A Strange Incident
Scary Books: Indian Ghost Stories: S. Mukerji
When I was at college there happened what was a most inexplicable
incident.
The matter attracted some attention at that time, but has now been
forgotten as it was really not so very extraordinary. The police in
fact, when called in, explained the matter or at least thought they had
done so, to everybody's satisfaction. I was, however, not satisfied with
the explanation given by the police. This was what a
The college was a very big one with a large boarding-house attached to
it. The boarding-house was a building separate from the college situated
at a distance of about 100 yards from the college building. It was in
the form of a quadrangle with a lawn in the centre. The area of this
lawn must have been 2,500 square yards. Of course it was surrounded on
all sides by buildings, that is, by a row of single rooms on each side.
In the boarding-house there was a common room for the amusement of the
students. There were all sorts of indoor games including a miniature
billiard table in this common room. I was a regular visitor there. I did
not care for any other indoor game than chess. Of course chess meant
keeping out of bed, till late at night.
On this particular occasion, I think it was in November, a certain
gentleman, who was an ex-student of the college, was paying us a visit.
He was staying with us in the boarding-house. He had himself passed 4
years in that boarding-house and naturally had a love for it. In his
time he was very popular with the other boarders and with the
Superintendent. Dr. M.N., an English gentleman who was also an inmate of
the Boarding-House. With the permission of the learned Doctor, the
Superintendent, we decided to make a night of it, and so we all
assembled in the common room after dinner. I can picture to myself the
cheerful faces of all the students present on that occasion in the well
lighted Hall. So far as I know only one of that group is now dead. He
was the most jovial and the best beloved of all. May he rest in peace!
Now to return from this mournful digression. I could see old Mathura
sitting next to me with a Hookah with a very long stem, directing the
moves of the chessmen. There was old Birju at the miniature billiard
table poking at everybody with his cue who laughed when he missed an
easy shot.
Then came in the Superintendent, Dr. M.N. and in a hurry to conceal his
Hookah (Indians never smoke in the presence of their elders and
superiors) old Mathura nearly upset the table on which the chessmen
were; and the mirth went on with redoubled vigour as the Doctor was one
of the loudest and merriest of the whole lot on such occasions.
Thus we went on till nearly one in the morning when the Doctor ordered
everybody to go to bed. Of course we were glad to retire but we were
destined to be soon disturbed.
Earlier the same evening we had been playing a friendly Hockey match,
and one of the players, let us call him Ram Gholam, had been slightly
hurt. As a matter of fact he always got hurt whenever he played.
During the evening the hurt had been forgotten but as soon as he was in
bed it was found that he could not sleep. The matter was reported to the
Superintendent who finding that there was really nothing the matter with
him suggested that the affected parts should be washed with hot water
and finally wrapped in heated castor leaves and bandaged over with
flannel. (This is the best medicine for gouty pain--not for hurt caused
by a hockey stick).
There was a castor tree in the compound and a servant was despatched to
bring the leaves. In the meantime a few of us went to the kitchen, made
a fire and boiled some water. While thus engaged we heard a noise and a
cry for help. We rushed out and ran along the verandah (corridor) to the
place whence the cry came. It was coming from the room of Prayag, one of
the boarders. We pushed the door but found that it was bolted from
inside, we shouted to him to open but he would not. The door had four
glass panes on the top and we discovered that the upper bolt only had
been used; as a matter of fact the lower bolts had all been removed,
because on closing the door from outside, once it had been found that a
bolt at the bottom had dropped into its socket and the door had to be
broken before it could be opened.
Prayag's room was in darkness. There was a curtain inside and so we
could see nothing from outside. We could hear Prayag groaning. The
Superintendent came up. To break the glass pane nearest to the bolt was
the work of a minute. The door was opened and we all rushed in. It was a
room 14'x12'; many of us could not, therefore, come in. When we went in
we took a light with us. It was one of the hurricane lanterns--the one
we had taken to the kitchen. The lamp suddenly went out. At the same
time a brickbat came rattling down from the roof and fell near my feet,
thus I could feel it with my feet and tell what it was. And Prayag
groaned again. Dr. M.N. came in, and we helped Prayag out of his bed and
took him out on the verandah. Then we saw another brickbat come from the
roof of the verandah, and fell in front of Prayag a few inches from his
feet. We took him to the central lawn and stood in the middle of it.
