Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-04-04
DO GHOSTS EXIST
Rev. DIR. Minot J. savage rs Certaiu
That They DO.


"rhe history OF the world is full of
reported apparitions or ghosts" says
DIR. Minot J. Savage in Ainslee's. do
such things as ghosts exist? I am
perfectly certain that they do. This
does not mean that L feel that 1 am
Ready to explain their origin or nature.
/ simply recognize the fact. Whether
they are purely subjective or whether
! they represent some objective reality
/ this is n question TO be settled IN each
! particular case. have many in
stances in my notes. but they must be
omitted for the present.
'"rhere is one case, however which is
! of very extraordinary kind. Ii oc-
Cured about couple of years ago
here in the immediate vicinity of New
York. There was a certain young man
who had been studying abroad He
had been at Heidelberg university. He
was of anything but an imaginative
temperament. Tall and stalwart in
build, he had reputation as an ath-
lete. His favcrite studies were mathe-
NAUTICAL. physical and electrical He
had returned home from abroad and
so far as anybody knew was in perfect
health. He was at the summer home
of his mother. 1t was his habit after
dinner to 30 out on the piazza and
walk up and down while smoking his
pipe. One evening he came quietly in
, and without talking with anybody
went up to bed. The next morning he
went into his mothers room before she
was up and laid his hand on her check
in order to awaken her quietly. Then
he said: Mother, / have something
very sad to tell YOU You must brace
yourself and be strong 20 bear it or
course she was startled and asked him
what be was talking about. He said:
Mother, l mean just what 1 am say
ing. am going 10 die, and very soon.'
when his mother. startled and trou-
bled, pressed him for an explanation, he
said: Last night when was walking
up and down the piazza smoking a
spirit appeared and walked up and
| down by my side. l have received my
call and am going to de- The mother
or course was seriously troubled and
wondered whether anything might be
the matter with him. She therefore
sent for the doctor and told him the
story. The doctor made a careful ex-
animation, said there was nothing the
! matter, treated the whole thing as a
bad dream or an hallucination, told
them to pay no attention to il and said
that within a few days they would be
laughing Mt themselves for letting such
thing worry them. The next morn
ing the young man did not seem quite
as well as usual, and the doctor was
sent for second time. Again he said
there was nothing the matter and
tried to laugh them out OF their fears.
THE third morning the young man
appeared i'm stiil poorer condition, and
| the third time the physician was sum-
moned. He now discovered n case of
appendicitis. The young man was
operated on and died in couple of
days. From the time OF the vision
until his death not more than five
days had gone by. Some time after
this experience the mother visited n
psychic here in New York. She made
no previous appointment, but went as
perfect stranger and waited her turn.
The son claimed at once TO be present
and told his mother a whole series of
very remarkable things which by no
possibility could the psychic ever have
known. Then in answer 10 the ques-
ton, Who was It that you saw that
nightF 0he question being purposely
| so framed as not TO seem to refer TO
anybody out OF the body, he at once
replied, 1t was my father The
father had been dead for some years.
and the mother had been married
| again."