The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-11
STORY OF A SKULL.
A Family Haunted by a Murderer
Grim Legacy.
Philadelphia Record.


In celebrated murder trial conducted nv
Lawyer William b. Reed in Philadelphia,
some thlrty-five years ago, the junior coun-
sci had shown some kindness to one
of the two men who were convicted and
sentenced to be hanged for the murder of
peddler boy. In return for this the doomed
man bequeathed his skull to the young law
YER VINO placed it in a bookcase in his Of
hce, where, in course of time, it was for
gotten. Some years after his marriage the
lawyer sent the bookcase. which was an old
family heirloom, to his house, where it was
placed In the second-story sitting room. The
house stood in d part Of the Neck" which
mas since been laid out with thickly built-up
streets While the bookcase was being
moved, the men handling it declared they
ana, when opened by the chambermaid, the
skull fell out on her head, and she vacated
the premises. The lawyer picked up the
skull and set it on top of the bookcase.
His wife begged him to take it away. but
he replied she had better pay some one to get
rid or 1t, as ne really did not care to risk
the possible complications which might re-
suit from secreting a human skull. This
seemed to be the general sentiment. for no
body could be paid to handle it. The lady
nersef was loath to touch it, so it stood on
the bookcase until one terrible night when
the lawyers wife alone in the house,
except for the children, who were asleep i'll
their nursery.
Being Halloween the servants were out
merryrnaxing, and as her husband had gone
to his lodge, she was waiting for him when
the clock struck midnight Lifting her head
at the sound her eyes lit on the skull and
II seemed to move. Nonsense she said to
herSelt. Il am nervous. - But slowly the
skull moved along the edge of the bookcase
and rolled over toward her on the floor.
Petrined with terror, at first she could not
move, but as the dreadful object drew
nearer, nervous reaction set in and in the
courage of despair she seized the skull in
both hands, made the sign of the cross in
the air, and out fell little mouse which had
rolled the skull over in trying to escape.
Then throwing up a window, she flung the
skull as far out as her strength would per-
nit
The day following the lawyer sent a man
to look for the skull and bury it, but nothing
horror of the mother, her three-year-old
child came into the house with the skull in
its arms. An old woman living on one of
the bikes next took the skull away at
charge of 81 She told ortunes and the
story getting abroad that she conjured with
a mans skull she was suspected of some
sort of foul play. On Halloween, one year
later, she was escorted by constable to
the lawyers residence to get her statement
verified as to how she secured possession
of il
The next appearance of the skull in public
was in the hands of Aunt Dolby, 10 whom
II had been left by the fortune teller She
wanted the lawyers wife to authenticate
the deed of gift to the fortune teller, as in
the lapse of ten years there were several
who looked upon the skull of the murderer
as prize and Aunt Dolby had to make
good her claim of ownership
The house was daily besieged by persons
who wanted to make Inquiries or buy the
skull and his wife. feeling that she had en-
dured too much, moved to New York. There
her husband died, her boys grew TO manhood
and the old homestead was built up with
houses. She was Obliged to return to Phia-
delphia to look after her property. and was
pleased to find that the improvements prom
ised to be remunerative.
As she passed through a pretty little
street where she owned many houses,
man came out of one saying he wanted to
get a long lease of the house he rented. and
explaining that IL was built on the site of
the hut occupied by Aunt Dolby" who con-
jured with the murderer's skull Il have
the skull. he added. there ii sits I'm the
window with the geranium growing in it"
The lady looked. recognized the skull which
had haunted her. gave a shudder and went
back to New York on the first train The
neighbors say that the tenant with the skull
for a flower pot gets his house s. a month
cheaper than any other in the row. on con-
clifton that he keeps the skull chained up.
The skull is suspended by three brass chains
from a window hook