This time a whole solid brick came from the sky. It fell a few inches
from my feet and remained standing on its edge. If it had toppled over
it would have fallen on my toes.
By this time all the boarders had come up. Prayag stood in the middle of
the group shivering and sweating. A few more brickbats came but not one
of us was hurt. Then the trouble ceased. We removed Prayag to the
Superintendent's room and put him in the Doctor's bed. There were a
reading lamp on a stool near the head of the bed and a Holy Bible on
it. The learned Doctor must have been reading it when he was disturbed.
Another bed was brought in and the Doctor passed the night in it.
In the morning came the police.
They found a goodly heap of brickbats and bones in Prayag's room and on
the lawn. There was an investigation, but nothing came out of it. The
police however explained the matter as follows:--
There were some people living in the two-storied houses in the
neighbourhood. The brickbats and the bones must have come from there. As
a matter of fact the police discovered that the Boarding House students
and the people who lived in these houses were not on good terms. Those
people had organized a music party and the students had objected to it.
The matter had been reported to the Magistrate and had ended in a
decision in favour of the students. Hence the strained relations. This
was the most natural explanation and the only explanation. But this
explanation did not satisfy me for several reasons.
The first reason was that the college compound contained another well
kept lawn that stood between the Hostel buildings and those two-storied
houses. There were no brickbats on this lawn. If brickbats had been
thrown from those houses some at least would have fallen upon the lawn.
Then as regarded the brickbats that were in the room, they had all
dropped from the ceiling; but in the morning we found the tiles of the
roof intact. Thirdly, in the middle of the central lawn there was at
least one whole brick. The nearest building from which a brick might
have been thrown was at a distance of 100 yards and to throw a whole
brick 9"x41/2"x3" such a distance would require a machine of some kind
or other and none was found in the house.
The last thing that created doubts in my mind was this that not one
brickbat had hit anybody. There were so many of us there and there was
such an abundance of brickbats still not one of us was hit, and it is
well known that brickbats hurled by Ghostly hands do not hit anybody. In
fact the whole brick that came and stood on edge within 3 inches of my
toe would have hurt me if it had only toppled over.
It is known to most of the readers that Sutteeism was the practice of
burning the widows on the funeral pyre of their dead husbands. This
practice was prevalent in Bengal down to the year 1828 when a law
forbidding the aiding and abetting of Sutteeism was passed. Before the
Act, of course, many women were, in a way, forced to become Suttees. The
public opinion against a widow's surviving was so great that she
preferred to die rather than live after her husband's death.
The law has, however, changed the custom and the public opinion too.
Still, every now and then there are found cases of determined Sutteeism
among all classes in India who profess Hinduism. Frequent instances are
found in Bengal; and whenever a case comes to the notice of the public
the newspapers report it in a manner which shows that respect for the
Suttee is not yet dead.
Sometimes a verdict of "Suicide during temporary insanity" is returned,
but, of course, whoever reads the report understands how matters stand.
I know of a recent case in which a gentleman who was in Government
service died leaving a young widow.
When the husband's dead body was being removed the wife looked so jolly
that nobody suspected that anything was wrong with her.
But when all the male members of the family had gone away with the bier
the young widow quietly procured a tin of Kerosine oil and a few bed
sheets. She soaked the bed sheets well in the oil and then wrapped them
securely round her person and further secured them by means of a rope.
She then shut all the doors of her room and set the clothes on fire. By
the time the doors were forced open (there were only ladies in the house
at that time) she was dead.
Of course this was a case of suicide pure and simple and there was the
usual verdict of suicide during temporary insanity, but I personally
doubt the temporary insanity very much. This case, however, is too
painful.
The one that I am now going to relate is more interesting and more
mysterious, and probably more instructive.
Babu Bhagwan Prasad, now the late Babu Bhagwan Prasad, was a clerk in
the ---- office in the United Provinces. He was a grown-up man of 45
when the incident happened.
He had an attack of cold which subsequently developed into pneumonia
and after a lingering illness of 8 days he died at about 8 o'clock one
morning.
