Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-19
GHOSTLY GUESTS.
4 st. Louis Mansion that is Visited Reg.
uiarly by the Spirit Of a For.
mer Owner.
Strange Noises and Mysterious Occur.
rences-A Headless DOg-What
the Mediums Say.

from the river aud not very far out Of the
rush and Itfe OF the business streets, stands q
two-story brick house. There Is nothing re-
mackaole in its appearances. II is a plain.
unpretentious building, neat and clean-look-
ing, and is surrounded by sqastting, unat-
tractlTe shanties, out of which it stands the
most prominent object in the squsre. Il is
more than likely that at the time Of Its con-
structlon the house was considered q fine
one. Its style is not exactly in keeping with
It's locality, and it gives the Impression of q
bull ting that had seen better days a2d had
some time in the past enjoyed a higher or
der OF respsctability-hsd The entree 10 better
society, 40 to speak-lhan al presepl. C5m-
monplace, however, as the house looks it is
not by any means really 80 in the estim alton
o. the people living around il. Ii mas a his
tory ysilec somewhat in obscurity which
only adds a charm to The mystery which
envelops it. As tar back as the memory Of
the oldest resident in the peighborhood
reaches it has been considered haunted, and
the children who play in the street there,
and even most of the grown people, speak
OF it as
THE HAUNTE HOUSE.
For many years past it.has been tenanted at
times by the spirit of q former owner, who
has been wont 10 disturb its present occu-
pants BY seating herself in her accustomed
place in her rocking chair, moving the arti-
Giles OF furuiturs, and otherwise interfering
with their peace and confusing their house
hold arrangements. Inc occupants of the
house at present are a very maLter-of-fact
German widow lady and her granddaughter
and a family to which the upper story lie
rented. These people have said very little
about the disturbances in the houee, but a
PGst-Dipatch reporter, who introduced him.
self IA a spirituslistic medium from The
East, was enabled to CLEAN the whole story
OF The ghosIly visItations. However TRANCE
the occurrences may seem, they may be
vouched Tor as having actually happened,
aod the skill OF innumerable Spiritualists
has been exerted in vain trying 10 solve the
mystery. The only psrt OF the house that is
troubled ID The lower floor, where the widow
woman above menlioned has lived for the
past sixteen years. The woman who lived
there before her was compelled TO leave on
account OF the troublesome spirit, and this
lady came into the house ignorant of its
character and reputation. She soon diseov-
cred the true state OF the case, however, by
The strange actions OF
THE SUPERNATURAL vIsrTANT,
and the sonduct of the ueighbore, children,
whom she heard ca ling out al sun,ed house,
haunted house." whenever they pass d her
door, but wishing TO lead a secluded life and
being a practical, strong. minded woman,
| WtN q ClC COheCicuCc, u uCtclu "
remain in spite OF the uncanny guest. She
says she is not a Spiritualist and does not be-
lieve in Spiritualism, further than that
which she has experienced cannot be easily
explained In any other way than by the In.
reference OF some supernatural agency. She
had two young children with her when she
fret went TO live in the house. The children
slept in the dining-room and she slept in the
front room ta;k of the parlor. 1t was not
long b-fore strange noises we're heard In the
room. One OF The most common sounds
was that of some one rocking in an easy
chair and at every movement of the char
the rustic Of silk could be heard as if the
person was a lady dressed in silk. This fire.
quentIy happeEed at all hours of the day aud
uight; sometimes the rocking and rustlipg
would be heard right in their midst IS they
were seated around the room and sometimes
it could be heard in the dead of night. II
was u rsgular ceasel.s rock of the chair
aud rustic OF SIX. Another Common
sound was tina. apparently made by the
dragging of a piece Of furniture from
one room to another, and the changing of
chairs aud tables from one part OF the room
TO another. The most astonishing noise was
that made in the diDicg-room, which was
like the falling of a he Ivy piece Of ir IN, snch
as a bolt or lock, on the fl ,or, but when tn.
