The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1894-01-20
THE LUMINOUS GHOST J.
THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF j
YOUNG LADY. 81 NJ NJ
Fhe House Was Haunted by Spirit With
q Black Face. and Even the Family
Dog Refuses to Live In It.-Troubles.
of Handsome Irish Setter. t5

+, = Y !
In the northern section of Wood
bury, Penn, in what is known as the
First ward, is pretty cottage that
many Of the residents of Woodbury.
| firmly believe to be haunted. that
| strange and uncanny sights and
! sounds occur there both night and
day is vouched for by some Of the
months past it has been given up to
the rats that scamper through it's
empty rooms, and the sparrows that
fly in and out at the broken garret
| window.
The place was for many years the
home OF Rev. Sidney L. Dyer, a
Baptist clergyman, whose name
graces the title page of many books
OF the Sunday school type. About
six years ago Mr.. Dyer died. His
| wife left Woodbury., and a year later
she also died. There were rumors
that the Dyers had not found the
cottage pleasant place of residence,
but they kept their own counsels, if
such was the case, and little was
known Of its peculiarities until it
passed into other hands.
The latest tenant was Mr.. N. B.
ellison, fresco artist, who took
possession of the place and occupied
it for three months. His family prob
ably had, the most startling expert
ence of any of the recent occupants
of the cottage, and the details were
narrated to the Philadelphia Press by
member of the family.
The family, which consists of Mr..
ellison, his wife and a grown-up son
and daughter, are not superstitious
people. Joe ellison, the son, re-
marked: "My sister and myself have
been brought up to reject supersti-
ton in all it's forms, and even now |
am not prepared to say that I believe
in ghosts, but a man doesn't want his
sleep disturbed by such experiences
as we have had in this house, and, to
say the least, it is not a pleasant
place to live in.''
For month after the Gilsons took
possession of the cottage things went
smoothly, but at the end of that time
they began to have disagreeable ex-
periences. One evening, as the fami-
ly was about to retire, a noise like a.
heavy explosion shook the house,
which was followed by such sounds
as would be caused by the overturn-
ing of furniture and the rafting of
windows. From that time until the
Gilsons left the house these noises
were heard, with variations at inter-
walls. They were not confined to
night or day.
Shortly after this occurrence a
young lady from Wilmington, Del,
was a guest of Miss Gibson She o..
cupied room on the second floor.
She awoke one night and saw a white
figure standing at the bureau. Think
ing it was Mrs. ellison or her daugh-
ter, she spoke to the figure. The
apparition, with the rapidity of light
ming, disappeared, but in moment
it was again seen at the bedside Of
the now thoroughly frightened girl,
and again disappeared on being ad-
dressed. The young lady spent
night of terror and in the morning
left her friends, declaring that moth
ing could induce her to spend anoth-
or night in the house.
After that night the room was oc
cupied by mombers of the family an d
guests, and the strange apparition
was seen in turn by each occupant.
1t is described by all who have seen
it as wearing the traditional white
garment, and over it's head and
around it's face is what appears to be
a white handkerchief, tied under his
chin. The figure is luminous, and
the face is black, horrible blank,
The spook always appeared first at
the bureau, as if in search of some.
thing, and would melt away in the
darkness upon being spoken to and
again appear at the bedside. Articles
! in this room were removed from
their places, and the contents of the
bureau drawers left in confusion.
The figure was only seen in this
| room, but shadows were often seen
moving along the walls in other
apartments, and their appearance
was always accompanied by noises
like the explosion of toy balloons or
inflated paper bags. Even in broad
| daylight window shades were pulled
down by unseen hands, and china
and glassware fell crashing in the
closets.
Perhaps the greatest sufferer from
these uncanny sights and sounds was
the family dog, a handsome Irish
setter This poor brute was in a
| state of constant and abject terror.
At the occurrence of the sounds, or
even the opening of door, he would
cover at the feet of some member of
the family and SILVER and whine In a
most pitiful manner. He refused to
eat, and only regained his health
and spirits when the family left the
house. The Gilsons tired of this
condition of affairs and gave up the
place, and since that time have no
trouble from ghostly visitants.
The stories told by former tenants
tally with the experience of the Gil
sons. A Philadelphia lady who
rented the place for summer home,
could not keep servant after the
| first night. They would appear in