He had, of course, a wife and a number of children.
Babu Bhagwan Prasad was a well paid officer and maintained a large
family consisting of brothers--their wives and their children.
At the time of his death, in fact, when the doctor went away in the
morning giving his opinion that it was a question of minutes, his wife
seemed the least affected of all. While all the members of the family
were collected round the bed of their dying relative the lady withdrew
to her room saying that she was going to dress for the journey. Of
course nobody took any notice of her at the time. She retired to her
room and dressed herself in the most elaborate style, and marked her
forehead with a large quantity of "Sindur" for the last time.
["Sindur" is red oxide of mercury or lead used by orthodox Hindu women
in some parts of India whose husbands are alive; widows do not use it.]
After dressing she came back to the room where her dying husband was and
approached the bed. Those who were there made way for her in surprise.
She sat down on the bed and finally lay down by her dying husband's
side. This demonstration of sentimentalism could not be tolerated in a
family where the Purda is strictly observed and one or two elderly
ladies tried to remonstrate.
But on touching her they found that she was dead. The husband was dead
too. They had both died simultaneously. When the doctor arrived he found
the lady dead, but he could not ascertain the cause of her death.
Everybody thought she had taken poison but nothing could be discovered
by _post mortem_ examination.
There was not a trace of any kind of poison in the body.
The funeral of the husband and the wife took place that afternoon and
they were cremated on the same pyre.
The stomach and some portions of the intestines of the deceased lady
were sent to the chemical examiner and his report (which arrived a week
later) did not disclose anything.
The matter remains a mystery.
It will never be found out what force killed the lady at such a
critical moment. Probably it was the strong will of the Suttee that
would not allow her body to be separated from that of her husband even
in death.
Another very strange incident is reported from a place near Agra in the
United Provinces.
There were two respectable residents of the town who were close
neighbours. For the convenience of the readers we shall call them Smith
and Jones.
Smith and Jones, as has been said already, were close neighbours and the
best of friends. Each had his wife and children living with him.
Now Mr. Smith got fever, on a certain very hot day in June. The fever
would not leave him and on the tenth day it was discovered that it was
typhoid fever of the worst type.
Now typhoid fever is in itself very dangerous, but more so in the case
of a person who gets it in June. So poor Smith had no chance of
recovery. Of course Jones knew it. Mrs. Smith was a rather uneducated
elderly lady and the children were too young. So the medical treatment
as well as the general management of Mr. Smith's affairs was left
entirely in the hands of Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones did his best. He procured the best medical advice. He got the
best medicines prescribed by the doctors and engaged the best nurse
available. But his efforts were of no avail. On a certain Thursday
afternoon Smith began to sink fast and at about eight in the evening he
died.
Mr. Jones on his return from his office that day at about four in the
afternoon had been informed that Mr. Smith's condition was very bad, and
he had at once gone over to see what he could do.
He had sent for half a dozen doctors, but they on their arrival had
found that the case was hopeless. Three of the doctors had accordingly
gone away, but the other three had stayed behind.
When however Smith was dead, and these three doctors had satisfied
themselves that life was quite extinct, they too went away with Mr.
Jones leaving the dead body in charge of the mourning members of the
family of the deceased.
Mr. Jones at once set about making arrangements for the funeral early
the next morning; and it was well after eleven at night that he
returned to a very late dinner at his own house. It was a particularly
hot night and after smoking his last cigar for the day Mr. Jones went to
bed, but not to sleep, after midnight. The death of his old friend and
neighbour had made him very sad and thoughtful. The bed had been made on
the open roof on the top of the house which was a two storied building
and Mr. Jones lay watching the stars and thinking.
At about one in the morning there was a loud knock at the front door.
Mr. Jones who was wide awake thought it was one of the servants
returning home late and so he did not take any notice of it.
After a few moments the knock was repeated at the door which opened on
the stairs leading to the roof of the second storey on which Mr. Jones
was sleeping. [The visitor had evidently passed through the front door].
This time Mr. Jones knew it was no servant. His first impression was
that it was one of the mutual friends who had heard of Smith's death and
was coming to make enquiries. So he shouted out "Who is there?"
"It is I,--Smith" was the reply.
