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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, True Ghost Stories, by Hereward Carrington
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: True Ghost Stories
+
+
+Author: Hereward Carrington
+
+
+
+Release Date: January 8, 2014  [eBook #44625]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***
+
+
+E-text prepared by eagkw, Robert Cicconetti, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made
+available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
+(https://archive.org/details/americana)
+
+
+
+Note: Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      https://archive.org/details/trueghoststories00carr
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+TRUE GHOST STORIES
+
+by
+
+HEREWARD CARRINGTON
+
+Author of "The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism," "The Coming
+Science," "Death: its Causes and Phenomena,"
+"Death Deferred," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+New York
+The J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company
+57 Rose Street
+
+Copyright, 1915, by
+J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company
+
+
+
+
+  _To_
+  MY DEAR FRIENDS
+  THE MARSHALLS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH                      7
+  PREFACE                                  9
+
+  CHAPTER I
+  What is a Ghost?                         13
+  The Terror of the Dark                   14
+  What is a Ghost?                         18
+  Historic Investigations                  20
+  Death Coincidences                       21
+  Are They Due to Chance?                  24
+  The Explanation                          26
+  Experimental Apparitions                 27
+  Telepathic Hallucinations                32
+  Ghosts Which Move Material Objects       37
+  Photographs of Ghosts                    38
+  The "Double" and the Spiritual Body      40
+  What Happens at the Moment of Death      43
+  How the Soul May Leave the Body          47
+  Theories of Haunted Houses               51
+  The Ghosts of Animals                    53
+  The Clothes of Ghosts                    55
+  Telepathy from the Dead                  57
+  The Psychic Atmosphere                   59
+  Forms Created by Will                    60
+  Physical Manifestations                  62
+  Can Haunted Houses be "Cured"?           63
+
+  CHAPTER II
+  Phantasms of the Dead--I                 65
+  A Russian Ghost                          65
+  Grasped by a Spirit Hand                 71
+  "I Am Shot!"                             74
+  "Heave the Lead!"                        75
+  The Rescue at Sea                        78
+  How Ghosts Influence Us                  86
+  How a Ghost Warned the King              90
+  The Stains of Blood                      93
+  Face to Face                             96
+  "Julia, Darling!"                        98
+  The Cut Across the Cheek                 99
+  The Invisible Hand                      100
+  The Apparition of the Radiant Boy       104
+  Fisher's Ghost                          106
+  Harriet Hosmer's Vision                 109
+  The Apparition of the Murdered Boy      112
+  The Ghost in Yellow Calico              116
+
+  CHAPTER III
+  More Phantasms of the Dead--II          120
+  Compacts to Appear after Death          120
+  Lord Brougham's Vision                  122
+  The Tyrone Ghost                        125
+  Dead or Alive!                          128
+  The Scratch on the Cheek                135
+  A Ghost in Hampton Court                139
+  Half-Past One O'clock                   147
+  My Own True Ghost Story                 155
+
+  CHAPTER IV
+  Haunted Houses                          163
+  The Record of a Haunted House           165
+  Proofs of Immateriality                 168
+  Conduct of Animals in the House         169
+  B---- House                             170
+  Willington Mill                         174
+  The Great Amherst Mystery               176
+  Brook House                             186
+
+  CHAPTER V
+  Ghost Stories of a More Dramatic Nature 194
+  Disease-Phantoms                        194
+  The Tale of a Mummy                     198
+  Face Slapped by a Ghost                 204
+  Alone with a Ghost in Church            207
+  A Haunted House in France               210
+  A Haunted House in Georgia              213
+  Shaken by a Ghost                       220
+  The House and the Brain                 221
+
+  APPENDIX A
+  Historical Ghosts                       230
+
+  APPENDIX B
+  The Phantom Armies Seen in France       236
+
+  APPENDIX C
+  Bibliography                            245
+
+
+
+
+PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
+
+
+HEREWARD CARRINGTON, author of "True Ghost Stories," is well known
+in this country, and in Europe, as a prominent scientific writer on
+psychical and occult subjects. He has been a member of both the English
+and American Societies of Psychical Research for more than 15 years;
+has written over a dozen books on the subject--a number of which has
+been translated into foreign languages (such as Japanese and Arabic),
+and he has lectured in London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Milan, Genoa,
+Turin, etc.--before scientific organizations. His writings are well
+known, and have earned him a high place in psychical circles. He's a
+late member of the Council of the American Scientific Society, of the
+American Geographical Society, and of the American Health League. He
+collaborated in the "American Encyclopędia," "The Standard Dictionary,"
+etc. His experience in the investigation of psychical mysteries is
+unrivalled. He has travelled all over the country investigating
+"cases," spending nights in "haunted houses," and accounts of his
+investigations have appeared in the Reports of the various Psychical
+Societies, and also in his own publications.
+
+In "True Ghost Stories," Mr. Carrington presents a number of startling
+cases of this character; but they are not the ordinary "ghost
+stories"--based on pure fiction, and having no foundation in reality.
+Here we have a well-arranged collection of incidents, all thoroughly
+investigated and vouched for, and the testimony obtained first-hand and
+corroborated by others. The chapter on "Haunted Houses" is particularly
+striking. The first chapter deals with the interesting question, "What
+is a Ghost?" and attempts to answer this question in the light of the
+latest scientific theories which have been advanced to explain these
+supernatural happenings and visitants. It is a book of absorbing
+interest, and cannot fail to grip and hold the attention of every
+reader--no matter whether he be a student of these questions, or one
+merely in search of hair-raising anecdotes and stories. He will find
+them here a-plenty!
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The following little book endeavors to bring together a number of
+"ghost stories" of the more startling and dramatic type,--but stories,
+nevertheless, which seem to be well authenticated; and which have
+been obtained, in most instances, at first hand, from the original
+witnesses; and often contain corroborative testimony from others who
+also experienced the ghostly phenomena. Some of these incidents,
+indeed, rise to the dignity of scientific evidence; others are less
+well authenticated cases,--but interesting for all that. These have
+been grouped in various Chapters, according to their evidential value.
