Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-05-26

his library, poured me out glass OF
wine and then had story to relate
From his statements it appeared that
his mother. who was an old lady of Is,
charitable organization, and certain
members of 1t had secured an undue
influence over her. She was being per-
suaded to buy and deed the society
certain house and lot valued at about
$4,000, and the sons arguments and
protestations had brought about strain
ed relations. The long and short of it
was, think, that the son did not want
the money to go out Of the family, and
he had set his wits to work to invent
some scheme to defeat the old lady's
intentions. He had got the scheme and
now desired my assistance to carry it
out The housestood alone on large
plot of ground and had not been ten
anted for several years. The mother
was a superstitious woman, who was
guided by dreams and omens and had
once seen a ghost, and the son proposed
to knock her project in the head by
producing a haunted house. He want
ed ghosts and COLLINS made to order,
and he believed was the man to put
the job through successfully.
He was willing to pay good price
for good thing, and after two or three
derstanding. 1t was a two story brick
house, with cellar and an attic, and
the grounds were surrounded by
stone wall. There were three of four
old trees, with limbs touching the
walls, and the roof was out of repair,
and doors and windows were in dilap-
idated state. Il found the cellar divid-
ed by four partition walls, and the
rooms were glomy enough to look at.
1t was an ideal place for spooks. Down
in one corner Of the yard was tool
house, with a door in the wall opening
upon common. and after spending a
couple of hours about the place l re-
ported to Mr. Endriss that could give
him the hauntedest haunted house ever
known in England. That door open
ing on the commons and the high wall
around the grounds gave me an oppor-
tunity to come and go and do my work
without much risk of observation.
The Toulouse had garnet to it.
which was dark and damp, and en-
trance to it was effected by a trapdoor
and ladder, and l took this attic for
my headquarters. Thither I carried
my electric batteries and other para
phernilia, and for week l was busy
running wires and locating spooks. It
tested my ingenuity to run wires along
the walls and up and down the trunks
of trees and into the house in such
manner that they should be safe from
all other eyes, but carried this mat
ter out very successfully. 4 had to rip
up the flooring and get into the parti-
.ions here and there, but lny tools left
no trace behind
I do not know how Mr.. Endriss
worked it, but one day it was wills
pered about that the old Duff house
was haunted. A tramp told story OF
being driven out by strange noises, and
in "A hours it was all over the neigh
borhood. a newspaper had something
to say about ii in day or two, and be-
fore the week was out two grocer's
clerks had decided to pass the night
in the haunted house was kept
posted and was on hand at a proper
hour. The young fellows took up theis
station in the parlor, having candles,
car6s, drink and a good deal Of cour-
age. but they didn't remain all night.
Under the floors of the upper and low
er halls 4 had placed two nat pieces of
weed in 81 mEax. that thesr weule
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