The Washington times., 1901-07-21
ONLY GHOSTS AS TENANTS.
Weird Stories About Old Houses
in Washington.
Strange Noises Drive Away Occu-
pants md Furnish Gossip for the
Superstitious - Boys Alarmed by
Appnritions in Haunted Grounds.

There are in washington, and prob
ably in every other city, for that mat
ter, dilapidated looking old houses,
| standing among elegant and modern
buildings, marring the appearance Of
the surroundings by their appearance
! Very often tenantless, sometimes mys-
| teriously occupied, with windows
broken and cracked doors and shut
tiers, sadly in need of paint, with grass
| growing between the crevices of the
front pathway and steps, if succeed
with the plaster peeling off in strips
and patches-these houses seem as
much out of place as pauper in the
midst of an assembly of well-to-do
| people.
{ There are often strange stories con-
I nected with such houses-tales of
"spooks" holding high carnival at
night in the rooms and driving tenants
away in fear and trembling. Every
resident of this city can probably re-
call such houses. The story of their
| existence in the midst of a thriving
neighborhood is probably prosaic one
based fundamentally on the fact that
| the price asked by the landlord for the
property is too high, but the popular
mind will not be satisfied with prosaic
fact. and ghosts" and "hobgoblins"
| are brought in to lend their aid in ac-
counting for the presence of the forlorn
| structure in a satisfactory manner.
To account for the origin OF these
| tales of haunted houses is sometimes
impossible. There is a rumor current
among the Juveniles of a certain neigh
borhood that such house is tenanted
| by ghosts and the youngsters take
fearful delight in daring one another
when the shades of night have made
| the time propitious to go up the front
steps and peer in at the windows and
ring the bell.~or inaugurate game OF
| follow-the-leader in the tangled and
weed-covered back garden. Such ex-
| citing proceedings are usually tefmi-
mated by an alarm given by one of the
party, when Immediately each youth
full member, feeling vividly that a
ghost is after him. makes a precipi-
tate rush, and the investigating urch-
ins come together under the nearest
light and tell fearfully of what they
have seen, such narratives being gen
orally remarkable for imaginative in
ventiop. Some bold and reckless
spirits there are who. ignoring all sup
ernatural subjects whatever, scrawl in
chalk on the walls of the haunted
house sentences derisive of the terrors
Of the ghost.
An old gentleman of this city, and
member of the oldeSt Inha bitants' AS
sociation, recalls an incident that hap
pened in his young days, which he af-
firms TO be his first and last superna-
tural experience. 1t seems that the old
mansion in Georgetown once occupied
by Baron Bodisco, the Russian Minis
ter, was reported and believed to be
haunted. The boys in the neighbor-
hood of the house, of which the narra-
tor was one, were in the habit, as is
usual in such cases. of affecting to de-
spise the ghost, of which they had,
nevertheless, a very wholesome fear.
This ghost. who seems not to have
been remarkable for originality and
who manifested himself by the manner
common to his kind, of rapping, but
never coming In, had long been the ter
ror OF the neighborhood, and had rem
dered the mansion he inhabited inn
passable after nightfall to the nervous.
The boys. including the narrator, on
the occasion in question, mounted the
front steps, the boldest leading. and
stood on the platform Immediately in
front of the entrance, listening atten-
lively. Sure enough, a distinct zap
ping wes heard as though at one of
the upper windows. This was enough.
The urchins took the steps in a bound,
and never stopped running until they
were at q considerable distance from
the fearful house.
1t was afterward ascertained that the
ghostly tapping was caused by the
branch Of a tree which crossed one of
the windows. and, moved by the wind,
beat perceptibly against the glass.
This experience and its subsequent
explanation is probably the counter
part of many others. though in some
cases the explanation is unfortunately
left out. 1t would, indeed, be difficult
to furnish an explanation of the facts
as narrated in some instances. as these
are so extraordinary as to stagger
credulity. Whether to impute such
narrations to diseased imagination,
a love to astonish and confound the
hearer, or an absolutely truthful re-
cital of actual occurrences witnessed
is sometimes, indeed, a very puzzling
matter. There are, unquestionably,
people living in this city who have, to
the best of their belief, lived in haunt
they witnessed the most astounding
and unaccountable phenomena. To Ie-
call an instance in point, the narrator
of which was of unquestionable verac-
ity: certain house in the city was
rented by married couple. A stair
steep, and it was rumored that the |
wife of the landlord who had previous |
ly tenanted the place. had fallen Gown |
these stairs and was instantly killed. |
Both the gentleman and his wife heard |
what they described to be groans, as |
of human being in extreme agony, |
proceeding apparently from the foot |
of the dark staircase, and continuing |
at interS ais during the night They |
were, UP to that tine, unacquainted |
with the tragic event which had hap |
pened in the house. The landlord |
called in person, one day, to collect the |
first months rent. On that occasion, |
conversation on indifferent topics, a |