A few months after these events happened the Bells left the
neighbourhood, and the house became tenanted by a Mr. and Mrs. Weekman,
who lived there about eighteen months, and left in the year 1847. Mr.
Weekman's statement respecting the noises he heard was to the effect
that one evening when he was about to retire for the night, he heard a
rapping on the outside door, and, what was rather unusual for him,
instead of familiarly bidding them "come in," stepped to the door and
opened it. He had no doubt of finding some one who wished to come in,
but to his surprise found no one there. He stepped out and looked
around, supposing that some person was imposing on him, he could
discover no one, and went back into the house. After a short time he
heard the rapping again, and stepped up and held on to the latch, so
that he might ascertain if any one had taken that means to annoy him.
The rapping was repeated, the door opened instantly, but no one was in
sight. Mr. Weekman states that he could feel the jar of the door very
plainly when the rapping was heard. As he opened the door he sprang out
and went around the house, but no one was in sight, nor could he find
trace of any intruder.
They were frequently afterwards disturbed by strange and unaccountable
noises. One night Mrs. Weekman heard what she deemed to be the footsteps
of someone walking in the cellar. Another night Mr. Weekman and his wife
were disturbed by hearing a scream from their child, a girl about eight
years of age,--this happened at midnight,--they went to her and she told
them that something like a hand passed over her face and head; it seemed
cold, and so badly had she been frightened that it was some time before
she could be induced to tell her parents the cause of her alarm, nor
would she consent to sleep in the same room for several nights
afterwards.
All this might have happened, and been only the idle fabric of a child's
dream, the Weekman family might have imagined what they gave out as
fact, and we should be inclined to believe that such was the case, if we
had not the most conclusive evidence that such manifestations were quite
common, not only in this house, but in various others where similarly
strange things have happened.