HAUNTED HOUSES
When "phantasms of the dead" constantly appear in one house, and
there only, that house is said to be "haunted" and, in such a case,
the phantasms seem to be attracted to the _locality_ more than to the
individuals living in it. This is usually the case in so-called haunted
houses; no matter _who_ lives within them, they one and all see the
spectral forms; but this is not invariably so. In the case of the
"Great Amherst Mystery," for example--given below--the haunting seemed
to be associated with the _person_ more than the _house_, so that we
might be said to have here a case of a Haunted Man (or Woman). But this
is the exception, not the rule.
The cases that follow are all well-attested; and the phenomena have
been witnessed by many persons. The original Reports, for the most
part, have appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the S. P. R., and the facts
were carefully investigated at the time, by competent investigators.
The first instance is particularly interesting, because of the
experiments which were tried to ascertain the nature of the "ghost,"
and if many more such experiments were conducted, we might hope, in
time, to know something about them. I shall begin with a carefully
recorded example, which I may call--
THE RECORD OF A HAUNTED HOUSE
The case of a haunted house here given is very well authenticated, and
corroborated by six written and signed statements, as well as that
of the original informant. The account originally appeared in the
_Proceedings_ of the S. P. R., Vol. VIII., pp. 311-32, and is drawn up
by Miss Morton, a lady of scientific training who resided for a long
time in the house in question. She was well-known to Mr. Myers, then
Hon. Sec. of the Society. Very interesting experiments were conducted
to test the nature of the "ghost" as the following brief account will
show:
"My father took the house in March, 1882, none of us having then heard
of anything unusual about the house. We moved in towards the end of
April, and it was not until the following June that I first saw the
apparition.
"I had gone up to my room, but was not yet in bed, when I heard
someone at the door, and went to it, thinking it might be my mother.
On opening the door, I saw no one; but on going a few steps along the
passage I saw the figure of a tall lady, dressed in black, standing at
the head of the stairs. After a few moments she descended the stairs,
and I followed for a short distance, feeling curious what it could be.
I had only a small piece of candle, and it suddenly burnt itself out;
and, being unable to see more, I went back to my room.
"On the night of August 2, the footsteps were heard by my three sisters
and by the cook, all of whom slept on the top landing--also by my
married sister, Mrs. K., who was sleeping on the floor below. They all
said the next morning that they had heard them very plainly pass and
repass their doors.... These footsteps are very characteristic, and are
not at all like those of any people in the house; they are soft and
rather slow, though decided and even. My sisters would not go out on
the landing after hearing them pass, but each time when I have gone out
after hearing them, I have seen the figure there.
"On the evening of August 1, we were sitting in the drawing-room,
with the gas lit but the shutters not shut, the light outside getting
dusk--my brothers and a friend having just given up tennis, finding it
too dark; my elder sister, Mrs. E., and myself both saw the figure on
the balcony outside, looking in at the window. She stood there some
minutes, then walked to the end and back again, after which she seemed
to disappear. She soon after came into the drawing-room, when I saw
her, but my sister did not.
"The apparitions were (always) of exactly the same type, seen in the
same places by the same people, at varying intervals.
"The footsteps continued, and were heard by several visitors and new
servants, who had taken the places of those who had left, as well as by
myself, four sisters and brothers; in all by about twenty people, many
of them not having previously heard of the apparitions and sounds.
"Other sounds were also heard in addition which seemed gradually to
increase in intensity. They consisted in walking up and down on the
second floor landing, of bumps against the doors of the bedrooms, and
of the handles of the doors turning. The bumps against the doors were
so marked as to terrify a new servant, who had heard nothing of the
haunting, into the belief that burglars were breaking into her room....
"During the year, at Mr. Myers' suggestion, I kept a photographic
camera constantly ready to try to photograph the figure, but on the
few occasions I was able to do so, I got no result; at night, usually
only by candle light, a long exposure would be necessary for so dark a
figure, and this I could not obtain.
"I also tried to communicate with the figure, constantly speaking to
it and asking it to make signs, if not able to speak, but with no
result. I also tried especially to _touch_ her, but did not succeed. On
cornering her, as I did once or twice, she vanished.
