupes were sufficiently alarmed to override
Their reason she had not scrubbed behind
Their backs 10 throw down or set in motion
more pondcrous articles with her unaiGed
hands, rightly conjocturirg that her vic
TINS fright would save her from detection
and magnify the apparent miracle.
1T "oHid, perhaps, SAVIOR Of personality
10 specify under what change Of name The
table may tie narrated, bat there is moth
ing hbei"us IN transcribing the logical ak
ion that like causes produce like Effects, :,
y. y Uor{d.