St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-09
GHOSTS OF BERKSHIRE
Strange Stories Of Events
After Dark in Western
Massachusetts.
OF Haunted Houses, HeadleSS
Warriors and Mysterious
Sounds and Lights.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
That Thrill Villages With
Terror.
Yarns Which Would Do
Credit to the People of the
Witchcraft Period.
New York Herald

About three miles east of Great Bar
ringtOn, Mass, on the road to New MARI
dor0, is Three-Mile Hill. The road
runs up mountain. which is part of
the Monument mountain, which has
been immortaliZed in the poetry of
William Cullen Bryant. who when q
young man had his law Office in Great
Darlington. The road up the hill was
about a quarter of mile in length, and
on each side were huge rocks and
rayintS, making it look like the prime
val forest. At the foot of the hill. where
the road ended, and where there is
small marshy meadow, is spot where
since the year 1919, if the statements OF
pious and trustworthy people are to be
believed. some foul crime was conf
mitted which has not yet come TO light,
and may not until all men come to be
judged by higher power for the deeds
of the body.
Joseph Laird was an old Revolutionary
soldier. who lived in Muddy Brook,
about two miles east of this spot. lie
was farmer. and one night about the
year 1926 he had to 90 OH horseback to
Darlington after a doctor for his wife,
who had been taken i'll in the night.
1t was Just after midnight in the fall
of the year. and. as he came down the
hill near the spot, he happened to look
down beside the road, and there stood
brass candlestick with lighted candle,
apparently half-burned. At this time
he had never heard of anything out of
the usual order connected with the spot.
His horse was frightened, and would
not stand still, although it was one of
the most reliable and steady-going
steeds in the neighbOrhoOd.
The thought struck him that some
one was searching for something and had
left the candle there. He refined up the
horse, and, stepping one foot out of the
stirruD, he reached down to pick up the
light. As his hand approached it il
disappeared like a flash. and how be
ever got back on the horse and galioped
to the village he could hardly tell. But
he got the best speed possible out of the
horse. Although he had faced British
bullets in his youth. when he came
back he took another road.
He held his peace for several days,
when he eonfided his experience to
Erastus Turner. his brother-in-law. who
was regarded by his neighbOrs as a man
who did not fear face of clay" He
asked Turner, IAN getting TO be out
of my head2" when he had Concluded.
Then Turner had an experience to re-
late concerning that very spot.
A few months before that he had oc-
easion as a school trustee to go down 10
Great Darlington village TO engage
young lady to teach their district school.
He was also on horseback, and was rid
iny OIL walk by that very spot. 1t was
abO ut 9o'clock at night. He was pay
ing 10 attention to his surroundings.
when all at once he saw white { b
ject about the size and shape
of feather pillow rise APP
parently from the ground on one
side and pass directly over his head
about ten feet above, and land the other
side of the road, where it disappeared.
He involuntarily stopped to see it, and
said it was IN sight about thirty seconds.
There was not breath of air stirring,
and the night was cloudy and rather
dark. He had not before mentioned the
circumstance, and both the men agreed
that there were more things in heaven
and earth than were dreamed of i'm their
philosophy. They resolved that they
would say nothing of their strange adj
ventures, but would await develop
ment.s
Some time afterward Mix Turner, q
son of the man who had seen the white
object go over his head. was driving
along one night rather late on his way
home from the village. He had never
heard of anything out of the way with
the place. When he reached the spot,
he heard footsteps behind him. He
turned around and saw man on horse
back.
He spoke and said: "PIl turn out aud
let you go by piece ahead"
The rider made no reply, but with
large black horse. drew the rein TO one
side, and in a narrow and difficult part
of the road seemed to go by with ease.
As he came up even with Turner. the
latter saw that the man had no head.
The night was quite light. SO that OBJ
jects could be plainly distinguished.
Turner. in his surpri Sc. calculated:
''Great God Almighty who and what
are yOu?" AS he uttered these words
the horse and headlesS rider disap-
peared into thin air.
When Turner came home Laird was
at his fathers house. they had come
out with q lantern to help the younger
man. He asked them TO unharneSS the
horse. as he felt unwell. He went into
the house, where his mother and aunt
noticed that he was pale and trembling.
Then, after he had told his tale. Laird
and Turner told their stories. From.
that day on for years Mix Turner did
not go out nights unless he was accom-
panied by some fearless friend.
JuStus Adams and Mark Seeley were
young men who worked in wooden
factory at Van Deusenville, about two
miles north of Great harrington. One
Saturday night in the autumn of 1927
they took pair of horses and wagon
b, ho,,
worked in the factory, but whose par
ents lived about a mile and half be-
yOnd this spot.
On their return it was about dusk, and
as they reached the place they saw
pack peddler walking just ahead of
them, and he fairly staggered under his
huge and apparently unwieIdy burned.
Said Adams to SeeleY, 1--WE will give
that old critter ride" to which the
other agreed. They drove up and
stopped. and Adams said:
Jump in, old man, and we'll give
yOu boost"
He came toward them, when they
saw that the peddler had no head. Then
he disappeared, and the horses. very
steady ones. started and ran for about a
mile as hard as they could go, and the
driver and his companion were unable
because of their fright and excitement
to check their speed in the slightest de-
gree. The horses finally stopped of
their own accord.
1t was noticed that those young men,
who were always jolly and jovial, were
after that as sober and serious as judges.
1t was many months before they would
go down the Three-Mile Hill road.
About 1885 stage line was run
through from Great Darlington and
New Marlboro TO Hartford. One jacob
Hollenbeck was one of the drivers. One
night as he was coming down the hill
about Q o'clock, he being considerably
behind time, he heard a strange whir-
ring noise, and looking ahead he saw
large ball of fire as big as cart wheel
rolling along down the little rill which
ran across the road. 1t moved slowly,
and he shouted to his passengers, of
which he had three. But they did not
look quick enough.
The ball stopped in the middle of the
road and then vanished. The horses
were very FESTIVE and wanted to run.
but he soon got them under control. He
asked his passengers il they saw any,