+Chapters II. and III. contain well-evidenced cases, some of which have
+been taken from the _Proceedings_ and _Journals_ of the Society for
+Psychical Research (S. P. R.), or from _Phantasms of the Living_, or
+from other scientific books, in which narratives of this character
+receive serious consideration. Chapter V., on the contrary, contains a
+number of incidents which,--striking and dramatic as they are,--cannot
+be included in the two earlier Chapters, as presenting real evidence
+of Ghosts; but are published rather as startling and interesting ghost
+_stories_. Chapter IV., devoted to "Haunted Houses," contains brief
+accounts of the most famous Haunted Houses, and of the phenomena which
+have been witnessed within them. Appendix A gives a list of a few of
+the important "Historical Ghosts," Appendix B describes the "Phantom
+Armies" lately seen by the Allied troops in France--while Appendix C
+lists a number of books of Ghost Stories which the interested reader
+may care to peruse. A short Glossary, at the beginning of the book,
+explains the meaning of certain terms used,--which are not, perhaps,
+ordinarily met with in books of this character.
+
+In the Introductory Chapter, I have endeavored to explain, very
+briefly, the nature and character of Ghosts; what they _are_; and the
+various scientific theories which have been brought forward, of late
+years, to explain Ghosts. I hope that this may prove of interest to the
+reader; in case it does not do so, he is invited to "skip" directly to
+Chapter II., which begins our account of "True Ghost Stories."
+
+I wish to express my thanks in this place to the Council of the English
+S. P. R. for special permission to quote and to summarize several
+striking cases here reproduced; also to Miss Estelle Stead, for
+permission to utilize several cases previously printed at length in Mr.
+Wm. T. Stead's collections of Ghost Stories.
+
+  H. C.
+
+
+
+
+GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
+
+
+AGENT--The person who, in thought-transference experiments, endeavors
+to impress his thoughts upon the "percipient" or "receiver."
+
+DEATH-COINCIDENCE--A case in which an apparition or other ghostly
+phenomenon has taken place, at the moment of the death of the person
+represented by the phantom.
+
+GHOST--An apparition, a phantom. Some contend that all ghosts are
+"subjective" or purely mental (hallucinations); others that some
+ghosts are "objective"--that is, space-occupying entities, which exist
+apart from the seer, who sees them. These points will be found fully
+discussed in this book.
+
+HALLUCINATION--A mental experience, in which a phantom is seen, a voice
+heard, etc., when there is no real external cause for this seeing or
+hearing. Hallucinations are more complete than mere "illusions."
+
+PACT--An agreement, entered into before death, between two persons,
+that, whichever one dies first, shall appear to the other one. These
+are here called "Pact Cases." [A Pact may also mean an agreement
+between a necromancer of some spirit-intelligence, as in Magic; but
+the word is not used in that sense in this book.]
+
+PERCIPIENT--The receiver of the telepathic or other message. The one
+who experiences the phenomenon.
+
+PHANTASM--A phantom; an apparition; a "ghost." The word is more
+inclusive than any of the words suggested; and is used by preference,
+by most psychic students.
+
+TELEPATHY--Mind-reading; thought-transference.
+
+
+
+
+TRUE GHOST STORIES
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+WHAT IS A GHOST?
+
+Ghosts have been believed in by every nation, at every time and at
+every stage of the world's evolution. No matter where we may go, we
+find them stalking through the pages of history;[1] and even in our own
+cynical and materialistic age, we not only find "ghosts" still; but
+the evidence for their existence is stronger than ever! It is nonsense
+to say that "no sensible person believes in ghosts," because many
+thousands of them _do_. Why do they believe? Would they believe if they
+had no cause to do so?
+
+      [1] See Appendix A.
+
+The "terror of the dark," which we all have more or less, from which
+every child suffers (how intensely!) during its early years--a terror
+which is, to a certain extent, shared by animals and even insects--does
+all this signify nothing? Those who have looked into this question
+thoroughly, believe that there is, in every truth, a terrible reality
+justifying this instinctive fear; that evil and horrible things lurk
+about us in the still, weird hours of the night; that there are truly
+"powers and principalities" with which we often toy, without knowing or
+realizing the frightful dangers which result from this tampering with
+the unseen world. Yes; there is a true "tyranny of the dark." Phenomena
+and ghostly manifestations take place in darkness which would never
+occur in light; and which cease when a light is struck. All ghostly
+phenomena are associated with darkness, and the "wee small hours of the
+night."
+
+All this is exemplified in the following interesting narrative, which I
+may entitle:
+
+
+THE TERROR OF THE DARK
+
+"All my life I have been afraid of the dark," said an acquaintance to
+me the other day, when we were discussing psychical matters. "I know
+that it is childish," he continued, "and I ought to have outgrown it
+years ago; but, as a matter of fact, I haven't. After all, isn't there
+some reason for the fears that we all feel, more or less, at that time?
+Doesn't the Bible speak of 'the terrors of the Dark;' and are not all
+animals, and even insects, afraid of the dark--so much so that you
+cannot induce them to enter a dark place if they can help it? Light not
+only enables you to see what is around you; but it acts in a certain
+positive manner over 'the powers of darkness,' whatever they are,
+and prevents their operation. All spirit mediums will tell you that
+materialization and manifestations of that character cannot take place
+in the light; it prevents their occurrence. So, after all, as I said,
+isn't there some reasonable ground for one's fear at such times?"
+
+I said nothing; but gazed into the fire. After all, were not his
+arguments somewhat impressive?
+
+"But," continued my friend, "it is not altogether because of these
+speculative reasons that I fear the dark; it is because of a terrible
+experience I once had, and which has left me terror-struck, ever since,
+whenever I am left without light even for an instant. I will tell you
+the story, and let you judge for yourself.
