The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-04-21
THE BLAZING GHOST
OF CARDIFF TOWN.
BY HOWARD r. GARIS

town of Cardiff, from one end to the
| other were talking Of the wonder
| which exceeded even the sensation Of
| the historic Cardiff Giant. This time,
instead of a giant, it was a ghost, and
| such a wrath as never had been heard
| Of before. The Headless Horseman
was a mere baby compared to it, ana
| Puritanical broom-riding witches were
not horrible enough to be mentioned
in the same breath. Truly h Cardiff
| ghost was an apparition most fear
some.
The spirit had first appeared to Abe
| Crownheart, who kept the Pine Tree.
as the Cardiff hotel was known. He
was driving home one night from Tul-
". a village at the south end of the
valley, when near the bridge, over the
brook that runs through Enberry
looks place, the spectre rushed out
and pursued Abe. He reached home
with his horse all in a lather Of foam,
and himself dripping wet in a perspl-
ration of fear. For a few minute
after reaching the bar-room, he could
My gasp and pant.
What allies We. Abe?' asked Bill
suthin."
.'So-so-I have" painted Abe. look
ing to see if the loo was tightly shut.
81 seen somethin' mortal eyes never
beheld since the world began. Jest's
I was passin' Enberry's bridge, a
spirit. all blue fame, wavin' its arms
of fire. an Vaughn it's head, started
down the hill after me. 1t chased me
clean to Dave Tupmans place, the
horse goin' l~ickity-split al the while"
Fer tn love O. tripe!" exclaimed
Bert Bailey. Dye s'pose twas a real
ghost?"
Il don't care bout SEEM any ~reater,"
said Abe.
Sure We hadn't bin adrinktn' any
hard cider?" asked Bill Hounson.
Say" exclaimed Abe, earnestly, Il
only wish it was hat kind of a ghost
I'd seen. This wasn't nothin Of that
sort. 1t was as tall as the church
steeple, and as big round as a hogs
head. 1t was all on fire from head TO
foot, I tell you. wavin' its hamln'
arms. and runnin' with feet and legs
all blazin'. and it's head wobblin' from
side to side. Then there was the most
awful smell, jest like a burnnin lake
of birthstone.
Abe's terror was 50 genuine. and
his fright so real, that it was commune
Gated to his auditors. Though they
hardly believed Abe a seen a ghost,
they were sure he had been near some
thing rather ~hair-raising. So, when
the crowd in the tavern broke up a
little later, there were many anxious
looks cast on al sides in the darkness.
as the m made their way to
their homes.
1t was only two nights later that
Enberry Took reported that he toe
had seen the ghost. 1t was even
worse than Abe had described it, En-
berry said. Closely following this
came confirmation from Truem Wright
and George Bennett, who told at the
hotel one night how they had both
been pursued by the flaming spirit.
which had run after them quite a
distance.
Then there was no doubt about the
Cardiff ghost. From one end Of the
village to the other the story went
carrying terror with it. Women were
afraid to go out in the yard after
dusk, children would not linger on the
road from school, and even the farmers
hesitated about journeying on the
highway after supper. Nothing was
talked of save the spirit, n when
three weeks after Abe had first seen
it, DR.. Rood, driving home from Wis
iting al patient, was pursued so closely
by the spectre that the leather top OF
his buggy was scorched by h wraith's
burning arms there was intense e.
element.
There was no d%isputing the fact that
the ghost burned with real fire, fol
the leather of the carriage was shr1v-
eled by the heat, and the varnish was
blistered. Clearly something must be
done.
Enos Rasher, chairman Of the tow
selectmen called a public meeting III
the hall over Truem Wright's girls
mill. The case of the blazing ghos
was gone over from the time of It:
first appearance. and hen Enos t
ed the object of the gathering, which
was to find a means Of getting rid o
the spectre.
"Whon undertake tn job?' askei
Enos. There's no use agoin' outside
eff We kin git tn work done t hum,
he went on. me n tn selectmen >:
come t tn conclusion that we XIII
offer a reword O. twenty shillin' t. tn
man who rids Cardiff o tn terrier.
The chairman waited, but no one
came forward to offer himself as {
ghost-layer.
This thing ought to be done sclen
tifc," said Abe Crownheart, rising il
his seat. None of us has a any
experience gittin' rid of ghosts. Meb'
by it's easy work. and then agin meb
by it's hard. but We ought to havt
some one lOOk dIler II WHdl hIo"S
how to go about it. I move We nirt
a regular ghost exterminator, ant
pay him a decent days wages"
The motion was seconded by severa
and the selectmen, accompanied by
EnOs, withdrew to another room fol
a consultation. At the close of the
conference the chairman announced
that the reward would be increased tt
$4,000 and an advertisement was to be
;ocarto1 in q Sypap11ca nanor nffprinC
that sum to whoever would. dispell thu
ghost.
The meeting broke up and the mex
day Enos Rasher took the stage fol
the distant city Of Syracuse to have
the advertisement inserted. That night
the ghost was seen again by Enberry
Took, whose ous was nearest tC
where the spirit appeared. EnberEy
saw it. dimly luminous, floating along
the hillside, and he double-locked the
doors. burning a lamp all night, ever
sitting up with his family till morning