The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-02-10
A Good Ghost Story Spoiled.

A GENTLEMAN from the vicinity of An
napolis, H., yesterday related a very
strange occurrence to an Express repre-
sentative. The story runs like this: Some
ten or fifteen years ago, an Englishman
and his family came to an Illinois town,
and, after living there Il couple of years,
bought very large farm, six or eight miles
from Annapolis, and moved on it. After
a quiet life of four or five years, the En-
glishman was one morning found dead in
his bed, and his family, consisting of his
wife, two sons, and a daughter, were very
much astonished and grieved. Their
lamentations were loud and deep, and all
the simple neighbors, looking on, said,
"Poor people! How dearly they loved
their relative! The Englishman was
quietly buried, and the family, after liv
ing on this farm while, sold it and
moved away, no one knowing whittier
they went. The house, which was large,
old frame one, built as frame houses of
the past were built, was shut up by the
occupied. Not long since, however, the
owner rented his farm, and consequently
the house, to farmer from Ohio. The
family moved in and settled down as com
fortably as possible. The first night or
two the house was quiet enough, with the
exception that the family was awakened
in the night by hearing soft footsteps pass
ing and repassing the bed, and long
drawn signs, apparently underneath the
bed where the farmer and his wife slept.
They arose and looked all about the
house, but found nothing at all out of the
way. The doors were closed and locked,
and the windows secured, fastened as
they had been when the family retired.
Nothing more than this was heard for
the first two nights, but on the third,
about one O'Clock in the morning, the
family was awakened by measured
sound, recurring at frequent intervals, up
stairs, until it came to the head of the
stairs leading to the lower floor room in
which they slept. As it began descend
ing they distinguished it as mans step,
and the farmer arose and waited for the
door from the stairs into the bed-room to
be opened. He had revolver, and,
thinking it either a thief or practical
joker, was determined to put an end to
these pranks But the step came on,
measured and slow, and came into the
room, without any door being opened,
! nd q of ha
where was the bed and, apparently going
into the wall, was heard no more. Sorely
perplcxed, the farmer went to bed, but
slept no more that night. Next morning
a thorough search was made and still
nothing was found. The fourth night
was repetition. The fifth night the
farmer watched and waited, as nervous
as was ever Hamlet before ElsinOre, wait
| ing for his fathers shade. 1t came. This
time i'll palpable form. The stair-door
started forth. Brave ghost! Unfortunate
farmer. The latter had forgotten to take
! his pistol to bed with him. The spritc
walked or rather glidcd to the center ofthc
floor, turned about, and although the front
door was securely locked, it swung silent
ly open, and the figure rushed as if I" at
growing of the cock" Paralyzcd with
horror the farmer lay, not daring to
breathe until the morning light famed up
the Orient gates The next two weeks
were rcpetitions of the first four nights,
sometimes the ghost walking, other nights
being invisible, yetmaking himself heard.
| The children cried themselves to sleep.
The farmers wife hid her head all night
in the bcd-clothes. The farmer shivcred
and shook through the night and thought
and wondered through the day, dreading
the nights approach. But he was fully
convinced that the ghost walked for pur-
pose And he was not wrong. AT last
one night, when, after the Witching hour,
the shade made his appearance, he point
ed to board in the floor and disappeared.
The idea seized on the farmers mind,
might he not find the cause of the spirits
perturbation and let him rest. In the
morning he arose and took up the board
and found a small box with sorlc empty
bottles in it. A musty- looking paper had
some words traced on it thus g am
the ghost of the Englishman. My family
poisoned me! | haunt this house until
they are found and the law executcdm
This was toomuch for the farmer. Inthe
first place he hadn't known i" the English
man." his family might be in Guinea,
for all he knew, and even if they were
caught and the crime proven, it is mighty
hard to convict in these days, and especially
hard to hang anybody. Life was too short.
TWAS cheaper,to .vacate and give the ghost
his apartments. He did so, left the farm
and the house, and in the spring will go
on another less ghostly place.
Sequel-The ghost is well fixed. He
was healthy neighbor man, who, liking
the farm, and the advantages, concluded
TO get his neighbor out at all hazards.
The idea struck him, and he accepted it.
He fastened in the wall near the window
of the bedroom au empty bottle which
made the signing sounds when the wind
blew. He climbed to the attic by a ladder,
and came down the stairs, opening the
,tair-doors quietly. The "steps" heard
crossing the room when he did not make
his appearance, was produced by con-
federate, who crawled under the house
through a hole in the under wall, and
the box with the scroll was put in from
the lower side. The front door was opened
by key which was in the hands Of the
confederate. No cards; sorry to spoil a
good ghost story, but for the truth of his
tory, you know, we must.-IerTe Haute
(Ihd.) Erpress.