The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1904-09-05
GHOST STORIES.
they Are Believed to he ~ Ancient
~ Man himself.

they Are Believed To- hc ~ Ancient |
~ Man Himself.
II antiquity is any guarantee of re-
spcctaDi'ity. we have no need to he
ashamed OF the belief i'm ghosts. The
first ghost story was told 50 long ago
that no record Of its telling remains.
Ever since there were men there were
ghosts. Savage nations that have no
other trace Of civilization or even OF
religion believe in spoDks. The belief
is so universal and 50 elementary that
there are those who derive all religion
from primitive ghost worship. The
fear OF Cod they say, is nothing but
seasoned and developed fear OF
ghosts. In the dawn of Greek ciNillla
ton. when the Odyssey was written,
men believed that tie spirits of the de.
parted came sometimes back To earth
Odysscus during his wauicrin-- in
which hc saw the cities of many
men" had also some dealings with
the world below Gy thc aid of sun
dry bloody Gtns Io y3l'cd uu the uhau.
toms OF the hcrpc, who bad I"ri~ vd
before Troy. his mother t'1. appear
cd. and thrice Ody.-els v,-ayrI % cw.
brace h,. ANA t.rc, size ,.ulci his
grasp "likc shadow or % dream
But fine Gr-, lu.n.Hte.y conventional
ghost story THAT cam call 90 mind
comes from Athens II is rcgouHt"d
by Latin author. who seem, to be.
| Hcye iu TO- and is somewhat AS fol-
lows There Uus m ancient Athens a
| certain house which uI one would uc
cupy Mysterious sounds We're heard
in it 10y night sounds as of chains be
| ing dra--al alaIr tie ground. Nhcr
| the house had been empty a Ions
time. a philosophers who would have
been member of the psychial society
had he lived in our days, determined t
investigate the matter. So one night
armed only with a book and candle
he took up his position at a table il
one of the rooms ana having dis
missed all bis attendants began {
read. Presently sounds were heard
II seemed as though some one wa
rattling chains. The philosopher wen
on reading. Then steps were heard upo
the stairs, ana the clanSing Of chain
grew louder. Still the philosopher COZ
tiuued reading without raising hi
eyes Then the footsteps halted at I'll
door. The philosopher read ON. 500
he was conscious of a figure odvan
} ing toward him, standing by his sid
and waving its arms, loaded wit
chains over his head.
Then the philosopher who must j
this time have required all his philos
ply. looked up. He saw an old ma
with long beard and shaggy hai
7 Rising. he took his candle and fC
lowed the dreadful apparition, whiO
had begun to retreat toward the doc
He followed it down to the courtya
I and saw It rs it reached one of Il
| corners sink suddenly out of sight in
the earth
| The next day he had eXcavatio
| made i'm the courtyard. and hcnen
| the spot where the figure had disl
| pcurcd heap of human bones W
| found They were taken up and buri
| with all the fitting rites. And frC
that time the house reG1iued its RI
| utation as a desirable family rcsiden,
Nothing could be more completely &C
vcntional than this ghost story. II
II ii is interesting on account Of its We
III conventionality for the ghost is
N most conventional Of things. 1t is {
N ly in novels that ii lends itself to
dramatic elucidatlon Of plot.-Lond
Queen.