Evening star., 1935-06-09


very corner in front of
YOU" The colored sexton,
80 years old, paused. We
leaned down to peer through the small
opening into the dark receSses OF the
belfry Of old Aqua Church.
"Yas'm, I remember it well-just
three years after the War Between the
States. Don't nobody know how it
got there. but they took out the bones
and buried them
AS you start your tour Of old Vir-
einia. stop first at old Aqua Church.
well down the highway toward Fred
ricksburg. The old sexton will tell
you many an interesting tale Of its
history and if you urge him, he may
tell you some ghost stories, for old
Aqua has its ghosts.
The church has been there since
1857. It's silver communion service
was buried in three wars. On its
walls and pews may be found names
carved during the Revolution, names
and dates from the Civil War. when
the interior was used as stable. The
old sexton can tell you about it all,
"AlcCIlci yOu ducAy 4AAiA OaA 40 AAAo9OAS
or its legend.
If you like thrilling tale Of ghosts
he will tell you the story OF the boy
who braved the haunted bedry many
years ago.
The men Of the parish put up $40
wager that there was no one brave
enough to visit the belfry at night.
To the lad that $40 looked big. and
here was a chance to prove himself
q man. He said he would go.
The night was cold and there were
misty clouds which partly veiled the
moon. He marched up the road,
whistling bravely, past the old tomb
stones in the church yard. and into
the church. Within, the white pews
and walls cast eerie shadows as the
clouds shifted and ray of moonlight
f1ickered through the windows. His
whistle stopped and he crept over TO
| the pulpit to get the red ribbon
marker from the great Bible, for so
the wager stood. He was to nail the
marker to the wall Of the belfry. He
opened the Bible, took the ribbon,
and such was his haste that he left
the Bible open. for so they found it
in the morning.
Back to the stairway and up two
creaking flights to the belfry. Some
thing cold struck his face and there
was thud on the floor. He shivered,
but gripped the nail firmly and
| pounded it through the cloth to the
wall
The next morning he had not re-
| turned and the men went in search OF
him. The church door was aJar, the
Bible open. They climbed the stairs
to the belfry and drew back at the
sight that met their eyes. There lay
the boy slumped against the wall,
dead, the nail driven firmly through
his coat The hammer had slipped
from his fingers which still clutched
the crimson marker. A dead bat lay
on the floor beside him.
! Some of the parishioners say he
died of fright at finding himself thus
fastened to the wall. Others shake
their heads. 1t was some unseen
force. some ghostly power which di-
rected his fingers when he drove the
nail-not through the marker, but
through his coat.
Some time after that they found the
skeleton in the belfry. Had it been
there that fatal night How had 1t
come there? Had that same un-
known, unearthly power brought its
tragic end?
If you do not like such dire tales
but prefer romance, there Is another
ghost which still wanders through
Aqua, a spirit quite harmless and
gentle, a beautiful woman. If you
wish to see her. suggest that you
enter the church softly at twilight.
You may be startled by long sigh.
The walls within are white, white the
pews, and at first you will see nothing
more. But wait a bit-another sigh,
and slowly there seems to evolve from
the whiteness within, a figure clad IN
white. As 1t moves toward you, your
eyes make out the dim outlines of a
beautiful woman with long golden
hair-a bride clad in wedding attire,
gossamer veil floating behind her.
There is a haunting sadness in her
! face. You are moved to speak to her,
to ask her why she sighs. You put
out hand to touch her arm. There
is a rush of cold air-and nothing
Just the white interior Of the church.
The beautiful bride is gone and your
sighs seem an echo of hers.
The old parishioners of Aqua
Church will tell you she has come
many times before. The story Is that
more than a century ago she met
tragic death just after her marriage
and still she returns to the church,
ever seeking her loved husband. One
may often hear her signing at the
futility Of her quest