Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-11
MYSTERY OF A HAUNTED HOUSE.

MYSTERY OF A HAUNTED HOUSE.
Easily Solved. but the NeiEhborhood
Was Well Stirred Up.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat
Our quiet and usually hum-drum neigh
oorhood.' said gentleman living in the
southern suburbs of the city has lately
been the scene of a haunted house episode
of very remarkable character The house
in point is old. ramshackle frame dwell
ing standing well back In a lot about
block and a half from my home and in
easy view from our front porch 1t is badly
out OF repair. the yard is overgroWn with
weeds. and. having had no tenant for a long
time' the whole place presents a gloomy
and forbidding appearance. One evening
last spring. think it was in the early ma ~
OF Aprli-we were sitting out of doors taxing
Tue ar, when L happened to glance across
a. the ola mouse, and was surprised to see
mat one of the upper windows was brebtIy
illuminated. Why, look therer I eycIa;7,adJ
we seem to have a new neighbor Has any
pody rented the place. Not that | know
d. 81, saiu my wife, equally astonished; per
maps some tramps have broken in That
seemed plausible theory, and, fearing q
IRE L decided to go over and investigate.
' oul Just as rose from my chair the light
suouehiy went out. Nevertheless | walked
across and found everything shut IN m
parehtiy. as tight as wax. | returned CON
theory. ioSS LOT
-Four five nights afterwara. Tho
speaker went on. 1.-The light reappeared mn
utF exactly the same circumstances We
an =. sa" 1t at once, and. naturally enough.
II sent futter of excitement througb r.
whole family. Again / started To So;
gate put my wife begged me to stay. and
70 zen the truth, was not over-anxious To
Sro WI. tnIough the premises in the dark
80 80 we sat still and watched. and that time
me window remained Illuminated for nearly
nalt an hour. Then as before If bIipLaS
out abruptly and all was blackness Next
sonai friend. and told him the story
,rramps. as sure shootingw he said
n II pei there are dozen asleep right nowr
he got his keys and we started for tho
place together. 1 believed in the tram
theory myself. but when We unlocked The
ooor and went in I was somewhat stag
g s,t The entire house had that indie
scrlbable atmosphere of desertion that
comes with long continued disuse and
mere was absolutely nothing to indicate
ma ynat any one had been there for months.
the light had appeared and found the door
not only tightly locked but warped almost
s SOL. IN its frame: We pushed it open with
difficulty. and the room beyond was &c
empty as a drum. 1t had no clcsets q,
possible places of concealment the window
iastenings were all intact and the heavy
dust that mantled the floor was untracked
as fresh-fallen snow. The landlord smiled.
You must have imagined that light he
said. Did the whole family Imagine IT.
! i, retorted He shrugged his shoulders.
You see for yourself, he replied. and 7
was obliged to admit that the evidence vas
against me. We searched the yard before
we left. but looked in vain for any sim
OIL human beings. The lower windows were
boarded and the back door was cvergrown
by a creeping vine. Everywhere dust Law
thick and undistuIbed.
"A few nights later my wife came rum
ming into the library, pale as death. oh
| exclaimed hot
ut again! Let 1t stay lit growled: hut
all the same 1 felt icy creeping along
my spine Moreover. I was greatly an
noyed- A haunted house is a very rnde-
slraoie adjunct to a respectable residence
section. and. on account of the children
l dreaded the ghost stories I knew would
there was no evading the fact that the
light was there and couldn't be explained
and, not to tire you with details 1 NAV
say briefly that during the next two
months 1t appeared seven or eight different
times. There were several things about
these appearances that were in themselves
very extraordinary. One of them was the
abruptness with which the light flashed
into brightness and again was quenched
In the dark There was no flicker no grad
uatton-just sudden blaze and a sudden
biackness One night the illumination last
ed fully an hour: on another occasion it
lasted only few seconds and reappeared
four Or five times at short intervals
Strange to say, it was never seen by our
ing two lots away observed 1t frequently
Meanwhile. just as I had feared the mat
ter became common gossip, and a number
OF fantastic stories were told. One was to
the effect that an old man, who had once
occupied the house. was horribly murdered
In the upper room by a negro servant ;, he
tragedy was supposed to have occurred di
rectly after the war, and. of course no
body could diSprove 1t. Others said that
former tenants had heard strange noises
at night. coming apparently from this
same room, and for that reason 1t had be-
come impossible to rent the premises
Taken altogether. we soon had first-class
mystery on our hands.
Now. let me give you briefly the de-
movement. 1t may seem singular that none
of us made a determined effort to solve the
enigma, but what Is everybodys business
Is nobody's business. and you must remem-
Der that, in the majority of instances, the
light appeared for only very few minutes
at time. Before anybody could start for
It, it was gone. However, to get to the
point. I was sitting in my yard one even
Ing. when suddenly a complete explanation
of the phenomenon flashed into my mind
The window. while fastened down, was
loose in its frame. and could be tilted
slightly in and out by the wind When In
clined at certain unusual angle its dusty
panes caught the reflection of a tall cleo
trio light tower, seven eight blocks
away. and the effect was exactly that of |
an illumination from the inside lasting |
until another passing breeze canted the |
window back in a different direction. OF |
course. had considered the reflection the
DRY before. but It. seemed to be upset by !
the sudden appearances and disappearance