The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-01-09
SPOOkISH FLAMES
Create Excitemonsin u aroonpolnt,
N, Y, Residence.
WATER soaked ARTICLES lGNI7ED

y
hours--liluo and Grccn Colorcd
Flames stnrtlo tho Inhabitants aud
Confuse tho Police.
Noe lork sunday ddltriiset
In tho old.iashioued franc house ut
No. 81 Guernsey street. Grcenpoint,
some remarkable things have happened
since last Friday afternoon. They have
puzzled the lre marshal, tho police, tho
residents Of the houso and the neigh
bors. Many OF tho residents OF the
neighborhood were genuinely alarmed
Inst night aud wont back to the old
country folk lore to explain tho occur.
FENCES as having been brought about
by ''spooks," or other supernatural
means.
The tirst floor OF No. 81 was occupied
by William Murphy, who had n grocery
esore in front On the second floor
lived Adam Colwcll, a carpenter, with
his wife and his two stepchidren, Will.
lam, tweuty-ono years old. and Rhoda,
fifteen years old. Tho building ia
owned by " atchman McPhil!ips, OF tho
Hoffman House, New York. Neither
the house nor any OF !ts contents were
insured.
PICTURES FALL WITH A CRASH.
At p.. III. on Friday Mrs Colwell
and hi,een.year-od Rhoda were alone
on the second story. Suddenly, AZ Mrs.
Colwell was looking into the parlor. she
saw four pictures and their frames fall
from the walls with a crash. aud at the
same time the little, old.fashioned sheet
iron stove, in which there was no fire,
turned over aud fell on the floor. Mrs.
Colwell ran through the hallway 10 the
kitchen and told Rhoda- Colwell came
upstairs at this time and opened the
parlor door. He saw the mantle lam
brequins on fire and shouted Fire"
An alarm was quickly sent out and the
the engines arrived the fire had been
put out by the family.
When William got home from his
work on Friday morning he gave his
mother Sc, which she put in closet in
the intermediate bed room. William
was told OF the affair. and opened the
parlor door. in presence OF Roundsman
Daily, who had been sent to tho place
ID watch, as some talk OF incendari,m
had got abroad. As ne did so tho wall
) paper on the side OF the room at his
back suddenly caught Ere and olazsd
up to the ceiling. but the fire was easily
but out by the roundsman and William.
THE POLICE INVESTIGATE
Police Captain Rhodes on Friday
hight sent Detective Sergeant Robert
Dunn 10 look into the matter. Dunn
20. to the house at $50 p. IN. As he
entered the little parlor with Daily the
tiiringe shout the centre table and the
cloth took fire aud blazed up. The or
Ulcers tore the burning stuff off and
stamped the flames ou. The blaze in
the parlor alarmed many who were
4 Watching outside the house, and an
alarm soon brought tho fremen again
4 TO the spot They deluSed the place
with water. and it was believed all dan.
i ger from FIRE was over.
i As the two policemen were leaving
4 III. parlor, before the fremen arrived,
the heavy lamps and chains hanging
from the ceiling fell with crash, some
OF the pieces narrowly escaping the
officers. It was atterward seen that the
hook TO which tho lamp was suspended
va, firm q, when put into the beam,
into which 1t wRa screwed, and that
some force must have lifted the lamp
and chains up and of the hook.
a MYSTERIOUS MIDNIGHT FIRE
Just before midnight on Friday, in
a full view OF the assembled family and
4 Officers Dunn and Daily. tho side wall
OF tho intermediate bed room, with the
closet in which the money and Mrs.
Colwell's clothing were, suddenly blazed
up, but the fire was easily smothered
GU. with blankets. To the surprise OF
all, when the closet door was opened all
Mrs. Colwcl!'s and Rhoda's clothing,
with the &c placed there. was gone, not
4 n vestige or charred remnant remain
ing. The police officers remained in
the house all night, and mono OF the
Colvell or Murphy families slept, the
groceryman having been fairly drowned
4 out.
At noon yesterday Fire Marahal
Brymer began an investigation, and
had just driven away when another
alarm OF fire was caused by cloth cot
and other stuff catching FIRE In the attic.
The tiremen this timo drowned out
everything. Ton minutes after tho cot
was thrown into the street. no fro being
apparent on it, it blazed I'D In blue and
green flames. Although water was
showered on it, tho cot burned to ashes.
On tho fire marahals return to tho
house he though: tho circumstances
suspicious, and had Mr.. and Mrs. Col.
well and Rhoda taken to the Manhattan
avenue station house. They were de-
tanned there until last evening. when,
as there was nothing against them, they
we're discharged. They had to go to old
friends for shelter, their own abode
being uninhabitable,
no PLAUSIBLE THEORY.
Fire Narshal Brymor said las: even.
Ing: II decline to believe that there can
be anything supernatural in these &C.
currcnces, as Ia believed by many oil
& Colwelrs neighbors. | thought at frat
II might have boon caused by using in.
sect fluid, in which there is n great deal
Of PHOSPHORUS. but when found that
nothing OF the kind had been used in
TO months. I confess | do not know
III rh ~ ,a,l,I no,,naI nrnu fNnl-