The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-07
is THIS HOUSE HAUNTED?
Young Couple Troubled By Mystic
rious Visitor.
From the Baltimore American.


From the Baltimore American.
That the long streets of South Balti-
more, stretching before the vision in
damp miles to end in a glimpse of fac
tory buildings silhouetted against the
red sunset, are not the only ghostly-
looking things of that section Mr.. and
Mrs. William Roemer of Hanover
street are willing to declare with their
right hands raised. They say they
have been made aware in a startling
way of an elusive and restless spirit
which for the last two weeks of their
two months of happy married life
has stamped knowledge of it's presence
upon their senses by light taps on the
cheek with his grave-cold fingers in
the silent watches of the night, by
black imprint of fingers upon clean
towels and by soft footballs through
their bed-chamber in those solemn
hours when all the city sleeps. The
spirit is a bold one, according to Mr..
Roemer. and, passing those hours
which limited the strolls of the foully
murdered King of Denmark, has even
appeared when the light of dawn had
grown strong in the kitchen. A red
stain upon the floor of Mr.. and Mrs.
Roemer's parlor on the second floor,
which some have seen and some have
not, as il is under the mating, is
thought to have something to do with
the uneasy spirit.
Mr.. Roemer received a reporter of
the Sun yesterday about dusk and told
him all he knew of the phantom, show
ing the spots where it had appeared, all
the while keeping a sharp eye over
first one shoulder and then the other
for his unWelcome guest.
The dwelling is old enough and suffi-
GENTLY quaint-loOking to have a mys-
terry. The street door opens into one
of those halls which run back to the
yard and there is no communication
with the rest of the house save through
it. The low ceiling and the long, mar
row passage in the darkness is not re-
assuring. Mr.. Roemer led the visitor
through this and stopped at a vestibule
from the yard long enough to give
glimpse of his young wife and the peo-
pie who occupy the lower part of the
house, huddled about a cheerfulIy light
ed sitting room.
Don't talk loud he said, shes aw-
full nervous and there's no use bother
in her about it when it stays away"
Then he conducted the reporter into
the cosiest of bed chambers, the white
bed almost filing the room. Pushing
aside the lace curtains through which
the occupants are wont to see the first
light of day, he grasped an auxiliary
blind of more practical character.
This is what gave me the first hint
OF the spook's presence" he said. "One
morning when | was sitting on the side
of the bed, my wife still asleep, it be-
gan to go up and down. put my hand
on it. but it wouldn't stop. Then
went out to the kitchen and put on my
shoes. l crossed the room to raise my
foot to chair and lace my shoes, and
felt the contact of a body. l looked
up, and there before me was the head
less form Of a man dimly outlined
through a white shroud 1t went out
the door at my hand and was gone.
But that amt the worst About a
week ago my wife woke me up a-trem-
bin like she had the ague. Will, she
said, somebody's in the room Go
to sleep, I answered But she scream
ed in reply: oh, viii, look over there
under our photographs (Mr Roemer
pointed them out hanging on the wall
opposite the bed.) I looked, and there
was the face of a man. 1t was two
feet long. The skin was red and the
features We're heavy. l felt kinder
funny and took my eyes away and
looked at the ceiling 1t was there
1t was everywhere my eyes went for
a While; but there was just the head
That's funny thing about it, when
you see the head you don't see the
body, and when you see the body you
don't see the head. 1t takes notions,
too. I discovered the body sittin' up
on the settce in the parlor one time as
big as life and went to call my friends
to see it. When they came it was
gone; it evidently don't like many to
see it at one time. The people down
stairs have seen it. 1t got into bed
between the man and his wife one
time and made them both move to-
ward the edge of the bed. The woman
thought it was one of her children at
first, but when she saw what it was
she nearly had a fit and woke her
husband up. 1t had gone then.
Some of my friends told me that it
was some smarty playing a joke. AL
though we have strong locks on our
doors and use them, l thought there
might be something in this, and for
three nights l had a regular network
Of clothesline running about all the
rooms, but l saw it just the same and
1T wasn't tripped.
But the worst was the hand on the
towel. I'm a machinist, and nv wife
she's always fussing with me for dir
tying the towels. One night l saw from
the other side of the room black marks |
on the towel and began to kid her
about what she'd done She denied it.
and hadn't touched the towel. When |
we went up to it there was the hand |
of man with fingers eight inches |
long and an inch wide printed right in |
the center of a piece of goods which |
had been put up five minutes before |
ana hadn't been 4ouched by human |
hands. But it faded out awful quick |
Have you ever suffered from weak |
ness of the eyes?" Mr.. Roemer was |
asked
Meyer" he answered in a tone of |
resentment. Then he added that ne |
knew of nothing dark in the history |
OF the dwelling which would cause |