The Russellville Democrat., 1880-10-14
AMUSING FAITH IN GHOSTS.
Mrs. stymus Sues Mrs Howell for the Rent
 of Her Haunted House.

Mrs stymu Sues Mir. Howell for the Rent
 of Her Haunted House.
 N r. Times
 Judge Angel. of the Eighth District Court, has just rendered his decision in a case which involves an amusing ghost story, that for some months past has been matter of common gossip and and belief among the residents of a cer- tain neighborhood in West Sixteenth street.
 The action was brought by Mrs. Eliza A. Stymus to recover rom Mir. Amzi Howell S160 for two months rent of the house at No. 251 West Sixteenth street. Mir. Howell is fioulishing milkman in Seventeenth street. and one of the last men III the world to evade payment o just debt, or to break fair contract. Yet he admitted that, having taken the h ,use for year from the 1st of May last he moved out somewhat hurridlv in the early part of June.
 It was only by degrees that his true reason for thus throwing the premises back upon the hands of Mrs. Stymus was developed. The upper floor of the house, he said, was haunted by spirits, who amused themselves from sunset to sunrise by slamming doors aud making a variety of loud and blood-ctrdling noises. Naturally, MT. Howell was at some pains to add that the ghosts did not annoy him personally; but he inti- mated that his family had been reduced down to that state of terror that 1t would have been simply inhuman to keep them longer in such unpleasant quarters. He therefore deemed himself justified in breaking the lease.
 Vain, however, were all the endevors of Court and counsel to get any satisfac- | tory descriptive testimony as to the true character of these supernatural mani l festations. There were two witnesses besides MT. Howell, who evidently had | full faith in the reality of the ghostlv | visitations-his brother-in-law. Mir. James H. Berthof, and Edward Polk, a | colored man.
 MT. Berthoff had resided in the house with MT. Howell. Only few days after moving in he was accosted on the | corner of the street by neighbor named Gallagher, who asked if his name was | not Berthoff. Being told that it was, Gallagher remarked that friend of his | had bought farm of BerthoE, in Or ange county. This having served as an | excuse for friendly interest in BerJhoh, Gallagher added:
 And ana Sorry you have been rent | ing this house from Mrs. Stymus. You'll | be glad to move out in little while; if you don't move out the ghosts will drive you out"
 After that gentleman named McEvoy | confirmed the reputation the house had | for ghosts, and in the course of week or so Berthof heard the same reports | at fu In, cross-examination however, when asked If he left because of any ghosts he had actually seen there, he answered "No" in very loud. and firm voice, and when counsel follo~ed the question up with, "or because Of any rumors about ghosts" !" he almost shouted, No, sir, I did not" He was equally positive in denying | that he had left the house without pay | ing the rent.
 | Mr. Polk, the colored man, had also heard of the ghosts from a young man of the neighberhood who had slept in the house, and that he credited the re- | port seemed fair inference from the 1 fact that he had declined an offer from Mrs. Stymus to occupy the basement and take care of the house, rent free. He hastened to say, however, that his reason for declining the invitation was simply that he was subject to rheumatism a malady which would be greatly aggra- vated by sleeping in damp nnder- ground room. The general laugh which greeted this remark made him very in- dignant, and he became positively angry by the time he was handed over to the plaintiffs counsel for cross exam | ination.
 Are you superstitious?" asked the counsel.
 perse-tit-tit-titious, said Polk, stammering with indignation.
 Are you afraid of ghosts," suggested Judge Angel.
 No, sir; no, sir; oh, no, sir" he an swered.
 Don't you believe that coming events cast their shadows beforew again asked the counsel; with a smile.
 "Oh, laugh; yes, you can sit there and laugh, and you can talk more than ca n but you don't know nothing at all about it," replied Polk.
 Polk, succeeded, however, before he left the stand, in convincing every one that in his opinion, at least, the young man who had warned him that the house was "troubled," as he expressed it, had done him a very great service.
 Mrs. Stymus, of course. secuted the notion of the house being haunted. Her explanation of the rumors is that dur ing the period of some few months when it remaind empty in consequence of the death of her aunt, who had lived in it eight years, some boys in the neighborhood obtained admission by breaking windows in the basement, and amused themselves by playing ghost. " She admitted, however, that the fact ol the house being haunted was matter oi common gossip in the neighborhood The house itself is an old-fashioned, red brick, English basement house, built or model very common a quarter of g century ago. It's upper or attic story where the ghosts are believed to dwel has peculiarly stunted appearance owing to the windows being greater il breadth than in height. These rooms were intended for the servants of the family, who, in the estimation of old time architects, were entitled to only half as much air and light as their bet ters.
 Judge Angell's decision is in favor O the plaintiff.