The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-17
A CHOSTLY
VISITOR.
He Pointed Out His
Murderer.

Springlng up, l grasp Dalrymple Dy
the arm and give him a raising shake.
He starts up with a sleepy, half fright
ened look.
"Jack," said I in an awed whisper,
"listen! There Is the ghosts step! This
house is haunted sure! He's coming
down stairsw
Dalrymple rubbed his eyes and sprang
to his feet. Ghosts nor men had ter
rors for him, and it was for this reason
that l had asked him to spend a night
with me in this house, about which were
so many stories Of ghosts walking at
night and which was so much avoided
by the villagers.
And in truth the houses uncanny repu-
tation was not without foundation. It
had not been occupied for ID years and
was now inhabited by rats and cock
reaches. Its roof was all moss grown,
and all approaches to 1t were grown up
in weeds and briers. No one had cared to
go near it in IS years. Its last occu-
pant was rich old man who lived in
it only during the summer and was all
alone For Is summers he lived there.
The people knew but little of him save
that his name was Caspar Troup and
that he was very wealthy.
was one day in August just 13 years be-
fore the occurrence of the incident mar
rated at the beginning of this story. He
was observed walking about the place
experimenting some work that he was
having done. The next day the house
was shut up, and he was seen no more.
1t was thought that he had returned TO
the city and would turn up the next
A 4orr Loft
brother of his came down and removed
the furniture and closed up the house.
That was the last ever seen Of Caspar
Troup, and the next summer the house
was not opened.
The big, roomy house remained all
through the year following closed up, de-
serted and alone The villagers who pass
ed by it at night began to tell strange
stories of the sounds that they heard in
side and declared that they had often
seen a light shining through the blinds
and had heard voices moaning as if in
pain. These stories gave the house rep
utation of being haunted, and it was Civ
en- a wide berth by all at night, just as
many other houses are in nearly every
village For Is years the house sustained
the reputation well and even increased it.
1t became the talk of the town, and any
number of intrepid youths spoke of
spending a night in the house and solv-
ing the mystery. But none ever did so.
| determined to see if there was anything
in the many stories that had been told
and proposed to Jack Dalrymple that
we spend a night in the house and meet
the ghost face to face.
And so it came to pass that we repair
ed to the silent house one night just after
dusk and, opening the creaking door, en-
tered the wide hallway. All was dark.
We lighted a wax taper and set it down
in the hallway to give us light. We spent
the first few hours of the night speculat-
ing about the appearance of his ghost
ship and finally, becoming wearied. we
had fallen asleep. | had scarcely got
asleep when | heard the footsteps as de-
scribed above.
After rousing Dalrymple we walked
into the hallway.
We could hear the footsteps sounding
in the hallway just over our heads. II
was the ghost, and it was coming toward
the stairway. Nearer and nearer the
footsteps came, and faster and faster my
heart beat. Another step
Great God! There it was! Hdeous!
Horrible!
At last | had seen a ghost In all my
most horrible freaks of Imagination |
had never conjured up anything half so
frightful or hideous as this. 1t was the
figure of an old man, who might have
been a thousand years old, so bent, so
feeble and decrepit be seemed. He was
leaning with one hand on a cane. while
with the other he steadied himself on the
railing of the stairway. But more hor-
rible than all was the awful gaping cut
which extended from one of his ears to
the other and which was dripping with
blood His white beard was clothed with
blood, and the long white hair which fell
In folds over his shoulders was soaked
with gore.
This horrible, unearthly figure came
down the stairway and stood before us,
staring at us with his wild, maniacal,
protruding, bloodshot eyes, while his thin
lips were twitching nervously and the
CHASTITY wound was gaping open, showing
the severed windpipe.
"Who-who are your asked Dalrym-
| pie In a husky voice.
The creature replied in a squeaking
voice without moving his lips, the voice
coming out of the gaping wound.
81" he said-"I am Caspar Troup, and
was murdered here in this house 10
years ago."
"Troup! MurderedY was all | could
calculate.
And this wag ghost!
| "Yes, | AMI am a ghost" he contin-
ued in the same way as before, "but
have no time to spare with you. am
gong to call on my murderer"
Call on your murderer? What do
you mean? Explain yourself" asked
Dalrymple excitedy.
II mean what say," continued the
! ghost. II was murdered in here. am a
ghost, and | am now going to haunt the
wretch who gave me that" And be
pointed to the gaping, CHASTITY wound
across his throat.
"Who-who killed your" asked Dial
rymple.
His name?" the ghost asked. "Ah,
don't know that. But his face! An,
how many thousand times have caused
It to grow contorted in the most dreadful
agony as l would appear to him suddenly.
Before the night he gave me this death
wound | used to see him hanging about
the village with the other loafers. paid
no attention to him, but on that dreadful
night | recognized him as he stood over
me with that shining blade drawn.
cried out for mercy, but be would hot
hear me. He struck the fatal blow. l
felt the keen edge of the knife, and then
l felt my lifeblood flowing out, and my
strength was going.
Everything appeared in a mist to me,
and pretty soon all had faded and l was
dead But l was in another world.
could hold communion with thousand
other wronged beings who had been trans
formed from life into the ghost world.
They told me merry stories Of how they
at all hours haunted those persons who
had wronged them in this world. But in
that respect 1 am a peculiar ghost.
have my regular haunting hour. l re-
member, as my murderer stood over me
the clock in an adjoining room chimed
the hour of 1 o'clock, and every night
just at / o'clock l pay my victim-he'
nv victim nova visit. And l must be
going"
He moved toward the door, and we fol
lowed.
"Oo you young men want to follow O
ghost upon his cheerful mission?" he
asked.
"By all means, if you will let u.s." said
Dalrymple.
81 have no objection. A ghost desires
no company, but you may go"
We followed him out through the dark
ness to the road that led past the house
He moved quickly along the road, ant
we followed, filled with a sensation whict
/ cannot explain. With ghos& ca hi'
nightly rounds! This was something
strange-passing strange.
Over the hills we followed his ghost
ship until the village had been completed.