+
+"It was several years ago; in an old house we rented at that time, and
+from which we removed soon after the event I am about to relate. I was
+afraid of the dark, even then, and always left a night-light burning by
+the side of my bed when I went to sleep. One night I woke up, feeling
+the springs of the bed on which I was lying vibrate in a peculiar
+manner, impossible to describe.
+
+"Looking up, I saw, standing by the side of my bed, a young man,
+dressed in rags, having a face ghastly white, and showing every
+indication of dissipation. He was regarding me intently.
+
+"I shall never forget the shock I received on beholding that figure;
+not only because of the unexpected appearance; but because of the fact
+that I could perceive the opposite wall and furniture _through_ the
+body. I knew at once that I beheld a spirit; and my blood ran cold at
+the thought. What I had dreaded all my life was at last fulfilled!
+
+"My next thought was 'I am so glad the night-light is burning. What
+should I do if I were in darkness?' As though the form read my
+thoughts, and was intent on torturing me to the limit of endurance, it
+leaned over, and the next instant had snuffed the candle! The phantom
+and I were alone in the black darkness!
+
+"Words cannot describe my feelings at that instant. The blood froze
+in my veins, and the tongue clave to the roof of my mouth. I tried to
+speak, but could not. I only held out one hand as if to ward off the
+awful presence by pressing it away.
+
+"The next instant I felt the bed-clothes gently turned down on the
+further side of the bed, and partly pulled off me. The springs of the
+bed were depressed, and I knew that the fearsome visitor was crawling
+into bed! It would lie down by my side; perhaps touch me; perhaps--who
+could tell? The agony of mind I experienced in those few moments I
+shall never forget! My only wonder is that my reason did not give way!
+
+"Then a curious thing happened. Even in the state of mind, as I was
+then, I could perceive that the bed was gradually rising up again into
+its normal position. The weight upon it was growing less and less.
+Finally, it was again level, and I felt the bed clothes carefully
+replaced over me. The phantom had withdrawn!
+
+"For hours I lay awake, not daring to move. After what seemed a
+century, the first faint shafts of light fell across the room,
+betokening the welcome morn. Finally glorious day broke. Glorious
+light! Hateful darkness! Cannot you see why I hate it so?"
+
+But, fortunately, this evil and horrible side of ghost-land is not
+universal.
+
+Ghosts do not always present themselves as so formidable and gruesome!
+Some of them prove helpful; others seem to wish to right a wrong; some
+even seem to have a sense of humor! So there are all sorts of ghosts,
+just as there are all sorts of people; and the variety is just as great
+in the one case as in the other.
+
+
+WHAT IS A GHOST?
+
+But, after all, what _is_ a ghost? What do we mean by this? Where do
+ghosts live, and how? What do they do with themselves? How do they
+manifest? Why do they return? These are some of the questions which the
+average man asks himself--unless he totally disbelieves in them.
+
+Most men, it is true, disbelieve in ghosts--unless they have had some
+experience to convince them to the contrary. Yet, after all, why should
+they? As Mr. W. T. Stead once remarked:
+
+"Real Ghost Stories! How can there be real ghost stories when there are
+no real ghosts?
+
+"But are there no real ghosts? You may not have seen one, but it does
+not follow that therefore they do not exist. How many of us have seen
+the microbe that kills? There are at least as many persons who testify
+that they have seen apparitions as there are men of science who have
+examined the microbe. You and I, who have seen neither, must perforce
+take the testimony of others. The evidence for the microbe may be
+conclusive, the evidence as to apparitions may be worthless; but in
+both cases it is a case of testimony, not of personal experience."
+
+The average conception of a Ghost is probably somewhat as follows:
+That it is a thin, tall figure, wrapped in a sheet, walking about the
+house, clanking chains behind it, and scaring out of his wits anyone
+who sees it. According to this view, a ghost would be as material
+and substantial a thing as a buzz-saw or a lap-dog, and exists just
+as fully "in space." Such, however, is not the conception of the
+ghost which modern science entertains. Many investigators who have
+examined this question closely have come to the conclusion that
+ghosts _do_ actually exist; but when we come to the more troublesome
+question: _What are they?_ we are met at once with difficulties and
+disagreements. The recent scientific theories and explanations of the
+subject are complex and subtle; and necessitate a certain preliminary
+knowledge on the part of the student in order for him to understand
+them. I shall explain as briefly and clearly as possible exactly what
+these theories are. For the moment, I wish to speak, first of all, of
+the history of psychic investigation; and particularly that portion of
+it which deals with apparitions or "ghost hunting."
+
+
+HISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS
+
+Here and there, serious investigators have always existed. In the
+sixteenth century Dr. Glanvil pursued this study with great genius
+and patience; Dr. Johnson also was a firm believer in the reality of
+"ghosts"; Sir Walter Scott and others of his time were investigators,
+the famous Dr. Perrier wrote a treatise on apparitions, and similar
+investigations have been continued up to the present day. The first
+organized and systematic attempt to solve the problem, and to find
+out exactly _what ghosts are_, however, was made by the Society
+for Psychical Research (S. P. R.) in 1882. Practically all the
+investigations which have been carried on since then have led to
+important results.
+
+Soon after the above mentioned Society was founded, and material began
+to be collected, it was found that many cases had to do with haunted
+houses, many with apparitions, but the greater number of them hinged
+around the one point--the coincidence of apparitions with the death
+of the persons represented. An apparition of a certain person would
+be seen in London, let us say; and some hours later a telegram would
+arrive, conveying the news that this person had just been killed. When
+the time was compared, it was found to agree exactly; the hour of the
+death and that of the apparition tallying to the minute.
+
+Chance, you say? Perhaps so. _One_ case of this character might be
+explained in such manner; but could _fifty_? Could a _hundred_? It
+became a question of statistics--of figures; these alone can answer our
+question.
+
+Before considering these, however, let us give a few examples of cases
+of "death-coincidences," so that the reader may see the character of
+the evidence presented. He may then appreciate the value of a great
+mass of such evidence, when published _in extenso_.
