The leader., 1897-09-29
WHAT WAS IT2
The Strange Spectacle Seen by Two
Halloween Merrymakers.


In one of the suburban graveyards of
Washington there sleeps to-day
young woman of %, who two years
ago was the life and light of large
circle of friends. She was engaged as
clerk in one of the largest stores in
town, and was as great favorite with
her employers and her fellow-clerks as
she was with the patrons of the house.
Her closest friend was the sister of
young fireman, whose home was not
far from lie Droit park, and this chron
icle deals with occurrences which took
place there, the sister being her broth
er's housekeeper.
In October, 1895, the two friends de-
termined that they would celebrate
Halloween as it should be celebrated,
by the usual weird and ghostly pro-
ceedings, and they met at the young
fireman's house to carry out their pur-
pose. By IL o'clock, when they intended
to call up the spirits, they were the only
occupants ofthe house, and they had be-
gun to get nervous. However, they did
not propose to get frightened out of their
designs on the spirits, so going to the
room which they had selected for their
incantations, they locked the doors and
fastened the windows and began. Just
what they did to call up the spirits may
be left to the knowledge of those who
have tried it at Halloween, but suffice
it that whatever they did YVES product
i've of results, and in the midst of their
work they were startled by steps on
the stairs leading up to the door of the
room in which they were. AS the
whole house below stairs had been
locked up and there was no noise of any
! kind previous to the footballs on the
stairs, this noise was the more disturb
! ing to them, but they felt safe enough,
for their own doors were locked, and
neighbors were near in case the in
truder proved to be a mortal of evil in
I tent.
AS it was the young clerks fortune
which was being told, of course she was
the center of attraction, and as the
| footsteps approached the door, though
the two girls rather suspected that the
| II
them, they continued their call on the
spirits as the manual directed. Then
before they had thought whether the
footsteps had stopped at the door or
not, the door slowly swung open and a
coffin of full length appeared sitting
on end in the doorway, which i'm
mediately began swaying in and out
as if lowing. The lid was removed,
showing the occupant to be dead
man, whom neither of the young
women knew. Both saw it distinctly,
and as suddenly as it appeared it went
| out again, leaving the door locked as
| it was in the beginning.
The effect upon the girl whose for
tune was being told was more serious
| than it was upon her friend, and while
the latter screamed the former fell over
| in a dead faint. Some other Halloween
merry-makers, not far away, heard the
screams, and getting into the house
| found one girl stretched out on the
floor as if dead, and the other in hys-
terics. Explanations were given after
the young woman had sufficiently re-
covered to be coherent, but from the
night of the mysterious disappearance
of the coffin, with the dead man in it,
who apparently bore no relation what
ever to either of the girls, the young
clerk began to fade as a flower might.
Her merry spirit was subdued, the
sparkle of her eye was gone, her step
was heavy, she never spoke of the
vision of that night, and before another
Halloween she had gone into the
shadowland, whence had come that
which had darkened her life.
A simple white slab of marble marks
the spot where she sleeps, and on it,
with her name, is the inscription:
"And there shall be no more night
there. "-Washington Star.