The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-22
a GHASTLY GHOUL.


- t1OrglAi AlpuluS dtSU Inc Rs8v9 O
/ Sarah Platts, a young lady who died o.
consumption, wss found disturbed, and
en- examination showed that the head
Of tho corpse was missing. What led ID
Itho discovery was The finding of hu.
man jaw bone by Fred. .Auer, far
mer wh" lived near the county grave
yard, some eight miles from he % city
| where the body was buried. The faci
that only the head was taken threw sus
picions on an amateur phrenologist
Iamed Gordon Truesdale. Tfuesdale oc.
cupied small farm in the vicinity with
| bis wife and family of four girls. the
! Oldest not moro than eight years old
He was G. handsome, I oad.shouldered
fellow, with fair education. bat Iszy
| and shiftiess. His great hobby was
phEenolbgy, and he occasionally lectured
on that subject Ia country school. houses
His ambition TO possess q collection oi
skulls was we'll known in tho meighbor-
hood, end the dissertation Of the Platt
gisl's grave was laid sc his 6cor, although
ho was never openly charged With IL.
ABOUT three Sssits ago TFuesdale went
TO q physician and asked If o person
could become poisoned In handling a
dead body. He I-ecaiYed an Affirmative
reply and appeared to be much troubled,
He complained TO his wife that bis nose
was painipg him terribly sud hs believed
he was taking the eresype;a5, He began
doctoring himself with bread and milk
p9ultices, but without success. His face
begafi-to swell rapidly, and in less than
three days it and his head BECAME twice
their natural size and lost ali semblance
70 human shape. A physician was called
in agaiI6t the wishes If Truesdale. L.
he found the man 5eaffe-ing terribly.
His lids were dfaiwns by s'the tension
of tho gskin aud writhed themselves
away from the teeth ia uuceasing
paihl Tho CEticle across the bridge Of
the nose and over the forehead was so dis.
tended withithe fnattefy substance Under
meath that it'seelned as II It must burst
every noinenta The eyes we're asyolIen
lalmost TO bursting from their Bockets and
wsfe turned with pain Until hardly any.
thing but the whites could be seen. It
was evident that q terrible poison was
slowly but surely psrineating the name
whole systen1. 81
The pbysician, after o careful examina.
ton OF tho unwilling patient, cut open
ibis skin from abons the centre cf. his ncse
almoat to the roots of bis hair. and then
made another across tho forehead almost
from temple TO TEMPLE. From theaa In,
cisious thare oezei,, ,esgnasa sr,fs Ina at,,non,a
datSstable. pytg dscsucg. 80 Ikrfibie,4 In ;fs
Steiaeb that fhey btJai5danta aSns rar
from the housa. Other incisiooa ,yars or
made IN fiifIarant parts of the scain. Goro
which the. hair had baan abavad vi o,,.i
from thesa This terribly ofIanaiva n,ot,1r
o5zaa constaufiv a,i,s; satesii,ne, ,,,o.
redslEed aud fIie haIH and sanS iessn n,. ~,
f,pafJy th9 9ir normal aiEe- ktssn,,,ts , 49,
they made 10 frAa tLa irc;sions nf r,stsar
tv ,Diectibp wataY into, thoTo T. ,,,,,,
noticed thai when winter .rvas sfoycad int
the cut in the forehead it nonred ont nf
the holes In the scaIu. AZ ona of fha at-
teriaantb eaid. 'it eeemed ne If eli tba
tie5h between Inn uHin and bone had
turned into dSFfiintionI and m ;, Ar II: y"
When Mr.. Trnesri aje sSSs G told tbot ha
could not posei6ly recover ha caItod
his wife into The room and confassed 500 to
her that ho robbed tho PIatta ririSs grave
and refcrred to certain nipkt ssbe % hs
left the house and refmaad IL taji hav
where he went at ths time when he he com. IN.
mitted Inc crime He, said that @ he he e Jm,,
down TO the head Of the noffin hroka M
teuen and. takine his knife ci,t ,iy,n,ni tba
meet OF The corpse throuoh the fleah tn In ,he ,j,
bone. He than placed one Of His feat ~,
the breast Of the cnrnse md tni,;ns, ti,a he
head In hin hands nnlIed and ;sa,,.aJ .
and twiatefl IL until ';t oasna ofS hs are
Foyca he aftsrsyarj 4 ;s;n,,,teS az 49,,
law and tffaw Is where Frea anss f;s,r,ds
Ii. He closeii his confssaion bv staIiino
her where tha sknii SvouId Ls fcnn5
tif,lser th q ntrayy In cayta;,, n,a,esass u,
the steble. Tt was fonnd there = nj o;van ~
up 10 fhe pletts san,iiv @'-- s''sA ''.'-.
sfThh lnst fS,Fee dav,, :, il Z,
lance wera terr;bIe NOT oniy M ,.' fbiS,ssie
hut to thosa who watcSa5 L;,, % Ti,a
.,oison from son,e cornss ffo.. r. ;a ho,;a.S .5
he Ind recentiv onened ssvarsi ~ i ornuss ur,ssS
which was conSnnaic icated tn L;s a,m ss,s,n,m,,
nv nieEinp n rav amt IN tba 10 sns;aa .ae
his iiosa, anfsayafI fa ro,,ssa f,S s6,,,
everv vain M mn 1soSg mt Soy.,,. va
hia Sersoi, ofisnaiSa In tba y sSe I'm M Tt.. fis
afioe ana heat of h;s braath ,yss 90 80 ofysr. an
aivo t5at IL Wit, ii, 1,s nossibia fos Ana stisn.
danfs 10 wait on him nronsrIv Tj,a
breath .,vas, -, nn;so,nn. fbot s.Ss,, ono ono
Of fha stfenaanfs iejd h;s .l,Sr i 1Siss &. :,
~ . tts sty ~
afni,, tSe jiasI, HE = ,;,,,,jrads I ~ nn..,a
Thosa ~ sgbn i yTa;tad an h;,n' IL ~. $50 NJ;
=, sssar aioves "a ;t ,,a. ;,.,s.;la GlHa,sea
~ Stt Is t1Sy,o -
Say ia died his fssh Wa sa eo fss raites tha9 ~
ss Iosnbh5 ~ hss so Aso,a tne
ss ssaii tl.y ,iss Ise..a w. s. euA''s