"Smith--Smith is dead" stammered Mr. Jones.
"I want to speak to you, Jones--open the door or I shall come and kill
you" said the voice of Smith from beyond the door. A cold sweat stood on
Mr. Jones's forehead. It was Smith speaking, there was no doubt of
that,--Smith, whom he had seen expire before his very eyes five hours
ago. Mr. Jones began to look for a weapon to defend himself.
There was nothing available except a rather heavy hammer which had been
brought up an hour earlier that very night to fix a nail in the wall for
hanging a lamp. Mr. Jones took this up and waited for the spirit of
Smith at the head of the stairs.
The spirit passed through this closed door also. Though the staircase
was in total darkness still Mr. Jones could see Smith coming up step by
step.
Up and up came Smith and breathlessly Jones waited with the hammer in
his hand. Now only three steps divided them.
"I shall kill you" hissed Smith. Mr. Jones aimed a blow with the hammer
and hit Smith between the eyes. With a groan Smith fell down. Mr. Jones
fainted.
A couple of hours later there was a great commotion at the house of Mr.
Smith. The dead body had mysteriously disappeared.
The first thing they could think of was to go and inform Mr. Jones.
So one of the young sons of Smith came to Mr. Jones's house. The servant
admitted him and told him where to find the master.
Young Smith knocked at the door leading to the staircase but got no
reply. "After his watchful nights he is sleeping soundly" thought young
Smith.
But then Jones must be awakened.
The whole household woke up but not Mr. Jones. One of the servants then
procured a ladder and got upon the roof. Mr. Jones was not upon his bed
nor under it either. The servant thought he would open the door leading
to the staircase and admit the people who were standing outside beyond
the door at the bottom of the stairs. There was a number of persons now
at the door including Mrs. Jones, her children, servants and young
Smith.
The servant stumbled upon something. It was dark but he knew it was the
body of his master. He passed on but then he stumbled again. There was
another human being in the way. "Who is this other?--probably a thief"
thought the servant.
He opened the door and admitted the people who were outside. They had
lights with them. As they came in it was found that the second body on
the stairs two or three steps below the landing was the dead body of
Smith while the body on the landing was the unconscious form of Mr.
Jones.
Restoratives were applied and Jones came to his senses and then related
the story that has been recorded above. A doctor was summoned and he
found the wound caused by Jones's hammer on Smith's head. There was a
deep cut but no blood had come out, therefore, it appeared that the
wound must have been caused at least two or three hours after death.
The doctors never investigated whether death could have been caused by
the blow given by the hammer. They thought there was no need of an
investigation either, because they had left Smith quite dead at eight in
the evening.
How Smith's dead body was spirited away and came to Jones's house has
been a mystery which will probably never be solved.
Thinking over the matter recorded above the writer has come to the
conclusion that probably a natural explanation might be given of the
affair.
Taking however all the facts of the case as given above to be true (and
there is no reason to suppose that they are not) the only explanation
that could be given and in fact that was given by some of the sceptical
minds of Agra at that time was as follows:--
"Smith was dead. Jones was a very old friend of his. He was rather
seriously affected. He must have, in an unconscious state of mind like a
somnambulist, carried the dead body of Smith to his own house without
being detected in the act. Then his own fevered imagination endowed
Smith with the faculty of speech, dead though the latter was; and in a
moment of--well--call it temporary insanity, if you please--he inflicted
the wound on the forehead of Smith's dead body."
This was the only plausible explanation that could be given of the
affair; but regard being had to the fact that Smith's dead body was
lying in an upper storey of the house and that there was a number of
servants between the death chamber and the main entrance to the house,
the act of removing the dead body without their knowing it was a
difficult task, nay utterly impracticable.
Over and above this it was not feasible to carry away even at night, the
dead body along the road, which is a well frequented thoroughfare,
without being observed by anybody.
Then there is the third fact that Jones was really not such a strong
person that he could carry alone Smith's body that distance with ease.
Smith's dead body as recovered in Jones' house had bare feet; whether
there was any dust on the feet, had not been observed by anybody;
otherwise some light might have been thrown on this apparently
miraculous incident.
