Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-02-08
" MERCY"
Is the Word Spoken by Spook Who,
With Another Traveller from the
Spirit Land, Has

Made a Snug, Cosy Chicago Home SO I'm.
comfortable as 10 Almost Drive Its
Occupants Crazy.
The Chicago Times publishes the following
touching the now notoriously hsuAted house,
437 West Van Buren, street, in thzt city:
"Hsuuted?"
ayes, haunted. Ghosts, spooks and spirits
hold high carnival day and night in that
same house. Take my advice and keep
away from it"
"How long has it been haunted?"
"Heaven only knows; am sure 1 do not.
/ only know that there are nightIy-yes,
aud dsily-mys.erious manifestations in the
house, and no tenant ever remains there any
length of time. Why, the present occupants
are moving out to-day, and say no amount oil
money would tempt them to remain another
night in that den of horrors."
Where did you cay il was located"
"No. 437 West Van Buren, street."
Mr.. Reynolds was found at his store, 8
meat market, No. 66S West Madison street
and had no hesitation in speaking of the ter.
rors that had driven him from his former
home. The visitor represented himself az
DESTROYS of renting the house formerly occu.
pied by Mr.. Reynolds, and asked what its
desirable qualities were. Mr.. Reynolds, an
intelligent-looking young man of about
| thirty years, opened wide his eyes as he shot
| out the query:
"You want to live in that house?"
certainly. Why not?"
"Well-"
"Isthere anything wrong about the house p
II will tell you one thing" began the
| ghost-seer, impatiently. 81 don't believe
| there il q man in Chicsgo who will even at.
tempt to live there half as long as / have
| Why, man, the internal region has no ter.
| rors for me after what have passed through
in that awful place. When 1 look back
| upon the two months OF pure, unadulterated
! misery that have spent there, l am sur
| prised at the fortitude that enabled me to
| bear up under the terrible strain. Yes;
| lived there two months, eight long weeks
| and no man before me has been found, and
! believe none after me will be found, willing
T, to rema ain in that abode of the Internal spir.
its for as long time"
| "Abode of internal spiri!s?"
Eyes, internal spirits-spooks, ghosts, de.
mons, devils-call them what you will
They infest evely nook and corner, every
Granny in that house, and sally forth te
torment aud harass any intruders on theil
| privacy
"Did you ever see them7"
"No."
"How do you know that they are spirits
them"
| The spook..ormented meat merchant
| glared a moment at the interviewer, and
looking cautiously round, approached hin
and Kissed in his ear:
81 have heard them," and, falling back 4
step or two, complacently watched the effec
Of the startling Information.
| "Heard them. But low do you know j
was spirits you heard, and not street.car
| or baby or a sewing-machine~
ado / look like a man who could mislak,
a ghost for anything else? l tell you the
noises which tormented my wife, my chill
drep, my servant, my boarder, my friend
and myself were made by some supernatural
agency"
| "What was the nature of the uoises?"
"They were most frequently heard al
heavy footballs, coming and going, night anC
day. Every hour oil the twenty-four wa
broken upon by these disturbing noises. Or
| November 23i / took the house, KNOWN,
nothing Of its antccedents. Shortly aftel
moving in l heard men walking about tn,
halls and rooms at night, and low whisper
| ings carried on close TO my very ear. NJ
nan can be more free from superstition thar
myself, and, against the evidence of my
senses, l said it was nothing Ny vile, mi
childreu, all who we're in the house, heard
everything just as did, SO Imagination hac
| nothing to do with the affair. For weeks
slept, or rather tried TO sleep, with my hand
on my revolver. Last night came the climax
and / determined to desst from my attempt
| to solve the mystery"
"What occurred last night?n
at was nothing out of the ordinary course
| of annoy ances that we have been subjected
| to, only it was so long continued. / retired
about $50 o'clock deter mined 10 get a gooc
| nights rest in spite of all the devils in the
| internal regions. Ny vile said, laughingly
you VIII not be in bed half an hour as
| sured her that nothing but fire in the house
would make me get up. Hardly had / said
| this when the usual heavy steps came tramp
| ing, tramping up the stairs and stopped al
my door. A whispered conversation came
| indistinctly to my ears. A mans gruff tonei
aud then the pleading notes of a woman'i
| voice. Then the steps receded, and my wife
| and / heard them plainly enter the dining.
room. A shovel was kicked about the rooms
| as though the imps were playing football
| with il. Then came the most outrageous
clatter and clamor that has ever beset my
eara. 1t appeared as though some one were
| beating on our sheet-iron stove with the
shovel. The children started up in alright
and cluug TO their mother, begging her
to protect them. Now, will you get
up?' said Mrs. Reynolds. No, will
not;' but the horrid din contin.
uing, crept down stairs in my bare feet,
| without light, revolver in hand. The mo-
ment l entered the room the noise ceased,
and all was still-so still that / seemed 10
feel the silence settling down on me. l
searched the room with outstretched hands,
hoping to fiud something-some one. Then
1 struck light. The only human occupant
of the room was myself. As l struck the
light in the dining-room the rapping noise
commenced ont in the hall. A search there
revealed nothing. And so the rapPipg,
knocking, tramping and whispering was kept
up all night"
"Were the noises loud"
"Well, should say so. About as loud as
this" and the intimate friend of departed
spirits seized hammer and beat horribly
upon the resounding counter.
"DId the people in the next house hear
inemp
Certainly. They complained at FIRST, but
remembering that the house was haunted
they changed their residence, afraid TO be
even that close to US. After they moved the
mysterious visitors appeared TO come in
greater numbers"
"Did the noise ever occur III your own
room%
"Oh, yes; we always kept light burning,
and very frequently In one corner of the
apartment the ghostly knocking would COM
mence, family at first but growing in dis
tinctness until the blows appeared to be
given by a sledge hammer. They would
shake the entire house. Then the doors
doors that knew to be locked or bolted-
would swing open and shut with a crash, re-
sounding through the house. This terrific
slamming would continue for ten minutes
and suddenly stop. One night the stove in
the dining-room commenced to rattle, and
my wife insisted on going to see for herself
through what agency the noise came. As
she stepped out of bed the door of our apart
ment flew opeu--opened by invisible hands.
Mrs. Reynolds concluded that the time was
not propitious for an investigation"
How did the children enjoy the unusua
STRIP
eat fret they slept in a room adjoining
ours, but the little things would wake up at
night, trembling and pale with fear, Papa,
papa, help me, am so 'fraid,' my little i've
year-old boy would cry, and nothing save
our presence Wouid satlsiy nun tnat tome
awful specter was not waiting 10 carry him
of. So with our three.year-old girl. Some
Intangible presence seemed to hover o. er the
entire household, Installing a feeling Of fear
in every heart"
"When did these manifestations occur,
principally"
Generally at night, though as 1 said, they
were likely 10 commence at any hour, day or
night. During the day The bell would ring,
spirit hands pulling the lever, for no one was
ever caught at The door. Ny wife grew SO
timid from the ever-preseut feeling that wis.,
itors from the other world were occupying
the house with her, that she occupied one
room exclusively and never thought OF at
tending the door when the bell rang. You
need not open door 10 allow spirit 10 en-
ter"
HDid you ever hear the mysterious whis-
pers pronounce an audible word?n