+
+
+DEATH-COINCIDENCES
+
+The first case we take is from M. Flammarion's book, _The Unknown_ (p.
+108), and is as follows:
+
+"My mother ... who lived in Burgundy, heard one Tuesday, between nine
+and ten o'clock, the door of the bedroom open and close violently. At
+the same time, she heard herself called twice--'Lucie, Lucie!' The
+following Tuesday, she heard that her uncle Clementin, who had always
+had a great affection for her, had died that Tuesday morning, precisely
+between nine and ten o'clock...."
+
+In the following instance, the notification is in visual, instead of
+auditory form, and is taken from the _Proceedings_, S. P. R., Vol. X.,
+pp. 213-14:
+
+"About the 14th of September, 1882, my sister and I felt worried
+and distressed by hearing the 'death watch'; it lasted a whole day
+and night. We got up earlier than usual the next morning, about six
+o'clock, to finish some birthday presents for our mother. As my sister
+and I were working and talking together, I looked up, and saw our young
+acquaintance standing in front of me and looking at us. I turned to
+my sister; she saw nothing. I looked again to where he stood; he had
+vanished. We agreed not to tell any one....
+
+"Some time afterwards we heard that our young acquaintance had either
+committed suicide or had been killed; he was found dead in the woods,
+twenty-four hours after landing. On looking back to my diary, I found
+that the marks I made in it corresponded to the date of his death."
+
+The following case is reported in Podmore's _Apparitions and Thought
+Transference_, p. 265:
+
+"The first Thursday of April, 1881, while sitting at tea with my back
+to the window, and talking with my wife in the usual way, I plainly
+heard a rap at the window, and, looking round, I said to my wife,
+'Why, there's my grandmother,' and went to the door, but could not see
+anyone; and still feeling sure it was my grandmother, and, knowing
+that, though eighty-three years of age, she was very active and fond of
+a joke, I went round the house, but could not see anyone. My wife did
+not hear it. On the following Saturday, I had news that my grandmother
+died in Yorkshire about half an hour before the time I heard the
+rapping. The last time I saw her alive I promised, if well, I would
+attend her funeral; that was some two years before. I was in good
+health and had no trouble; age, twenty-six years. I did not know that
+my grandmother was ill.
+
+  "REV. MATTHEW FROST."
+
+
+Mrs. Frost writes:
+
+"I beg to certify that I perfectly remember all the circumstances my
+husband has named, but I heard and saw nothing myself."
+
+The following case is from _Phantasms of the Living_, Vol. II., p. 50:
+
+"On February 26th, 1850, I was awake, for I was to go to my
+sister-in-law, and visiting was then an event for me. About two o'clock
+in the morning my brother walked into our room (my sister's) and
+stood beside my bed. I called to her, 'Here is ----.' He was at the
+time quartered at Paisley, and a mail-car from Belfast passed about
+that hour not more than a mile from our village.... He looked down on
+us most lovingly, and kindly, and waved his hand, and he was gone! I
+recollect it all as if it were only last night it occurred, and my
+feeling of astonishment, not at his coming into the room at all, but
+where he could have gone. At that very hour he died."
+
+Mr. Gurney writes:
+
+"We have confirmed the date of death in the Army List, and find from a
+newspaper notice that the death took place in the early morning, and
+was extremely sudden."
+
+Cases such as the above could be multiplied into the hundreds; but it
+is not necessary. For our present purposes, the above samples will at
+least serve to show the character of these "death-coincidences," and
+how accurate and how numerous they often are.
+
+
+ARE THEY DUE TO CHANCE?
+
+The cases of "death-coincidences" came in so thick and so fast that,
+some time after its foundation, the Society for Psychical Research
+published an enormous book in two volumes, called "Phantasms of
+the Living," which contained some 702 cases of this character. The
+possibility of "chance coincidence" was very carefully worked out; and
+it was ascertained that the number of collected cases was many thousand
+times more numerous than chance alone could be supposed to account for.
+A "connection" of some sort was thought to be proved.
+
+But objections at once began to be heard! "In order to prove your point
+you must collect a greater number of cases than this; you must get more
+facts before we can consider your point proved!"
+
+So the investigators again set to work, and carried on a far more
+extensive investigation, in several countries, covering a period of
+several years. The results were the same. After collecting some 30,000
+cases, and calculating the number of death-coincidences contained in
+this number, it was again proved, and most conclusively, that the
+number of coincidences was far more numerous than could be accounted
+for by any theory of chance. Professor Sidgwick's Committee, therefore,
+signed the following joint statement, at the conclusion of their
+lengthy Report:
+
+"_Between deaths and apparitions of the dying person a connection
+exists which is not due to chance alone. This we hold as a proved
+fact...._"
+
+These are weighty words. They represent an important forward step in
+our investigation of these involved and complex questions. _Something_
+takes place at death, which serves to unite, in some sort of spiritual
+bond, the dying and the still living relatives or friends. _What is_
+this connection? In what may it be supposed to consist?
+
+
+THE EXPLANATION
+
+For an explanation, we must begin by going back to experimental
+thought-transference. We know that it is possible, under certain
+conditions, for one person to affect another, otherwise than through
+the regular avenues of the five senses. This "telepathic" action
+between mind and mind is now pretty well known, and operates more or
+less throughout life. By means of this, it is occasionally possible for
+one person to impress a scene or a picture upon the mind of another,
+so that the other shall see before him, as it were, in space, a vivid
+mental picture of the scene in the other's mind.
+
+This being so, it seems plausible to suppose that it might be possible
+to convey the impression or picture of _one's self_ to another--since
+this may be supposed to be the most precise and best-known picture we
+have. Would it not be possible to think of one's own appearance so
+intensely as to cause a mental representation of it to appear before
+another person, distant some miles away?
