St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-16
A True Ghost Story.

Fort Wayne Qnd.) Special. -.-. 80
An old frame house which stood for a
score of years or more on West Wayne
street, in this city, and which has lately
given way to one of the costly resi-
dences of that fashionable locality, was
noted in the neighborhoord, and par
tcularly among the many families
which from time to time were its I'M
fortunate occupants, as place OF mys-
FERROUS noises, where ghOstly figures
were seen to walk at night.
A gentleman who is prominent in
business affairs and in state politics was
in his youth dweller in the haunted
house. He said to a Globe-DemOcrat
representative:
1--WE had been advised by friends that
the house was an abode of evil spirits,
but, as my mother had no fear of the
supernatural, and the rent was surpris-
ingly cheap, we moved in without
troubling ourselves to ascertain. what
soon afterward came to our knowledge,
that the rapid changes in occupants was
occasioned by frequent visitatlons OF I'M
earthly objects.
"An experience of this sort occurred
upon the very first night. My mother,
a widow, had retired to her room and
the children were left to sleep on the
floor of the little parlor until their sleep
ing rooms could be made ready for their
occupancy. UnaccuStOmed to such
beds we youngsters slept but little.
More than once in the night l found
myself broad awake, and on one of
these occasions | saw, by the light OF
the moon, streaming through the cur
tainless windows, the figure of woman
clad in garments of white. My mother
had not communicated to any of the
children the uncanny reputation which
the house bore. and /, therefore, ac-
counted for the wOman'S presence in
the room by the belief that it was our
mother who had come to inquire il all
was well with us. No other thought
entered my mind. My brother shared
my bed, and his thoughts and
experience were the same as mine.
1.-THE figure approached our bed, as l
was sure it would. l called out:
answer. The figure came nearer and
bent its face down over mine. | could
plainly see that the garments were long
and flowing, but when l peered into the
face / saw the grinning head of a skele-
ton. We were paralyZed with fear and
could make no cutlery. The figure re-
sumed an upright position and raised
aloft its right hand, with the index
finger pointing upward. Then 1t be-
gan to recede toward distant part of
the room. I heard no noise of foot
steps, although the floor was carpet
less: neither did l hear the opening or
the closing of the door. 1t had gone as
silently as it had come. When the WIS.,
ion had vanished our fear found voices,
which summoned our mother in great
alarm from her sleep to our bedside. 1t
was long before we could tell her what
had happened, and then she Gained US
as best she could. and took us both to
share her bed. But there was no sleep
for any of that little family, for in the
room we had left, were heard noises as
if the furniture was being thrown about
the room by giant hand.
I'm the morning the articles of furni-
ture, which had been left where the
truckman had placed them, were found
scattered in wild profusion through the
room, and this mysterious and decidedly
uncomfortable state of affairs was con-
tinued on the few other nights that we
lodged in the house. | need not say
that we made haste to move, and al
though our new home required con-
siderable larger payment of rent, and
it's location was far less desirable, we
were glad, like other tenants before US
and afterward, to make our escape from
haunted house, if we might rely upon
evidences of sight and hearing that
were trustworthy enough under all
other circumstances"