Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-05
LIKE 0TRANLO'S CASTLE.
A STRANGE STORY FROM PHILADELPHIA
A Mysterious Arm Which Has a PrediIection for Slim Waists-Horrors of
 Haunted House.

Philadelphia, Aug. 4.-During the ab- sence of Dr. George H. Cook, medical in- spector of the United States navy, on board the Baltimore during the Chilian war, Mrs Cook rented No. 3210 Spen- cer Terrace, moving in with her family, a colored man servant and a chamber maid When the servant was cleaning the range out in the cellar a quantity of charred bones was found, and towards night mysterious sounds were heard in the third story back room similar to those made by a sewing machine.
 On the day following the colored man accused the servant girl, Carrie Weens, of knocking at the door of his bedroom.
 She denied it. The colored mans tale of woe increased on the succeeding day, and at the breakfast table he declared that some person, natural or unnatural, had entered his bedroom at night and taken his night gown, going out of the room again as noiselessly as it had en- tered. The same experience fell to the lot of dressmaker who came from New York to work for Mrs. Cook, and who occupied the room that the colored man had slept in. Each morning she complained Of loud knocking at her door, and on more than one occasion had opened it, thinking somebody was there.
 Every evening at 10:20 the sewing ma chine noise was heard regularly, and, al though many visits were made to the room, nothing was ever discovered. After a few weeks residence in the house Mrs. Cook sent her daughter, 16 years of age, to the third story back room to get a box She returned few minutes later ashy pale and trembling.
 She said that while in the room reach ing for the article for which she was sent an arm had been placed around her waist. She described minutely the 1H1 1naIye h gold cuff-button and even the hand. She said she screamed and looked around, but could see nobody in the room. Five min utes later the servant girl, Carrie Weens, reported having undergone a precisely similar experience.
 Mrs. Cook, one evening durng the month of November, while sitting in the library with her children, saw the arm and hand described by her daughter and her servant in the adjoining room She shouted, Who's therer' and receiving no reply, went into the room and made thorough inspection. but failed to find anything. Mrs. Cook said it was inn possible for a person to get out of the room, as the windows were all shut, and the only door entering was that which led from the room in which she was sit ting. A few nights afterwards, while sitting in the same room, a newspaper was suddenly knocked from her hands and looking up, she saw the arm and the hand disappear in the distance.
 Her son, boy of 8, was lying on rug some distance from her, and about ten minutes after her unpleasant exper- fence he screamed out: "Oh, mamma, somebody is pulling my foot"
 The doctors wife, the children and the servant on several occasions saw a tall figure covered with a black crepe veil standing under the gas light in the sec ond-story room, which figure would dis appear when any of the occupants of the house approached it.
 Mrs. Cook mentioned the facts to neighbor who had resided in the street for many years. This person declared that several of the former tenants had been known to leave suddenly at night although no cause was given for their abrupt departure.
 The press reporters visited the house today and inspected it from cellar to roof, but witnessed none of the sights complained of by Mrs. Cook. The Cooks were so annoyed by the ghosts that they moved to another house.