The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-01-15
WEIRD GHOST STORY.
Crazy Nan Tells Of His Battle
With Evil Spirits.
ALONE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE.
The Remarkable Manuscripts Yeand On
Thomas Beer. the Old Rrinter
Sent TO steiiaceom.

10 the insane asylum 81 Stellaeoom last
Friday, has left most remarkable gho.s
story. written by himself q fex weeks ago,
before his insanity took violent turn.
Beer il an Eagsishrnan. 30 years Of age,
and Is said 20 have considerable property
in Brush Columbia He Is printer by
trade and. although he has lived IN Seat
tie some time, very few Of the craft are
acquainted xith him. He was always
distant in his defneanor and lived BY him
self For some weeks he had been room
ing quietly al the Merrimsc house, on
Second street, bat Wednesday night
he swoke the other lodgers by wild cries
for help. He could see the ngure of an
old, tottering woman whom, he declared,
had haunted him since his boyhood in
England. She would appear at his bed
side while asleep and be coald not shake
himself free from the horrible spell the
apparition produced. The dodgers at the
Merrimac. fearing the old man would
harm himself. notified the police and he
was locked up. Friday he was arraigned
before Judge Langley in the superior
court and there the old man admitted
that he was not in his right mind and
asked that he be placed where he could
receive medical treatment. In his early
days In England he suffered from SINH
lar haIlucination and was committed to an
asrium
Little attention was paid to Beer, Al
though his case was peculiar one. but
since his confinement at Steilacoom re
markable document has been found among
his papers. and now that the old man is
insane, reads like q message from the
dead. The DOCUMENT, which describes
accurately the spirit of the old. tottering
woman that has been nightmare to his
deranged mind, is written with pencil on
common blank newspaper, and reads as
follows:
a. HAUNTED HOUSE.
THE narrative am about to relate oc-
Cured forty years ago. when | was boy,
and happened in q small bourne in Devon
shire. England. | shall simply endeayor
10 relate what occurred. without attem p;-
Ing to exaggerste or extenuate or aught
set down in malice, as the lawyers say.
ANYTHING but what / believe to be fact.
pure and simple. Neither shall attempt
TO account for the phenomena or psyche
logical power displayed at that time,
simply because / fsel my inability to ex-
plain the same. | shall enter nv tale
without further apology
MY mother was a widow, left with
family OF three. two boys and girl. I
was the eldest. aged 10 years, brother was
years old and my sister years. When
father died he left the house we lived in
and another house situated in another
part of the town. and which We could not
let owing to the prevailing opinion that
the building was haunted, and so it re-
manned untenanted for many years
Broken panes of glass and other OUT
ward evidences showed that attention
had not been paid TO ii, and naturally
on this account alone 1t would have been
hard TO secure tenant. AT first. how
ever. the house received all the attention
necessary 10 keep il In proper repair. out
it became known that apparitions were TO
be seen IN aud about the premises at night,
consequently stone-throwing became the
order of the day until we became weary of
replacing the broken panes with new ones
and permitted the building to go into
decline.
This state of affairs continued for some
years, and various and weird were the re-
ports that reached my mothers ears, re-
iatiye TO anpafitions. strange noises etc,
that occurred nightly in the apparently
unoccupied house. Ii was large three
story stone building. containing some six
teen rooms, while in front OF the house
was garden. the whole intended TO NIL
the requirements of gentleman's family
Although my mother repeatedly offered the
premises, house rent free. to anyone who
would tie courageous enough to live there
so great was the dread Of ghosts (caii il
superstition or whatever you will that
out of a population OF 6, o00 people IN the
town. none would accept the proposition
TO make the place their residence.
the windows in the reEr portion of the
house we're all broken out, nut the front
windows escaped to a greater extent the
missiles thrown by the street ARABS. who
invariably when passing the house would
throw stone, give a shout and then take
to their heels as if the Old Nick had tall
piped them. At the side OF the house was
pair OF stone steps. Descending ninety
or more steps, you came into garden
and here kept several rabbits which had
been given me by an old man We always
called, Luke the Laborer,' aud who used
TO feed them and attend them generally.
Among these rabbits was one little fellow
OF the purest white with pink eyes, a
black one, a yellow one, another of black
aud white color and an immense lop-earei
gray. Accompanied by the old man |
used 10 yisiS the nets until one
Nv one. despite the care and attention
lavished on them. they died. Tbs
lei 20 my giving up going 10 the house Tor
long time, and after while en- tire!v
forgot apoat my beautiful Fets. that were
"'rhosa pretty little rsbbits,
- saglns 1t their habits
as the old song goes. Then Luke the
Laborer' died. and the old man was buried
The house Was still unoccupied and
rates and taxes. which are heavy in En-
and. had 10 be paid whether the build.
ing vas a source of revenue or not. The
premises became an incubus 10 poor
mother, for so notorious had the Iai,. of
Its being haunted become that no one
would take the place off her hands.
ssN hat VAS 10 ts~ uone9
In this troubled state of mind mother
poured her tale Of woe into my ear, her
eldest son. then II years of age. Strong
ana brave men refused TO enter the houSs
At least dozsn different men tried 10
sleep there but one night invariably
proved enough for them. after hitch ex-
peFtenee horses couldn't drag them there
Is undergo another season of suea dis
tTesstng phenomena as presented them
selves during their nocturnal watch. Which
ever part o. tie house the men occupied
IL male no difference, for the
voices occurring ia the other rooms
we're so great thai sleep was out OF the
question. huockings and noises ike
serubblas overhead, votces-maIe and
iemAle-holting conversations, mocking
laughter, weird lights. ringing OF bells.
ana, 70 cap the climax. an old, totterinr.
paislea woman souId pass through the
various Rooms, Tnutterlnc and mumbiing
iacoAeTcut sentences sa auparitioa
panty Vtsiose, but mpaipzble as tns ar
We breathe. This sppaTitaon was seea.
not ey one, hut By hundred person sni
for snght / know the same cid E1r9an
continues her VISITS 10 the house even 20
the present tine.
4 en q came &ha. mother basoaSht me
70 10 over 10 tie house and nd oai wko
or aitat is a IS that was continually scrub
oins the room night ana day. The sounds