The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-02-15
All About Haunted House In an
AristOcratic NeighbOrhood.
IN. Y. Cor. of the Springfield Republican.

AristOcratic NeighbOrhood.
IN. Y. Cor. of the Springfield Republican,
Ghost stories are always in order, and
a haunted house in New York will be
regarded as great novelty. But the
exhibition Just mentioned recalls q
story told me by well-known and
much-talked about lady author and lee
turer. She is neither fanatic nor a
fool, and the last person in the world to
see sights or dream dreams. She had
taken the upper floor of house in
Fifteenth-street, and furnished it her
self. In few days she noticed that In
certain part of one of the rooms a
strange, unearthly chill came over her
1t was so disagreeable that she shurned
the place. She also frequently had a
very distinct feeling that some one was
coming up the stairs, and at first rose
and opened the door, expecting to see a
visitor, but finding no one. In the
night between eleven and twelve, she
was regularly awakened from sleep as
though some one was standing by her
bed, and oftentimes as though hand
was on her throat trying TO strangle her |;
she could see no one, and the experience
became 50 disagreeable that she gave up
her bed to her woman-a very substan-
tial, matter OF fact, courageous person
and took the lounge, where she slept
without difficulty. But the poor domes-
tic had hard time of it; she had expo
rienced the chill, and had opened the
door hundreds of times TO the stranger
coming up the stairs, now she was
choked every night just as thotigh some
one was trying to strangle her One of
the lady's friends visited her and expe-
rienced the chill and also opened the
door to the invisible visitor, and with
out knowing what her occupants had
felt, declared that the place was strange
and depressing,
A popular newspaper writer, a lady
well known in the social circles here,
called one day and told the occupant of
the rooms, who had left her alone for a
few minutes that they were haunted, as
she saw the form of person standing
in the very place where the unearthly
chill had been felt by several persons.
Sickness obliged the ledy to leave her
apartments several weeks in charge of
her faithful woman. When she returned
| she found this woman nervous and
emaciated, as though she had been very
i'll and was still suffering. In reply to
her agitated inquiries the woman told
her the following story: 1t was near
midnight after you left that | woke sud-
denly out of sound sleep, and there
sat woman in the rocking chair by the
fire, her back toward me, with full
head of dark hair. thought 1t piece
of impertinence in any one TO come up
to my room at that time of night, and
without knocking; then | remembered
that l fastened the door. But to be
certain about it, slipped out of the
bed at the foot and tried the door,
which | found bolted. Then | got into
bed. The woman turned her face
toward the door in an anxious way, in
Ginning it as though listening to hear
some one coming up the stairs. Then
she arose as though she we're coming
toward the bed. ! covered myself with
the bed clothes and stood it as long as |
could in that way; when | looked out
the room was empty" This strange
visitor returned night after night, and
some of her doings the domestic was I'M
willing to repeat. She lost fourteen
pounds of solid flesh by the experience,
and was only too glad to escape out of
the place. Some weeks after the break
ing-up, the lady, who was staying with
friend in New Jersey, was surprised
to see woman coming up the steps of
her house in great glee one morning.
81 have found out all about it," she
exclaimed; "that house is haunted"
And then she told of calling on dress
maker to get some work done, and incl
dentally mentioning where she had
lived Did Miss occupy those
upper rooms?" she asked. "Did you
have no trouble thereF she inquired.
On being told that the place was objec-
tionable, she said, 1t is strange no
one told Miss that house is
haunted. l took lease of it for three
years, but had to give it up at loss of
several hundred dollars after few
months. 1t was haunted, and / had
nothing but misfortune there. You
know woman strangled her husband
in that upper chamber several years
ago. He had abused her in his drunken
| iOs, anu BIC cuuuIcQ III uLtll BIG DcCdIut
desperate. One night she waited for his
return and choked him to death on the
bed. And the poor creatures spirit
has haunted these rooms ever since"
Miss - visited the dressmaker and
had full recital of her experiences in
the haunted house, and ascertained
upon inquiry that she is highly
respected and trustworthy woman
And Miss regards her former
domestic, whom she has known fol
years, as absoluteful truthful, and quite
free from superstition and nonsense, ar
unusually plucky, sensible woman
But you should hear Miss - tell the
story. 1t would be curious to know
how many haunted houses there arr
within a mile of Union Square. or Muir
ray Hill.