More
-
The Were-wolf
H. B. MARRYATT My father was not born, or originally a resident, in the Hartz Mountains; he was the serf of an Hungarian nobleman, of great possessions, in Transylvania; but, although a serf, he was not by any means a poor or illiterate man. In... 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 ... The White Flag
A percentage of the South African Boers--how large or how small that percentage is has not been determined--is possessed of a rudimentary conscience, much as the oyster has incipient eyes, and the snake initiatory articulations for feet, which in ... The White Lady Of Rownam Avenue Near Stirling
Like most European countries, Scotland claims its share of phantasms in the form of White Ladies. According to Mr. Ingram, in his Haunted Houses and Family Legends, the ruins of the mansion of Woodhouselee are haunted by a woman in white, presumab... The White Villa
When we left Naples on the 8.10 train for Paestum, Tom and I, we fully intended returning by the 2.46. Not because two hours time seemed enough wherein to exhaust the interests of those deathless ruins of a dead civilization, but simply for the re... The Withered Arm
THOMAS HARDY A Lorn Milkmaid It was an eighty-cow dairy, and the troop of milkers, regular and supernumerary, were all at work; for, though the time of year was as yet but early April, the feed lay entirely in water-meadows, and the cows wer... The Woman In Green
At this time, in the Pavilion-of-the-guests, in the Monastery-of-the-healing-springs, the most celebrated of the Fo-kien province, lived a young scholar whose name was Little-cypress. As soon as the sun rose he was at his work, seated near the t... The-devils-of-the-ocean
In the twenty-second year of the period Eternal-happiness, the population of Chao-cheou's harbour, awaking on a bright summer's morning, were extremely surprised and frightened to see, swaying on the blue water of the bay, a strange and abnormally... Through Many Lives
Some people remember every incident of their former existences; it is a fact which many examples can prove. Other people do not forget what they learned before they died and were born again, but remember only confusedly what they were in a precede... To Prove An Alibi
I first met Arthur Cressley in the late spring of 1892. I had been spending the winter in Egypt, and was returning to Liverpool. One calm evening, about eleven o'clock, while we were still in the Mediterranean, I went on deck to smoke a final cigar bef... Unknown Devils
Suen Pure-whiteness was privileged with the possibility of seeing distinctly all the creatures of the other world, who, for the greater part of humanity, remain always mysterious and invisible. One night he slept in a mountain monastery; he had ... Ventilation Of Houses
Pure air, and enough of it, is the cheapest blessing one can enjoy; and to deny one's self so indispensable an element of good health, is little short of criminal neglect, or the sheerest folly. Yet thousands who build at much needless expense, for the... Water-fowls
If a stream flow through the grounds, in the vicinity of the house; or a pond, or a small lake be near, a few varieties of choice water-fowls may be kept, adding much to the interest and amusement of the family. Many of the English nobility, and gentry... What Was It?
FITZ-JAMES O'BRIEN It is, I confess, with considerable diffidence that I approach the strange narrative which I am about to relate. The events which I purpose detailing are of so extraordinary a character that I am quite prepared to meet with a... "dear Lang,
"I enclose a tradition connected with the murder of Sergeant Davies, which my brother picked up lately before he had read the story in your Cock Lane. He had heard of the event before, both in Athole and Braemar, and it was this that made him ask t... "dear Lang,
"I enclose a tradition connected with the murder of Sergeant Davies, which my brother picked up lately before he had read the story in your Cock Lane. He had heard of the event before, both in Athole and Braemar, and it was this that made him ask t... "dey Ain't No Ghosts"
Once 'pon a time dey was a li'l' black boy whut he name was Mose. An' whin he come erlong to be 'bout knee-high to a mewel, he 'gin to git powerful 'fraid ob ghosts, 'ca'se dat am sure a mighty ghostly location whut he lib' in, 'ca'se dey's a g... "put Out The Light!"
The Rev. D. W. G. Gwynne, M.D., was a physician in holy orders. In 1853 he lived at P--- House, near Taunton, where both he and his wife "were made uncomfortable by auditory experiences to which they could find no clue," or, in common English, they... "put Out The Light!"
