Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-11-20
sPooKS.
Haunted House-Another Skeleton in
Another Cellar.

a Haunted HouSe-Another skeleton In
Another Cellar.
If Sacramento cannot have the Injuries in
which San Francisco INDUCES. in the way of
fog, yellow fever and certified" Chinese,
she can boast of brand new haunted house,
with real skeleton in the cellar, and ghost
up stairs. It's an old story, tits true, but the
old stories are the best, after all, and when
new facts revive them, they are better than
fresher romances. This is especially true of
all reci.sls in which hobgoblins and wraiths
figure. The human taste is ever quick for
the supernatural. the unearthly and the
spectral. So morbid ia the NAV of super
stitious mankind, that there has never yet
been told tale of bogies, apparitions
the appetite for ghost stories. It
is not at all probable that the one
about to be related will fill the bill. In
fact it has rather fat and improbable end.
ing-that is, 30 far as it is ended-for the
ghosts are not yet laid which in a certain
house on Sixth street are said to wander
here and there and troop home to church.
yards" OF dawn of day.
A week ago to-day lady named Quarles,
with her daughter OF about years, and her
niece of IA, moved into the most northerly Of
four brick houses On Sixth street, between
81 and I. The houses are old stagers,
but have recently been raised up and refitted
by their owner, Lucinda Washburne. In
the house in question are five rooms-three
upon the first and two upon the upper floors.
Tuesday night the family just moved in was
worn out by the labor OF moving, and retired
early on mattresses spread upon the floor.
But there was a spook in the tenement that
proposed to give the new owners fair warning
not to put down carpets, or go to any unnec-
esssry trouble about locating permanently.
Slumber had not yet pressed with its tender
touch the heavy eyelids down, when
there came knockings, and rsppiugs, and
tappings. upon the floor, the walls, the doors
and the windows.
The young lady thought it must be rats !;
the elder lady, in all her experience, had
never know rats to be so varied in their en-.
tertainment of tenants. The rat suggestion
offended the boyle, and the knockings came
louder, thicker, faster than before. The pso.
pie were alarmed at that. Mrs. Quarles went
about the house to see if hoodlums or high
binders were assailing her domicile Neither
could she find. On her return to her Sleep
ing-room she and the others distinctly heard
the fall of Ratchet in an adjoining room.
1t came down blade first, with thud, and
then, as it tipped over, the handle raped tie
floor.
There was no sleep that night for the
three. All day Wednesday the racket went
on the doors ratified and banged, the raps
went trippingly from roof to cellar and beat
the devils tattoo on window.pane, Intel,
door, floor, ceiling, panel and wainscot, until
there was no peace in the house at all.
Wednesday night the internal rapping con-
tiuued, and once, just once, the ghost snored-
q snore deep, long, nasal and precisely such
one as the occupant of steamer berth in
dulges in always when quiet individual in
the next state-room seeks to WOO sleep. The
Ratchet went through its performance, too.
The lady, who is not Spiritualist, and is as
brave as the bravest, hearing noises in the
tenement and searched it. but all in
vain. the knocking only danced about
her and laughed her search to scorn.
Thursday and Friday nights she prevailed on
a lady friend to sleep in the house with her.
This lady was Spirituslist, and told her
there was no harm in the spook, and 80 the
four got some sleep. Saturday Mrs. Qnarles
concluded, IS the ghost would not leave her,
to leave it, and she took her family to hotel
on Third street. Meanwhile the ghost story
went abroad, and Sunday night found large
gathering in the house, with mediums and
spiritual soothsayers on hand to interview the
goblin, A circle was formed and the spook
called up.
Then it developed by questions and rapping
answers that long. long ago man had been
murdered in that house /; that he was killed
with Ratchet or hammer, and that his body
had been buried beneath the building. While
the circle was still present, heavy table got
unto itself active legs, and walized in 8 rae
auet step Iown the room and plunged against
the wall. When the circle got its grip Of the
sugar pine board again, the thump-
ing spirits told another tale. A
Chinamsn's spirit put in its appearance, and
declared its mortal skull had been broken, in
that devoted house, and he, too, was seeking
sepulture for his bones. This added hor-
ror filled the cup for that time, and the
circle broke up. Last night o new one was
formed. Among those present were Henry
Buckley, police officer Farrell and Health
Officer Ferrsl When these gentlemen
arrived, fifteen others were present-men
and women. The spirits were on hand
and told the murderous story Ger. But.
strange to say, the disobliging spooks would
not give their names nor the date of their un.
timely taking-off. The mediums present de.
clared that the atmosphere was full of infiu-
ences One of them got into q corner and
trance, and saw Troy Dye with box he was
endesvoring to open, and she would have
found out what was inside of it
il one of the visitors had not
Clipped in and broken the spell. Dye
was interviewed. and told about Tom Law
ton being in New York, where he is en-
ployed in salt works, of which fact let
Sheriff Estill take note. Walter Ferrsl
swears that door next TO him shook as if
with an acute ague. Larry Farrell got
shsky himself, and had pressing business out
side. Some Of the circle were so "irflu-
enced" that they had to be rubbed and
shaken to "bring them to-" others would
shake and twist and strike themselves on the
forehead, and manifest, by every Sign posi-
BILE, that they were possessed by the "inhu-
encas" Certainly the manifestations were
vigorous, and served the mediums roughly.
Thersps were plentiful, and skipped from table
Co floor, to ceiling, to door, to Dashboard and
back to table again. The questions asked
and answered would fill volume as huge as
the Mormon bible, and be quite as satisfac-
tory, fer thus far nothing has been evolved
except that the devil is to pay in the Sixth
street house, that Mrs. Quarles won't sleep
in it, and Miss Wsshburne won't refund the
rent, because there's no spooks in any of hers.
As to who the rapping spirit wss in life has
not developed, bat Mr. Buckley says that in
truth there is tradition in the lore Of Sscra-
mento history, that away back in the fifties a
man was murdered there-at Least twas so
suspected and believed.
WEATHER REPORT. - The temperature,
wind and weather, as received by Sergeant
Bsrwick, at IL NJ. yesterday, was For