Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-07-10

lnEu W O0A AAhtAO 80 - - -
servants.
"On the fifth day my sister Cynthia,
emerged from the family parlor in the
front of the second floor, emitted an I'M
earthly shrek and plunged down upon
the carpet between the parlor door ana
the stairs, dragging with her the port
iere she had clutched in the moment OF
her fall. After several minutes OF re-
storative treatment had brought her TO
herself she said: when l drew back
the portiere to step out from the TIRES
hold and my weight was already follow
ing nv advanced left foot, so that l
could not check my step, saw or
seemed to see that the whole floor be-
fore me had disappeared, and In It's
stead was only huge, black, appar-
emily bottomleSs we'll or chasm. L
could not stop myself from, as thought,
plunging into it, and seemed to fall
to the center of the earth. l could not
at first believe myself still alive when
you picked me up My dear Cynthia
1 said, you are bilious; that is ALL.
"But within twpnty-four hours re-
allied that II biliousness was the expla-
nation we all were bilious, for every
one of US had the horrifying experience
Of suddenly finding ourselves, upon
stepping out OF a door, on the very
verge OF 8 black abyss, into which we
reached such pass that we had TO arm
ourselves with sticks and tap the floors
before US as we walked to find assur-
ance for our steps, like a family OF
blind folks.
ION the seventh day my wife's sister
Julia most estimable but rather DELI
cate young lady-joined US. After her
coming things became worse. a CHAIR,
upon which a person was about TO SIT
down, would be suddenly discovered as
merely chair Of the imagination, but
the discovery would not be made until
the sitter had gone sprawling on the
floor. In like manner any one or us
was apt to be deceived By an apparent,
but actually non-existeut table, which
would beguile us into trying TO put ira
gile things on it, only to see them drop
to the floor and break.
'But the most startling illusion OF all
was the fire. We all were in the gar
den on the east side Of the house one
evening after shutdown, discussing the
planting of some ornamental schruo-
berry, when CHANGING to look up l saw
the windows OF the northeast-corner
room glowing with leaping flames In
side the blue smoke curling out above
the slightly lowered upper sash OF one
OF them.
evidently the house was on fire. l
rushed up there, two steps at time
of course tumbling again and again on
the stairs, for in my excitement | could
not count the steps-and the others fol-
lowed with pals OF water. There was
no fire! Not o sign OF any! DO
not think l could have been more COM
pletely unnerved even by finding a con-
flagration raging than l was by that
discovery. No, the windows were not
Illuminated by a reflection OF thesettlng
sun, for he had already set on the oppo-
site side Of the house. From that time
on false alarms of fire constantly me-
naced us; flames showing In the win
dows II we were outside and the smell OF
smoke assailing our nostrils in the still
watches of the night, sometimes even
the swapping and cracking OF light
wood burning being clearly audible
when all else was still.
son the southwest corner OF the
house, half projecting from the garrett
through the tin roof, was huge cyin-
drical wooden tank, to which water was
pumped up by a Windmill for distribu-
ton through the building. 1t held, l
suppose, fifty or sixty barrels-perhaps
more. One night we heard that water
burst through the third-story ceiling,
and go on dashing, FLASHING, tumoling
in 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 l
confess l was not taking much enjoy
ment out OF the situation myself. My
brother heightened the general feeling
of insecurity. He got 1t into his obsti-
nate 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 saw or
heard anything suspicious. And tie
devil, or whatever it was annoying US,
kept him pretty busy. More fruitful OF
anxiety to US than aught else, however,
was the amazing and incomprehensiole
effect produced upon Miss Riddell, who
actually seemed to fall victim to de-
moniac possessions.
"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 demonstrate furious and
malignant temper, use the most abom-
Unable language and do the most out
rageous and violent things. She stole
from the family medicine chest viru-
lent poison and dumped it into the
breakfast coffee, enough OF it to have
killed us all il its smell had not betray-
ed its presence. And she wounded me
severely in an attempt to tab carving
knife in my back. She could give, in
her rational moments, no excuse for
these criminal efforts, and indeed SEEM
ed only vaguely conscious Of them, as
II thew had been the work OF somebody
else. Ny wife, too, began to show her
self affected by the same influence, and
in like way, for 1 caught her trying to
set the house on fire.
Remember that in all this madden
ing series Of exasperations, alarms and
misfortunes we never saw anything we
could possibly suppose a ghost, yet our
conviction was vehement that we were
iphabiting haunted house.