Apparitions; Or The Mystery Of
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A Man With His Head On Fire And Covered With Blood
The following singular adventure is related by a military captain. "I was coming home one night on horseback, from a visit I had been making to a number of the neighbouring villages, where I had quartered my recruits. It happened there had falle... A Remarkable Story Of A Ghost
Thrice called for, as an Evidence, in a Court of Justice. A farmer, on his return from the market at Southam, in the county of Warwick, was murdered. A man went the next morning to his house, and inquired of the mistress, if her husband came hom... An Agreeable Explanation
A gentleman of undoubted veracity relates the following story. "When I was a young man, I took up my residence at a lodging-house, which was occupied by several families. On taking possession of my apartments, I agreed with the old lady of the h... An Essay On Ghosts And Apparitions
There is no folly more predominant, in the country at least, than a ridiculous and superstitious fear of ghosts and apparitions. Servants, nurses, old women, and others of the same standard of wisdom, to pass away the tediousness of a winter's eve... Extraordinary Double Dream Without Any Corresponding Event
The late Reverend Mr. Joseph Wilkins, a dissenting clergyman, at Weymouth, in Dorsetshire, had the following remarkable dream, which is copied verbatim from a short account of his life. "One night, soon after I was in bed, I fell asleep, and dre... Giles The Shepherd And Spectre
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Giles, ere he sleeps, his little flock must tell. From the fire-side with many a shrug he hies, Glad if the full-orb'd moon salute his eyes. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *... Mareschal Saxe And The Haunted Castle
The following very remarkable adventure, which befel the Mareschal de Saxe, whilst returning to his country-seat, near Dresden, in Saxony, has often been related by him to his friends and acquaintance; and, as the Mareschal was not less famed for ... Part Second
Now the merry bugle-horn Through the forest sounded far; When on the lofty tow'r, forlorn, The lady watch'd the evening star; The evening star that seemed to be Rising from the dark'ned sea. The summe... Poor Mary The Maid Of The Inn
Who is she, the poor maniac, whose wildly fix'd eyes Seem a heart overcharg'd to express? She weeps not, yet often and deeply she sighs; She never complains, but her silence implies The composure of settled distress. ... Remarkable Instance Of The Power Of Imagination
It has been remarked, that when the royal vault is opened for the interment of any of the royal family, Westminster Abbey is a place of great resort: some flock thither out of curiosity, others to indulge their solemn meditations. By the former... Remarkable Instances Of The Power Of Vision
A shepherd upon one of the mountains in Cumberland, was suddenly enveloped with a thick fog or mist, through which every object appeared so greatly increased in magnitude, that he no longer knew where he was. In this state of confusion he wandered... Remarkable Resuscitation
In the first volume of the Causes Celebres, a popular French work, is the following extraordinary story, which occasioned a serious law-suit. Two men in trade, who lived in the street St. Honore in Paris, nearly equal in circumstances, both foll... Sir Hugh Ackland
The following remarkable fact shews the necessity of minutely examining people after death, prior to interment, and of not giving way to ridiculous fears about supernatural appearances. The late Sir Hugh Ackland, of Devonshire, apparently died o... Supposed Supernatural Appearance
Some few years since, before ghosts and spectres were commonly introduced among us by means of the pantomimes and novels of the day, a gentleman of a philosophical turn of mind, who was hardy enough to deny the existence of any thing supernatural,... The Apparition Investigated
In a village in one of the midland counties of Scotland, lived a widow, distinguished among her neighbours for decency of manners, integrity, and respect for religion. She affirmed that, for several nights together, she had heard a supernatural vo... The Benighted Traveller And Haunted Room
A gentleman was benighted, while travelling alone, in a remote part of the highlands of Scotland, and was compelled to ask shelter for the evening at a small lonely hut. When he was conducted to his bed-room, the landlady observed, with mysterious... The Castle Apparition
Translated by the Rev. Weeden Butler, Jun. from a Monkish Manuscript. In the vicinity of Chamberry, a town in Savoy, stood the ancient mansion of the Albertini: round it were several little buildings, in which were deposited the cattle, poultry,... The Club-room Ghost
At a town in the west of England, was held a club of twenty-four persons, which assembled once a week, to drink punch, smoke tobacco, and talk politics. Like Rubens's Academy at Antwerp, each member had his peculiar chair, and the president's was ... The Cock-lane Ghost
About the middle of January 1762, a gentleman was sent for to the house of one Parsons, the officiating parish clerk of St. Sepulchre's, in Cock Lane, near West Smithfield, to be witness to the noises, and other extraordinary circumstances, attend... The Credulous Bishop
