The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1899-07-06
MARBLEHEAD GHOST CLOCK.

keeping q Vow Made by . Man
Shortly Before He Died.
Of the fact that strange phenomena
exist which people are obliged to accept
without being able to explain them the
quaint little town Of Marblehead fur
nishes an instance in the shape of an
one, belonging to Mrs Pitman, who
lives on Reeds hill. not far from the
railroad station.
Even the most skeptical have been
obliged to admit its existence and mys-
FERROUS workings and to confess their
inability to explain the power that con-
trolls it or to advance any reasonable
theory upon the subject. It has been
visited and examined by thousands dur
ing the past few years-by clergymen.
scientists and others of learning and ex-
perience-and they have all come away
satisfied that there was no delusion or
trickery in what they witnessed and
filed with wonder at what they had
seen and heard.
1t is simply the wooden case Of an
old fashioned eight day clock, entirely
destitute Of works and containing moth.
ing save the coiled wire that once
formed a portion of the striking ap-
paratus 1t was the property of Mrs.
Pitman's father and has never, to her
recollection, been other than it is now
without pendulum or mechanism.
For some reason unknown to others
it was priced very highly by the old
gentleman and was kept on the mantel
of seldom occupied room on the Sec
ond floor of the house The family,
comprising besides Mrs. Pitman her
father. children and brother. were
churchgoing people and were never
known as so called Spiritualists. and she
knew nothing of the mysterious powers
possessed by the old clock until one
evening when she heard it strike clear
ly and distinctly. as if in perfect order
She listened with amazement until
the strokes ceased, and then, turning
to her father. was about to express her
surprise and ask him for an explanation
of the wonder when he said very
quickly "It is striking for me- am
going away
She laughed in disbelief. and he add
ed. 81 mean that am going-never
to return.
"But there are people who say that
those who die do come back some
times" she said. refusing to regard the
matter seriously
But he looked at her intently as he
said, slowly and solemnly. "Then. if
it is possible, l will return to you. my
daughter, and in way you cannot
mistake.
Nothing more was said at the time,
and few days later the old gentleman
died-very suddenly.
Mrs. Pitman had given little thought
to her fathers words. until one day
when in the room where the clock was
kept she was startled by hearing it
tick with the same regularity and dis
tinctness as though the missing works
were again within the case and moving
the long gone pendulum.
She FASTENED to call her brother,
and as the two stood listening to the
monotonous ''tick. tick" of the invisi.
BILE pendulum she told him for the
first time of what their father had said
to her shortly before his death
He listened to her with impatience
and when her story was finished he
asked, angrily. if she believed their
dead father would come back to earth
and manipulate the old clock And he
warned her to say$nothing to the neigh
bors about the matter for fear they
might think her crazy
Several clockmakers were called in.
but none Of them could find anything
to account for the strange ticking with
in the case, which now began to come
quite frequently
Mrs. Pitman soon found that the
clock would reply to questions which
could be answered by simple Yes
or ono and that the responses were
always sensible. and. when relating to
future events, were borne out by subse-
quent facts. These answers woul Il come
not only for her own benefit. but for
that of others as well. so that many
have consulted it through her "medi-
umship"-if such it can be called-and
always with satisfactory results. At
times. and when the visitors are music
al. there will be heard tinkling. as if
invisible fingers were picking on the
wire, and upon one occasion there
came to the astonished ears of lady
the opening notes of an air which had
been the favorite of recently deceased
relative. Boston Transcript