The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-07

frightened her for fun, and after that
she never would occupy it,"
a few days after the Wilson's were
in possession Mr.. Wilson's young
brother-in-law, Samuel Barnes, paid
them q visit, and as he purposed re-
manning over night. the pretty garret
room was assigned to him. He was
tired, and went uD to bed at about
O'Clock. An hour later, Mr.. Wilson
had just got into bed, when a great
racket and sound of shouting burst
Forth in Sans room overhead, and
Mrs. Wilson had barely time to cx-
claim: sam is calling you when the
young man came bounding down.
stairs from the garret with "A red quilt
thrown around him yelling: Come up
stairs, Tom. I've got "A burglar" Then
he dashed back again up the stairs,
followed Immediately by Mr.. Wilson.
who had merely stopped long enough
To snatch up club and call his two
dogs, one of them a rather savage
brute. When he reached the scene of
action Sam. VINO was holding the room
door shut, exclaimed: Hes inside"
IAN right" responded Mr.. Wilson,
swinging his club, throw 1t open. We
can handle him."
Sam flung the door open and they
jumped through il. There was nobody
Nis'l't'' ldtlilIS s7silu Iisli, nv
averred, had hard fight The bed
was tumbled as if combatants had
struggled all over it, and three of its
Stats were broken, a number of objects
about the room We're overturned. ana
some We're broken, but though they
searched everywhere. nobody could be
found Mr.. Wilson called his dogs,
but they would not leave the stairway,
and, though ordinarily courageous an
imals, rather fond Of n fight they
We're evidently afraid of something
| and eager to retreat downstairs. The
burglar" could not have escaped
down the stairs, the wire nettings on
the windows had not been disturbed,
and he was not in the adjoining room.
There was no other Kidding place, and
| the only way of exit open was n very
small stovcpipe hole in the chimney
| hardly big enough for a mans arm to
be put through. But he was gone.
81 think, SAM" said Mr.. Wilson
meditatvely. I'VE will have to put this
down MS a clear case Of jimjams."
| "Jimjams be blankcd"' exclaimed
| Sam hotly. 81 was wide awake. saw
| him plainly as | see YOU now, and had
| to fight for my life" Then he went
on to relate his experience, which he
| to this day, insists was the follow
! ing:
I II had been sound asleep, and was
/ half aroused by somebody crawling
| over the foOtboard toward me. | had
! merely a sort of vague. dim idea that
| it was Webhcr. my roommate at home,
| without being sufficiently awake To
/ think that was a queer way for him
| tn come to bed, and | rolled over to
| give him place Then | must have
/ dropped asleep Mt once for after
! time-I do not know how lOnc-I was
| again stirred to n vague realization,
as before. of the fact that 4 man was
coming over the foothoard, and that
time ! had the idea that | was having
nightmare. | fancied that | saw his
| face in the clear moonlight, n thin,
malignant face, with q long, pointed
sandy beard but sleepily ascribiNg II
to nightmare, fixed myself more
comfortably and once more slept
soundly. The third time / awoke fully
with him ON me, his strong bony fin
gers clutching my throat. He was do
ing his best to strange me ana | had
to fight for my life. / managed to
I'heave him off my chest, but he re-
tanned his grip on my widewlpc We
rolled over and over on the bed and
then to the floor, I hammcring him
as well as / could, and finally | broke
loose For the moment | seemed to
| have stunned him. and he lay on the
floor. In the moonlight ! saw his face,
and il was the same | had seen in my
supposed nightmare. SnatchinS up Il
Quilt TO cover me, | dashed downstairs
to calp my brother-in-law; then back
and he was gone ! am sure of only
two things. that 7 had a very real
fight for my life with something, ana
that that something was not human
being"
sam. as well as the room. showed the
uo,IIs of a violent conflict. He fin
ished the night on a lounge down
stairs.
Mir Wilson wrote to Mr.. SontaG, the
recent tenant. asking: "While you
lived here did you ever have as visitor
or lodyer man about 80 years old. tall
and slender. who had long pointed
sandy beard. and who wore a Prince
Albert coat buttoned up TO the neck?
Mr. Sontag replied: "No. we never
had any visitor of that kind, and, more.
during the time we lived in that house
we never had any Ehostly visitors or
any ghosts" Mr.. Wilson had not writ
ten a word about ghosts. or given the
slightest hint that anything of the
sort was suspected.
Three of FOUR weeks later, the Will
sons were visited by Mr. $. SlaGle, q
countryman. "a or 30 years Old "A sober,
sedate. healthy man. with no super
stitions, and no more imagination than
a clam, used to retiring at o'clock
and sleeping soundly until >, He went
to that pretty room and at about mid
night was heard charging down stairs.
He called up nobody, but found himself
a lounge in the dining room and slept
there until morning, when he went
away as soon as possible. No eXplana-
ton was made by him. and no ques-
tiOnS We're asked.
Two weeks later a servant was en-
gagged. a large. handsome, and eXccp-
tionally Intelligent Irish girl The
pretty room was given to her. and she
was delighted with it; but in half an
hour after going up to bed the first
night, she came down stairs and said
to Mrs. wilson,
81 cannot undress up there: some
body is looking at mo all the time.
know somebody is there"
Another room was put at her dis
posal. and the next day she satisfied
herself that by no possibility-except
by floating in a balloon--could any
body have peered in at the window of
the apartment first given to her, and
that it was impossible for a SPY to have
betu ,ohNeafNu any NhtIe Ill tnat part
of the house. So she said:
at was just Stiffness and nerves on
my part, and | will conquer it, To-
night shall take possession of my own
nice ROOM
She made second trial and succeed
ed In getting herself partly undrcsseJ
but then. although a strong light came
up the garret stairs from the hall below
and her own lamp burned outside her
open door and she was certain that nc
human being but herself was on that
: iloor. she was completely over
whelmed by the consciousness of an.
! other presence that she darted down
! stairs and never thereafter would re-
new her attempt to occupy that apart
ment.