Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-11-09
At THE PRIESTS FIELD.

very interesting service was held
,,.r thursday. All Souls Day, at the
.np,.ssr's Field" near Middleway, JEFF
.',.Gn county, when Right Reverend
Hs~5s l. O'Connell, Bishpp of the
SS-,Ig.. diocese Of Richmond, Vir-
- celebrated three masses for the
Tep5ss OF souls connected with a
strange event in our local history.
The tale of Wizard Clip" has often
bsen told. but it is such well-authen-
iS,,s4 Ghost story that it is always in
,srssting. There are records as we'll
- traditions and oral facts that have
-, handed down describing this re-
r,s-tshle occurrence, and Rev. Alfred
smith. editor-in-c chief OF the Bal
t;r,o-e Catholic Review and secretary
n the late Cardinal Gibbons, says that
!, ;s "tha truest ghost story ever told" "
In the year 1890 man by the name
NJ Adam Livingstone came from the vi
cinit,, Of Lancaster, Pa, and settled on
tract of seventy acres of land that he
had purchased near the village in JEFF
,sr,Gn county now known as Middle
vay All went we'll for four years.
Il IN the night at Livingstone's home
and asked for accommodations. He
was taken in IS he appeared to be i'll,
and was cared for by the Livingstones.
As several weeks passed he grew
worse. and realizing that his end was
grrrOachng ne told his host that he
was a Catholic and begged that a
priest be sent for. Livingstone, who
was a Protestant, had neither the time
nor inclination to send away for a
priest. and he told the unknown guest
that he knew of none in the neighbOr-
hood. ani if he did would not care 10
have one come to his home. The
stranger died unshriven.
Immediately things began to hap
pen at Livingstone's home. Indeed,
before the stranger was buried there
were strange occurrences. The corpse
was Laid OUT and one of the neigh
bOrS, Jacob Foster, agreed to sit up,
as the custom was, through the night.
When night came, Livingstone and
Foster lit candles in the room where
the body lay The candles hickered
and went out. Others were lighted
and they too were mySteriously ex-
tinguiShed. Some half candles were
brought, but the result was the same
Foster excused himself and went home
early. Livingstone had bad night Of
it. He was not SuperStitious, but he
just couldn't stay in the room with
the dead man. AS he lay sleeplesS in
another room he heard the sound of a
horse gallOping around and around the
house. He jumped up and investigated,
but could see nothing, though the
moon was shining almost as bright as
day. Livingstone was glad when day.
light came. The same day the stranger
was buried, but he was inferred in un-
conSecrated ground.
A week afterward Livingstone'S
barn was burned from some unknown
cause. A number of his cattle sicken-
cd and died, the fowls on the place
cropped dead. In the house there
we're strange manifestations by day
and night. The chinaware would fall
Nom the shelves and smash to pieces
on the floor. The furniture would
cang about the rooms in which there
was no living person.
Inc StrangeSt manifestation of all
was the sound of invisible scissors
and the clipping of cloth. Blankets
and sheets and clothing were clipped
uy Inc invisible shears, and though
Tue sound could be heard, nothing was
Dc seen until the holes appeared
IN the garment or the sheet or what
ever was attacked. This attracted at
SDlon Sllon from far and near. Many
onePhefdStown persons visited the
hMalS' ana though some of them went
Were SkeptiCal, most of them came
away believing. One good woman
NAV 4 valuable shawl ruined by the in
$50 SCISSORS, and well-known man
"S.'."2 d swallow-tail coat had the
,ol'.'i"r ,. sn'pHed ITO shreds-he was
o ms1'Cl especially bad, perhaps, be-
sa.se sa-s ne mad ridicued the idea that
S1lu 'lasS could happen. Visitors
IIom winchester, Martinsburg. Charles
r.-.au aH" @"- oiher places had similar ex-
aa,S. sotC'.,,'. Usually the cuts in the
JI'"..E I.'!E were IN half-moon shape.
I ~,,.'E''one r... and his family, natural
f,-. .Sly greatly worried by these weird
cr,.. ccrtleYnES. The manifestations oc-
And "l regular intervals BY day
,bs. y Nght. An old writer states
Ors LN'ngStone "lost much rest"
WHY WHY nI'ot he had dream, in which
b.r, bn much iiticulty he envisioned
pe.sS:. '. ing up steep mountain.
he s's.'..e s. the top with great difficulty,
a r6;,| "@ man in clerical robes and
he'll, ,'Cc nd, This is the man who can
rode ~, ,.. ne next day Livingstone
Rev. 40 Winchester and interviewed
r7r ra,.- '..-,'''lSr Baimaine, the Episco-
l.r'a a- ne rector gave him but
h.~,.r, cement, and Livingstone
he -;,,. US not satisfied that he wa
an4 ,b' nan. He returned home,
In. re occurrences continued.
s,-,-,. of being harassed in so
s'o-r rad humbled Living
t7., h.. asn some one suggested
rr, MS case. before Catholic
sv,.f reed to do so. He CON