Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-07-08
SEEMING BEwlTCHED.
Five Berks County Children Af<,ics-
81 by . Horribls Ma1ady.
saneriax fFoss saokest f.Foxysuss. spAslz-s
sas ay.1~rs.-At.~esss o4s Aftss
shs oth-F-A sspsF-etis4 fbss
they Are B<strehsa-


thas Ia al probability the ssranSest snd at
the sams time the most my stsrioos case Of
fsznily araiciioa In this section of the state
could be foand about enc and half miles
from Hamburg. BeFks Coanty, Oh the road
leading TO W iadsor Castle.
The persons afflicted are five children Of
John FiRk, a tenant on the Miller farm.
Up y within a wssk ago the family lived
on the Basr farm, abous half mile away.
Their home Is . modest two-story log
house. weather boarded. and shs sur
roandings show thrift and care. Tue call
dren are: Caroline FLAX. aged twenty -ons
years; John, aged sixteen; Louisa, aged
fourteen; sailie. aged eleven; Miiiis, aged
seven
The above regularly attended the pubic
school Of w. ID. Starr. one OF the ATTEST
teachers la Northern Bsrks- At windsor
Castle the Press represe tative had
lengthy eonver sation with Mr.. Starr, who
spoke as follows:
II have often read of witch stories, but
never attached any Importance TO them,
because had no belief in them The
mysterious am lction in the Fink family,
however brings the witch business so
near home that | am led TO believe that
there must be something In their strange
ana peculiar afiiiction l can only give
you the details of my visit and you can
form your own conclusions. The Fink
children went TO my school during the
winter, and they were orderly, sensible
| aud intelligent scho lars. l saw DIR. Hat
field, who had been called in, and asked
his opinion in the matter. He told me the
case puzzled him, 10 being a very strange
| attack OF hysteria whict he could not
| solve
II went on Sunday evening TO satisfy
myself When l came In found the girl,
Louisa, aged fourteen, quite tall for her
| age, crouched behind the stove and weep
| ing by sterically. l was surprised TO see
such big girl act in that way. asked
her to come out, but she wept the more,
her whole system being in tremor. Her
father. who is a very kind man, took her
| out from behind the stove, when she
| violently and HISTORICALLY threw both of
| her arms up and clasped her hands on her
head and exclaimed, Here she stung
me! p meaning that sometni g had stung
| her there.
II asked her who had stang her, and she
exclaimed, THAT old woman stung mo!
and the girl again weps hysterically. She
was then taken up stairs, and was asked
TO follow, which did. In her bedroom
she was given glass Of water. After
she had drank she clasped her mouth with
one hand and exclaimed oh, my lip is
stungP Then she suddenly clasped her
stomach and piercingly shrieked, II can
not breathe. She is squeezing my life
away Her father Gained her by gentle
| persuasion, and the mother then put lei
to bed, after which she became quiet.
| "Just as soon as Louisa had dropped
| into sleep we heard noise in the nexs
room and one of the other girls at
tackled. She crouched into a corner and
| went through precisely the same motions
| as her sister, exclaiming that the old wom
| an had stung her. 1 was told that the
| above symptoms were common to all As
| soon as a paroxysm had left one the other
was seized with the same Mysteries, all
imagin ing themse yes stung by the same
old woman who was trying to squeeze out
their breath. The children otherwise ap-
| pear to be in excellent health. 1t does not
matter whether they are indoors or out of
doors, they are liable to an attack at any
time. One of the girls was attacked while
| milking, and soon thereafter another was
| seized with a spasm. The affection passes
from one TO the other rapidly at all hours.
When not attacked they can work the
same as usual, but when under the spell
they do nothing but weep and cry out
against the imaginary old woman who is
singing or squeezing them. The parents
of the children are highly resp ctable peo-
| pie, and are not afflicted.
II asked Mr.. Fink what he thought was
the cause of his children's malady, and he
replied that be did not know; that he had
sent for an old doctor from Reading, who
came up on Monday evening to see what
the matter was. The old woman the af-
fiicted children refer to is known. She in
a respectable person, of good reputation,
and visited the family before they moved
She was kind to them. Why the children
imagine they see her, when she has never
visited them In their new horne, can not be
solved"
| The Press reporter learned that the af-
Hiction was first noticed about three weeks
ago, when the family still lived on the
Baer farm. The son says he felt some-
thing approach his bed, but he could not
catch it. On the Sunday before they
moved Louisa was first alta cked, but the
| family concluded TO say nothing about il,
hoping the malady would pass away and
not again be noticed. In this, how yer.
| they were mistaken, for, instead OF pass
| ing of, eli the children were attacked,
until finally Caroline. the eldest, imagined
herself jumped upon by a cat
The unfortunate people were much worse
last evening, their parosysms being more
violent than ever before. The old doctor
arrived and after examining them thor
oughly. administered medicine. and the
parents say to-day that the children rest
ed well during the night The doctor from
this city says be found at least 80 per-
scns congregated about tie house lie
considers il case Of magnetism, and that
The ''power" " az placed upon them by some
person 20 him unknown. lie says he re-
lieves them by methods generally used ty
nesmeris. :. laying on of hands, etc, etc
The case has created great excitement In
hat section.