The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-15
VIRGINIA'S HAUNTED HOUSE.
washington Starr


This is a true ghost story, and even
though ii harks back full twoscore
years there are still a few Of the oldest
inhabitants of the neighborhood con-
cerned who remember the narrowly
averted tragedy which exposed the hui
man agency behind the alleged
"haunts"
The scene of the story Is laid in an
old house which still stands on one of
the hills not far from Alexandria, Va.
At the outbreak of the civil war this
house was nearing completion, and
when the Union forces occupied the
country south of the capital this house
became picket headquarters for one
of the Massachusetts, regiments. Sub
sequently. upon an outbreak of small
poX, which spread through the camps
and countryside Whereabouts, the struc-
ture was converted into smallpox hos
pital Many deaths occurred there dur
ing the epidemic and it was in &C.
counts of the disembodied spirits of
these disease victims that the ghost
stories originated.
After the war the house was leased
time and again, but the tenants rarely
stayed more than q day or two, each
of them vacating in hurry after tell
the night by horrible groanings, whis-
perings, rafting of chains and of hear
ing other weird sounds usually attrib-
uted 10 spooks. To the owner of the
premises the situation grew gradually
more serious, until the time finally
came when he could not secure a ten
ant for the house at any price.
In The emergency 81 sense of the RI
diculous appealed TO the strenuous
young son Of one of the neighbors, and
he announced his desire to see a real
ghost Cif such a thing existed), to talk
to II and to learn about its habits, ard
ne stated his determination TO sleep In
the house until his wish was granted.
On the night appointed. at about the
midnight hour, he started on his mis-
sion, carrying q double-barreled gun in
anticipation of possible physical en-
counter with the supernatural inhab-
itants of the dwelling. Scarcely had he
entered the door when subdued clank
ing, as of chains, greeted his ears, but
he bravely pushed ahead toward the
sounds. calling as he went who are
you and what do you want?" Appar-
emily the sound emanated from the at
tic, but as the ghost hunter drew near
er the sound grew faint. and 1t trailed
off as though a chain was being
dragged down the back stairs. A series
of Embarrassing shrieks halted the pur-
s1er for moment at the next landing,
but he pressed onward as softly hurry
ing footballs indicated the nearness of
his quarry, and so the chase continued
until the supposed ghost vanished down
the cellar steps. Only one other en-
rance TO the cellar was available for
either a man or a spook, and to a win
dow, commanding this the young man
hurried. He was just in time to see
shadoWy form jump into the open and
head for a clump OF bushes. and he lev
eled HIS gun and emptied both barrels,
but the spirit kept on running and van
ished in the darkness.
Fortunately for all concerned, the
heavy charges of shot blew away moth
ing more valuable than one side of the
intended mark the ghost hunter would
have Killed his own brother. The latter
confessed next day that he and one or
two close friends had been playing
pranks i'm the old house OF nights for
several months. and it was their antics
that materiaIiZed in the ghost stories.
To this day, however, the superstitious
point to the old house with varied ex-
pressions of awe, and with bated breath
tell tales of the spirits OF the departed
who came back to earth to finger round
the place where their deaths occurred.
Even ono or two families, recent occu-
pants of the horN have declared that
on several oce' ons p ainly audible
footsteps passed them in the halls. but
they would reach out to,touch nothing
but the air, and no one would reply to
their questions as TO who was there.