The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-07-16
A Terrible Experience
The Raven Hair or u Bride Elect
Turns White in Il Few Hours.

savannah News.
A lady in Sylvania, Ca, relates the
| following true story of q most thrilling
experience through which friend Of
hers passed some years ago, and which
has never been published:
1t was near Milledgevillc that this
fricnd-a beautiful young lady--livcd.
Pauline was her name. She was en-
gagged to be married to a gentleman
from another State. The appointed
time had como, and the large house
was filled with guests for tho occasion.
There was one worry particular friend,
however, young lady, whom the
bride-elcct wished to have present, but
it was impossible for her to get there
before tho morning after tho night ap-
pointed for the marriage. She tcle-
graphed her friend to come, and post
poncd the wedding until tho following
morning.
That night they held large reccp-
tion at the house, and numbers OF the
guests remained over, so that they
might be present next morning. The
house being crowded, the young lady
gave up her own room to friends, and
with her maid went over into an unused
chamber, somewhat separated from
the other part OF the house, and which
was called the "bluo room" 1t was up
on the second floor, aud was conncctc 1
| by lattice work with tho main building.
Her father protested against hor going
there, but she said she was not afraid.
| The little maid, after strengthening
up the room, lay down on pallet to
sleep, and the young lady, cXtinguish-
| ing the light, sat before the dying
blaze on the hearth, lost in rcvcry.
Soon the maid began to sob, and said
she felt SO uneasy that she was afraid
to sleep in the room. Not wishing to
be disturbed further, the young lady
| told her she could go, and the girl
| hastily sought other quarters.
Seated before the fireplace, the young
bride soon felt strange "moasincss
herself, rs II tho air was charged with
something. She Srcd to dismiss it,
but in vain. TO still her feeling she
managed, with great deal Of effort,
to movo Il wardrobe that was in the
room against the door, and thus safely
barricaucd from without, she got into
bed and tried to go to sleep. But the
restless, uneasy feeling would not leave
her.
After II short whilo she thought she
heard the rattle Of ~ chain. She listen
cd and charged it to her imag tion.
Again came tho same sound, and moro
distinct. She hardly brcathcd. Thcn
from underneath inc bed, camc the
sound Of Il chain, ard thcn Il thud and
clank, a thud and Clank, as something
moved about on the floor. At last it
crawied out into tho room and seemed
to go to the fire.
She thought perhaps it might bo her
fathers dog, which was kept chained
in the yard, and she summoned courage
enough to raise up on her elbow in tho
bed and look. BY the dim light she
~, ,>f
hearth, but could not tell what it
was.
She wanted to leap from the bed and
escape, but the thought of the heavy
wardrobe in front Of the door deferred
her, and her very blood was chilled
when she realized how sho had inn
prsoncd herself. She knew she could
not move it in time to escape this
chained object, whatever it might be,
should it wish to seize her.
She laid back on her pillow almost
paralyXcd with fright, and as she did
SO tho object before the fire moved.
She could hear the chain clanking and
dragging and tho sound Of slow moving
along the lloOr. Close to the bed it
came and then climcd up where she
was lying, the chain rattlipg behind.
Stricken with terror and not daring
| to move or even breathe, she then per
ccivcd that it WAS Il man with Il chain
about him. He crawlcd over in the
bed, got under the cOvor and lay there
perfectly still. After Il long time
through which she scarcely knew how
she lived, he stretched out his arm in
kind Of WEAKNESS, and it fell upon |
hers. He graspcd her arm with his |
hand, but made no further move. She
could feel that his finger nails were
long and sharp and more like tho claws
OF beast than part or a human being.
His clutch upon her arm was hard, but
she dared not move a muscle.
Through minutes that seemed like
years sh" waited. At last she heard
hiur "'''. = =. ! .;iarly, as if in sleep.
an, '',. ."t - upon he" arm ro-
laAcu. onpy.n.! from the bed, with Il
supCrhuman effort she pushed the
aside and ilcd through the
door. The noise awe kc the man in the
bed, and she could hear him as he fol-
lowed, with his clanking chains.
Her screams aroused the house, and |
she reached her fathers room to fall |
ir sensible in his arms. n search was |
made by the men present and they |
soon came upon the object OF her Ter
ror--an escaped lunatic from the asy-
um, fierce and violent, with broken
chain around MS body. The officers
WCr0 nOtlnCd ana nc was fccapLufcQ
after II struggle. uo bad escaped the
day before and tho keepers had been
unable to discover his whereabouts.
He had been so fierce for weeks that
they were unable to como Closo enough
to him to cut his nails, and they had
grown to be over an inch long on all
his fingers
The saddcst part Of the story follows.
Tho next morning tho young lady's
hair WAS gray. From mortal fright it
had changed, in IL single night from
raven black to the hme Of old age. She
had brain fever for weeks. Her young
lover went in to sec her the morning
aftor their wedding day, and when he
saw how old she had suddenly grown
and how her beautiful hair had turned
gray, he went away and mover camo
back again.
After many weeks she recovered,
and when she saw how she had lost
her beauty and her hair had grown 50
white, she wcpt softly and silently,
but uttered no word of blame against
her lover who had left her. She told
them she Wns not tho samo woman ho