A few years since, a memorable conference took place between Dr. Fowler (then Bishop of Gloucester) and a Mr. Justice Powell: the former, a zealous defender of ghosts; and the latter, somewhat sceptical about them. They had several altercations up... The Credulous Peasants
No longer ago than the year 1788, when the husbandmen of Paris suffered so severely by the devastation on the 13th of July in that year, many of the farmers were positively so superstitious at their own created fears, that, notwithstanding conside... The Cripplegate Ghost
The following story, well authenticated in the neighbourhood of Cripplegate, will convince the reader, that vicious intentions are sometimes productive of much good to the parties they intended to injure. A gentlewoman in that parish, having la... The Dead Man And Anatomical Professor
Many, who were personally acquainted with Mr. Junker, have frequently heard him relate the following anecdote. Being Professor of Anatomy, he once procured, for dissection, the bodies of two criminals who had been hanged. The key of the dissecti... The Dominican Friar
An Extraordinary Event that happened lately at Aix-la-Chapelle. As the following story, which is averred to be authentic, and to have happened very lately, may serve to shew, that the stories of this kind, with which the public are, from time to... The Double Mistake Or College Ghost
Mr. Samuel Foote, the celebrated comedian, played the following trick upon Doctor Gower, who was then provost of his college, a man of considerable learning, but rather of a grave pedantic turn of mind. The church belonging to the college fronte... The Drunken Bucks And Chimney-sweep
On March the 19th, 1765, four bucks assembled at an inn in Grantham, to drink a glass, and play a game of cards. The glass circulating very briskly, before midnight they became so intoxicated, that not one of them was able to determine how the gam... The Fakenham Ghost
The lawns were dry in Euston Park; (Here truth inspires my tale) The lonely footpath, still and dark, Led over hill and dale. Benighted was an ancient dame, And fearful haste she made To gain the vale of Fake... The Female Fanatic And Heavenly Visitor
The following curious affair happened a few years since at Paris, and is well attested by a gentleman of the greatest respectability. A widow-lady, aged about sixty-two, who lodged in a two-pair-of-stairs floor, in the Rue de la Ferronnerie, wit... The Female Sprites
In September 1764, the following extraordinary incident happened in the family of a clergyman then living in Bartholomew Close. The gentleman and his wife returning home about eleven o'clock from a friend's house, where they had been to spend th... The Floating Wonder Or Female Spectre
The bridge over the river Usk, near Caerleon, in Wales, is formed of wood, and very curiously constructed, the tide rising occasionally to the almost incredible height of fifty or sixty feet. The boards which compose the flooring of this bridge be... The Frightened Carrier
In October 1813, a little before midnight, as one of the carriers between Nottingham and Loughborough, was passing near the village of Rempstone, he was extremely surprised at meeting what he thought was a funeral procession, marching in a most so... The Ghost On Ship-board
A gentleman of high respectability in the navy relates the following story. "When on a voyage to New York, we had not been four days at sea, before an occurrence of a very singular nature broke in upon our quiet. It was a ghost! One night, when... The Ghostly Adventurer
About thirty years ago, some labouring mechanics met one Saturday evening, after receiving their wages, at a public-house, near Rippon, in Yorkshire, for the purpose of enjoying themselves convivially, after the cares and fatigues of the week. The... The Hammersmith Ghost
In the year 1804, the inhabitants of Hammersmith were much alarmed by a nocturnal appearance; which, for a considerable time, eluded detection or discovery. In the course of this unfortunate affair, two innocent persons met with an untimely death;... The Haunted Beach Or Power Of Conscience On A Murderer
BY MRS. ROBINSON. Upon a lonely desert beach, Where the white foam was scatter'd, A little shed uprear'd its head, Though lofty barks were shatter'd. The sea-weeds gath'ring near the door, A sombre path displ... The Haunted Bed-room
A young gentleman, going down from London to the west of England, to the house of a very worthy gentleman, to whom he had the honour to be related; it happened, that the gentleman's house was at that time full, by season of a kinswoman's wedding, ... The Haunted Castle
The castle of Ardivillers, near Breteuil, was reported to be haunted by evil spirits. Dreadful noises were heard; and flames were seen, by night, to issue from various apertures. The farmer who was entrusted with the care of the house, in the abse... The Heroic Midshipman Or Church-yard Encounter
At a respectable inn, in a market-town, in the west of England, some few years since, a regular set of the inhabitants met every evening to smoke their pipes, and pass a convivial hour. The conversation, as is usual at those places, was generally ... The Hypochondriac Gentleman And The Jack-ass
A sober gentleman of very great respectability, who was low-spirited and hypochondriac to a degree, was at times so fanciful, that almost every rustling noise he heard was taken for an apparition or hobgoblin. It happened that he was abroad at a... The Ideot's Funeral
