The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-04-05
TERRORIZED AT VISIT
OF WOMAN'S GHOST
GEORGIA HOUSEWIFE TELLS
OF STRANGE APPARITION.
AMAZING STUNTS.

ATLANTA, Ga.-Do you believe
in ghosts of dead friends returning to
visit this earth and frightening persons
with their clamny touches and eerie
voices?
Mrs. Harry Walraven, of Bolton,
suburb of Atlanta, grows white about
the lips every time she thinks about
them, because just last week she was
visited by the spirit OF Mrs. Sarah
Byrd, who died three weeks ago.
1t was the hour before dawn. Mrs.
Walraven's husband, who works in
factory clear across the city, got up
early~as usual and went off to work.
Mrs. Walraven turned over alter ne
left to get short nap before having
to get up. Suddenly she felt the pres
ence of stranger in the room.
She sat up. and as she did SO she
saw the familiar figure of Mrs. Byrd,
in whose home the Walravens are
now living. Cold chills ran up and
down Mrs. Wa1raven's back. She was
almost terror stricken. The. grayishi
specter lifted transparent hand and
w dill dNCll' hS hohA
was clammy, cold.
Told to Look for Money.
The apparition then in we'll enun
ciated words told her to look in an old
Bible which Mrs. Byrd had used when
on this earth and get out the money
stuck in there between the leaves. So
saying the apparition pointed toward
a table on which was a small Bible.
"And give it to my sonl" was the
parting instruction. With that she
Withdrew stealthily out of the room,
making noise like the wind.
For the moment Mrs. Walraven was
too frightened to move. But when the
sun finally filled the room with light
and she could see every corner was
empty she leaped out of bed and
snatched up the little Bible. There she
found between the pages, Just as the
ghost had said SIS bill! That after
noon she drove to the home of Mrs.
Byrd's son and delivered the money.
When Mrs. Walraven told her story
no one would believe her. That eve
ming number of neighbors came over
to see if anything more would happen.
Four of the party, including Mr.. Wal
raven, sat at one corner OF the living
room about a table. Without warning
the table on which they were playing
rose up in the air. Three of the men
were so frightened they withdrew to
the other side of the room. But Wal
raven thought it was funny and tried
to pull the table down. Everything he
could do, even to hanging on to it
with his full weight, failed to bulge
| it. Then just as suddenly the table
settled slowly back to the floor.
Minister Is Perplexed.
1T was the most uncanny thing |
ever saw" said the Rev. A. A. Ward,
pastor of the Center Hill Baptist
church of Bolton. Il could hardly be-
lieve my eyes"
Many persons have tried to explain
the unusual presence of spirits in the
house, but the only plausible reason
yet given is that when the Walravens
moved into the Byrd house they didn't
disturb anything. Every chair, table,
book, rug, bric-a-brac and picture is
just in the same place it was when
Mrs. Byrd was living in the house.
E. The fear of the unwelcome appari-
ton has become so great with Mrs.
Walraven that when her husband gets.
up to leave in the morning she jumps.
out OF pea ana Sis Oh lne IIOHt
porch until after the sun is we'll up.
AS yet, however, the ghost has not
returned in person, but uncanny
things, such as stealthy opening of
drawers, sounds of running footsteps,
slamming of doors that are left closed
and other queer manifestations can be
heard.
Many Visitors.
The fact that the house has "v sta
tons" has led many persons to spend
much of their time there in the hope
of seeing or feeling the spirit, but ex-
cept for the time of the Embarrassing
and the experience of Mrs. Walraven
the ghost has not seemed to be pres
ent in the same room with any one
WIFI NOT DCrCTxTC MCIOAy