Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1888-08-03
SHEPHERDSTOWN w. VA, FRIDAY, AUGUST J, 1888
in q restaurant:

80 the boys that went TO the haunt
ed house got scare?'
AN awful scare l guess new
ghost has taken possession"
What did they see or hear?''
Saw doors open and heard groans
and various other noises.
well, its funny"
Yes"
1t may seem strange TO you that |
at once decided that | had located
Kelly again. 1t was quite probable
that he had known of the haunted
house for years, as its fame was wide
spread, and the fact of new ghost
showing up just at this time made me
suspicious That night at 10 o'clock,
accompanied by local detective, |
visited the place. 1t was a rambling
big farmhouse, situated 20 rods from
the highway, and the ground around
was grown up to weeds and bushes
All the windows were broken and
some of the doors stood open, and a
more gloomy place ! never saw. We
: entered by rear door and found the
floor rotting away and the plastering
crumbling off. We pushed on TO the
sitting-room, where the young men
had stationed themselves the night
before. and here found some blocks of
Il 20. - Il n
doorway leading into the front hall,
but the door was gone. There was a
doorway to the parlor, and the door
was partly open. As we looked into
the parlor | swung the door 10 and
fro. and knew from the movement
that the hinges had been freshly oiled.
When we came TO inspect the cellar
we found little but cobwebs and dust.
Each of us had a lantern and each in
spected for himself. At one corner of
the cellar found an old oyster can
in a queer position. 1t seemed 10 be
sticking to the floor above, but after
a close examination, without, hOwev-
er, touching it with my hands, | made
up my mind that it was held up there
bv cord. said nothing TO my com
panion about this, nor about another
discovery made in the front hall. AT
one spot, where the plaster was of
from base to ceiling, | caught sight of
a wire behind the laths This led up
and down and the lower end was
/ probably attached TO some object.
/ We did not go up stairs. The front
stairs had never been finished and the
| back ones were SO dilapidated that
we hesitated to trust them with our
weight. BY eleven o'clock we had
| taken our seats in the sitting room,
| eyes and ears alert and ready for any
emergency. There was no lock or
catch on the door leading to the par
/ lor. but it was shut. We placed our
| lantern in a corner, and as we watched
and waited the room was in semi
/ darkness and the house as still as
/ death.
1t must have been near midnight
when the performance opened. We
suddenly heard faint notes OF music
and the sounds lasted two or three
minutes | was satisfied that the
sounds came from "A jewsharp. My
companion whispered that two female
voices were singing while a guitar
played an accompaniment. The mu-
sic had scarcely died away when the
parlor door opened a. noiselessly as
the swing Of coffin lid | was per
fectlv satisfied that il was the work
of human hands, but | was startled.
/ had not told the detective that | eX-
pected TO find Kelly in the house.
had simply said that | expected to
make an important discovery. When
the door swung open the man started
up in alarm and whispered:
Great heavens! Let us he gone
put my hand on his arm and wait
ed for the next move. In about
minute we heard IA tunkg tunk? tunk.
on the cellar stairs. | knew that the
sound was made by the oyster can he
ing lowered few inches from the
floor and drawn up again by the
string, but my companion rose To his
feet. wheeled half around and whis-
pered
Look out for yourself! The cussed
thing is coming up out Of the cellar
Keep still-listenr' replied, and
when the can had ''tunked' once for
each step the sound ceased. Then
the parlor door slowly and silently
swung TO. As have told you ! was
dead sure that all these things were
caused by human agency, and yet /
felt creeping Of my flesh, and my
forehead was damp with perspiration.
The detective with me was "a brave a
man as ever took up a taail, but such
was the effect upon him that his face
was az white as snow. his teeth chat
tered. and he clutched me and plead
ngly exclaimed
If we stay here another minute we
are both dead men =
sat down and drew him beside me.
and as | did so the parlor door opened
again, and from tie front hall came
groans and sighs and dull sounds Of
struggle | knew that the wire had
seen was being worked behind the
laths, but my companion could stand
no more. He seized both lanterns
and started out, and | had TO go along
or be left in the dark. When clear Of
the house he made a run for the high
way, and found him on the farther
side of it when came up.
Whats the matter?" | asked.
Great God. man. but my nervs are