"One night, my sister E. went up to her room on the second story, but
as she passed the room where my two sisters L. and M. were sleeping,
they opened their door to say that they had heard noises, and also
seen what they described as a _flame_ of a candle, without candle or
handle visible, cross the room diagonally from corner to corner. Two
of the maids opened the doors of their two bedrooms, and said that
they also heard noises; they all 5 stood at their doors with their
lighted candles for some little time. They all heard steps walking up
and down the landing between them; as they passed they felt a sensation
which they described as a 'cold wind' though their candles were not
blown out. They saw nothing. The steps then descended the stairs,
re-ascended, again descended, and did not return....
"The figure became much less substantial on its later appearances. Up
to about 1886 it was so solid and life-like that it was often mistaken
for a real person. It gradually became less distinct. At all times it
intercepted the light; we have not been able to ascertain if it cast a
shadow. I should mention that it has been seen through window glass,
and that I myself wear glasses habitually, though none of the other
percipients do so. The upper part of the figure always left a more
distinct impression than the lower, but this may partly be due to the
fact that one naturally looks at people's faces before their feet.
PROOFS OF IMMATERIALITY
"1. I have several times fastened fine strings across the stairs at
various heights before going to bed, but after all others have gone up
to their rooms.... I have twice, at least, seen the figure pass through
the cords, leaving them intact.
"2. The sudden and complete disappearance of the figure while still in
full view.
"3. The impossibility of touching the figure....
"4. It has appeared in a room with the doors shut.
CONDUCT OF ANIMALS IN THE HOUSE
"We have strong grounds for believing that the apparition was seen by
two dogs.
"Twice I remember seeing our dog suddenly run up to the mat at the foot
of the stairs in the hall, wagging his tail, and moving his back in the
way dogs do when expecting to be caressed. It jumped up, fawning as it
would do if a person was standing there, but suddenly slunk away with
its tail between its legs, and retreated, trembling, under a sofa. We
were all strongly under the impression that it had seen the figure. Its
action was peculiar, and was much more striking to an onlooker than it
could possibly appear from a description.
"In conclusion, as to the feelings aroused by the presence of the
figure, it is very difficult to describe them; on the first few
occasions, I think the feeling of awe at something unknown, mixed with
a strong desire to know more about it, predominated. Later, when I was
able to analyze my feelings more closely, and the first novelty had
gone off, I was conscious of a feeling of _loss_, as if I had lost
power to the figure.
"Most of the other percipients speak of a feeling of cold wind, but I
myself have not experienced this...."
B---- HOUSE
This is a very famous case of "Haunting," which was investigated by
Sir Oliver Lodge, Mr. F. W. H. Myers, Colonel Taylor (a specialist on
Haunted Houses), Miss X., the Marquis of Bute, etc. The chief reports
of the occurrence are due to the last three named persons; and from the
Journal kept during their occupancy of the house the following extracts
are made:
"_February 4, Thursday._ I awoke suddenly, just before 3 a.m. Miss
Moore, who had been lying awake for over two hours, said: 'I want you
to stay awake and listen.' Almost immediately I was startled by a
loud clanging sound, which seemed to resound through the house. The
mental image it brought to my mind was as of a long metal bar, such
as I have seen near iron-foundries, being struck at intervals with a
wooden mallet. The noise was distinctly that of metal struck with wood;
it seemed to come diagonally across the house. It sounded very loud,
though distinct, and the idea that any inmate of the house should not
hear it seemed preposterous....
"I also had an experience this morning which may have been purely
subjective, but which should be recorded. About 10 a.m., I was writing
in the library, face to light, back to fire. Mrs. W. was in the
room, and addressed me once or twice; but I was aware of not being
responsive, as I was much occupied. I wrote on, and presently felt a
distinct, but gentle push against my chair. I thought it was the dog,
and looked down, but he was not there. I went on writing, and in a few
minutes felt a push, firm and decided, against myself which moved me on
my chair. I thought it was Mrs. W----, who, having spoken and obtained
no answer, was reminding me of her presence. I looked backward with an
exclamation--the room was empty! She came in presently, and called my
attention to the dog, who was gazing intently from the hearth-rug at
the place where I had expected (before) to see him....
"As the day began with the above, and as I had had a quiet rest, I went
to 'the copse' at dusk. The moon was bright, and the twilight lingered.
We waited about in the avenue to let it get darker, but it was still
far from dark. Then we made our way up to the glen--Miss Moore, Miss
Langton and myself.
"I saw 'Ishbel' and 'Marget' in the old spot across the burn. [Two
'spirits' who had been seen about the house, several times before].