+
+Apparently this _has_ been done, many times. "Experimental apparitions"
+of this character have frequently been _induced_; accounts of a few of
+which will be found in this volume. The picture is mental, in such a
+case; it is an imaginative creation; it is a hallucination,--although
+it was caused or created by another, distant mind. It was, it is true,
+a hallucination; but as it was induced by telepathy, we have for such
+apparitions the name of "telepathic hallucinations." It is this theory
+of "telepathic hallucinations" which is invoked to explain many of
+these cases of death-coincidences, or apparitions of the dying.
+
+
+EXPERIMENTAL APPARITIONS
+
+The following types of "experimental apparitions" are good examples of
+the ability to induce a phantasmal form at a distance by "willing" to
+do so. As to the nature of this figure: there is as yet no unanimity
+of opinion--some authorities preferring to believe that such cases
+represent merely an extension of the power of thought-transference,
+known to us; others, on the contrary, contending that such cases prove
+the existence and travelling powers of the "astral" or "spiritual
+body." Of this, however, more later.
+
+Here is a case of this nature, experienced by the English investigator,
+the Rev. William Stainton Moses, who corroborates the following
+account, which is furnished by the agent:--
+
+"One evening I resolved to appear to Z., at some miles' distance. I did
+not inform him beforehand of the intended experiment, but retired to
+rest shortly before midnight, my thoughts intently fixed on Z., with
+whose rooms and surroundings I was quite unacquainted. I soon fell
+asleep, and woke next morning unconscious of anything having taken
+place. On seeing Z. a few days afterwards, I inquired: 'Did anything
+happen at your rooms on Saturday night?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'a great
+deal happened. I had been sitting over the fire with M., smoking and
+chatting. About 12:30 he rose to leave, and I let him out myself. I
+returned to the fire to finish my pipe, when I saw you sitting in the
+chair just vacated by him. I looked intently at you, and then took up
+a newspaper to assure myself that I was not dreaming; but on laying it
+down I saw you still there. While I gazed, without speaking, you faded
+away.'"
+
+In the case which follows, the initials only are used; but the writer
+of the account was known to the officers of the S. P. R., who vouched
+for the general trustworthiness of the writer:
+
+"On a certain Sunday evening in November, 1881, having been reading
+of the great power which the human will is capable of exercising, I
+determined, with the whole force of my being, that I would be present
+in spirit in the front bedroom of the second floor of a house situated
+at 22 Hogarth Road, Kensington, in which room slept two young ladies
+of my acquaintance,--namely, Miss L. S. V. and Miss E. C. V., aged
+respectively twenty-five and eleven years. I was living at the time at
+23 Kildare Gardens, at a distance of about three miles from Hogarth
+Road, and I had not mentioned in any way my intention of trying this
+experiment to either of the above ladies, for the simple reason that
+it was only on retiring to rest upon this Sunday night that I made
+up my mind to do so. The time at which I determined to be there was
+one o'clock in the morning; and I had a strong intention of making
+my presence perceptible. On the following Thursday I went to see the
+ladies in question, and, in the course of my conversation (without any
+allusion to the subject on my part), the elder one told me that on
+the previous Saturday night she had been much terrified by perceiving
+me standing by her bedside, and that she screamed when the apparition
+advanced towards her, and awoke her little sister, who also saw me.
+
+"I asked her if she was awake at the time, and she replied most
+decidedly in the affirmative; and, upon my inquiring the time of the
+occurrence, she replied, 'About one o'clock in the morning.'
+
+"This lady at my request wrote down a statement of the event, and
+signed it...."
+
+Mr. Gurney (one of the authors of _Phantasms of the Living_) became
+deeply interested in these experiments, and requested Mr. B. to notify
+him in advance on the next occasion when he proposed to make his
+presence known in this strange manner. Accordingly, March 22d, 1884, he
+received the following letter:
+
+  "Dear Mr. Gurney:--I am going to try the experiment to-night of
+  making my presence perceptible at 44 Morland Square, at 12 P. M.
+  I will let you know the result in a few days.
+
+  Yours very sincerely,      "S. H. B."
+
+The next letter, which was written on April 3, contained the following
+statement, prepared by the recipient, Miss L. S. Verity:
+
+"On Saturday night, March 22, 1884, at about midnight, I had a distinct
+impression that Mr. S. H. B. was present in my room, and I distinctly
+saw him, being quite awake. He came toward me and stroked my hair.
+I voluntarily gave him this information when he called to see me on
+Wednesday, April 2, telling him the time and the circumstances of the
+apparition without any suggestion on his part. The appearance in my
+room was most vivid and quite unmistakable."
+
+Miss A. S. Verity also furnishes this corroborative statement:
+
+"I remember my sister telling me that she had seen S. H. B. and that he
+touched her hair, before he came to see us on April 2."
+
+The agent's statement of the affair is as follows:
+
+"On Saturday, March 22, I determined to make my presence perceptible
+to Miss V. at 44 Morland Square, Notting Hill, at twelve midnight; and
+as I had previously arranged with Mr. Gurney that I should post him a
+letter of the evening on which I tried my next experiment (stating the
+time and other particulars) I sent him a note to acquaint him with the
+above facts. About ten days afterwards I called upon Miss V., and she
+voluntarily told me that on March 22, at twelve o'clock, midnight, she
+had seen me so vividly in her room (whilst wide awake) that her nerves
+had been much shaken, and she had been obliged to send for a doctor in
+the morning."
+
+These cases will at least prove the possibility of such a thing as
+"experimental apparitions," and, explain them as we may, they are, at
+all events, most interesting and significant. They prove the reality of
+"telepathic phantasms"--of apparitions produced in another by the power
+of mind. This is, at least, the modern conception of the facts.
+
+
+TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATIONS
+
+How may the theory be said to work? How can a telepathic impulse from a
+distant mind cause a picture to appear in space, as it were, before the
+recipient? Here is the last word of modern science in this direction;
+here is the theory which has been advanced to explain puzzling cases of
+this character.
+
+When we look at and see an object, the sight-centers of the brain are
+roused into activity; unless they are so aroused, we see nothing, and
+whenever they are so aroused, _no matter from what cause_, we have the
+sensation of sight. We _see_.
