The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-02
saw the corpse SIC on.

Il am not believer in the supernatural.
said a young man to a writer for the Lofts
Vile Courier-Journal. '.buteFery time see
copy OF Wilkie Collins novel The Woman in
White get the ereeps for it recalls one OF
the most awful experiences in my / fe- ]
loarded in the southern portion of the city,
at the home OF widow. in whose family vas
an interesting youth. about 10 years old. he
anu were exceedingly fond OF one another,
perhaps from the fact that he was anliCted
with epilepsy. andI was the only person about
the house who understood how TO relieve him
and was aole to handle him without his hurt
ing himself while in convulsions. He
did not live very long after | knew
his attacks. lhe in1ldeut am
81 eaking Of occurred on one-of the very. cold
est nights in JanJ airy. The boy had died at
noon. and his family sat up with the corpse
until midnight when 1 relieved them in the
watch, requesting all to refine, as loved the
BOY so well felt 1t my duty TO stay near him
In death. An hour rassed. and L picked up q
copy of The Woman in White to while away
| the sonber watch. I drew near the fireplace
and turned up the lamp a lit e higher, as the
rest OF the room was very dark and window
was raised back OF the corpse on the cooling
! toard. After al had gone 10 bed the reai "a
| ton OF tina sOmCer Sttua ion O truded itself
upon me, and as perused the novel its con
tents were not calculated to reassure me, 1
thought aCODt every thing poSsIt lie, and for
tde trst time In my life began to quake
with fear.
Il was in such condition of mind that the
dropping. of pin would have been noted at
once AMI the creaking of ptece OF furniture
or the swaying Of shutter NO I'D have sent
| terror through MY heart. In this overwrought
state of mind l heard a slight noise and
turned toward ih3 corpse, when. awful to re-
la e 1 saw my friend raise his hands, throw
back the pail and sit stark upright. he eyes,
viii. had never been closed. looked search
ingly out the room until they rested on me;
the open mouth. contracted and the coTnte-
nance took a distorted expression. Without
pausing dashed from the room into the dark
corridors. When i reached INV BEDROOM [
fell in q swoon, which must have lasted sew.
eral hours, for on awakening I saw the sun
Just ttnging the eastern horizon Finding
myself on the floor With the novel
cllnched in my hand recalled the dread
full scene. and, pilIing' myself up from
the floor, rang a cali bell for
servant. The servant came and we de-
sDendeG TO the parlor, after / had told him
what had happened. y es had actually eX-
perieuoed that dreadful scene, for the corpse
was found lying across the bier. We went
over to It, The muscles we're all relaxed. ana
1t appeared sleeping peacefully 1t was laid
il k as 1t had been arranged by loving
friends. As / could not explain the phe-
Slcian. He said the boy had been dead all the
time. hut that the mus. les contra ted during
his fl had been relaxed in my pI e ;ence. We
agreed not to tell the circumstance 70 the
family, but IL Is true in every particular. and
when 1 think Of the awful scene. even IN day
I time, l am filed with terror. 1 have never
gotten into The Woman in White farther
than three chapters. and do not think now
that 1 ever Sha finish the story that is so in
! timately associated With this awful ghost
story IN real life ,-,