The Rev. D. W. G. Gwynne, M.D., was a physician in holy orders. In 1853 he lived at P--- House, near Taunton, where both he and his wife "were made uncomfortable by auditory experiences to which they could find no clue," or, in common English, they... 'oh, Whistle, And I'll Come To You, My Lad'
'I suppose you will be getting away pretty soon, now Full Term is over, Professor,' said a person not in the story to the Professor of Ontography, soon after they had sat down next to each other at a feast in the hospitable hall of St James's Colleg... 'talks' With Mr Stead
... 'the Foul Fords' Or The Longformacus Farrier
"About 1820 there lived a Farrier of the name of Keane in the village of Longformacus in Lammermoor. He was a rough, passionate man, much addicted to swearing. For many years he was farrier to the Eagle or Spottiswood troop of Yeomanry. One day h... 'the Foul Fords' Or The Longformacus Farrier
"About 1820 there lived a Farrier of the name of Keane in the village of Longformacus in Lammermoor. He was a rough, passionate man, much addicted to swearing. For many years he was farrier to the Eagle or Spottiswood troop of Yeomanry. One day h... A Baffled Ambuscade
Connecting Readyville and Woodbury was a good, hard turnpike nine or ten miles long. Readyville was an outpost of the Federal army at Murfreesboro; Woodbury had the same relation to the Confederate army at Tullahoma. For months after the big b... A C----]
Sir James, my mother, with myself and my brother Charles, went abroad towards the end of the year 1786. After trying several different places, we determined to settle at Lille, where we had letters of introduction to several of the best French famil... A Case Of Eavesdropping
Jim Shorthouse was the sort of fellow who always made a mess of things. Everything with which his hands or mind came into contact issued from such contact in an unqualified and irremediable state of mess. His college days were a mess: he was twice... A Cold Greeting
This is a story told by the late Benson Foley of San Francisco: "In the summer of 1881 I met a man named James H. Conway, a resident of Franklin, Tennessee. He was visiting San Francisco for his health, deluded man, and brought me a note of i... A Fruitless Assignment
Henry Saylor, who was killed in Covington, in a quarrel with Antonio Finch, was a reporter on the Cincinnati Commercial. In the year 1859 a vacant dwelling in Vine street, in Cincinnati, became the center of a local excitement because of the st... A Genuine Ghost
(Philadelphia _Press_, March 25, 1884) DAYTON, O., March 25.--A thousand people surround the grave yard in Miamisburg, a town near here, every night to witness the antics of what appears to be a genuine ghost. There is no doubt about the existence... A Ghost That Will Not Down
(Cincinnati _Enquirer_, Sept. 30, 1884) GRANTSVILLE, W. VA., September 30.--The ghost of Betts' farm will not lay. Something over a year ago the _Enquirer_ contained an account or an occult influence or manifestation at the farm house of Mr. Colli... A Haunted Island
The following events occurred on a small island of isolated position in a large Canadian lake, to whose cool waters the inhabitants of Montreal and Toronto flee for rest and recreation in the hot months. It is only to be regretted that events of s... A Man Though Naked May Be In Rags
The coroner rose from his seat and stood beside the dead man. Lifting an edge of the sheet he pulled it away, exposing the entire body, altogether naked and showing in the candle-light a claylike yellow. It had, however, broad maculations of bluish ... A Man With Two Lives
Here is the queer story of David William Duck, related by himself. Duck is an old man living in Aurora, Illinois, where he is universally respected. He is commonly known, however, as "Dead Duck." "In the autumn of 1866 I was a private soldie... A Model Ghost Story
(Boston _Courier_, Aug. 10) A very singular story which forms one of the sensational social topics of the day is the best authenticated of the many stories of the supernatural that have been lately told. Only a short time ago a young and well-kno... A School Story
Two men in a smoking-room were talking of their private-school days. 'At _our_ school,' said A., 'we had a ghost's footmark on the staircase. What was it like? Oh, very unconvincing. Just the shape of a shoe, with a square toe, if I remember right. ... A Story Of Ravenna
Ravenna being a very ancient city in Romagna, there dwelt sometime a great number of worthy gentlemen, among whom I am to speak of one more especially, named Anastasio, descended from the family of Onesti, who by the death of his father, and an... A Strange Incident
