Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-08-13
SPOOKS AND SPIRITS
Queer Franks and Curious Capers Of
Ghosts and COLLINS in the Busy
City Of Washington.
Ben Ch0ruses in the Old Van Ness Man.
sion-Romantic Story OF Muir.
derer's Tavern.

ton CiIttc. Nearly all OF the old historical
residences here come under the bane. 1t
will be remembered what sensation was
created some years ago when great crowds
visited house Just back of the marine
barracks, where s defunct marine, who had
committed suicide by cutting his throat from
ear 10 ear, visited his former earthly hab-
itstion and raised hGdes, and how the story
was verified by a constant changing of
tenants, the parties alleging in each case
that they could not stand the ghostly ex-
hibitious and practical demonstrations in the
shape of showers of tin aad glassware ard
the clanking of chsins.
An old resident several blocks south OF
the Carroll manor, on New Jersey avenue,
caused a similar sensation few years later
1t being stated not only by occupants of the
house, but by neig hbors generally, that
phantom coach of the old style, surmouuted
by vapory-looking coachman who drove
pair OF ghostly steeds with flashing nolrils
| and beacon eyes, drove up to the carriage
stone on certain midnights and waited until
an ancient-looking pair had entered the
house and returned after q few minutes
stay to be whirled back to spirit lard.
The old Van Ness mansion, still later,
came in for its share. Those who lived in
the neighborhood reported frequent and
violent ringing OF bells during the "wee sma'
hours in the old, unoccapied premises, and
| it being generally known that there was not
| q single bell in the whole house, crowds
visited the place and stood around with
gaping mouths and open eyes, while specters
inside performed an INDISPENSABLE bell
chorus. Several parties Of fearless young
men went inside TO investigate, but their
| presence did not in the least intimidate the
musical ghosts, who kept up the clamor.
| Even now parties who will take favorable
| positions and stand around long enough can
hear the mysterious sounds, it ia said. The
| query is frequently put: SIS this the reason
| no one will rent the old placer"
There is an aged, UNCOVERED house on a
certain street in East Washington, which was
| formerly the residence of an "aneient and
honorable" old family, and upon whose staid
| walls Father Time has laid his whitening
hand, WHICH rumor says is haunted. Every
| appearance about the place, especially upon
| a moonlight night, when the gsunt, single
| garnet window stands out in bold relief, like
| silent sentry, against the feecy clouds, the
dIlapidated stairways, leading TO a paneled,
| capacous hall, filed with cubby- holes and
| echoes. and a grim, moss-grown brick wall,
bespeak mystery and phantoms.
The occupants of this house are an old
man, partly demented niece and aged col
ored woman. The old man is nearly deaf,
the niece is incapable OF reasoning, and the
old colored woman is so aged that second
childhood has taken complete possession of
her. The trio court hermitage, and only get
into the fresh air when on a summer even
| ing they stroll about or cit contentedy on
l rustic benches in the wall-inclosed yard,
/ once handsomely covered with flower plats,
but long since overruu with a tall growth of
rank weeds. From the old colored woman
something concerning the alleged ghost was
learned.
"Well, sar,n said she, 'ffust dere used 10
cum, just after de old hall CLOCK stopped
strikin' midnite, scream dat would star up
like tom-cat a-mewin' and keep a giltin'
louder and louder, till it bruug de HAIRS 10 my
head right straight up, and filled my throat
wild my heart; it would den simmer down
till it died rite out; den LADY, seed her
once, and may de good Lord forgib me if
ebber l look again-would cum down de
steps, rite slow, wild long trail draggin' way
benin her, and sumthin' dat looked mighty
like smoke all round her; and dat face-dere
was no meat on it, sah-it was as white 81 de
old tombstone out dere in de yard.
"Whar did she go? Deed / dunno, sah
I nebber could foller her. l was 'fraid; dat's
de reason.
