The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-08-06

II n reader of these lines has a
haunted house in his possession | wish
he would place it at my disposal for
one night. | should like very much to
see a real ghost, and yet l am not sure
but l have seen one, although there
are two links missing in the chain of
evidence which render absolute GER
tainty possible. 1t is a curious thlng
that in this investigating age of the
world the actual existence of ghosts is
still a matter of doubt; and still more
| curious is the fact that ghosts, whether
they exist or not, exert an influence on
| the property market of the most ma
| terialistic and hardest headed city in
the world. The other week a house
was put up at auction in London and
| did not receive a bid merely because
it was supposed to be haunted; for
fifteen years it had not had a tenant,
and consequently its value in the mar
ket was nothing at all.
A short time since | was shown O
| house neal Denmark Hill station In
London which had been unlet for 4
| great number of years. 1t vas a most
commonplace looking building, and
the repairers were doing it up In the
hope that perhaps it might be let. but
up to date this hope has not been re-
allied. The friend who was with me,
and who pointed out the house, said 1t
could scarcely be called haunted, for
no ghost was eyer seen there, but the
water in the ewers and water bottles
turned to blood during the night, and
when a man went to wash himself in
the morning he was naturally taken
aback by this startling transformation.
l confess that this incident, happening
every night, might induce the most I'M
romantic stock broker in the city to
desert the house when quarter day
came around. A mai must be a good
deal of a lingo who is content to wash
and battle in blood.
Investigation in this realm of the
unreal is apt to be somewhat unsatis-
factory. l have for months read
Stead's "Spook" magazine in the hope
of coming upon something tangible, if
there is anything tangible in the world
of spirits, but Mr.. Stead's ghosts al
ways strike me as being a trife too
thin.
About a year ago Conan Doyle spent
a night in a haunted house. l believe
he has never written his experience,
and l now throw out the hint to some
enterprising magazine editor. for if
Mr.. Doyle can be induced to write
upon this subject, the article will GER
tainly be interesting. The ghostly
manifestations were in the haunted
house all right enough, but although
Mr.. Doyle did not succeed in tracing
them to their source. l understand he
is still skeptical as to their spiritual
origin.
Harold Frederic, whose latest book.
illumination is a work of genius. if
ever there was one investigated in his
younger days the methods of a spirit
photographer. 1t was at the time
when wet plates were in vogue, and
when hocus p0cus was more difficult
than it would be now; yet, although
l believe he also did not succeed in
fiuding the fraud he looked for, he
was not convinced that the pictures
seen on the plates Were those of actual
spirits. Thus | say thar investigation
in all the case | have heard anything
about has been unsatisfactory, and the
story | have now to tell of my own
| tAptllcuCt similarly luthS utUul1pllpSs.
A good many years ago, when | was
writing somewhat extensively for the
| papers, | received many letters from
persons unknown to me about my
work, some complimentary. others the
reverse. One correspondent wrote fire.
Quently, and after a time, | became
very much annoyed at the constant re-
ceipt of his letters. | shall not here
give his real name, but | may say that
he always wrote with a certain defer
ence that seemed to M sarcastic. and
his letters were beautiful specimens
of chirography, the writing looking al
most like cOpperpiatc. What eXasDer-
ated me about This correspondent was
that he was always right and | was in
variably in the wrong. He wrote in
the mildcst possible manner, calling
my attention to the fact that in a GER
tain article of the week before | had
stated so and so. whereas such and such
was the real fact of the case. He gave
proofs, and as his letters We're usually
unanSwerable | didn't attempt to an
swer them. He always wrote from a
club, i'll London, sometimes from one
and sometimes from another. and il
seemed as if he must belong to all
the principal clubs of the metropolis.
| argued from this that he must be q
rich man, and | thought that he was
also a gentleman of leisure, otherwise
he would not have so much time to at.