Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-02-18
WHY IS CALLED HAUNTED HOUSE.
The Remarkable Sequel to Fifty Year old
Murder.

WHY IT'S CALLED HAUNTED HOUSE.
me Remarkable Sequel to a Fifty Year Old
Murder.
Correspondence New York World.
HAUNTED HOUSE, Orange County, n, Y.
February "a somewhat ANTICIPATED look
ing farmer was unloading milk cans from his
wagon to the station platform at the way
side stopping place on the New Jersey Mid
land railway.
:sWhy do they call this place Haunted
House?' asked.
'.'Cos there usty be a ha'nted house here,
s'pose. That's the house over yonder, but
the ha'nt amt there no more.''
"What caused the house to be haunted?"
"Murder, s'pose. Fifty year ago
family lived in that house that folks said
hadn't very good name. One night ped
Ter stopped there, and folks didn't see any
thing more of him. By an by the family
moved away. The man who bought the
proprty went to diggin' for a cellar to put
an edition to his house, and found the ped
ler's bones, r leastways they s'posed they
was the pedler's, an l guess they was, for
nobody else's bones was missin' 'roun' here.
Nobody claimed 'em, and they was chucked
into lot, and the boys that was here then
kicked 'em roun' for fun. There's them
Twin round here now as give the skull many
hist, and cracked butternuts with the
pedler's shin-bone. That's what they say
leastways. Well, not long AFTER they was
scattered to the four wins, the man t foun'
EN- moved his family into the house. They
hadn't got scacely settled afore the chairs
begun to tumble aroun' the room, an the
dishes broke IN the closets, and the doors
wouldn't stay shet, an the winders ratified
an banged Like as if some one was all the
time a skakin' of 'em. The owner o the
house said that nights some one he couldn't
see KEEP shakin' somethin about his ears
that sounded like dry bones in bag. Every
oncet in vile gust o win would sweep
through the rooms and scatter everything
afore it. Then big black dog with red
any one d go to go nigh him he wouldn't be
there, sometimes goin' up into the air an
sometimes fadin' away right where he
| stood. That's what they said, leastways.
Course folks said't the house was h'anted,
all because O the onchristian way the dead
mans bones had been used, an that there
want no use O the family 'spectin' to have
any peace till tn bones was buried descent.
But they was, kicked and chucked to the
devils four corners, an it was like lookin
for cream on pigeon milk to find 'em.
Anyhow, the mant foun' the bones-an he's
got folk 'roun' here yit-went to work to see
# he couldn't git the pedler together an
lay him to rest like fellow citizen oughter
be. He found few O. the bones an buried
'em decent to see if that d have any effect
on the spooks. The doors and windows
banged, an the furniture skipped aroun',
and the cold gusts, O. wind KEEP playin' all
the same. But the bag O bones couldn't
hardly rattle any more, an tn m 'steerious
black dog that had looked all along very
fierce, with the eyes very red, want any
where nigh SO fierce lookin' alter the few
bones d been planted an his eyes changed
to mild blue, an jis' afore he'd disappear
couraged tn family, an they went to huntin'
FIR more O the SHELTON. They offered the
boys 10 cents bone for all they could fin O.
the bones, fur they'd been a havin' lively
times with 'em. So they fined in the
search, an mebbe you'll think it's squeer,
but they got all O them bones but the skull.
Some of 'em was broke little, and teller
named Jim Stage had knife-handle made
out O. one but he TUX the rivits out an
handed it over. That's the way the story
goes leastways. Well, these was all buried
with the fust ones, and as sure as timothy
seed the cold gusts O. win changed to little
warm breeze, an the bag O. bones quit en-
| tirely, an the doors and winders didn't 4bang
half SO much or SO hard, an they said for a
week or two there want moren two plates
broke in the cupboard, an the furniture
was all right. But the queerest thing was
the dog. Darn if tn children-so they
said, for never see the spook-couldn' t
almost git to him an play with him. an they
said he looked as pleased as COW with a
new calf, an when he dug out went into the
air with little playful skip. Well, the
family wanted the skull bad, but it couldn't
be foun'. Bout two weeks altar the los
bones was foun' one O. the boys was down
in medder over yender, pickin, blackberries
along the fence A good many O tn bones
had been kicked roun' in there. He was a
black snake raised up bout ten feet ahead O.
stone t lay by his feet, and was jist agoin'
to chuck it at the snake when he looked at it
an see it was the skull everybody was lookin'
for. He struck a bee line for the ha'nted
house, and give the family the skull.
want in these parts then. but they said
there was a big time when the news spread.
The skull was put in with the other collec-
ton O. remains O tn unfortnit pedler, and
from that day on the ha'nt left the house,
but the locality was called Ha'nted House
ever since, and the railroad company named
the station that. Leastways this is the story
they tell me, an can't swear faint so.''
The honest dairyman climbed into his
wagon and drove away. While Twas musing
on how much stranger fiction is than truth,
the milk train came along and l jumped
aboard.