Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1896-07-18

If any, reader OF these lines has
haunted house in his possession Wish
he would place it at my disposal Tor
one night. should like very much TO
SCI. real ghost. and yet am not sure
hut | have seen one, although there
are two links missing in the chain OF
evidence which render absolute Ger
tainty possible. 1t is curious tnins
that in this investigating age OF the
world the actual existence of ghosts is
still a matter of doubt; and stil more
curious is the fact that ghosts. whether
they exist or not. exert an influence on
the property market of the most ma
terialisiie and hardest headed city In
the world. The otner week a house
was put up at auction in London and
did not receive a bid merely because
In was supposed to be haunted; for
fifteeR- wears il had not had tenant,
aud consequently its value in the mar
kef was nothing at all
A short time since l was shown
house near Denmark Hill station In
London which had been inlet for
great number of years. 1t was most
commonplace looking building. and
the rt.pairers were doing il up in the
hnpee1hat perhaps il might BE- let, but
M 10 date this hope has not been ne
allied The friend who was with me.
and who pointed out the house, said II
could scarcely be called haunted, for
no ghost was ever seen there. but the
water in the ewers and water bottles
turned TO blood during the night. and
when a man went 10 wash himself in
the morning he was naturally taken
aback by this startling transformation.
/ 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 man must be good
deal Of a lingo who is content to wash
and lathe in blood
Investigation in this realm of the
unreal is apt to be somewhat unsatis-
factory. / 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 trifie too
thin.
About a year ago Conan Doyle spent
night in a haunted house. | believe
h. has never written his experience.
and now throw out the hint to some
enterprising magazine editor. for ii
Mrt Doyle can be induced to write
upon this subject. the article will GER
tainly be interesting. The ghostly
manifestations were in the haunted
house an right enough. but although
Mr.. Doyle did not succeed in tracing
them TO their source. | understand he
is still skeptical as to their spiritua
origin.
Harold Frederic. whose latest book
''Illhmination. is work of genius, Il
eY+r there was one. investigated in hi,
younger days the methods Of spiri
photographer. 1t was at the tint
when wet plates were in vogue. anC
when hpcus pocus was more Difficult
than it would be now; yet, although
] believe he also did not succeed il
fiuding the fraud he looked for. b.
was not convinced that the picturet
seen ON the plates were those of aetna
SPIRITS. Thus | say that investigation
in all the case I have heard anythin,
ABOUT has been unsatisfactory, aud tn,
story ! have now to tell of my owl
experience similarly lacks definiteness
\ good many years ago. when | wa
WHITING somewhat extensively for tn
papers, | received many letters iron
persons unknown TO me about m,
work. some complimentary. others tn
reverse. One correspondent wrote FIRE
quently, and after a time, I becam
very much annoyed at the constant re
ceipt Of his letters. | shall not her
give his real name. but / may say tina
he always wrote with a certain defer
ence fhat seemed to me sarcastic. an
his letters were beautiful specimen
OF chirugraphy, the writing looking a
most like copperplate. What exaspel
ated me about this correspondent wa
that he was always right and was il
yariably in the wrong. He wrote