Evening star., 1941-04-25


decided TO steady himself with
glass of wine, the decanter had
disappeared.
If you are in tune with the at
mosphere of Castle Hill, you may
not see the lady with the fan. A
student at the University of Virginia
said he did see her. Returning from
an abruptly terminated visit at the
Albemarle County mansion, he had
this story to tell:
Lying in a great four poster bed
in the old home. he couldn't per-
suade sleep 10 come Half-aWake
now, he felt vaguely disturbed. Sud-
! denly. he realized some one was in
! the room.
She was dressed in a tight wasted
! gown of Colonial times and she car
ried a tiny fan. The boy thought
| he must be dreaming until he heard
! her voice.
You must please go. You must
go away. You must not stay here"
Traditional Invitation.
The young man slept no more
that night and in the morning he
1 took his departure, hurriedly 1t
was not until long afterward that
/ he learned the legend of Castle Hill,
! of one of the first mistreSses of the
mansion who appears only to guests
she does not consider suitable visi-
tors because for some reason they
are out of touch with the atmos-
phere of the old home.
If your tour of old Virginia takes
you to Aqua Church. natives of
Stafford County will tell you to pay
your call in the daytime, unless you
are very brave.
They say no one in Stafford
County could be induced to enter
Aqua Church after dark. They will
tell you they hear sounds as if some
one were running up and down the
stairs and those brave enough 20
venture near the church at night
will tell of seeing the face of
/ golden haired woman through one
/ of the windows.
About $50 years ago. they say. a
lady. young and beautiful, arrived
by stagecoach at the church. What
happened there no one knows, but
her body was found in the center
aisle. and blood stained the flag
stones.
ScOffer Dies.
One man scoffed at the idea the
church was haunted. He wasn't
afraid to go there by night, he said
He was given a nail and hammer
and told to drive the nail into the
belfry wall to prove he had been
there. Later, his body was found in
the belfry. In the dark he had
evidently driven the nail through
his coat into the wall and as he
turned to leave, the nail held him
fast. They say he died of fright,
thinking some one had hold of him.
A wealthy woman, who spent her
summers in Stafford County. decided
to investigate the ghost of Aqua
/ Church one night not many years
ago. Failing to get any men from
that section to accompany her, she
arranged for two recording experts
from Washington to join her and
make record of the strange sounds
/ said to have come from there.
Leading her little party, she had
no sooner stepped into the church
than hand slapped her across the
! face. The two men rushed into the
church, but found nothing. There
have been no recordings made of
the strange sounds at Aqua Church.
The ghost of Sabine Hail. so the
story goes, appears only to welcome
brides to their new home, but might
make special exception for gar
den tour visitors.
Appears Only to Newcomers.
Telling the story. natives of that
section ask you to picture a wedding
day, a new mistress crossing the
threshold of Sabine Hall. Clinging
to her husbands arm, laughing with
the wedding guests, she steps be-
tween the white columns of the por-
tico.
Then she stops, staring up the
pine stairway which rises from the
hall. The crowd is hushed, follow
ing her glance but seeing only the
sunlight streaming through the WIN
dow at the first landing.
The bride smiles, murmurs Thank
you The old servants nod their
heads, understanding. She has seen
| the ghost of Sabine Hall, the page
boy who comes out upon the first
landing to welcome the new mistress.
Invisible to all others, his greeting
is for her alone.
Perhaps, visiting Ash Lawn near
Charlottesville, you may see what
startled young railroad official who
didn't believe in ghosts.
Not Only Once.
One morning, Strengthening his tie
at the mirror, he saw the chair
behind him began to rock Faster
and faster the empty chair rocked
to and fro. He called his brother
from the next room; looked around