'Ishbel' was on her knees in the attitude of weeping, 'Marget'
apparently reasoning with her in a low voice, to which 'Ishbel' replied
very occasionally. I could not hear what was said from the noise of
the burn. We waited for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. They had
appeared when I had been there for three or four. When we regained
the avenue (in silence) Miss Moore asked Miss Langton, 'What did you
see?' (She had been told nothing, except that the Colonel, who did
not know details then, had said in her presence something about 'a
couple of nuns.') She said: 'I saw nothing, but I heard a low talking.'
Questioned further, she said it seemed close behind. The glen is so
narrow that this might be quite consistent with what I heard and saw.
Miss Moore heard a murmuring voice, and is quite certain it was not
the burn. She is less suggestible than almost any one I know.... The
dog ran up while we were there, pointed, and ran straight for the two
women. He afterwards left us, and we found him barking in the glen. He
is a dog who hardly ever barks. We went up among the trees where he
was, and could find no cause....
"This morning's phenomenon is the most incomprehensible I have yet
known. I heard the banging sounds after we were in bed last night.
Early this morning, about 5.30, I was awakened by them. They continued
for nearly an hour. Then another sound began _in_ the room. It might
have been made by a very lively kitten jumping and pouncing, or even by
a very large bird; there was a fluttering noise too.[3] It was close,
exactly opposite the bed. Miss Moore woke up, and we heard the noise
going on till nearly eight o'clock. I drew up the blinds and opened the
windows wide. I sought all over the room, looking into cupboards and
under furniture. We cannot guess at any possible explanation...."
[3] This fluttering noise, as of a bird, is very often met with
in the literature of the occult, and is typical of 'haunted
houses.' In the famous case of Lord Lyttleton, for instance,
this was recorded, and was said to announce his death. He died
three days later, in bed.
A few weeks later, Miss X., wrote in her "Journal":
"The general tone of things is disquieting, and new in our experience.
Hitherto, in our first occupation, the phenomena affected one
as melancholy, depressing and perplexing, but now all, quite
independently, say the same thing--that the influence is evil and
horrible--even poor little 'Spooks' (the dog) who was never terrified
before, has been since our return here. The worn faces at breakfast are
really a dismal sight."
Soon after this the investigators left the house.
WILLINGTON MILL
This is one of the most famous Haunted Houses on record. The case has
been described in various books on ghosts, the most complete account
being that contained in the _Journal_ of the Psychical Research
Society.... Mr. Proctor lived for several years in the haunted mill,
and got quite used to the apparitions, which stalked about the place at
all hours. Visitors, however, did not like them as much as he did. The
following extracts will suffice to explain the general character of the
haunting in this case--
"When two of Mrs. Proctor's sisters were staying at the Mill on a
visit, their bed was suddenly violently shaken, the curtains hoisted up
all round to their tester and then as rapidly let down again, and this
again in rapid succession. The curtains were taken off the next night,
with the result that they both saw a female figure, of mysterious
substance and of a greyish-blue hue come out of the wall at the head
of the bed and lean over them. They both saw it distinctly. They saw
it come out of and go back again into the wall.... Mrs. Davidson's
sister-in-law had a curious experience on one occasion. One evening
she was putting one of the bedrooms right, and, looking toward the
dressing table, saw what she supposed was a white towel lying on the
ground. She went to pick it up, but imagine her surprise when she found
that it rose up, and went up behind the dressing-table over the top,
down on the floor across the room, disappeared under the door, and was
heard to descend the stairs with a heavy step! The noise which it made
in doing so was distinctly heard by Mr. Proctor and others in the house.
"On one occasion, Mr. Mann, the old mill foreman, with his wife and
daughter, and Mrs. Proctor's sister, all four saw the figure of a bald
headed old man in a flowing robe like a surplice gliding backwards and
forwards about three feet from the floor, level with the bottom of the
second story window; he then stood still in the middle of the window
and part of the body which appeared quite luminous showed through the
blind. While in that position, the framework of the window was visible,
while the body was as brilliant as a star, and diffused a radiance all
round; then it turned a bluish tinge, and gradually faded away from the
head downwards.