+
+But we get no further than this; we do not reason about the thing seen,
+or analyze; or think to ourselves, "this is a red apple; I like red
+apples," etc. No, we only see or perceive the object. All the reasoning
+_about_ the object takes place in the higher thought-centres of the
+brain. A diagram will, perhaps, help to make all this clear.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When light-waves coming from the eye, A, travel along the optic nerves,
+and excite into activity the sight-centers--at B--we have the sensation
+of sight, as before said. Nerve currents then travel _up_ the nerves,
+going from B to C, and in these higher centers, they are associated and
+analyzed, and we then "reflect" upon the thing seen, etc. This is the
+normal process of sight.
+
+Now, if the eye, or the optic nerves, or the sight-centers themselves
+become diseased, we still have the sensation of seeing, though there
+is no material object there; we have ordinary hallucinations of all
+kinds--delirium tremens, etc. If the sight-centers are stimulated _as
+much_ as they would be by the incoming nerve stimuli from the eye, we
+have "full-blown hallucinations."
+
+Now, it is obvious that one method of stimulating the sight-centers
+into activity is for a nervous current to come _downwards_, along the
+nerves running from C to B. It is probable that something of this sort
+takes place when we experience "memory pictures." If you shut your eyes
+and picture the face of some dear friend, you will be able to see it
+before you more or less clearly. The higher psychical centers of the
+brain have excited the sight-centers into a certain activity; and these
+have given us the sensation of dim, inward sight. If the stimulus were
+stronger, we should have cases of intense "visualization"; such as the
+figures which occur in the crystal ball, etc.--they being doubtless
+produced in this manner.
+
+Although the "sluice-gates," so to speak, running from C to B are,
+therefore, always open _slightly_; they are never open wide; it
+is not natural for them to be so. But if, under any great stress,
+thought or emotion, the downward nervous current were as strong as
+that ordinarily running from A to B; then we should appear to see as
+clearly; the object would appear just as solid and real and outstanding
+to us as any other entity. We should experience a "full-blown
+hallucination."
+
+All this being so, it is almost natural to suppose that _one_ method
+by which these psychical sluice-gates could be more widely opened
+would be under the impact of _a telepathic impulse_. If we assume that
+this in some manner arouses into instantaneous and great activity the
+higher psychical centers (C), these would very probably communicate
+this impulse to B--downwards, along the nerve-tracts connecting the
+two (or to the hearing centers, when we should experience an auditory
+hallucination, and hear our name spoken, etc.). In this way we could
+account for a telepathic hallucination, originating in this manner; and
+it is surely to be supposed that, at the moment of death, some peculiar
+quickening of the mental and spiritual life takes place--the peculiar
+flashes of memory by those drowning, etc., seeming to show this.
+
+So, then, we arrive at a sort of explanation of many of these cases
+of apparitions, occurring at the moment of death; for we have shown
+them to be "telepathic hallucinations." This is also the correct
+explanation, doubtless, for many cases in which apparitions of the
+living have been seen--in which a phantasm of a living person has
+appeared to another, during sleep, or in hypnotic trance, etc.
+
+But how about those ghosts which appear some time after death? They, at
+least, cannot be explained by any such theory. What has been said by
+way of explanation of these cases?
+
+It will be remembered that telepathy is the basis of the explanation
+thus far. Let us extend this. We have only to suppose that the spirit
+of man survives the shock of death, and that it can continue to exert
+its powers and capacities also. For, if a living mind can influence the
+living by telepathy; why not a "dead" one? Why should not the surviving
+spirit of man continue to influence us, by telepathy? If they could,
+we should still have cases of telepathic hallucinations--induced from
+the mind of a discarnate, not an incarnate, spirit. The "ghost" might
+still be a telepathic hallucination. And if several persons saw the
+figure at once, we should, on this theory, have a case of collective
+hallucination--in which one mind affected all the rest equally and
+simultaneously.
+
+
+GHOSTS WHICH MOVE MATERIAL OBJECTS
+
+Such is the theory--rather far-fetched, it is true; but certainly the
+most rational and common-sense so far advanced to explain many of the
+facts. It is probable, however, that this explanation will not serve
+to explain _all_ of them. Thus, in those cases where the apparition
+moved a material object, opened a door, etc., such a theory would
+have to be abandoned, for the simple reason that a mental concept,
+an hallucination, cannot open doors and move objects! There must be
+an outstanding, material entity to effect this. There must be a real
+ghost. And in those cases where the apparition has been seen by several
+persons at once, or even photographed, it seems more reasonable to
+suppose that a material, space-occupying body was present rather than
+to assume that the various witnesses or the camera were hallucinated.
+
+In the following cases, for example, the apparition performs a definite
+physical action--snuffs a candle with its fingers, an action which a
+pure hallucination could hardly be supposed to perform. The account
+is by the Rev. D. W. G. Gwynne, M.I., and is printed in _Phantasms
+of the Living_, Vol. II., pp. 202-3. After telling of certain minor
+phenomena, he proceeds:
+
+"I now come to the mutual experience of something that is as fresh in
+its impression as if it were the occurrence of yesterday. During the
+night I became aware of a draped figure passing across the foot of
+the bed towards the fireplace. I had the impression that the arm was
+raised, pointing with the hand towards the mantlepiece, on which a
+night-light was burning. Mrs. Gwynne at this moment seized my arm, and
+the light _was extinguished_. Notwithstanding, I distinctly saw the
+figure returning towards the door, and being under the impression that
+one of our servants had found her way into the room, I leaped out of
+bed to intercept the intruder, but found, and saw, nothing...."
+
+[Mrs. Gwynne confirms the story, adding, "I distinctly saw the
+hand of the phantom placed over the night-light, which was at once
+extinguished."]
