River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-02-01
An Old Celtic Superstition Revived in lndi-
ana-What was il?

from the Evansville Journal
The death of Mr.. Thomas Feast, last
Sunday afternoon, has developed a
singular circumstance in the history of
his family, which illustrates the old
Highland tradition of the banshee.
The banshee, as it is commonly called,
is adisembodied spirit or ghost, which
gives warning to persons whose death
is approaching, by peculiar scream or
wall In the night, by appearing to the
doomed person., or in various other
ways.
Mr.. Feast was born in the Isle of Ely,
Cambridgeshire England, forty-seven
years ago, came to this country when
he was young, and has been living in
Evansville about twenty-three years
He was shoemaker, a good citizen,
and man of quiet, unobtrustive de-
| meanor. He was, moreover, very
intelligent man, and devoted portion
of his time to the study OF the philos-
ophy and religion of life. 1t does not
appear that he was spiritualist, but
he had leaning that way. Since
Mr.. Feast came to Evansville with his
family there have been five deaths in
the home circle, the last of which was
that of the father himself last Sunday.
Each one of the deaths has been pre-
ceded at midnight of the previous
night by death knock on the door.
Mrs. Feast's death, which occurred last
summer, was preceded at midnight by
| heavy, sudden knock on the front
| door, which aroused the entire family.
Upon search being made nobody was
| found at the door. Mrs. Feast died on
the following day.
Three weeks afterward her infant
| child died, and the same warning was
repeated at the same hour of the night.
Tie death of his wife seemed to prey
upon her husband. He had been feeble
and i'll, but thought that he would live
| through the winter. On last Saturday
afternoon he had sudden spasm, and
came through it much weakened.
| When the family retired that night
he was apparently as well as usual.
Suddenly, in the middle of the night,
| there came a loud, hollow knock upon
the street door, which aroused all the
family. His son George young man
aged about twenty-three, was awaken
ed by the sound, and rising from his
bed sought his fathers room, thinking
i Hc UGtIl SGlLtU MllIl dilObilCI opCtClll
and desired assistance. When he en-
tered the room he found his father
awake, and inquired if he called.
''No " replied the old gentleman, sit
was somebody knocking at the front
door,"
George descended the stairs and
opened the door, but nobody was with
out, and further examination revealed
| the fact that nobody was passing in
the street. George Went up stairs and
| told his father of this. A sudden
change passed over the face of the
| doomed man as he softly said:
$50 to bed, George; it is the same
Knock
| George returned to bed, observing
that it was a few minutes past II
O'Clock. The singular warning occurr-
ing in other cases of the family mad
been noticed by all the family, and,
after lying down, the son remembered
the fact, but, dismissing it as a co.
incidence, went to sleep. Next morn,
ing the father called him up in his
usual voice, apparently losing nc
strength. George went down to take
his order for breakfast, but he said /:
81 want no breakfast nothing but a
quiet room to-day"
| A second application met with the
same response, and accordingly the
younger children were sent away to
the house of friend, and George re-
NAMED with him. During the morn
ing he was very quiet, and the1 he was
discovered asleep. This continued
during the afternoon, and at clock
it was discovered that he had glided
quietly from life to death.