"The children, however, were the chief ghost-seers. On one occasion one
of the little girls came to Mrs. Davidson and said: 'There is a lady
sitting on the bed in mamma's bedroom. She has eyeholes but no eyes;
and she looked so hard at me.' On another occasion a boy of two years
old was charmed with the ghost, and laughed and kicked, crying out: 'Ah
dares somebody--pee, pee!' On one occasion the mother saw through the
bed curtain a figure cross the room to the table on which the light was
burning, take up the snuffers and snuff the candle....
"Several experiments were made with a clairvoyant by the name of
Jane, to ascertain the cause of the mystery. In the mesmeric trance
she described the house accurately; described the nature of the
disturbances which were going on within it; and stated that the chief
cause of the trouble was to be found 'in the cellar.' This was not
verified. The full story, as narrated, is certainly one of the most
curious to be found anywhere."
THE GREAT AMHERST MYSTERY
This is one of the most remarkable cases on record. It is the case
of a haunted house, in which many _physical_ manifestations of all
sorts took place, and were observed by nearly a hundred persons,
all of whom testified as to the reality of the facts. The house in
question is situated in Amherst, N. S.--hence the name. Residing in
this small house were (when the events occurred) Mr. and Mrs. Teed,
their children, Willie, aged five years, and George, aged seventeen
months. His wife's two sisters, Jennie and Esther Cox, also lived with
them--Esther being the person around whom nearly all the phenomena
centered. John Teed and William Cox also boarded at the house--brothers
of Mr. and Mrs. Teed, respectively.
The manifestations began in a very peculiar manner. The two girls,
who had just gone to bed (they slept together) were on the point of
falling asleep, when Esther suddenly jumped out of bed with a scream,
exclaiming that there was a mouse in the mattress. A careful search
failed, however, to reveal the presence of any mouse. The same thing
happened the next night; and when the girls got up to search for the
mouse, a paste-board box, which was under the bed, jumped up in the air
and fell over on its side. They decided to say nothing about it; got
into bed again, and were soon asleep.
The next night manifestations began in earnest. Esther began to swell;
her body became puffed all over, and she thought she was going to
burst. She screamed with pain. Just then, however, three terrific
reports shook the room, and the swelling suddenly subsided. She was
placed in bed; but no sooner had she been placed upon it than all the
bed-clothes flew off her, and settled in the far corner of the room.
"They could see them passing through the air by the light of the
kerosene lamp which was lighted and standing on the table, and both
screamed as only scared girls can, and then Jennie fainted."
The bed-clothes were replaced. No sooner was this done than the pillow
flew out from under her head, and landed in the center of the floor. It
was replaced, but again flew out, hitting Mr. Teed in the face. Three
deafening reports then shook the house; after which all manifestations
ceased for the night.
The next night, these manifestations were repeated; the bed-clothes
flew off, in view of all; and in the midst of this, the sound of
scratching became audible, as of a metallic object scraping plaster.
"All looked at the wall whence the sound of writing came, when, to
their great astonishment, there could be plainly read these words:
'Esther Cox, you are mine to kill.' Every person in the room could see
the writing plainly, and yet but a moment before nothing was to be seen
but the plain kalsomined wall!...
These things continued day after day, and were seen by many persons.
Articles would be thrown about the house; Dr. Carrittee, the family
physician, saw "a bucket of cold water become agitated, and, to all
appearances, boil while standing on the kitchen table." A voice
was heard, in the atmosphere of the house, talking to Esther; and
telling her all manner of horrible things. Soon after this, to the
consternation of all present, "all saw a lighted match fall from the
ceiling to the bed, having come out of the air, which would certainly
have set the bed-clothing on fire, had not Jennie put it out instantly.
During the next two minutes, eight or ten lighted matches fell on the
bed and about the room, out of the air, but were all extinguished
before anything could be set fire by them...."
This fire-raising continued for several days. The family would smell
smoke, and, on running up into the bedroom, they would find a bundle
of clothes placed in the center of the floor, blazing. Or they would
descend to the cellar; and there find a pile of shavings alight and
blazing merrily. They lived in constant danger of having the house
burned over their heads.
Soon after this, things got so bad that Esther Cox had to leave home,
and went to visit a friend by the name of White, in the hope that the
manifestations would cease, when she was removed from her own home. For
four weeks things went well; then they began again just as ever. Knocks
and raps were heard all over the house, which answered questions asked
them; and told the amount of money people had in their pockets, etc.
Articles of furniture were thrown about; voices sounded; and, worst of
all, Esther now began to _see_ the ghost; and described it to those
about her. Among other terrifying phenomena, which took place at Mr.
