The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-05-20
Ghost Building Fires.

CLEVELAND, April 2S.-German resi-.
dents of the Sixteenth Ward, in the vicini-
tyof Lincoln and Lussenden avenues, have
been wrought up to high pitch of ex-
citement for several days on account of
the strange happenings in the house
and to the family of John Busch.
A short time ago Busch moved to the
city from North Amherst, O., where he
had been for a number of years in the
employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern Railroad Company. Busch had
not been in his new home very long when
he began to be troubled by fires breaking
out in various parts of the house, for
which no cause could be assigned, and
he finally became SO impressed with the
belief that the house vas haunted that
he removed from 1177 Lincoln avenue to
II Lussenden avenue. But bis troubles
did not end here. The affair had so mys-
terious an aspect, and created SO much
excitement in the neighborhood, that q
Gazette man concluded to Investigate, as
he did yesterday and to-day, with the fol-
lowing results:
The house which Busch occupied on
Lincoln avenue is q two story frame, form
erly used as O. bakery, the oven still re-
naming in the back part of the house.
The front room was occupied as q bed.
room, and in it were three beds and a
child's crib, side by side, with just room
enough to pass between. the bed nearest
the wall being close against it and shut
ting off entrance to q closet. A week
ago Sunday, while the family and one or
two friends were sitting in this room,
smoke was seen issuing from the closet,
which contained nothing but q suit of
cast off clothing. This was discovered
to be on fire, and was hastily put out,
while the family was astounden, as no
one had been in the closet that day. A
brother-iu.law and one or two friends
were told of the singular occurrence, but
paid no attention to it until child came
running 10 tell him, Monday afternoon,
that the fire had broken out again, this
time in the pantry, where it had burned
the paper off the shelves. The brother.
in-law, who is an intelligent German,
hastened to the house in company with
some friends, and while they were in the
kitchen discussing the event the crib in
the front room began smoking, and be.
fore they could put the fire out the tick
was burned through. Monday afternoon
seven fires occurred in various parts of the
house. Tuesday afternoon bed in the
front room was destroyed ; some waddiDg
that was behind door caught fire, and
the contents of an old kettle in the kitch'
en- suffered similar fate. This was too
much for them, and the next morning,
with what goods the fire left them, they
moved out of the house and into story
and q half frame building at No. II Lus-
senden avenue. That night the eleven
members of the family slept on the floor.
a family living next door to the Lin
coin avenue house also took fright, and
left the neigborhood. On the afternoon Of
Thursday the smell of smoke spread
through the new house, and they rushed
up stairs to find one Of the beds, which
had just been put up that morn
ing, almost consumed. a chicken coop
adioins the shed kitchen, in which
a hens nest in barrel took fire Friday.
Saturday a coat hanging in the shed
kitchen began burning in the middle of
the back, and was ruined before it could
be extinguished. Sunday was an excit-
ing day for the poor people. A sister
in-law laid her hat on the bed while ,he
went to speak to neighbor at the g. te,
and while there the bed began smoking
and destroyed the feather on her hat.
The bed seemed hot, but there was no fire
visible. In short time the bed caught
fire and was burned through before it
could be put out. Monday the last straw
bed was consumed. This left two feather
pillows, husk bolster, and a feather.tick
for eleven persons to sleep upon.
Tuesday forenoon the Gazette cores
popdent visited the house and found the
family in a. state bordering on frenzy.
The mother, with twins at her breast,
wandered aimlessly around room, in
which was a cookstove, two or three
chairs, feather.bed, and two pillows.
A few religious prints hung on the walls.
Two hours after your CO. 'espondent
left the husk bolster was consumed and
he returned again to the scene OF the
mysteries. There is now absolutely
nothing left to burn.
In connection with this affair, the causes
of which your correspondent does not pre-.
tend to understand, it may be said that
the family are very superstitious, and one
incident, which sound more like fiction
than fact, is vouched for by outsiders.
Some person told them to look among
the feathers, and If they found wreath
to boil it, and then burn the feathers OF
which it was composed, and the "spell"
would be broken. They looked and found
wreath of feathers about two inches
thick, and eight inches in diameter.
They boiled and burned it on Monday,
but the fires continued Tuesday all the
same. The father, who bears a good
name for sobriety and industry, is COM
pletely broken down and unable to work,
and the mother and daughter keep NOV.
ing from room to room, in which are yes
sells filled with water, looking for inclpi-
ent fres.-Speciel Dispatch to the Gin.
cinnati Gazette.