The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1907-10-24

Pittsburg, Pa.-According to the
statement of the prisoners and
guards, murderers' row, in the AL
legheny county Jail in this city is said
to be haunted, and the fear of the sup
posed ghosts has so worked upon the
nerves of the condemned prisoners
that the cells of the entire row have
been vacated and the prisoners re-
moved to another section of the jail.
The ghost of w. A. Culp, who killed
himself in his cell some time ago
while awaiting trial for the murder of
his brother, is held directly RESPONSE
BILE for the orders issued by Warden
Edward Lewis transferring the IA men
occupying cells in murderer's row.
Culps ghost was haunting them,
they declared. 1T" had come back,
they said visiting cell after cell along
the tier set apart for murderers, re-
hearsing the murder of Cups brother
and emitting none of it's CHASTITY de-
tails. This happened night after night
following CUPS suicide, and always
between IL and l o'clock in the morn
ing.
Screams of terror from the fourth
tier of cells on the south side of the
old part of the Jail, where murderer
row was situated, aroused the guards
and all the prisoners, says the N. Y.
World. Lights were turned on and n
search made for the ghostly visitor,
but of course it was never found
An hour or two always elapsed before
the terrified prisoners could be Gained
down and silence reigned once more
throughout the big county Jail.
Prisoners Ghost Visits Cell.
Only one prisoner, a condemned
murderer occupying the cell adjoining
the one in which Culp committed sui.
eide, man who is to be executed in
October, saw the Culp ghost on the
first night 1t came back. That was on
the night following the one on which
the suicide was committed The con-
demned wretch, who had ben convict.
ed of a most cowardly crime,
screamed for help and when the
guards entered his cell few moments
later they found him covering in a
corner and shaking like leaf
He had seen CUP, he said. Culp or
Culp's ghost had come into his cell
and after awakening him had started
to rehearse the murder of his brother.
You have been dreaming, that's
all" said one of the deputy wardens,
reassuringly. Don't you know that
Culp is dead and buried and even II he
were alive il would be impossible for
him to have been in your cell? Be
ghosts. You have been having bad
dream, so just lie down and go to
sleep and don't be arousing the whole
jail like this in the middle of the
night"
But the next night Cups ghost
came back again. At least, three con-
demned criminals confined in cells
along murderer's row declared that
they saw sit" distinctly. When exam
ined by the warden they all gave the
same description of the ghost the di-
rection from which it came, and it's
antics in front of cells along murder
ers row.
This went on for several nights, al
though extra guards were placed along
the fourth tier. The guards them
selves declared that they saw nothing
but this afforded little satisfaction to
the prisoners, who were either too
frightened to sleep or who were dis
turbed by the screams of their next
door neighbors.
Other Ghost Scares.
Culps ghost is not the only one said
to be responsible for the haunting of
the Allegheny county Jail. For years
the murderers' row there has been
gradually accommodating the reputation
of being haunted.
Did not Mike Ruminiski. the profes.
sional stranger, strangle himself 10
death I'm his cell in most ingenious
manner shortly before the date set for
mis- execution, and did not he come
back? That was during the time of
Warden John McAleese.
And did not the notorious Biddle