Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-04-09


ish laughter. groans and calling Of '-ioel
Joeg grew louder and more eemoniae.
nj. msddened with horror, BY super
human sfort flung the inferaAl thing,
whatever il was, from me, heard IL
strike with the proyerbial dull thud
AZ zinst the sade Of the barn. and forget
ing horses, storn, dax knsss, distance
sad everything else. l rushed from the
internal place, and with hair erect aud
the elamor stlll ringing in my earn. fed,
nor paused 70 breathe TIL had covered
the entire distance between there aad
home, where arrived. haggard and be-
spaStered. IS the first streaks or the
gray dawn. the white winged angels Of
q glad deliversnce. came 70 meet me
from the east.
Quickly l told my story. with every
detail Of touch and colorlng possible,
you may be sure, and having succeeded
by the earnestness of my manner In suit
ably impressing the minds OF the entire
family, . circumstance, IN view OF the
character the place already bore. not at
all difficult, hitched up another horse,
and in company with my father and
younger brother, returned 70 tho scene
Of my late horrible experiences, and tho
Investigations we there made In refer
ence to the noises and other phenomena
will am afraid. only disgust those i'm
aginative minds which are always on
the alert for startling denouements.
The gnawing sounds we found had
been produced by the chatting Of the
wagon hub against loose board In the
haymow, and every time the animals
reached forward after their fodder tho
movement carried a rusty, cultural,
scraping Of the turntable, which simu-
lated the sound, 'Joe, Joe," with sufi-
cient nearness to mislead a cooler head
than mine was just at that time.
The demoniac laughter which had SO
Mortified me was Of equally absurd orr
gin, being simply the rafting and clat-
tering of thin, loose clapboard high
up in the gable whenever gust stronger
than usual struck it. For the light l
could find no explanation other than the
only possible fact that it was simply a
phosphorescent exhalation from little
swamp near by, one Of those luminous
methylic vapors, variously known as
will-o'-the-wisp, Jack-o'-lantern, ignis
fatuus, etc.
The place was infested with rats, and
it was doubtless their scurrying back
and forth over the floor which sounded
so much like stealthy footsteps-either
that or the falling of the large rain
drops which found their way through
the leaky roof.
There too lay the reptile which had so
nearly stranSled me-a long, soft strip
Of the inner bark of one Of the cedar
rafters, which, saturated by the rain,
had fallen across the back of my neck
as stopped forward, and you can readi-
ly appreciate the sensation such thing,
unexpected and in total darkness, would
be apt to produce.
While we were making these discover
les and remarking how little daylight
and good common sense viii knock the
props from under the best ghost story
ever gotten up, we were all startled by
sudden rat-tat-tat on the barn door.
My father hastily unfastened it, ex-
pecting of course, to meet one of the
neighbors. or possibly strolling tramp,
and noticed queer expression come
over his face. There was not soul
there.
He had hardly closed the door, how
ever, when the sharp rat-tat-tat was re-
peated, this time considerably prolonged.
Again the door was opened quickly,
and again not soul was in sight.
There was little door in the rear of
the barn, and, leaving my father and
brother looking at one another in q some
what funny manner, l quietly unfas-
tened this, and rs the knocking had re-
commenced, slipped quickly around out
side to the front of the barn, only to see
large redheaded woodpecker diigent-
ly tapping away on the door in search of
his breakfast.
We got away from that place with all
the expedition possible, and ever since
my skepticism in reference to the vivid
and ornate stories of o similar character,
which we SO frequently hear, is pretty
radically confirmed by the simple re-
membrane of my own blood curdling
experience that night-with the ghosts.
j. Il. Parke in Buffalo News.