The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-04-01


some forty years ago, all centered
around young woman named Esther
Cox. Like the Antagonist spook, the
Amherst ghost or ghosts attracted
widespread attention; made a con-
vincing impression upon the credulous
and finally lot of money for an actor,
Walter Hubbell, who had the sagacity
to put them into popular book form.
The Teed family, which was victim
lied in this case, consisted of Mr.. and
Mrs. iced, their children, Willie, aged
i've years, and George aged IL months,
as well as the wife's Two sisters, Jen-
ME and Esther Cox. They lived in a
lonely farmhouse in Amherst under
practically the same circumstances as
the McDonalds in their farmhouse at
Antagonist.
The first alleged supernatural dis
turbances occurred in the room of the
two girls, Jennie and Esther, who
slept together. They were just going
to sleep one night when Esther sud-
denly leaped out of bed, screaming
that tnere was mouse in the mat
tress Upon investigation no mouse
was found, but an innocent pasteboard
box under the bed jumped into the air
and fell over on its side.
Alter this, the ghost or ghosts start
ed in on their campaign of petty
1rlghtfulness. When Esther was in
ped, the bed clothes would fly off her
and settle into a 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 it
again flew out, hitting Mr.. Tween in
the lace. Whereupon, it is reported,
Mr.. iced unscientifically left the room
declaring that she had had enough
of it,
The next night, the sound of scratch
Ing on the wall was heard for the first
tlme. All looked in the direction
from whence the sound came" say the
reports. when to the family's great
astonlshment there could be plainly
read these words: Esther Cox, you
are mine to kill Everybody present
coula see the writing, but moment
| before nothing was to be seen but the
kalsomined wall"
NOW, articles began to be mysteri-
ously moved about the house, some
, times violently and sometimes surrep-
tltlously, according to the mood of
the ghost. All saw a lighted match
ialI from the ceiling to the bed" con-
tlnue the reports, having come out 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
llghted matches fell on the bed and
ABOUT the room out of the air, but
We're all extinguished before anything
could be set on fire.
Spooks Start BIazes
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
ciothes placed in the center of the
moor blazing. Or they would descend
| 10 the cellar, and there find pile of
shavlngs alight and blazing merrily.
| lhey lived in constant danger of hav-
| ing 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
! flre, although sometimes they coyly
withheld its exact location.
Soon after this we are told
things got so bad that Esther Cox had
10 leave home, and went to visit a.
! friend For four weeks there was
peace. Then trouble began again
/ This time, knocks and raps were heard
all over the house, and Esther nov.
began to see the spooks" There were
two of them, it seems-Maggie, whose
feminine personality was recognized
by her timid and ingratiating rars.
and Bob, who pounded out his com
munications with a huge first, or pos
slbly, it was thought, with a stone.
OF some of the additional phenomena
which occurred about this time, Mr.
Hubbell, the actor, who visited the
Teed home for the purpose of investi-
cation, gives the following account:
Il had been seated lin the sitting
ROOM about five minutes when to
my great establishment, my umbrella
was thrown a distance of 16 feet, pass
ing over my head in it's strange fight.
and almost at the same instant a large
carving knife came whiZzing through
| the dir NJ ho Of