Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-10-20
STRIKES CAUSED BY GHOSTS
Miners Refuse to Go Down Into Mine
They Believe to Be Haunted.
Tid Pits

The miners belonging to the Glyncorrwg
colrerv. near Port Talbot, Glamorgan-
shire. are out on strike through fear of a
ghost. Deep down in the nethermost
workings, they assert, white-clotped Ie-
male figure appears at frequent but IT.
regular intervals, waves her arms thrice
above her head, mutters certain words
in an unknown tongue and then vanisnes.
This, of course is no new thing. Min
ers are proverbially superstitious, and IL
is only natural that they should decline
to go down into a mine that they believe
to be haunted; but 1t is rather hard lines
for the mine owners, especially as these
ghost-induced strikes often prove exceed
ingly expensive.
THUG. IN 1879 several hundred Warwick
shire Golfers ceased work owing TO the
alleged appearance in 4 disused drift or
a luminous boy" The strike lasted Tor
the better part of year and cost S3O,O0O;
and, after all, the so-called luminous
boy, turned out to be nothing more SUI
pernatural than a collection OF decay
ing fungi.
Bell-ringing apparitions have haunted
the Cornish tin mines from time imme-
morial The miners assert that the bells
are rung by kindly disposed ghosts, them
se,ves miners when in the flesh, as a
warning Of impending calamity; and no
amount of persuasion will induce them
to venture below ground at such times.
One of these curious strikes lasted five
months; and another, which threatened TO
continue indefinitely, was only brought
to a close Oy the plucky action or one
Of the proprietors. who, in order to re-
assure his men, descended himself into
tn, particular working which was sup
posed to be haunted and stayed there
quite alone for three days and nights.
Very tragic was the termination Of the
spook-bred strike which, in 1884, occurred
at the Mons Colliery, in Belgium. Late
in April the men came out because, so
they averred, a strange shaggy man, VINO
vanished when approached, had Deen
heard in the workings foretelling disaster
and muttering imprecations against those
who disregardeu his warnings. For sew
eral days the mine lay idle, but on the
morning of the 9Th of March the manager
had so far succeeded in allaying the fears
of the men that a goodly proportion OF
them returned to work. Two or three
hours later a terrific explosion occurred,
causing the death of eighty-seven OF
them.
The supposed apparition of a little
London girl, who was decoyed into one OF
a row of unfinished houses in north
eastern suburb some little time back and
there brutally murdered, stopped all work
on the buildings in question for quite
while; and the difficulty was only bridged
over in the end by importing artisans
from a distance In another similar case
which occurred in Glasgow, the workmen
who took the place of the original ghost
haunted ones themselves underwent a
like uncanny experience; their boards and
hair being so, they alleged, twisted and
8 ed by invisible hands and their din
me- pals overturned, although no one was
near at the time.
Very wierd is the story told of French
vessel which was lost with all hands on a
voyage from Callao to Rio Janiro.. Three
crews in succession deserted in body at
three different ports alleging that an evil
spirit haunted the ship; and at Mazatlan
she was laid up for five weeks owing 10
the refusal of the native stevedores to