Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-15

0ItereoIe terror Tor that instant. Fear
held dominion over mo. Fear, such as
had never dreamed of, ruled in every atom
of my being. The sound Of the shutting
of door resounded in my ears likD an
unexpected thing. faint light fitted for
nm instant along the wall, and in its mo-
mentary glenm L saw woman's face, o
wicked face, and girls form, shadow
crouched at my side. The light was gone,
but there still rung in my cars long, low
sob, like tho cry of lost soul, and the
sickening noise of fall on the stones
below.
1t must have been some time after this
that Margaret found mo sitting ON our
stairs below tho closed door. How I came
there do not know. She did not speak
to mo, for think she knew by my face
what had happened, and she followed her
instinct In treating me much as 1 had
treated her. AS soon as any power of ac-
ton returned to me. resolved upon quit
ting tho house instantly. and set about
preparations for our departure with q
feverish activity. l could not DO easy SO
long rs We remained i'll the building and
we spent the few days necessary for tho
Iopacking of tho furniture at Leland's
Hotel, visiting the house rs little us pos
siblo and never remaining over night.
Margaret wont to her mothers 10 stay till
sho could recover from tho shock to her
hSif I'd hub Dc III LUZ WOIh
knew it would DO useless to try and
persuade Mrs. Capel that all she had re-
lated was but tho illusions of al over
wrought imagination. l released her,
therefore, from tho engagement, and do
termined to inspect tho building for my
own satisfaction. An old doctor who re-
sidod on West Monroe street, in the neigh-
borhood, tod Inc that the last permanent
occupants of the house, before It begun to
nY.I N.N.x
women, mother and daughter The
mother, widow, owned tho place She
was fierco-tempered. hard woman, who
seemed possessed, us the gossips said, by
Il spirit of unnatural hatred toward hor
daughter, girl with n certain sad beauty
of her own rs the doctor described her to
inc, but not right in her mind She was
not an idiot, but lacking" tho doctor
termed it. AS sho grew into
Increased, and the mother fierccly proud
in her way, could not endure the spectacle
of hor child's misfortune. Sho would
have hidden her away from the world, but
the girl rcbcllcd. There woro taunts.
quarrols, sometimes blows, between tho
Two, and the mother, defiant and furious
locked her daughter in the roar part of
tho building. Here the tragedy of her
life played itself out, and herc sho was
found one morning by the servant, who
slept in remote attic, lying dead Mt tho
foot of the stairs. How she camo by hor
death 10 ono knew. There was nothing
TO directly criminato tho mothor, and tho
inquest that was held resulted in YER
dict of Incidental DEATH" Tho mother
herself died soon after. leaving her prop
erty to n distant cousin, who rcnped littlo
benefit from the house, since it soon be-
came impossible TO let il.
Tho doctors account seemed 10 lend
weight TO tho statement of Mrs. Capol
entirely disbeliove in tho supernatural,
md, nftcr making an examination of the
premises, was on the point of leaving,
when L noticed panel in the open door
that had peculiar surface. AS 1 stood
watching ii, whilo night shades were fall
ing, tho outlines of two figures became
more and moro visible Ono WINS that of
mlddle-aged woman, with IL hard fierce
face, while tho other was that of young
girl III crouching attitude. Whom the
door was closed the panel could not DO
seen except from the extension. | exam
mod the framework of the door, and found
it TO be in rickcty condition. A gust of
wind from special quarter striking
Tho framework threw tho door sufli.
GENTLY aslant to free the bolt from
the clasp and allow the door TO
swing open into the hall, and reveal
inc painted panel. On subsequent in
quiry, l found that the extension had nj
ono time been occupied by M artist, who,
doubtless, henring of the tragedy as re-
lated by the doctor, had painted tho scene
on the panel. also discovered that the
artist had boon making experiments with
phosphorcscent paint and also with n
paint that changed color Mt various do
grees of temperature. | had tho frnmo-
work of tho door repaired and tho panel
taken out, and since then no tenant has
como to mo with ghost stories. have
tho panel at home in my parlor. In tho
dark, when the wenther is slightly damn.
tho two figures come ont very distinctly,
but Mt times they are invisible. Tho
luminous paint used is now quito COM
mon, but the artist who invented it has no
idea of tho supernatural sensation this
early experiment made on tho tenants of
the Halstod Street Haunted House.