room was searched nothing could e founI 10
explain II. 1t also frtquently happened that
the rafting Of PAM, skIilets, etc, would be
heard isssiDg from the kitchen, and on in
vestigation tue kitchen utensils would be
found scattered around in the utmc ST confu-
sion, and rot a person could be found on the
premises besides the family, AT 6rsi il wss
believed that probably some mischievous
person was trying to have fun at the ex pense
of the family, but after this stale of things
had continued for years and the most careful
person having been in the house, this theory
was given up as unttnable. The children
hually became 80 Tighten d that they refused
TO sleep in the diuing-room, and the whole
family inhabited one room, and although
now grown and married, not one of them can
be induced to sleep in the house, and The old
lady has only her little granddaughter ss a
companion. Her son in-law slept in the
dining room one night, and about midnight
be rushs into the front room pale
as a ghost and declared that some
kitchen, as ae had heard a era 81 like that
of a tree falling. A search with a lighted
lamp and n revolver revealed nothing uu-
usual in the kitchen. Ga another occasion a
little boy OF a family living upstairs was
picked up and thrown violently over the bal
listers from one platform of the stairway 10
another. He was not injured in the least,
| anu u6CttTtu tudt NC III cOulc Ii DICK I'LL
up and throw him down, but no one had been
near him. An old lady who was staying a,
the house was sitting Qua evening about 6
O'Clock in the hallway next the door leadios
to the back porch, when she disiiuctly cav
wha. appeared TO be an enormous black New
foundland dog without q heal walk up on the
porch, and, approaching to within a short
distance of her, stood Tor a few moments and
then suddenly disappeared. The old lady
solemuly averred the truth of her statement,
and sat in the same place at the same time
evening after evening in hopes Of seeing the
apparition again, but the
BLACK DOG
did net materislizs. The lady was unable to
keep a servant, not only on account Of the
noises, which frightened them, but because
every servant sac hired, soon after they
came, would be seized about the shoulders
by invisible hands and whirled. out OF the
door. The servants never allowed this treat
ment to occur more than once b fore giving
short notice. They generally preferred visi.
ole hands on their shoulders. The lady re-
lates one exceedingly strange occurrence.
The woman living upstairs happened to
look 10 the kitchen window while passing
through the yard one evening, and there abe
saw an old and feebie-lookipg woman,
dressed in ol6-fashioned clothes, sitting on a
low stool by the kitchen stove. The next
day she asked one of the girls why her
mother had taken such an old woman for q
servant. The girl replied that her mother
had no servant. The woman wouldn't be-
lieve her, but spoke 10 the lady about il, and
was astouuded 10 find that she not only had
no servant, but al the time the old woman
was seen the whole family wers in The front
part of the house. These are only a few
OF the incidents that have occurred
E. - A. L - IT.
woman applied to her priest finally to help
her on. of the difficulty, but he said he was
powerless and advised her TO call in the aid
OF the mediums. She did so at last and many
seauces have b en- held at the house for the
purpose of discovering the identity Of the
spirit and p~ers1ading it 10 quiet down and
remain in the spirit land. On one occasion
a heavy table was in the center of the circle
when a noise was heard similar 10 that Of
saving a piece of wood, and the table was
whisked across the room. A daughter of the
lady tainted and the son-in-law came near
doing so. She was so incensed at the exhibi-
ton of weakness that she slapped both of
them. One medium was certain be received
a communication from the spirit stating that
LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY
was buried in the southeast corner of the Gel
lar, and with the consent of the lady a deep
hole was dug at the spot, but il did not pan. |
At length the spirit consented to speak 10 a
reputable medium, and stated that it was a |
woman's spirit, and the house had been
w~ronsfully taken from her two children and
she intended TO visit it until it was restored.
After much percussion it finally consented 10 |
come at rare intervals, and now the family
are troubled very little. A man, whom the
narrator says she does not believe, solemnly
declares that he saw the feeble old woman
in the cellar not long ago, but not much Gre
deuce is placed in the statement. There is a
rumor, half forgotten, of a woman who owned
the house many years ago, and dying, through
seine legal trick, her two children were de-
prived Ct their property and thrown into the
streets in. povtr y and distress. The name OF
the lady and the exact locality of her house
are not given in deterence to her wisiess but
the occurrences related are matters Of actual
experience and were told in a dispsssionate
manner that invited belief. Besides, there
can be no doubt of the peculiar noises, as
they have been heard by numbers OF unpreju-
diced people who would take oath to The fact.