Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-10-26
ARemarkabIa Narratixe.

In response to a professional appointment
/, on Thursday, the 1st OF June last, al
about 80 o'clock p m, called at the place
appointed, but contrary to my customary
experience was not promptly admitted.
However, upon my answering q call from
within of who's there" the door was pres
emily opened, when l was quite surprised to
see a barricade before me. Upon inquiry 1
learned that beginning with the morning OF
Wednesday the previous day at about 3
O'Clock, the inmates had been startled BY
furious knocking at their private door, fol-
lowed soon afterward by violent ringing
| of the street bell which hangs in the rear OF
| their hall. The building forms large
| double-fat with broad entrance, each hat
having private hallway.
When the inmates answered these start
| ling summonses no one was found. Upon
| their returning to their rooms again the
| same performance was at once re-enacteo.
| Finally, the maid, taking courage, went
| down close to the door, and upon q repetl-
| ton of the knocks opened the door suddenly,
| only TO be baffled as before. This somewhat
| amazed her. but did not deter her from
| watching and promptly chasing up the DEM
constructions. The knockings and ringings
| were readily distinguishable all over the
| premises, and others had been similarly an
| noyed, especially those living on the toUtat,
| but to a less degree. The family, excepting
| the daughter and maid servant, were absent
| from home and we're not expected back until
| Thursday night. From tine bathroom
| view of the street entrance IL readily OBJ
| tanned, and upon each recurrence OF the ter
| rible noise the maid would rush to the bath
window, but her perseverance, and courage
| yielded nothing, as no creature was ever
| seen. These two demonstrations were con-
| tiuued all through Wednesday, and, was
| told, stopping entirely about $3.50 o'clock
pm.
| Upon hearing this, as thought it rather
| amusing recital, l was at once interested.
| But 1 was speedily brought to a realization
| of the fact that something more than ordI-
nary was up, for the knocking commenced
| while they were rehearsing their annoyances
| and informing me that the noises had
| again commenced that morning and
| at the same time as on the day
before-Wednesday Before 1 came, be-
| ginning to grow somewhat alarmed at thelr
| inability to ferret out the natter, tive police
| men had been summoned, who made thor
ough search of the premises and OF the en-
| tire Quilting, but to no purpose, as the
demonstrations continued even while they
| were about. Somewhat disturbed and a
little frightened, 1 suspect, the cops" adj
vised the barricading of the private door.
which had SO surprised me upon my advent.
As 1 listened to the story, felt convinced
that some clever rogue was at the bottom oil
the mischief. My personal experiences began
with a startly sample Of the knockIn9s 8,
shortly followed by violent ringing OF the
street bell. 1 at once said that the only
course was to remove the barricade and test
the matter with the door opened. We
accordingly unbarred the door and
| returned to the parlor, where L seated
myself in full view of the open door
and about ten feet away from 1t, with
the daughter and the maid standing beside
L To lnn6
knocking came as before, but the door did
not move neither did any one pass the door.
The knocks were deliberately given, always
in four strokes, differing from the sound OF
knuckles, and seemingly given with some
blunt instrument-yet, withal, loud and PEN
etrating. They sounded like blows struck
with a large billet of wood. Occasionally
the knocks would pass to the upper floor,
but the trouble seemed conferred on the first
floor. Every one in the building was now
on the lookout, in the hope of putting an
end TO the perplexing annoyance. Present.
ly, 10 our further surprise, q new feature
was developed. Closely following a violent
tug at the bell loud, rapid beating on the
door was noticed, as if it were being whipped
with long, fiat strip of wood. At this mo-
ment, in the hat-rack, l discovered light
cane, and, jokingly placing it upright in a
| way of which all were witnesses and could
remember, 1 returned rather incredulously
to my watch. Instantly on my returning to
the parlor, as before, came the boisterous
whipping sound, but this time the door
was shut to- Astounded, We rushed to
the hat-rack, where, incredible as it may
seem, the cane was discovered, not standing
as left it, but lying across the slab OF the
| stand precisely as one would carelessly toss
it there. No one, / think, was frightened, but
we confessed to good deal of bewilderment.
| Finally, as the knocks continued whether the
| door WAS open or not, we closed 1t, and
awaited further developments. Puzzled
neighbors came in and out for "lnforma-
| tion," but all were equally mystihed. Every
| one had an opinion to offer, but no solution
| was forthcoming, all attempts to fathom 1t
| proving fruitless. About o'clock that day
a more impressive feature made its advenf.
A distinct call (resemb bling woman's voice.
was heard uttering the daughters name,
| "Mar-ie!" with strong accentstion and pro-
loDgation on the second syllable.
| The knocks now came from other sources
| than the door, sometimes from closet
1 within q few feet of me in the hall, and the
| call was again heard, perfectly distinct-so
much so that the daughter and all of US re-
marked upon its close resemblance to her
| mothers voice.
| These mysterious demonstrations con-
| tinued until the gentlemen of the household
reached home. At first they ridiculed the
| whole thing, but in few moments, upon
hearing the decided knocks, followed by the
call of the name, they were convinced that
| something extraordinary was going on, and
| the matter was at once given over again 10
| the police The demonstrations again
stopped for the day at about O'Clock pm.
AT no time did they occur at night, except
| ing one evening when a few thumps were
given between and 9 o'clock. called
early on Friday morning TO see If anything
new had happened. The mistress OF the
| household had returned home late on the
previous evening and had heard nothing of
| the peculiar goings-on except at secondhand
until early on Friday morning, when true to
the record of the previous day operations
commenced again at about the same hour,
| causing more amusement than dread, how
ever, as ii was now growing to be monoto-
nous.
Presently, however, a new freak occurred;
| this WAS tapping on the glass OF the win
dows as If with lead-pencil used length
wise, az found upon experiment. Intend
| ing only to remain a few moments, was
about leaving when a scream from the maid,
who was coming from the kitchen, caused all
of US hastily TO rush to the hall, where the
maid was seen trembling and quite terrified,
| for the first time, and pointing TO a heap of
overcoats which had fallen from the hat
rack, quite in front of it-not at the side, as
| WOQlQ seem mOI6 Aao DccH
scattered in their fall three or four feet
| apart We were now all standing together,
| including the maid in the hall at the parlor
entrance, no person being in the rear OF the
premises. Noticeable now was the fact that
all the knockings and SO on had ceased, and
that the mysterious force had apparently
settled itself down TO different and more
| startling line of work, for even as we stood
| contemplating this unaccounfable perform
| auce, the plush cover used for round table
standing in the rear of the hall, just where
. it bends, and before reaching the curtain
4 which shuts from view partially the kitchen
| entrance, was seen deliberately to slide Oh In
heap on the floor. Examination soon re-
vealed the fact that no draught Of wind could
have affected it Even a strong draught
could by no possibility have caused such q
result, for its going off was too deliberate.
| We again took our stand at the upper end
of the hall as before for further comparing
| of notes, when we were startled by great
crash. A clothes-stick about three feet long,
which had been hanging in the kitchen be-
hind The door, forty feet or more away, was
hurled over the top of the pOrtiere OF which
| have spoken, and fell within ten feet of us,
L ona erd Of the stink covered with fakes of