The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-07-07

we heard that water burst through the
third story ceiling and 20 on dashing,
FLASHING, tumbling in a food down
through the house, gurgling under doors
and dripping from the gallery. But when
we came to look there was not drop Of
water visible anywhere.
by that time the women of my house
hold were thoroughly alarmed and / con-
fess wasn't taking much enjoyment out
Of the situation myself. My brother height
ened the general feeling of insecurity. He
got it into his obstinate head that some Of
the darkies were making our troubles and
persisted in firing revolver bullets at night
in any direction where he fancied he heard
or saw anything suspicious. And the
devil, or whatever 1t was annoying us, kept
him pretty busy. More fruitful of ankle
ties to us than aught else, however, was
the amazing and incomprehensible effect
produced upon Miss Riddell, who actually
seemed to fall victim to demoniac pos
session.
"Prior to that time she was always one Of
the gentlest, kindest, sweetest and purest
souls alive, but now she took to having
spells in which her whole nature was
changed. In those spells she would dem
onstrate furious and malignant temper
use the most abominable language and do
the most outrageous and violent things
She stole from the family medicine chest a
virulent poison and dumped it into the
breakfast coffee, enough of it to have killed
US all if its smell had not betrayed it's
presence. And she wounded me severely
in an attempt to jab a carving knife into
my back. She could give, in her rational
moments, no excuse for those criminal eff
forts, and indeed seemed only vaguely con-
scious Of them, as If they had been the
work of somebody else. Ny wife, too, be-
gan to show herself affected by the same
influence, and in like way, for l caught her
trying to set the house afre.
Remember that in all this maddening
series Of exasperations, alarms and mis-
fortunes we never saw anything we could
possibly suppose ghost, yet our conviction
was vehement that we were inhabiting a
haunted house.
"That belief was confirmed by the infor-
nation we obtained from an old doctor
named Brownlow, or Brownell, do not
now clearly remember which, who was
called in to dress the wound Julia made in
my back. He lived couple Of miles from
the Brnckley place and had known all
about it for forty years. When we narrated
what had been going on, he said:
"T do not doubt it and think can give
you an explanation. Twenty years ago
this place was owned and lived in a
short time by Welshman named David
Evans, who was rather remarkable per
son. He was a bad man, but endowed
with wonderful mesmeric power, by the
exercise Of which in Europe he had
amassed fortune. 1t was said that he
had to run away from Europe to escape
punishment for some crime through mis-
use of his power Coming here he bought
this place, and within year mesmerized
and ruined Sallie Meredith, whose father
shot him. Ever since then this house has
been said to be haunted by his ghost,
which has never shown itself. but has
demonstrated an Internal power in COM
pelling hallucinations, such as you have
experienced, in the minds of those coming
within range Of it's influence
Eve moved the next day back to Balti-
more" j. II. CONNELLY.