When I was at college there happened what was a most inexplicable incident. The matter attracted some attention at that time, but has now been forgotten as it was really not so very extraordinary. The police in fact, when called in, explained t... A Supernatural Phenomenon
Sir, It may probably interest your readers to read the account of a supernatural phenomenon that occurred, a few days ago, in the house of B. Rasiklal Mitra, B.A., district surveyor, Hamirpur. He has been living with his family i... A Suspicious Gift
Blake had been in very low water for months--almost under water part of the time--due to circumstances he was fond of saying were no fault of his own; and as he sat writing in his room on "third floor back" of a New York boarding-house, part of hi... A Vine On A House
About three miles from the little town of Norton, in Missouri, on the road leading to Maysville, stands an old house that was last occupied by a family named Harding. Since 1886 no one has lived in it, nor is anyone likely to live in it again. ... A Wireless Message
In the summer of 1896 Mr. William Holt, a wealthy manufacturer of Chicago, was living temporarily in a little town of central New York, the name of which the writer's memory has not retained. Mr. Holt had had "trouble with his wife," from whom ... An "astral Body"
Mr. Sparks and Mr. Cleave, young men of twenty and nineteen, were accustomed to "mesmerise" each other in their dormitory at Portsmouth, where they were students of naval engineering. Mr. Sparks simply stared into Mr. Cleave's eyes as he lay on his... An "astral Body"
Mr. Sparks and Mr. Cleave, young men of twenty and nineteen, were accustomed to "mesmerise" each other in their dormitory at Portsmouth, where they were students of naval engineering. Mr. Sparks simply stared into Mr. Cleave's eyes as he lay on his... An Apparition And Death
The old family seat of the T.'s, one of the most prominent names in the community, is not far from the scenes of the above-mentioned adventure. In all this region of lovely situations and charming water views, its site is one of the most beautiful. ... An Arrest
Having murdered his brother-in-law, Orrin Brower of Kentucky was a fugitive from justice. From the county jail where he had been confined to await his trial he had escaped by knocking down his jailer with an iron bar, robbing him of his keys an... An Explanation From The Tomb
In the diary of the late Hugh Morgan are certain interesting entries having, possibly, a scientific value as suggestions. At the inquest upon his body the book was not put in evidence; possibly the coroner thought it not worth while to confuse the j... An Idiot Ghost With Brass Buttons
(Philadelphia _Press_, June 16, 1889) In a pretty but old-fashioned house in Stuyvesant square--ghosts like squares, I think--is another ghost. This house stood empty for several years, and about six years ago a gentleman, his wife and little daug... An Unfinished Race
James Burne Worson was a shoemaker who lived in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. He had a little shop in one of the by-ways leading off the road to Warwick. In his humble sphere he was esteemed an honest man, although like many of his class ... Anne Walker
In the year 1680, at Lumley, a hamlet near Chester-le-Street in the county of Durham, there lived one Walker, a man well to do in the world, and a widower. A young relation of his, whose name was Anne Walker, kept his house, to the great scanda... Apparitions At Or After Death
It has been said by a very eminent literary man that the accounts of the appearance of people at or shortly after the moment of death make very dull reading as a general rule. This may be; they are certainly not so lengthy, or full of detail, as t... Apparitions Of The Dead
Among the tall stories in Lucian's _Philopseudus_[79] is an amusing account of a man whose wife, whom he loved dearly, appeared to him after she had been dead for twenty days. He had given her a splendid funeral, and had burnt everything she posse... Appearances Of The Dead
We now pass beyond the utmost limits to which a "scientific" theory of things ghostly can be pushed. Science admits, if asked, that it does not know everything. It is not _inconceivable_ that living minds may communicate by some other channel than... Appearances Of The Dead
We now pass beyond the utmost limits to which a "scientific" theory of things ghostly can be pushed. Science admits, if asked, that it does not know everything. It is not _inconceivable_ that living minds may communicate by some other channel than... At Old Man Eckert's
Philip Eckert lived for many years in an old, weather-stained wooden house about three miles from the little town of Marion, in Vermont. There must be quite a number of persons living who remember him, not unkindly, I trust, and know something o... Banshees
