The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1894-08-30
On THE CEILING.
A Mysterious Appearance That
Caused Considerable Trouble.
It Upset the Peace of Household for
Many Days-Always Came at the
Same uour-The Illusion at
Last Dispelled.

"In these days we find many peo-
Pile who are ever ready to place odd
incidents which occur to them in the
category of the supernatural" said
a business man to Pittsburgh Dis
patch reporter. II have had an ex-
perience in my own house which is
extraordinary in that it caused a
woman to take to her bed as the re-
suit of nervous prostration and, had
not a natural cause been discovered
for the peculiar happening, it is like
ly that an invalid who was compelled.
to witness this supposed manifesta-
ton from the spirit world would
have not been here to-day. ] have
an aunt who is an invalid, and one
thing that is required above all
others is the exclusion of light from
her room. The shutters OF her
apartment are never opened. One
morning, not long ago, my aunt no
ticed a weird, futtering light on
the ceiling. AS she looked at it, 1t
seemed to take a form SO that she
discerned wings and body. The
longer she looked at it the more con-
vinced she became that it was o
spirit. Now, before this, she had
held the most materialistic views,
scofing at the possible existence of
anything beyond what is deemed
natural, but so terrorized did she be-
come at this strange light she gave o
shrek OF horror.
''No one answered, and she lay
in bed looking up at the fiuttering
glimmer, which seemed to get
fainter and fainter, until, when the
door opened and her sister appeared,
it had disappeared altogether.
Trembling, she told the story OF the
strange light and its sudden disap-
pearance. Without stopping to con-
slider, both concluded it was the
spirit of brother who had died
several months before, and, al
though the occurrence left an inn
preston, nothing more was said
about it that day. The next morn
ing at the same time the invalid gave
shrek of terror which caused her
sister to come to her side. Look up
therer she cried, pointing to the cell.
ing. The sister looked and uttered
a low cry. It's there again. See!
said the invalid. Sure enough there
was the Pickering light. There was
no accounting for 1t, as the shutter:
were tightly closed. Both looked
steadily and concluded the light wa:
some spirit manifestation. AS be
fore, it slowly vanished, leaving th'
two women in state of nervousness
they could not overcome.
"For three days after this the ligh'
, appeared regularly at the same tim
, every morning and after shor
visit disappeared, So nervous di'
the sisters become that one had t
90 to bed, and the others condition
: grew serious. They did not men
ton the occurrence. to anyone, and
as I was away, did not learn of
until my arrival home on the sixt
, day of the phenomenon. The sis:
; ters told me of the spectral marve
and informed me that I was just
, time to witness it myself. / re
/ mained in the darkened room, await
= ing the NANTES tation. Sure enough
q after short time hazy light al
8 peared on the ceiling gradual
2 growing brighter and brighter, VI
/ til-well, didn't blame my sister
J, for considering it supernatural, Bl
n always seek for cause, and afte
If a time found one to account for tn
phenomenon. found that the flu
!. tering light was caused by a buck
=. y of water which was standing in tt
q yard rejecting the rays of the SUI
" OF course, the shutters were tight
g closed, so that there was apparent
d. no way for the light to enter Il
at room, but I had discovered vel
:. small crack in one shutter whi'
Of of acted as the opening of a camera o
is scura does-reaecting the image
ur the glistening surface OF the wat
re on the ceiling. The image appear
y OF the same time each day, as at th
's hour the suns rays formed t
=. angle required to throw it into t
tn room. A sthe sun advanced t
R. angle was gradually changed, ma
ing the image disappear slowly.
it was that a great mystery W