The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-22
SPOOK WANTS A CORONER.
MYSTERIOUS APP4RITION IN THE
CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING.
1t DalIies About the Room where the
Poisons Used by Suicides Are Kept
Once 1t Took tho Form of Crazy
Young Woman - Temperate Oficials
Who Say They Have Seen II.

Once IL TOOK tho Form OF q Crazy
Young woman - Temperate Oniciais
who Say They Have Seen II.
People having busiaess With the Co1oners and
visiting the Coroners Office at night are positive
in their declarations that there is a ghost loose
on the third floor of the Criminal Courts Building
They say that II the ghost is not captured very
soon IL may be necessary to close the Office at
night, for the reason that it will be difficult mat
ter TO get night clerk TO remain there after dark
ness sets in. According to the stories told by
persons who say they have seen the ghost, the
apparition appears at midnight assuming the
form OF a woman and to all appearances coming
from the room in which the suicide poison closet
is situated For many years it has been the
custom of the officials attached TO the Coroners'
Office to preserve samples Of posons that have
figured in suicide cases These samples are
kept in vessels Of all sorts, In china cups bottles,
jars tin cups, goblets, and in fact any old thing
that the poison happens to be in at the time it is
found at the side Of suicide There are now
more than thousand Of these samples As
soon as a man woman commits suicide the
poison left behind the dregs of the glass from
which the drink was taken, is brought to the Cor
oners' Office and placed in this closet Since the
suicide museum grew in size, bottles of chloro-
form and carbolic acid and cups partly filled with
Paris green stored on the shelves about the
room, on top Of the closet and on top OF the big
safe. For long time the poison closet has been
overcrowded. Each sample Is labelled and con-
tains reference TO the particular Of suicide
IL represents About half the total number
samples of poison that figured In cases Of suicide
by women. Owing to this foot the people who
have seen the ghost believe the apparition 10 the
spirit Of one Of the many women that partooi of
the poison kept in the room
George Cook, one OF the night clerks says that
he has often come face TO face with the mystic
rious being that haunts the Office. The most
recent story told by an employee is TO the effect
that the ghost is not ghost but an insane woman
who got into the Criminal Courts Building in some
mysterious manner
Il knew II was not ghost that saw" said
James o'Bren, one Of the clerks in the Office.
1T was real live woman, but did not know she
was in the Office until she suddenly appeared as
II she had dropped from the ceiling. II was a
few nights ago that she made her appearance to
me l was making out death certificate at the
time. and hearing a woman's voice whispering
something l glanced around, but
Suddenly woman appeared right in front Of
me. She had a sad sweet face She was very
pale I should Judge her TO be about "a
years old She was slim and delicate looking
and her large black eyes had vacant st are that
for a minute frightened Stepping softly
toward me on her tip toes she said In whisper:
81 want the Coroner
Il asked her why she wanted the Coroner, and
she said she was dying and desired to make a
statement before she passed away. She said
she wanted to be buried in a cemetery where there
were plenty OF trees at the top Of hill She de
sired to make arrangements to have her grave
decorated with flowers and then she proceeded
70 talk of birds and flowers ali the time speaking
| in whisper She glanced at the ceiling and
| said softly Heaven is my home I asked hei
| why she thought she was about TO die, and she
said she knew she was in poor health and onl y
| had a few weeks to live She talked nationally
| then about making arrangements for her funeral
Finally she said softly: 4 love the birds and the
| flowers and green trees and the old homestead
| Then she grabbed me by the arm suddenly and
| shouted wildly:
Look Look! There they are killing her
| Don't let them murder her
| a minute or 80 later she appeared to be per
| fectly calm. but she had thrown a scare into me
for thought she somebody being murdered
| in an adjoining room from where was standing
II was a where the suicides poisons are kept
| glanced into the dark ness. and for q minute my
blood ran cold Quickly / recovered presence OF
| mind and concluded that the poor girl who stooc
| before me was insane. ] drew away from her anC
| stood at a distance fearing that she might b,
| armed with a revolver or something Of that sort
While standing about ten feet from her continued
| TO talk asking her where she resided, She Their
| appeared to be in her right mind, and said she
| lived uptown and that her name was Nogt Sh,
again said she wanted to make arrangements fol
her funeral and added that she would like 10 make
| a statement TO the Coroner for the purpose OF
| causing the arrest Of a man in an insane asylum
who had thrown her on the floor and fractured hel
| skull. She mentioned asylum which, she
said. she had been sent To by relative, and said
that while in this asylum one Of the keepers had
fractured her skull She said she knew that the
| fracture would result in her DEATH and for this
reason she desired TO make an ante norton state
| 81 know am going TO die, she said, but ] wa n
to see my assaant arrested before pass away
Again she talked Of birds and flowers anc
sbe got rid q her by Fading her "tf he
car and advising her to go TO one Of the polio,
one saw her come into the building although
there Is Waterman stationed at the only doc
Se h S eo sse her all S
this floor. Poor girl. felt sorry for her, for th'
reason that think her mind was unbalanced by
matter over since the discovery of the mutilatec
remains Of a woman found UP there on The ives
see her ghost, but that she was n real, liv,
woman, or, should say a pale. sad faced CIR
IN the e nte heR
tainly are mysterious, and we cannot account FOL
Assistant District Attorney Valentine Carleton
who has charge of the preparation Of cases tina
go before the Grand Jury is compelled to WORK
|
Going from his office in the Criminal Courts Build
ing to the elevator he is compelled to pass tn,
| Cnroners office. Mr. Carleton declares that h,
has frequently seen the mysterious visitor, ant
has talked the matter over with other persons EN-
| ployed in the building.
Il certainly saw it," said Mr.. Carleton, "and
cannot account for it, II appeared To me like tn
figure oi woman in vapur or smoke in the room
where the suicides poison il kept. The door o
this room being open. any one can see the mystic
rious appartion or whatever you might call II
almost any night | have gone in there with
Clerk Cook, and lit the gas in the room, and have
seen smoke or vapor just disappear in way tina
the clouds break up after storm. Clerk Cool
and have searched all the closets and corners o
the room on various occasions believing that SOM
one playing trick for the purpose Of throwing
n scare into the night clerk. We learned, how
ever that such not the case. and although
am not believer in ghosts. cannot account 70
the strange things various occasions il
that suicide room II a man addicted TO the us
OF liquor were TO see this appariton, he certainl!
would never drink another drop Al least fift!
persons, 10 my knowledge temperate people too
have seen this cloud appear in the form Of woman
! saw the insane girl the night she came into tn
building; but she was flesh and blood. ] saw he
going down in the elevator car. and In my opinion
she was a young woman who had escaped from
some sanitaTium She was thin and pale-f Ced
| and | should Judge did not weigh over ninet,