Of all Irish ghosts, fairies, or bogles, the Banshee (sometimes called locally the "Boh[=ee]ntha" or "Bank[=ee]ntha") is the best known to the general public: indeed, cross-Channel visitors would class her with pigs, potatoes, and other fauna and... Banshees, And Other Death-warnings
Of all Irish ghosts, fairies, or bogles, the Banshee (sometimes called locally the "Boh[-e][-e]ntha" or "Bank[-e][-e]ntha") is the best known to the general public: indeed, cross-Channel visitors would class her with pigs, potatoes, and other faun... Ben Jonson's Prevision
Ben Jonson told Drummond of Hawthornden that "when the king came to England, about the time that plague was in London, he being in the country, at Sir Robert Cotton's house with old Cambden, he saw in a vision his eldest son, then a young child... Bendith Eu Mammau
They appeared diverse ways, but their most frequent way of appearing was like dancing-companies with musick, or in the form of funerals. When they appeared like dancing-companies, they were desirous to entice persons into their company, and som... Canon Alberic's Scrap-book
St. Bertrand de Comminges is a decayed town on the spurs of the Pyrenees, not very far from Toulouse, and still nearer to Bagneres-de-Luchon. It was the site of a bishopric until the Revolution, and has a cathedral which is visited by a certain... Canon Alberic's Scrap-book
St Bertrand de Comminges is a decayed town on the spurs of the Pyrenees, not very far from Toulouse, and still nearer to Bagneres-de-Luchon. It was the site of a bishopric until the Revolution, and has a cathedral which is visited by a certain numbe... Captain Wheatcroft
In the month of September 1857 Captain German Wheatcroft, of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, went out to India to join his regiment. His wife remained in England, residing at Cambridge. On the night between the 14th and 15th of November 1857... Casting The Runes
_April 15th, 190-_ Dear Sir, I am requested by the Council of the ---- Association to return to you the draft of a paper on _The Truth of Alchemy_, which you have been good enough to offer to read at our forthcoming meeting, and to inform you ... Cavalier Version {121}
"1627. Since William Lilly the Rebells Jugler and Mountebank in his malicious and blaspheamous discourse concerning our late Martyred Soveraigne of ever blessed memory (amongst other lyes and falsehoods) imprinted a relation concerning an Aparition... Cavalier Version {121}
"1627. Since William Lilly the Rebells Jugler and Mountebank in his malicious and blaspheamous discourse concerning our late Martyred Soveraigne of ever blessed memory (amongst other lyes and falsehoods) imprinted a relation concerning an Aparition... Charles Ashmore's Trail
The family of Christian Ashmore consisted of his wife, his mother, two grown daughters, and a son of sixteen years. They lived in Troy, New York, were well-to-do, respectable persons, and had many friends, some of whom, reading these lines, wil... Clerk Saunders
Clerk Saunders and May Margaret Walked owre yon garden green; And sad and heavy was the love That fell them twa between. And thro' the dark, and thro' the mirk, And thro' the leaves o' green, He cam that n... Concerning The Murder Of Sergeant Davies
There is at present living in the neighbourhood of --- an old lady, about seventy years of age. Her maiden name is ---, {140} and she is a native of Braemar, but left that district when about twenty years old, and has never been back to it even for... Concerning The Murder Of Sergeant Davies
There is at present living in the neighbourhood of --- an old lady, about seventy years of age. Her maiden name is ---, {140} and she is a native of Braemar, but left that district when about twenty years old, and has never been back to it even for... Count Magnus
By what means the papers out of which I have made a connected story came into my hands is the last point which the reader will learn from these pages. But it is necessary to prefix to my extracts from them a statement of the form in which I possess ... Croglin Grange
"Fisher," said the Captain, "may sound a very plebeian name, but this family is of very ancient lineage, and for many hundreds of years they have possessed a very curious old place in Cumberland, which bears the weird name of Croglin Grange. Th... Dear Mr Seymour,
I enclose some account of our experiences in K---- Castle. It would be better not to mention names, as the people occupying it have told me they are afraid of their servants hearing anything, and consequently giving notice. They themselves hear voic... Denis Misanger
On Friday, the first day of May 1705, about five o'clock in the evening, Denis Misanger de la Richardiere, eighteen years of age, was attacked with an extraordinary malady, which began by a sort of lethargy. They gave him every assistance that ...