+
+
+PHOTOGRAPHS OF GHOSTS
+
+Again, it is claimed that ghosts have sometimes been photographed,
+though very rarely. In a number of cases, attempts have been made to
+photograph ghosts seen in haunted-houses; but, though the figures
+have been seen by all present, the photographic plate has failed to
+record any impression of the phantom. In other cases, on the contrary,
+definite impressions _have_ been obtained; and, though there is
+doubtless much fraud among professional mediums, who claim to produce
+"spirit photographs," there are many cases on record in which no
+professional medium was employed, and in which faces were certainly
+seen upon the developed plate. Experiments have also been made in
+photographing the body at the moment of death; to see if any impression
+could be made upon the plate--by the soul, in its passage from the
+body; and, though many of these have proved negative, Dr. Baraduc,
+of Paris, has obtained a number of photographs which have never been
+explained. Again, numerous researches in the region of so-called
+"thought photography" have given some basis for the belief that thought
+may be, under certain conditions, photographed--as for example, in the
+experiments of Dr. Ochorowicz and others. It may be said, therefore,
+that some progress is being made in this direction by psychic
+investigators (particularly by the French observers, who are far ahead
+of the rest of the world in these branches of psychic investigation),
+and that, with increased sensitiveness of film and plate, and greater
+perfection of lens and camera, it is to be hoped that the time is not
+far distant when it will be possible to photograph the unseen just as
+we photograph living persons.
+
+There are "ghosts," therefore, which are hallucinations; and there are
+ghosts which are genuine phantasms--the "real article." It becomes a
+question, in each instance, of sifting the evidence; finding out _which
+they are_. Yet, if there are real, objective, outstanding ghosts, how
+can we explain them? In what do they consist? In short, we are back to
+our original question: What are ghosts?
+
+
+THE "DOUBLE," AND THE SPIRITUAL BODY
+
+Before we can answer this question satisfactorily, we must consider
+one or two preliminary questions. First of all, we must speak of the
+"double"--the astral or spiritual or ethic body, which resides in man,
+as well as his physical body.[2]
+
+      [2] Theosophists distinguish between all these various bodies;
+      psychic students strive, for the most part, only to prove the
+      objective existence of any one of them.
+
+St. Paul constantly emphasized the fact that man has a material body
+and a "spiritual body." This inner body is the exact shape of the
+physical body--its counterpart, its double. In life, under ordinary
+conditions, the two are inseparable; but at death, the severance takes
+place and man continues to live on in this etheric envelope. This
+inner body has been studied very carefully by students of the occult;
+and a good deal is now known about it--its comings and goings, its
+composition, and the method of its departure at death. For our present
+purposes, however, it is enough to say that such a body exists, and
+that it is the vehicle man continues to use and manipulate, after his
+death and his departure from this plane.
+
+It so happens that, under certain peculiar conditions, the inner body
+of man is capable of being detached or separated from the physical
+body. This usually occurs in trance, sleep, hypnotic and mesmeric
+states, etc.; or may be performed "experimentally," by some who have
+cultivated this power in themselves. When this body goes on such
+"excursions"--leaving the physical body practically dead, to all
+appearances--it may be seen by those in its immediate vicinity, just
+as a material body would be--if they are sufficiently sensitive or
+receptive.
+
+The following interesting case, (recorded in _Phantasms of the Living_,
+Vol. I, pp. 225-26) is a good example of the apparent traveling of the
+body to another place, and the perception of that body by a second
+person, who happens to be there. Two individuals, at all events, shared
+in the experience, which is otherwise hard to account for. The case is
+recorded by the Rev. P. H. Newnham, and is as follows:
+
+"In March, 1854, I was up at Oxford, keeping my last term, in lodgings.
+I was subject to violent neuralgic headaches, which always culminated
+in sleep. One evening, about 8 p.m., I had an unusually violent one;
+when it became unendurable, about 9 p.m., I went into my bedroom, and
+flung myself, without undressing, on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
+
+"I then had a singularly clear and vivid dream, all the incidents of
+which are as clear in my memory as ever. I dreamed that I was stopping
+with the family of a lady who subsequently became my wife. All the
+younger ones had gone to bed, and I stopped chatting to the father and
+mother, standing up by the fireplace. Presently I bade them good-night,
+took my candle, and went off to bed. On arriving in the hall, I
+perceived that my fiancee had been detained downstairs, and was only
+then near the top of the staircase. I rushed upstairs, overtook her on
+the top step, and passed my two arms around her waist, under her arms,
+from behind. Although I was carrying my candle in the left hand, when
+I ran upstairs, this did not, in my dream, interfere with this gesture.
+
+"On this I woke, and the clock in the house struck ten almost
+immediately afterwards.
+
+"So strong was the impression of the dream that I wrote a detailed
+account of it the next morning to my fiancee.
+
+"_Crossing_ my letter, _not_ in answer to it, I received a letter from
+the lady in question: 'Were you thinking about me very specially last
+night, just about ten o'clock? For, as I was going upstairs to bed, I
+distinctly heard your footsteps on the stairs, and felt you put your
+arms round my waist.'"
+
+[Mrs. Newnham wrote a confirmation of this account, which was also
+published.]
+
+
+WHAT HAPPENS AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH
+
+In all these cases, of course, the psychic body of the subject returns
+and re-animates the physical body; for if it did not do so, death would
+take place. When death does actually take place, this is what occurs;
+and psychics and clairvoyants assert that they are able to see and
+follow this process perfectly; and many of them have described exactly
+what takes place at the moment of death. The following description,
+for example, given by Andrew Jackson Davis, is taken from his _Death,
+and the After Life_, pp. 15-16, and is as follows:
+
+"Suppose the person is now dying. It is to be a rapid death. The feet
+first grow cold. The clairvoyant sees over the head what may be called
+a magnetic halo--an etherial emanation, in appearance golden, and
+throbbing as though conscious. The body is now cold up to the knees
+and elbows, and the emanation has ascended higher in the air. The legs
+are cold to the hips and the arms to the shoulders; and the emanation,
+though it has not risen higher in the room, is more expanded. The
+death-coldness steals over the breast and round on either side, and
+the emanation has attained a higher position nearer the ceiling. The
+person has ceased to breathe, the pulse is still, and the emanation
+is elongated and fashioned in the outline of a human form. Beneath,
+it is connected with the brain. The head of the person is internally
+throbbing--a slow, deep throb--not painful but like the beat of the
+sea. Hence the thinking faculties are rational, while nearly every part
+of the person is dead. Owing to the brain's momentum, I have seen a
+dying person, even at the last feeble pulsebeat, rouse impulsively and
+rise up in bed to converse with a friend, but the next instant he was
+gone--his brain being the last to yield up the life principle.