"Yes, sab; 1 hear dat scream now, some
times, but nebber look in the hall, nor /
wouldn't, sab, for de life of me; Gaze, you see,
she might turn and smite me, and dey say if
ghost duz dat it PARALLELS you. But den,
san, doan mind il now, and the little gals
mind AMT rite, and Massa John is SO def
he can't hear anything, so we don't bodder
bout de ghost anyhow.
ayes, sab; / believe 1 did hear Massa
John say long time ago dat his mudder's
sister dat lived here den sickened and died
bekase her lubber, who was an officer in the
revolutionary army, married anudder lady
in Bladensburg, and he says dis is her spirit.
l nebber want to see dat sight agin. Least
ways, sab, don't 'spsct to be in dis vale OBJ
tears much longer, and don't want 10 cross
the ribber OBJ Jordan wild dat sight on my
memory. Good-day, sab, Msssa Johns
a'calling me-" and old Aunt Polly hobbled
up the dilapidated stairs and through the
half-opeu door into the haunted manor
There is an old, dilapidated building, not
great way from the northwestern boundary
of Washington, which was occupied in Eye
long ago" as a public tavern and hotelry,
which did not enjpy very good reputation
in those days, owing to the sudden disap-
pearance OF several travellers who stopped
there over night. The last disappearance
which occurred away back, shortly after the
beginning of the eighteenth century, was
that of two Pennsy who were taken
iu by the villainous proprietor, forid-
visaged Welshman, one dark, stormy night,
and who have never been heard of since. II
was discovered few years later, after the
proprietor had fled the country on sccount of
threats of lynching, which were freely in
dulged in by the residents of that vicinity |
under the house, and ever since that time
the house has enjoyed the reputation of be-
ing haunted, and strange sights are reported |
as occurring very frequently. The house, |
which has been remodeled, stood vacant for |
long time, but is now occupied.
There is another old East Washington |
building, which was used during the late war |
as prison, and il is said the bodies of pris-
oners who died therein were buried in its
capacious cellars-which furnishes an item |
of interest OF very recent occurrence. A |
gentleman who occupies room in this build |
ing keeps a banjo hung upon his wall, upon |
which he is an adept performer, and although |
it has hung from the same nail for year. |
nothing unusual occurred until Decoration |
day night. On the night in question, shortly |
after st. Aloysius's deep-toned bells had an
nounced the bewitching hour of midnight |
the banjo began TO play. first soft, then merg- |
ing into an increased claher and bang, bang |
The gentleman arose, and after lighting the |
gas carefully examined the Instrument and |
room. The door was still locked; a look |
under the bed and into the closet failed to |
reveal the presence of any one, living or |
spiritual. He returned TO bed, turning the |
gas low, but only 10 hear the music resumed. |
He arose again quickly, took down the in |
strument and hung it in another position |
and retired. Yet the phantom bsnjoist |
resumed his melody, nor did ne cease for at |
least half hour, when the sound died away |
and quietness reigned supreme.
This statement is vouched for by the gen.
tleman, his wife and two occupants of the |
next room, who yelled through the hole,
"For heavens sake stop that internal noise
at this time o. nightp II is supposed the
spirit of some poor boy in gray, who died in
the building away from home and friends in
the sunny South, returned to his former
prison home on the night following Memo
r,aI1 av anJ far IL
RECALLED himself with touching its magic
chords.
There is q point few miles down the river
where, some years ago, an escaped inmate of
the insane asylum plunged madly into the
Potomac in an attempt 10 wade across and
elude his pursuers-he being drowned in the
attempt-which is visited on stormy nights
by a vapory figure, the appearance being al
ways preceded by weird Ight-simiIar 10
that of will-of-the-wisp. An old waterman,
living near the spot, related to the Critic that
one stormy night he was belsted and did not
arrive home until after midnight.
"When nearly opposite the pint, sir" he
said, Hthe wind a-howlin' and the waves
splashin' agin my boat, / noticed a peculiar
light directly off my stern; but had my
hands full 'tendin' to the crsft-it was all /
wanted 10 do-so didn't pay much atien-
tion TO it By-em-by felt kinder peculiar,
and turnin' my head / saw a sight that
struck terror into me, like big knife stuck
into a steer. There, sitiin' on my stern seat
was the fgger of man; out he looked more
like a cloud, one of those silver-coiored
ones, than he did like man. / felt weak,
and oh! Lord! how worked that boat, and
you Just BET, sir, didn't look agin till fell
my keel a-grindin' agin the shore; :hen I
looked, but it was gone. 1 knowed at once
it was the spirit of the crazy man that was
drowned of the bar. You kin see his light /
often on stormy nights"
SING Low.
"a yellsw stretch of rippled sand
(srrf,e hvr 10 Ia 2 tn rrEO gold lirsz