The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-05
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
Washington, d. @.


a nervous disease? Is it a kind of
hysteria which causes young persons
ito torment their families with fire
raising, sleight-of-ha performances
and surreptitious rapping and knock
ing. thus contriving to make it appear
1 that a house is haunted?
| In the recent Antagonist case, in
Investigated by DR.. Walter f Prince of
1.-THE = New York PsychicaI Research
| society, the ghost turned out to be
subnormal girl. foster-daughter of the
terrified McDonalds. given-according
Ito Doctor Prince-to peculiar dream
states. 1t seems possible, therefore,
! that other historic ghosts may be ac-
counted for by similarly afflicted in
dividuaIs.
= The idea is not new Long before
Antagonist leaped into the lime.ight
as the home of spiteful spooks. a Brit
| ish man@pf letters advanced the sug-
gestion that a neurologist was the
proper person to be set on the trail
\ of an irritating ghost.
In tracing the history of haunted
houses" says this gentleman, I have
\ been struck with the fact that in
many instances the ghostly activities
member of the hmily-usuaIly a
young woman In these instances, the
ghosts atrocities are always the same
There is mysterious knocking at sud
den intervals; household articles are
moved or flung about, and fires break
forth in unexpected places. 1 am
convinced, however. that these wild
disturbances are not always deIiber-
ately planned. There is certain
spontaniety about them which leads
me to conclude that they are often in
voluntary like the peculiarities of
| chorea-in short, that they are the
any rate it is noticeable that they al
ways cease when a certain member of
the family is absent from the house"
Another Nova Scotia Ghost.
A celebrated instance of this kind
is the Great Amherst Mystery, in
which the ghostly manifestations,
which spread terror thruout Nova
Scotia some forty odd years ago. all
conferred around a younA woman
named Esther Cox. Like the Anti
gonish spook, the Amherst ghost or
ghosts. attr5 cted widespread atten-
ton; made a convincing impression
upon the credulous, and finally lot
Of money for an actor. Walter Hub
bell, who had the sagacity TO put them
into popular book form.
The Teed family, which was VIC
timized in this case, consisted of Mr. |
and Mrs -Teed, their children, Willie. |
aged 8 years, and George, aged II
months. well as the wife's two sis !
tiers. Jennie and Esther Cox They |
lived in a lonely farmhouse in Am |
herst under practically the same cir !
cumstances as the McDonalds in their |
farmhouse at Antagonist.
1HS=1AISl dAAtStu super III dl OAS
turbances occurred in the room of /
the two girls. Jennie and Esther, who 4
slept together. They were just going /
to sleep one night when Esther sud |
denly leaped out of bed. screaming /
that there was a mouse in the mat |
tress. Upon investigating no mouse |
was found, but an innocent paste /
board box under the bed jumped-into |
the air and fell over on its side.
After this, the ghost or ghosts /
started in on their campaign of petty /
frightfulness- When Esther was in /
bed, the bed clothes would fly off her |
and settle into far corner of the
room. When they were replaced, the /
pillow under her head flew out and
landed in the center of the floor. 1t.
also. was replaced. upon which 1T
again flew out, hitting Mr.. Teed in
the face. Whereupon, it is reported, /
Mr. iced unscientifically left the /
room. declaring that The had had
enough of it''
The next night, the sound of
scratching on the wall was heard for
rection from whence the sound came"
says the reports. when to the fam
ily's great establishment there scOuld
be plainly read these words: Esther
Cox, you are mine to KILL Every
body present could see the writing,
but a moment before nothing was to
be seen but the kalsomined wall"
Now, articles began to be mysteri-
times violently and sometimG~ sur
reptitiously, according to the mood of
the CHEST. "All saw lighted match |
fall from the ceiling to the bed" con-
of the air, which would certainly have
set the bed clothing on fire, had not
Jennie put it out instantly. During
the next few minutes. eight or ten
lighted matches fell on the bed and
about the room out of the air, but
were all extinguished before anything
could be set on fire.
SpOoks Start BIazes.
1.-THE fire-raising continued for sew
eral days. The family would smell
smoke. and on running up into the
bedroom, they would find a bundle of
floor blazing. Or they would de-
scend to the cellar. and there find a
pile of shavings alight and blazing
merrily. They lived in constant dan
ger of having the house burned over
their heads" 1t is interesting to note
in this connection, however, that the
ghostly incendiaries usually confided
in Esther as soon as they had started
a ilre, altho sometimes they coyly
withheld its exact location. l.
Soon after this" We are told.
Things got so bad that Esther Cox ,
had to leave home, and went to visit j
friend For four weeks there was ]
peace. Then trouble began again. 4
This time, knocks and raps were heard 4.
III over the house. and Esther now
began 20 see the spooks. There were I
wo of them, it seems-Maggie whose
personality was recognized |
~ her timid and ingratiating rams
md Bob, who pounded out his COM
nunications with a huge fist, or posi- (
bly, it was thought, with a stone. OF
some OF the additional phenomena
which occurred about this time. Mr.
1ubben. the actor. who visited the ;
iced home for the purpose of investi- Z
sation, gives the following account: /
4 had been seated Gin the sitting 5
'oom) about five minutes when to my Q
treat establishment. my umbrella was
brown distance of 16 feet passing T