Whites' house, the following should be mentioned--
"... A clasp-knife belonging to little Frederic White was taken from
his hand, while he was whittling something, by the devilish ghost,
who instantly stabbed Esther in the back with it, leaving the knife
sticking in the wound, which was bleeding profusely. Frederic pulled
the bloody knife from the wound, wiped it, closed it and put it in his
pocket, which he had no sooner done than the ghost obtained possession
of it again and, quick as a flash of lightning, stuck it into the same
wound...."
Some person tried the experiment of placing three or four large iron
spikes on Esther's lap while she was seated in the dining-saloon. To
the unutterable astonishment of Mr. White, Frederic and other persons
present, the spikes were not instantly removed, as it was expected they
would be, but, instead, remained on her lap until they became too hot
to be handled with comfort, when they were thrown by the ghost to the
far end of the saloon--a distance of twenty feet. This fact was fully
corroborated.
It was at this stage of the proceedings that the spot was visited by
Walter Hubbell, an actor, who remained some time in Amherst, studying
the case, and who has written a whole book about it--"The Great Amherst
Mystery." On the night of his arrival, they all sat round a table, in
full light, to see what they could see, and knocks and raps resounded
immediately. "We could all hear even the scratching sound of invisible
human finger nails, and the dull sounds produced by the hands, as they
rubbed the table, and struck it with invisible, clenched fists, in
knocking in response to questions."
The next day, Mr. Hubbell records the following facts, among others: "I
had been seated about five minutes when, to my great astonishment, my
umbrella was thrown a distance of sixteen feet, passing over my head
in its strange flight, and almost at the same instant a large carving
knife came whizzing through the air, passing over Esther's head, who
was just then coming out of the pantry with a large dish in both hands,
and fell in front of her, near me--having come from behind her out of
the pantry. I naturally went to the door and looked in, but no person
was there.
"After dinner I lay down on the sofa in the parlor; Esther was in
the room seated near the center in a rocking chair. I did not sleep,
but lay with my eyes only partially closed so that I could see her.
While lying there a large glass paper-weight, weighing fully a pound,
came whizzing through the air from a corner of the room, where I had
previously noticed it on an ornamental shelf, a distance of some twelve
or fifteen feet from the sofa. Had it struck my head, I should surely
have been killed, so great was the force with which it was thrown....
"On Monday, June 23, they commenced again with great violence. At
breakfast, the lid of the sugar bowl was heard to fall on the floor.
Mrs. Teed, Esther and myself searched for it for fully five minutes,
and had abandoned our search as useless, when all three saw it fall
from the ceiling. I saw it, just before it fell, and it was at the
moment suspended in the air about one foot from the ceiling. No one
was within five feet of it at the time. The table knives were then
thrown upon the floor, the chairs pitched over, and after breakfast
the dining-table fell over on its side, rugs upon the floor were slid
about, and the whole room literally turned into a pandemonium, so
filled with dust that I went into the parlor. Just as I got inside the
parlor door a large flower pot, containing a plant in full bloom, was
taken from among Jennie's flowers on the stand near the window; and in
a second, a tin pail, with a handle, was brought half-filled with water
from the kitchen and placed beside the plant on the floor, both in the
center of the parlor, and put there by a ghost. Just think of such
a thing happening while the sun was shining, and only a few minutes
before I had seen this same tin pail from the dining-room hanging on a
nail in the kitchen, empty! And yet people say, and thousands believe,
that there are no haunted houses! What a great mistake they make in so
asserting; but then they never lived in a genuine one, where there was
an invisible power that had full and complete sway. By all the demons!
When I read the accounts now in my 'Journal,' from which my experience
is copied, I am almost speechless with wonder that I ever lived to
behold such sights....
"On this same day, Esther's face was slapped by the ghosts, so that the
marks of fingers could be plainly seen--just exactly as if a human
hand had slapped her face; these slaps could be plainly heard by all
present. I heard them distinctly, time and again....