The following extraordinary affair happened about ten years since, at a village in the north of England. About midnight, the minister of the parish was not a little alarmed at hearing the church bell tolling. He immediately dispatched one of his... The Innocent Devil Or Agreeable Disappointment
The following story is extracted from a letter I received, some time since, from a friend, on the subject of apparitions. "Returning, one evening in the summer, to my apartments, at a short distance from town, I was invited by my landlady, a bri... The Lady Of The Black Tower
BY MRS. ROBINSON. "Watch no more the twinkling stars; Watch no more the chalky bourne; Lady, from the holy wars Never will thy love return! Cease to watch, and cease to mourn; Thy lover never will retur... The Lunatic Apparition
The celebrated historian De Thou had a very singular adventure at Saumer, in the year 1598. One night, having retired to rest, very much fatigued, while he was enjoying a sound sleep, he felt a very extraordinary weight upon his feet, which, havin... The Maniac Or Fatal Effects Of Wanton Mischief
Some years ago, a very intelligent, handsome, and promising youth, whose names is Henry Pargeter Lewis, the son of a respectable attorney, in the town of Dudley, was placed for a probationary time, previously to an intended apprenticeship, with a ... The Milkman And Church-yard Ghost
A man much addicted to the heinous sin of drunkenness, in coming home late one winter's night, had to cross Stepney church-yard; where, close to the foot path, a deep grave had been opened the day before. He, being very drunk, staggered into the g... The Nocturnal Disturbers
The following authentic story is related by Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of Oxfordshire. Soon after the murder of King Charles the First, a commission was appointed to survey the King's house at Woodstock, with the manor, park, woods, and o... The Philosopher Gassendi And The Haunted Bed-room
In one of the letters of this celebrated philosopher, he says, that he was consulted by his friend and patron the Count d'Alais, governor of Provence, on a phenomenon that haunted his bed-chamber while he was at Marseilles on some business relativ... The Prussian Dominoor Fatal Effects Of Jealousy
An officer of rank in the service of the late King of Prussia, having lost an amiable wife whom he tenderly loved, became quite inconsolable. Deeply wounded with his affliction, his mind was so absorbed in melancholy, that the transient pleasures ... The School-boy Apparition
A few years since, the inhabitants of Dorking, in Surrey, entertained a notion, that a ghost walked in a certain place in that neighbourhood; and that she (for it was an ancient lady, lately dead) was seen hovering about the mansion-house, which w... The Somersetshire Demoniac
On the 13th of June 1788, George Lukins, of Yatton, in Somersetshire, was exorcised in the Temple Church at Bristol, and delivered from the possession of seven devils by the efforts of seven clergymen. Lukins was first attacked by a kind of epil... The Spectre Of The Broken
The following observations on that singular phenomenon called the Spectre of the Broken, in Germany, is related by Monsieur J. L. Jordan, in the following words. "In the course of my repeated tours through the Harz (mountains in Germany), I asc... The Subterranean Traveller Or Ghost And No Ghost
The following record is copied verbatim from an old newspaper--The Weekly Journal, or British Gazetteer. "Bedlam, January 18, 1719. "It is not long since one of the female inhabitants of these frantic terri... The Superstitious Couple
In the letters from a gentleman on his travels in Italy to his friend in England, is the following curious account of an experiment tried with the Bolognian stone, of which phosphorus is made. There was an English maid-servant in the house where... The Twins Or Ghost Of The Field
Ye who delight in old traditions, And love to talk of apparitions, Whose chairs around are closely join'd, While no one dares to look behind, Thinking there's some hobgoblin near, Ready to whisper in his ear; Oh! lis... The Unfortunate Priest And Dead Body
In a province of Prussia, a man being dead, was carried, as is customary, into the church, the evening previous to the day of his interment. It is usual to place the corpse in an open coffin; and a priest, attended only by a boy of the choir, rema... The Ventriloquist
The following anecdote is related by Adrianus Turnibis, the greatest critic of the sixteenth century, and who was admired and respected by all the learned in Europe. "There was a crafty fellow," says he, "called Petrus Brabantius, who, as often... The Ventriloquist
The following anecdotes are related by the Abbe de la Chapelle, of the French Academy. This gentleman, having heard many surprising circumstances related concerning one Monsieur St. Gille, a grocer, at St. Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, whose ast... The Vigil Of Saint Mark Or Fatal Superstition
Rebecca was the fairest maid That on the Danube's borders play'd; And many a handsome nobleman For her in tilt and tourney ran: While she, in secret, wished to see What youth her husband was to be. Rebecca heard th... The Westminster Scholars
A few years since, some Westminster scholars received great insult from a hackney-coachman, who treated them with the greatest scurrility, because they would not comply with an overcharge in his fare. This behaviour the youths did not forget, and ...