Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-03
AN INFIDEL'S GHOST
Keeping q Solemn Promise That Was
Made in the Flesh.
VISITED AFTER DEATH.
Crawling Through Snow to Investigate q
Supernatural Light.
AN UNEASY SPIRIT LAID TO REST

BANGOR, Jan. "A Burlington, Me-,
correspondent tells the following frst-class
ghost story:
My father was well-to-do farmer living
in West Newfeld, Me. So were all his
neighbors, in regard to rum and cider to
drink, and food to eat and raiment to wear.
Beside this Christian faith they had one
failing. That was, they believed in ghosts.
all except one man by the name of W.
Heath. This man was pure infdel. He
neither believed in God or heaven. He was
my fathers nearest neighbor. He was
always, while talking, interfering between
his words, "ahem! AHEM! HEMP
Mr.. Heath was between 80 and so years
old when he died. My father, with R. Jor-
dan, A. Furnal, G. Rogers and s. Knox,
was summoned by Mrs. Heath, wife of the
sick man, for he had instructed her to tell
them he was agoing to die. They were all
soon at his bedside. He appeared sane and
said, 'Neighbors, I have summoned you to
attend on me while I am dying for am
going to die hard. Now, if there is place
of punishment, where am going from this
world to the unknown, 1 will come back and
let you all know il"
Dying In Great Agony.
He died the same as he had said, hard;
that was, in great agony. 1t took the four
mems combined strength to keep him on the
bed. Between the violent fits of pains in
death throes that had seized him, he would
exclaim, ''Neighbors your Satanic Majesty
is here; there he stands beside you, looking
on to see me die" Hestruggled in this wav
for four hours before he gave up his life in
this world for another lie in the unknown
hereafter.
Three days after he died his funeral sermon
was preached and his remains were carried
to new burying ground on Mr.. r. Jordan's
farm, 10 rods or so to the northwest of Mr..
Jordan's house, but in plain sight of it.
There Mr.. Heath's remains were deposited
in a grave dug on top of little knoll in the
center of the burying ground and left there
for good.
Before the people had got through the dis
cussion of Heath's deathbed scene, the whole
neighborhood for two miles north and south
on the road each way from this burying
ground, was, in three nights from the time
that the last shoveltul of dirt was put on top
of Heath's grave, raised to the highest pitch
of excitement. Between the hours of IL and
II each night Mr.. Heath's spirit visited II.
houses three nights in succession. Each
time that it came 1t would stop at the head
of the bed OF each head of the family; no
other bed was visited.
The Ghosts Mode of Salutation.
His spirl. would wake the sleeping inmate
of the bed by clapping its hahds together
three times, and then rubbing them briskly,
and each time the spirit would say, "Ahem!
Ahem! 'Hem" and then stop.
My father sprang out of the bed with the
exclamatioD: "Mother, Heath is at the
head of the bed." Then he ran to the fire.
place and raked open the Goals, so the light
would reveal any person or persons that
might be in the room. The light revealed
no one but father and mother, and the
writer of this and his wee brother in a trun-
die bed with him. Each time Heath's spirit
spoke, heard and recognized his voice
plainly. This was in the fall of the year of
1885, in the middle of September
After time the neighborhood uuieted
down. Winter set in unusually severe that
year; the snow piled down deep and drifted
bad. In the middle of February Mr. Jor-
dan summoned my father, Furnal, Deacon
S. Dam, Rogers, E. Pearson and S. Knox
to his house. Jordan said that he and his
wife had seen light on top of Heath's
grave for week, between II and II o'clock
every night, and if the light appeared again
that night he would like all of them to 90
with him and investigate it.
Crawling Toward the Light.
Sure enough, the light appeared Just at
the precise time, II o'clock. Now the snow
was deep, so they all had to crawl on their
hands and knees the distance to the burying
ground from the house and back. For three
nights these men watched that light, and
made the Journey to that burying ground
and back to Mr.. Jordan's house. They all
affirmed that the light was on Heath's grave
when they arrived at the wall that enclosed
the ground.
Now here were seven men, representing
seven different religions, down on their knees
crawling through deep snow to an inf6el's
grave, in the depth of winter Mr.. Jordan
took the lead. He was In faith Sweden
borgIan; father next, Methodist; Furnal,
Freewill Baptist; S. Dam, a Congrega-
tionalist; Rogers, a Quaker; Pearson, a
Universalist; Knox, Unitarian; all good
Christians. And all came back from
Heath's grave to their several homes firm be-
levers that Heath had fulfilled his promise
to some of them on his deathbed that if he,
Heath, found place of punishment in the
Unknown he would come back and let them
know it. After these men visited Heath's
grave no more lights were seen. His spirit
rested thereafter.