"On Thursday, June 26, Jennie and Esther told me that the night before
Bob, the demon, had been in their room again. They stated he had stuck
them with pins and marked them from head to foot with crosses. I saw
some of the crosses, which were bloody marks, scratched upon their
hands, necks and arms. It was a sad sight. During the entire day, I
was busy pulling pins out of Esther; they came out of the air from all
quarters, and were stuck into all the exposed portions of her person,
even the head, and inside of her ears. Maggie, the ghost, took quite
an interest in me, and came to my room at night, while the lamp was
burning, and knocked on the headboard of my bed and on the wall near
the bed, which was _not_ next to the room occupied by the girls, but
on an outside wall facing the stable. I carried on a most interesting
conversation with her, asking a great many questions which were
answered by knocks....
"A trumpet was heard in the house all day. The sound came from within
the atmosphere--I can give no other description of its effect on our
sense of hearing.... I wish to state, most emphatically, that I could
tell the difference in the knocks made by each ghost just as well as
if they had spoken. The knocks made by Maggie were delicate and soft,
as if made by a woman's hand, while those made by Bob Nickle were loud
and strong, denoting great strength and evidently large hands. When he
knocked with those terrible sledge-hammer blows, he certainly must have
used a large rock or some other heavy object, for such loud knocks were
not produced with hard knuckles...."
In July the phenomena became so bad that the landlord came and told the
Teed family that either Esther would have to go, or they would all have
to leave the house. It was decided that Esther should go, which she
did, visiting some friends by the name of Van Amburgh. From the time
she left her home the second time, she was never afterwards troubled
with the ghosts. Some years later, she married and went to live in
another town--where she was interviewed by the present writer in 1907.
This account was sworn to by Mr. Hubbell before a notary public, and he
asserts under oath that every word of the account is true. He has also
produced the written confirmatory testimony of a score of still-living
witnesses of the phenomena in Amherst.
A very similar case occurred in Tennessee, in 1818, and is recorded in
full by M. V. Ingram, in his book, "The Bell Witch." Many other cases
of a like nature are to be found in the "History of the Supernatural."
_For ghosts of the dead
Through Infinite ages
Have wandered and lurked
In earth's atmosphere;
Watchful and eager
For victims to torture
To follow and kill,
Or make tremble with fear.
Yes, ghosts of the dead
Revengeful and evil,
Still come in hordes
From the Stygian shore;
Entering houses
To torment our maidens
Burning and wrecking
Our homes evermore._
BROOK HOUSE
The following case is given in full by Mr. W. T. Stead in his _Real
Ghost Stories_, and I extract from his narrative some of the most
striking and interesting passages. It is a truly remarkable narrative,
well worthy of careful perusal.
Mr. Ralph Hastings, of Broadmeadow, Teignmouth, wrote in October, 1891,
enclosing the following extracts from his diary, which he had kept in
the haunted house:
"I was spending some months of the summer of '73 at a favorite
watering place in the S.E. coast. One afternoon I went to visit some
old friends who lived in an old house which stood in a quadrangle,
and was approached from the church by a narrow lane. Brook House was
a commodious, red-brick structure of three stories, faced by a Court,
with its ground-floor windows unseen from the outside by reason of the
lofty wall which encircled them.
"On the day in question, as I approached the house from the Church
side, I happened to glance at the window to the right on the second
floor. There I saw, to my astonishment, the apparent figure of Miss B.,
standing partially dressed, arranging her hair and looking intently at
me. On entering the house, I was at once shown into the drawing-room,
and I found Miss B. reading. In reply to my question, she told me she
had been there an hour!
"My curiosity was now fully aroused, and I went to the house the next
day, July 4, accompanied by a lady, a mutual friend. We went up into
the room in which I had seen the figure, threw the window open--it
being very hot--looking on to the garden, and then went downstairs into
the drawing-room, where we had some music. We went up again in about
half an hour's time. The window was _shut_.... We went back into the
garden, and looked up at the window. Presently, to our horror, a figure
appeared resembling Miss B., yet most unlike her--its fearful eyes
were gazing at me without movement and totally expressionless. What,
then, caused the arresting of the heart's pulsation (as it felt) and
blood--that the moment before had burnt as it coursed madly through the
veins--to be chilled to ice? This--one was face to face with a spirit,
and withered by the contact. Those eyes--I can see them--I can feel
them--after a lapse of nearly twenty years. Miss B. had incontinently
fainted when she saw the shoulders (as she described it) of the figure.
