St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-09-25
IN A HAUNTED ROOM.
It Was Located in the Italian
Quarter of the City Of
Cincinnati.
Mysterious Deaths Which
Have Occurred in the Old
Structure.
All Of Them at Last Traced
to a Gigantic Taran-
lula.
The Lair Of the Creature Dis
covered in a Hole in the
Ceiling.

Down on the south side of West Sixth
street, between Central avenue and
Mound, Cincinnati, are gathered in
motley congregation many of the Ital-
ian fruit-venders of the city, says the
Enquirer.
Most of them are Slcilians, engaged
In selling bananas and fruits.
Their fare to America is advanced to
them by one of their countrymen, and
they sell goods on shares until this in
debtedness is paid.
Then they branch out for themselves.
Among the residences of these SONS CT
the sunny South is ore.
a wooden Structure.
In years past and gone it was noted
resort for men and women, white and
black, of unsavory character. The
Italian neighbors did not believe it was
haunted. Still, there is room in the
house that has been looked upon by the
denizens of the quarter as ill-omened.
1t is q fair-SiZed front room on the sec
ond story. The blinds are always
closed in the daytime, and the occu-
pants of the rest of the house keep the
lOOlt az opdlC OIlCs IiICiS 10 q ILL W
ply carpet on the floor, a CRATE, several
chairs, table and bed; on the wall
hangs picture of Garibaldi, the great
hero whose name and fame is dear to
every Italian heart.
The Tenant
who has the house is short, dark-eyed,
heavily bearded Italian, and he uses
the first floor as salesroom for his
Of, 81 l.o,
from the ceiling, and oranges and lem
ons are in the front windows. His wife
and babies are in this room all day, but
the room up stairs they never enter.
The mystery about the room arises from
the fact that while number of persons
have occupied it, gone to bed at night
in perfect health, when morning came
they were found dead. Their bodies
bore 10 marks of violence, there were
10 tell-tale finger prints Of strangula-
ton on the throat, no ugly gashes about
the head, no commissions about the body,
no bottles containing poiSOnS, nothing
to indicate anything more than death
naturally easy. and, as was decided by
physicians, called
Death from Heart Failure.
The victims seemed all to have suf-
fered no special panther counue-
nances were all in repose-they simply
were dead. The first case was that of
Antonio Peruchio. lie was a stout,
healthy young man of perhaps twenty
ignorant Of the English language, and
found his way from New Orleans to
Cincinnati. He drifted into this place
of his countrymen, and was assigned
the front room. He retired early one
evening. and said on the morrow he
would try to secure job from one of
the fruit firms in the city.
LII the morning he did not come down
stairs, and the proprietor went to his
room. but was unable to awaken him.
Thinking that perhaps he was tired and
a sound sleeper, he went away. At
dinner he had not appeared. Then the
proprietor grew alarmed and, rushing
up, pounded vigorously cd the door. No
answer coming, he procured a ladder
and looked over the transom. There
lay Petruchio, his eyes wide open and
CLASSY. He made no motion. The pro-
prietors
Yelled, HOIiered, Shrfeked!
No answer came from the figure on
the bed. Hes dead" he said, and it
was the work of an instant to call his
wife and force the door. The we'll
known Italian consul was notified, who
suggested coroner'S inquest. The
coroner came, and what was there to do?
The man was dead. The corpse bore
no marks. Verdict, death from heart
disease. This was over four years ago.
This did not give the room bad name,
for i'll almost every house there are
rooms whose walls have witnessed the
agonies of DEATH
A few months later Lorena LaboscO,
a pretty brunette with siX-months-old
babe. came along. She was hunting
her husband, who had sought work i'm
the hooking valley mines. She came
through Cincinnati, and was directed at
the Grand Central depot to the Sixth
street quarters, where she could find
accommodations for the night for her.
self and babe. Tired and weary, she
was glad 10 find rent in the quiet room.
At Q o'clock.
Her Light Was Out,
and when morning came, not appear
ing, and no sound coming from her
room, the proprietor, when breakfast
was announced, sent his wife to call
her. There was no response to her loud
knocks at the door, and, becoming
alarmed, she mounted the steD-ladder
and pecred with fear and trembling
over the transom. Her worst fears were
realized. There lay mother and babe.
the little one snug in the arms of it's
mother. Neither moved. There was
no heaying of the mothers breast, no
uneasy tossing of her arms. She lay
motionless and like marble. II believe
she's dead She called, loud and
louder, but the echo of her own voice
was all the response that came TO her.
She ran to her husband. They forced
the door.
Yes. Mother and Babe
were coldiD death. The coroner held
the inquest, thoroughly examined the
room. carefully scanned the bodies of
mother and babe. There was not scar
that marred the satin Softness of
their lily-white skin. There was no
motive for suicide; there was no cause
for murder: there was no evidence of
either-they were dead. 1t was heart
failure. The mother and babe were
buried, and the affair was forgotten save
in the Italian quarter, when one day
Antonio de Luca, 4 Sicilian of some lit
tie means, came TO the city to make ar
engagements for Il New York house with
some of the Well-to-do Italians of the
city.
He strolled along Sixth street, and
becoming acquainted with the proprie
tor, inquired where he should stop for
the night. The vacant room was shown
him, and he said: THAT suits me; Pill
be here week." and, paying in adj
vance, had his valise and belongings at
once moved. In the evening he and the
proprietor, who had become friends.
Strolled About the City,
talked over old country matters and the
prospects of business. Toward mid
night the two friends drank bottle of
VIM veri and reveled together in dish
of spaghetti l'lta lienne.
''Wake me at s." said De Luca as he
retired, and the proprietor was prompt
to call the man. He knocked, then
shouted, and then suddenly recolIecting
the fate of the other occupants of the
room, hastily ran down stairs. and call
ing his wife told her his suspicious.
door was opened. Yes. De Luca was
dead. he lay as one sleeping peace
fully. This is the fourth person found
dead in this room. | don't understand