St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-17
A Wild, Weird Tale From the
Town OF st. Louis, Down
the River.
sHair-Raising Experience of
s. MIR. and Mrs. Weder and
n Their Boarder.
"A Ghostly Visitor That Has
3 Created Quite a Decided
~ Sensation.
White Figures Rock Chairs
9 and Mysteriously Open
q and Close Doors.

and Mysteriously Open
H. and Close Doors.
The people living in the neighbor
| hood of Eighth and Morgan streets are
In perfect frenzy of excitement over
the queer and, in some instances, almost
blood-curdling antics of a supposed
ghost, says the st. Louis Globe-DemO-
crat. Joseph Weder and his wife occu-
| Ply the third floor of $40 Morgan street,
and have living with them boarder
named Joseph Alback. and the story
told by all three concerning the ghos: is
as follows:
The Chairs Rocked.
Friday night Mr.. Weder, who is
machiniSt by trade and employed in a
foundry at Rock Springs, was detained
unusually late at his work, and did not
return home until about 10 o'clock.
Mrs. Weder, who was alone i'm her room
about go O'Clock, was startled to see
rocking-chair, which was in the middle
OF the room, rocking violently without
any apparent cause. She watched for
few minutes. trying. if possible. to
discover the cause of the rocking. Sud-
aenly the chair fell backward to the
floor. the back of the chair resting on
the floor.
She started toward it to lift it, but be-
| fore she got to the chair it assumed an
upright position without any visible as
sistance, and again began the violent
rocking. She caught hold of the chair
and held it to prevent its rocking, but
as soon as she let GO her hold the chair
began rocking again, and just then One
| of the other chairs in the room turned
over. Mrs. Weder picked it up, and
had not more than done so before it
again fell over on its side
BY this time Mrs. Weder had become
excited by the strange actions of the
chairs, and went to the room of her
Ooarder. Mr.. Alback, and asked him to
come to her room and see the strange
manifestations. AS Mr.. Alback entered
the room there was crashing noise,
which sounded as if the whole window
sash had been smashed, Immediately
after which the rOcking-chalr stopped
Sltlon gradually. as is usually the case,
but stopped suddenly, and as if it were
raised several inches from the floor.
The Door Opened.
Mr.. Alback then locked the room
door to prevent any thing that might
be in the room from leaving, and bega IL
a search under the bed, In the closet.
ETC., to see If he could discover any
reason for the strange noise and actions
or the chairs. After STOPPING down to
look under the bed he was very much
surprised on rising to see the door,
which he had locked a few minutes be-
fore, slowly opening without aid from
any visible source. The door was again
closed, and after a few minutes again
opened. A footstool, which was sitting
on one side of the room, suddenly flew
over to the other side of the room just
as if thrown by some one. BY this time
Mrs. Weder was almost crazy with ex-
cltement,. and Mr.. Alback promised to
stay in her room with her until the ar
rival OF her husband.
While waiting for Mr. Weder, who
did not arrive until 10 o'clock. as stated,
the most strange and unearthly noises
were heard. The noises at times would
| resemble the means and groans OF a
person In great agony, at other times
the bowling of dog Every possible
effort was made to discover the source
from which the unearthly noises EN-
anated, but without success. Mr.. Weder
finally arrived, ami was told of the
strange happenings of the evening. At
first he was little incredulOuS, and
expressed the opinion that the vivid
Imagination of Mr.. Alback and his wife
had got away with their reason.
1t was not very long. however, before
his doubts were diSptlled, for while he
was i'll the bedroom washing his face
and hands preparatory to eating his
supper, which was prepared for him and
sitting on the table in the dining room,
spoon which was lying on the table-in
the dining room was thrown by unseen
hands into the bedroom. A few min
utes after this. while he was seated at
the table eating his supper, an iron
poker which had been lying on the floor
near the stove in the dining room sud-
denly flew through the air over to the
other side of the room, and would have
struck Mrs. Weder had she not lodged
quickly.
A White Figure and a Choking.
At IL o'clock Mr.. Alback went to his
room and for that night heard and saw
nothing more of strange character.
Not so, however, with Mr.. and Mrs.
Weder:: They had been preparing to
retire for the night when Mrs. Weder
left the bed room to go to the dining
room for pitcher of water. As she
opened the door between the two rooms
she discovered standing in the middle
of the dining room (where there was no
light shadowy white figure with its
arms stretched toward her. She called
at once to her husband to come and see
the ghost, and as she did so it vanished.
She then returned TO the bed room.
A the doors were locked, and Mr.
and Mrs. Weder retired for the night,
but not to sleep. They had not more
than got to bed before another noise
was heard. and on investigation a pc
culiar-shaped stone was found to have
fallen into the middle of the room. The
doors and windows were still closed,
and. as none of the windows were
broken, there is no possible way
to account for the stone getting
there. Finally Mrs. Weder, worn
out with excitement and nerv-
business, fell asleep. Before she had
been asleep many minutes she was
awakened by choking sensation. AS
she opened her eyes she says she again
saw the ghostly vision that she had
seen earlier in the evening standing in
the dining room. Mrs. Weder says she
could plainly feel the cold. clammy
fingers of the ghost as they were pressed
against her throat. During the rest of
that night Mr.. and Mrs. Weder did not
again GO to sleep.
Another Visitation.
All day yesterday up to O'clock last
evening there we're no peculiar mani
fesrations of any sort. and Mrs. Weder
was beginning to think that his ghost
ship had disappeared. Not SO, however,
for promptly at o'clock the rocking
chair. which had been first to show evil
dences of a spirits presence the night
before, again began rocking. Mrs.
Weder, as OH the night before. called
MIR. Alback to her room. and very much
the same pXOprinDceS were gone thrOuOh
as on Friday night. Chairs rocked and
were overturned, doors opened, foot
stools flew about the room, and strange
noises were heard.
When Mr.. Weder returned from work
and again found his household in an
uproar as result of the strange dOings,
he decided that he would not spend an
other night in the house, and, accord
ingly, he and his wife left and went to