I continued gazing spellbound; like the 'Wedding Guest' I was held by
the spirit's eye, and I could not choose but look. The dreadful hands
were lifted automatically; they rested on the window sash. It came
partly down, stayed a moment, then noiselessly closed, and I saw a
hand rise and clasp it. I gazed steadfastly throughout. What impressed
me strangely was this peculiarity, that as soon as the sash had passed
the face the latter vanished, the hands remained; the unreality of
the actual movement of the window, as it descended, also seemed to
contradict me: it suggested (for want of a better comparison) the
mechanical passage of stage scenery, and some sorts of toys that are
pulled by wires; it made no noise whatever. Now I distinctly recognized
the shape as that of Rhoda, Miss B.'s elder sister, who had been dead
some twelve years.... We looked again, and saw the backs of two hands
on the _outside_ of the window, but they did not move it.
"We then went in, coming out again almost directly, and saw the window
nearly closed; then went upstairs into the room; and again I flung the
window as wide open as it would go, and before leaving set the door
open, with a heavy chair against it; but previous to this (I omitted to
mention) as we were looking up at the window after the appearance of
the hands, we saw a horrible object come from the right (the apparition
invariably did); it resembled a large, white bundle, called by Miss B.,
who had before seen it, 'The Headless Woman'; it came in front of the
window and then began walking backwards and forwards. After a lapse
of half an hour, we went upstairs again, and found the chair by the
window, and the door closed; whereupon I wrote 'It' a letter to this
effect: 'Miss B. and Mr. H. present their compliments to the "Lady
Headless" and request her acceptance of this fruit from their garden;
they hope it will please, as she has often been seen admiring it. A
reply will oblige, but the bearer does not wait for the answer.' We put
the chair once more against the window, placing the fruit and note on
it; two or three times we went up, but nothing had changed.
"We then went and stood outside the summer house, whence a clear
view of the window could be obtained; presently there came forward
the headless figure; and distinctly bowed two or three times, then
immediately afterwards a deafening slam of the door. The apex of this
figure, which was rotund, _i.e._, headless, once or twice dilated, and
we feared seeing something, we knew not what; it then vanished, and
we saw a beautiful arm come from the curtain and wave to us. Upstairs
again, the door was shut; on entering we saw the chair overturned in
the middle of the room, the fruit scattered in all directions, and, to
our horror, the note, which I had folded crosswise, was charred at each
corner. I took it up; but lacked the courage to open, and perhaps find
a possible reply. Placing it in a plate I burnt it. The process was a
very slow one; and it distilled a dark mucus.
"The whimsical idea now possessed me to arrange the room like a
theatre, the armchair and others I placed facing the stand; on them
I laid antimacassars, and books for programmes. We then went down to
the end of the garden which commanded a view of the room, and looked:
blank space, nothing more--stay! A curious filmy vapor begins to float
in the air, which slowly cohered, evolved vague phantasms; they unite,
and gradually assume a definite shape. The headless woman fronts us
at the window, she vanishes, and an immense sheet is waved twice or
thrice from the right side of the window, something is flung out; we
walk quickly up the garden and there, under the window, lies one of the
books. What had hastened our steps was the frantic gesticulating of the
servant. She was frightened out of her senses by the peculiar sounds
proceeding from the room; but she could not describe them, saying
that they seemed to be a terrible hurrying to and fro, accompanied
by strange noises.... We took the Bible and entered the room, which
was in disorder: the flower-stand was thrown down, the two chairs
widely apart, one of the antimacassars was tightly folded up under the
recumbent towel horse, the other with the towel was airing itself on
the gigantic tree some seven feet from the window....
"The next day we went into the room, and discovered an impression in
the bed, as though some 'thing' had lain in it. On closer inspection,
we distinctly saw the coverlet gently moving, resembling the very
gentle respiration of a body beneath. We returned to the garden, having
thrown open the window. After waiting for a long time, we saw what
looked like a hand appear on the center of the window sill, then from
the curtain came the white figure.
"It disappeared and after a moment or two the hand also; but there must
have been a _something_ besides crouching under the window, for it
heaved upwards and seemed to fill the window for an instant. It then
sank, the hand vanished, and we saw no more. We waited a long time,
till I spoke of going. I had noticed as a curious thing that almost
always, when I had wearied of looking, seeing _nothing_ and about to
leave, something was sure to happen....
"This ends my personal experiences. My health became impaired, and
for upwards of two years I was invalided, but as time wore on and
the impressions waned, I gradually recovered. I often wander back in
imagination to the many mysteries that in the long ago held sway at
Brook House."