The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-02-12
R0CKAWAY'S GHOST.
TITS ADDICTED TO SMASHING
PLATE GLASS.
A Family Terrified by Threatening De-
monstratIons in a Lawyers Country
Villa----The NeIghbors are of the Opin-
Ion That 1t Is Not Genuine spook.

AOh Ihat II Is mol denulnc DpOOhs
Most people consider il sacrilegious
thing to question the authenticity OF a
ghost, AS general rule, when one
makes its appearance on this terrestrial
footstool tits treated with due defer
ence. One of the handsomest villas in
Far Rockaway, New York, has recently
been the scene of some mysterious
doings. There was smashing of glass
and banging of doors during the silent
midnight watches, and the family were
so terrified that they hardly dared go
to sleep. The night watchGnen and the
police officers have been talking with
bated breath of the doings of the
mysterious visitor and they looked upon
the house over which it threw its spell
with terrified awe. They whispered
the story around until all the people in
Far Rockaway knew the haunted house.
The villa in question is one OF a
cluster of cottages on Cornaga avenue,
Ocean Crest, 1t belongs to Lawyer
Daniel Whitford, OF the firm of Alex
ander & Green, who have offices in the
Equitable building on Broadway of
New York city, and who are counsel
for the widow Of Gen. Grant. Mr..
Whitford does not go down TO Rock
away every evening. lie is very often
detained in the city on business, and
when this is the case he remains over
night. The house is occupied by his
sister, Miss Sarah Whitford, and with
her lives Mrs. Fltzsimmonds, whose
husband is employed in New York.
Two infant children of Mrs. Fitzsim-
monds and a 14-year-old boy named
Jim, whom Mr.. Whitford adopted some
time ago, make up the household.
Jim last name is in doubt----even Mr..
Whitford doesn't know it---but he has
always been considered good boy and
very useful around the house.
One night recently the family were
quietly seated in the parlor when they
were suddenly startled by terrible
knocking on the front door. Mrs. Fitz-
simmonds opened it, but found no one
there. That was about 1880. Neither
Mr.. Whitford nor Mr.. Fitzsimmonds
was in the house. The woman folks
were a bit scared, and even Jim APP
peared frightened. They retired, how
ever, and succeeded in wooing Morpheus
for time, but were MS rudely disturbed
by even a louder knocking on the door
than before. The family held con-
sultation, and Jim volunteered to look
out one of the upper bedroom
windows, No one was to be seen. At
/ o'clock the same morning the
affrightened group were again startled
by crash that sounded like the break
ing of glass. Later another crash fol-
lowed, and the rattle of the fragments
of the front windows was heard on the
piazza. The women screamed for Jim,
but Jim was in hiding, evidently too ter
rified to leave his bedroom. There was
very little sleep that night.
Next morning, when all had mus
tered courage sufficient to enable them
to come down stairs, they found that
the large French plate glass panel of
the door was smashed; so were two of
the kitchen windows And the pecu-
liar part of the business was that the
glass appeared to have been broken
from the inside. The following night
there was a repetition of the myster-
ious occurrence. Lawyer Whitford was
at home that evening himself.
When the family had retired, the pre-
liminary signals were given on the
front door, and the smashing of the
glass followed. Mr.. Whitrord took u
lantern and made tour of the grounds
the house. Nothing that
should not have been there was seen.
That night the owner Of the house
slept on the sofa in the drawing-room,
Before daylight fell he was startled by
another crash, More glass fell, and
Mr.. Whitford, selling his lantern, ran
into the hallway, opened the door and
made another tour of the premises, but
without making any discovery.
Next day another search of the sur
roundings was made. In an extension
on which carpenters were at work were
found traces of fire. A pile of shay
ings had been built upon the floor,
sprinkled with kerosene and ignited,
The flames had burned hollow place
in the boards, 1t was apparent that
the ghost, not satisfied with his depre-
dations inside the house, had at
tempted to set fire to it from without.
Mr.. Whitford had u consultation with
the night Waterman who looks after the
houses thereabouts. The latter adj
vanced the opinion that the family had
a ghost attached to it, and that there