Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-04-17
HIGH MOUNTAIN sPooKs.
lJnoanny Sounds Heard and Mys-
terious Lights Seen by the
Valley Residents.

regions known as Preakness, Hale
don, and other suburbs hemmed in by
the lofty hills known as High moun-
tain, writes Patterson, N. j. cores
pondent TO tho New York World,
place extra bolts OH their doors now
y nights aud are careful TO be indoors
''altcr hours" Numbers OF super
stitious ones, and some who are not
superstltlous by any means, are will
ing to make alfidavits that they have
heard uncanny sounds proceeding
from the heights, and nearly every
body in the vicinity who has been
near the foot of the mountain after
dark will vouch for the statement
that mysterious lights have been seen
fitting to and fro up among the trees
No soul lives there, aud, AZ IL Is said
that several murders have been per-
pctrated there, the villagers state,
with a solemn shake Of the head, that
"the devil is at work and no mistake"
and that there are "sp0oks Oh High
mountain"
A party of the braver and brawn-
ier lads of the bailiwick endeavored
to solve the mystery few nights ago,
but they soon returned with white
faces and quaking limbs, and inform
ed those in waiting 10y the stoves of
The place OF rendezvous that il was
all well enough for them to be sittin'
there toasting' their shins and jOkem,
but if they wanted 10 find out any
thing about the spooks they had bet
ter make the trip themselves. Upon
being Modified with something hot
they became more communicative,
and related to their open-mouthed
audience the following hair-curdling
tale:
They said they had climbed TO the
top OF the mountain, where the lights
had been seen, when all ut once they
were surrounded by lights that
jumped around them and climbed
the trees and performed other acrobat
ic feats. Although they appeared to
be right IN the midst of the flames
not hair of their head was injured
aud their clothing wasn't even singed.
They smelled phosphorus just as
plain as il could be smelled, aud while
they were wondering what to do
next the wind wlislled through the
trees, producing such uncarthly
sounds that they came right straight
away and let the wind have II all to
itself.
Doubling Thomsses in the audience
plucked up courage and firearms
enough to make the trip themselves
and they, too, soon returned, looking
as pale us the historical ghosts aud
shaking like rattle-boxes. Nobody
showed a disposition to 90 home, and
iinally,w hen the wneriniormedthem
that il was time TO close up, they
started of in group aud spent the
night together by hospila6le neigh
boris fire rather than TO pass the
mountain until daylight did appear.
Since then the phenomena have
been witnessed by scores of those
who were brave enough TO approach
within sight of the bleak and dense
ly wooded mountain, and the matter
has been the chief topic Of conversa-
lion in the country stores, in the
traverns, in the village schools, and
has even been referred TO by the local
dominies. The town hOodlums are
now free of going to the stores
after dark, for their parents would
not think of sending them where
they would not go themselves. The
jolly hosts of the roadside traverns
are jolly no longer, or must be con-
tent TO be jolly by themselves, for the
loungers now lounge at home.
Old residents say that the same
thing occurred just before the last
cholera epidemic, and that the lights
presage another visitation of that
dread scourge. Scores of old timers
are willing to wager or this, and
prominent citizens are willing TO en-
courage them in their belief, for 1t is
on record that the same thing did oc-
cur in 1886, just before death stalked
through this section of the country.
Reports from Pike county, Penn
sylvania, say s that the same penom-
ena have appeared there just as they
did in 1886, and that the citizens OF
that place spent most of their night
times in their homes.
Citizens who pretend TO be wise as
sert that the Pike county phenomena
are caused by the escape of coal gass
from the mountains, and that it Is
really no phenomenon at all, but is
the result of natural causes. They
also say that the mysterious lights
OH High mountain eau be traced to
the same cause, and are apparently
honest in their belief that vein of
coal could be found by snybody TAX
ing the trouble TO hunt for it.
Should this prove truethere is wealth
in store for the gentlemen who own
High mountain, but they will have
to seek foreign aid to unearth it, for
no native will go within gunshot dis
tance of it since the experiences above
related.