Smyrna times., 1901-07-31
Some
Homemade
By. Spooks.
NJ. QUAD.
COPYRIGHT, 1901, By C. B. LEWIS


1 was putting electric wires into the
house of a gentleman named Endriss.
living In a fashionable street in Lon
dom when one day he invited me into
his library, poured me out a glass of
wine and then had a story to relate
From his statements it appeared that
his mother, who was an old lady of 70,
had long been n member of a certain
charitable organization, and certain
members Of it had secured an undue
influence over her. She was being per-
suaded to buy and deed the society a
certain house and lot valued at about
$1,000 and the sons arguments and
protestatiOns had brought about strain
ed relations. The long and short of it
was, think. that the soE 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 1t
out. The house stood alone on a 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 gOblins made to order,
and he believed l was the man to put
the job through successfully.
He was willing to pay n good price
for a good thing, and. after two or three
meetings we came to a satisfactory un-
derstanding. 1t was two story brick
house, with 4 cellar and an attic, and
the grounds were surrounded by
stone wall There were three or four
old trees, with limbs touching the
walls, and the roof was out of repair,
and doors and windows were in a dilap-
idated state. found the cellar divided
by four partition walls, and the rooms
we're gloomy enough to look at. 1t was
an ideal place for spooks. Down in one
corner of the yard was a Toulouse, with
door in the wall opening upon COM
mon, and after spending a couple of
hours about the place | reported to Mr..
Endriss that l could give him the
hauntedest haunted house ever known
in England. That door opening on the
commons and the high wall around the
grounds gave me an opportunity to
come and go and do my work without
much risk of observation.
The Toulouse had a garret to it,
which was dark and damp, and en-
trance to it was effected by trapdoor
and ladder. and took this attic for
my headquarters. Thither carried
my electric batteries and other para
phernalia, and for a week | was busy
running wires and locating spooks. 1t
tested my ingenuity to run wires along
the walls and up and down the trunks
Oh trees and into the house in such a
manner that they should be safe from
al other eyes, but l carried this mat
Ter out very successfully. l had to rip
up the flooring and get into the parti-
IONS here and there, but my tools left
no trace behind.
10 not know how Mr. Endriss
worked it, but one day it was whis-
pered about that the old Duff house
was haunted. A tramp told a story OF
Ueing driven out by strange noises, and
III a hours it was all over the neigh
oOrnood. A newspaper bad something
70 say about it in a day or two. and be-
lure the week was out two grOcer's
C'erks had decided to pass the night
the haunted house. was kept
Posted and was on hand at a proper
uOur' The young fellows took up their
sauon In the parlor. having candles.
edrus, drink and a good deal of cour-
age, Dut they didn't remain all night.
onuer the floors of the upper and low
er nails had placed two fat pieces Of
"oou IN such a way that they would
s'riKe together when the electric but
ION was pressed. AS those spook de-
uers sat smoking and bluffing they
uedrd the sound of footsteps in the up
yer nall. They had to imagine that
.ne footsteps descended the stairs, but
.uey S'ndly did so. Then they caught
sIen In thu lower hall and imagined
.nas an invisible being passed the open
parior door, and the way those chaps
sOt out Of that house and over the wall
was sight to see. Their story created
I'ense excitement, and, realizing that
.is property was In peril, the owner
terry.
Inree nights after the young men
Hdu Deen driven out the owner and two
2oncemen took up their quarters in the
nouse' A thorough search was first
naue or the premises, and then the
uio sat down to wait for spooks. In
uue time the spooks came. There was
~ wind outside. but shortly before