The suburban citizen., 1901-08-17
GREEN'S UNEASY GHOST
THE FITTING seooK THAT BROKE
UP AN INDIANA SCHOOL.

Various Ways in Which the Spirit
Manifested Itself - How Green Came
TO Re Lynched.
A special correspondent Of the Chi
cago Inter-Ocean writes from Flora,
Ind. as follows There is one COM
munity in this State where there is
no dissent on the question as to
whether there are such things as
ghosts. Walnut Grove, a village two
miles west Of here, is the place, and
so firm is the faith Of the residents
there in spooks that they have forced
the school trustees Of the township to
abandon the schoolhouse that for
years has answered for their needs,
and construct another that win be
free from the taint of being haunted.
For some years the story that ghosts
were common visitors in the vicinity
Of the Walnut Grove schoolhouse have
been current, but the trustees, who
are hard-headed types of Hooslers,
have always refused to give any ere
dence to the reports. They have lived
in hope that the stories would be for
gotten, and have done all that was in
their power to cast ridicule upon the
rumors. Their course was dictated by
two motives. In the first place, they
did not believe in ghosts, and in the
second, they had an investment in the
schoolhouse and resented the clrcula-
tion of stories that were liable to i'm
pair its value and usefulness.
From the standpoint Of the trustees
this action on their part was all right
but it did not meet with the approval
Of the parents of the children who had
to attend the school, When little
Johnny Jones and his sister Sue, for
instance, came screaming home to
their mother and told her Of seeing
man swinging by the neck to a tree in
the immediate vicinity Of the school
house, and that the hanging man
amused himself by making ugly faces
at them it became a matter of mo-
ment to tie parents, especially as 1T
tie Johnny and his sister Sue almost
went into spasms when told to go to
school as usual the next day. The
story of Johnny and MS sister had cor
roboration from other children who at
tended the school. and finally the par
ents began to withdraw their children
from the place and send them to this
city or TO some other place to get an
education.
Sometimes the ghost varied his ap-
pearance, and instead Of hanging from
the tree, would be seen strolling along
the road, his head very much on one
side, his tongue hanging out of his
mouth, and an expression Of indescrb-
able agony OH his face. The children
said that they would NO more than get
n glimpse Of him when he would disap.
pear in the most unaccouutable man
ner. The ghost would be walking on
the road where there was not an OBJ
ject to afford him concealment, when,
presto! he would be gone.
The children and the parents said
that 1t was Amer Green's ghost. The
school trustees said "6ddlesticks," but
the parents stuck to their belief and
accentuated it by Withdrawing theil
children from the school. At the last
term of the school, the one that has
just closed, there We're only two Cchol
ars, and at its termination the teacher
told the trustees that she could not en-
dure the life at the school for another
term, and must leave The trustees
tried to get a teacher to take the
school for the fall term, but its fame
as a ghost-haunted place had become
noised abroad, and the quest of the
trustees was unsuccessful In view
of this fact, and in Difference to the
wishes of the taxpayers the trustees
have awarded the contracts for the
erection Of another schOolhouse in lieu
Of the old one. 1t will have another
site, and the hope is that the ghost OF
Amer Green viii not in future bother
the children and interrupt their edu
cation.
The slim attendance at the school the
last term, as well as the change o.
hNNlb VA lAiN EalN VI lllt u uoNttNt W a.
largely due to the apparit!on that ap
peared to DR.. Budford Karns of this
city one night last fall. DR.. Karns Is
not an emotional man, and his repu
tation for truth and veracity are un
questioned. The doctor had beer
making a professional call in the Wal
nut Grove neighborhood on the nigh
of November 30. and had to pass the
vicinity Of the schoolhouse on his way
home. While passing a grove OF
trees near the schoolhouse he saw the
( body Of a man hanging from a lml
and swaying back and forth Wher
the doctor told of what he had seer
the next day it settled the matter, anC
the fate of the old schoOlhouse was
assured.
While there has not been anything
new discovered to account for the ap
plarance Of the ghost or the unearthly
noises that have terrified the children
at school, there is only one belief oil
the subject and that is that the un
canny object IL the ghost Of Amel
] Green. On a walnut tree in the vi
clnity Of the schoolhouse some year
ago Amer Green was strung ND bl