+
+"The golden emanation, which extends up midway to the ceiling, is
+connected to the brain by a very fine life-thread. Now the body of the
+emanation ascends. Then appears something white and shining, like a
+human head; next, in a very few moments, a faint outline of the face
+divine, then the fair neck and beautiful shoulders; then, in rapid
+succession, come all parts of the new body down to the feet--a bright,
+shining image, a little smaller than its physical body, but a perfect
+prototype or reproduction in all except its disfigurements. The fine
+life-thread continues attached to the old brain. The next thing is
+the withdrawal of the electric principle. When this thread snaps the
+spiritual body is free, and prepared to accompany its guardians to the
+Summer-Land. Yes, there is a spiritual body; it is sown in dishonor and
+raised in brightness."
+
+It is doubtless this spiritual body which is the true cause of many
+apparitions--of many ghost stories. It is this body which is seen by
+the seer or percipient in many a ghost story; it is this body which
+moves objects and touches the individual who sees the ghost. This body
+is detached at death, as we have seen, and afterwards is free to rove
+at its own free will. Apparitions of the dead might thus be accounted
+for; while all those cases of apparitions of the dying which are with
+difficulty explained as due to pure telepathy might also thus find
+their explanation. The spiritual body, freed at that moment, would
+manifest its presence to the distant percipient as it did after death.
+So far so good, but how about apparitions of the living? How explain
+those cases in which the apparition of a living person has been seen,
+when the spiritual body is supposedly safely attached to the physical
+body?
+
+Many of them are doubtless cases of telepathy; but in those cases
+which seem to demand the presence of a body of some sort, we may
+suppose that the spiritual body may become detached, at times, under
+certain peculiar conditions, from the material body which it inhabits
+and animates, and can then manifest independently at a distance. The
+following cases are illustrative, apparently, of this fact; showing us
+that the "etheric body" can manifest on occasion at will at a distance
+from the physical body.
+
+
+HOW THE SOUL MAY LEAVE THE BODY
+
+"... I put out the light and returned, but no sooner had I done this
+than ... I could feel a creeping sensation moving up my legs. I got up
+and lit the gas and went back to bed; with pillows arranged in such
+a way as to make me comfortable. In a comparatively short time, all
+circulation ceased in my legs, and they were as cold as those of the
+dead. The creeping sensation began in the lower part of the body, and
+that also became cold.... There was no sensation of pain or even of
+physical discomfort. I would pinch my legs with my thumb and finger,
+and there was no feeling or no indication of blood whatever. I might as
+well have pinched a piece of rubber so far as the sensation produced
+was concerned. As the movement continued upward, all at once there
+came a flashing of lights in my eyes and a ringing in my ears, and
+it seemed for an instant as though I had become unconscious. When I
+came out of this state, I seemed to be walking in the air. No words
+can describe the exhilaration and freedom that I experienced. At no
+time in my life had my mind been so clear and so free. Just then I
+thought of a friend who was more than a thousand miles distant. Then
+I seemed to be traveling with great rapidity through the atmosphere
+about me. Everything was light and yet it was not the light of the
+day or the sun, but, I might say, a peculiar light of its own, such
+as I have never known. It could not have been a minute after that I
+thought of my friends, before I was conscious of standing in a room
+where the gas-jets were turned up, and my friend was standing with his
+back toward me, but, suddenly turning and seeing me, said: 'What in
+the world are you doing here? I thought you were in Florida'--and he
+started to come toward me. While I heard the words distinctly, I was
+unable to answer. An instant later I was gone; and the consciousness
+of the memorable things that transpired that memorable night has never
+been forgotten. I seemed to leave the earth, and everything pertaining
+to it, and enter a condition of life of which it is absolutely
+impossible to give here any thought I had concerning it, because there
+was no correspondence to anything I had ever seen or heard or known of
+in any way. The wonder and the joy of it was unspeakable; and I can
+readily understand now what Paul meant when he said 'I knew a man,
+whether in the body or out of it I know not, who was caught up to the
+third heaven, and saw things which it is not possible (lawful) to
+utter.'
+
+"In this latter experience there was neither consciousness of time
+nor of space; in fact, it can be described more as a consciousness of
+elastic feeling than anything else. It came to me after a time that I
+could _stay_ there if I so desired, but with that thought came also the
+consciousness of the friends on earth and the duties there required of
+me. The desire to stay was intense, but in my mind I clearly reasoned
+over it--whether I should gratify my desire or return to my work on
+earth. Four times my thought and reason told me that my duties required
+me to return, but I was so dissatisfied with each conclusion that
+I finally said: 'Now I will think and reason this matter out once
+more, and whatever conclusion I reach I will abide by.' I reached the
+same conclusion, and had not much more than reached it when I became
+conscious of being in a room and looking down on a body propped up in
+bed, which I recognized as my own! I cannot tell what strange feelings
+came over me. This body, to all intents and purposes, looked to be
+dead. There was no indication of life about it, and yet here I was
+apart from the body, with my mind perfectly clear and alert, and the
+consciousness of another body to which matter of any kind offered no
+resistance.
+
+"After what might have been a minute or two, looking at the body, I
+began to try and control it, and in a very short time all sense of
+separation from the physical body ceased, and I was only conscious of
+a directed effort toward its use. After what seemed to be quite a long
+time, I was able to move, got up from the bed, dressed myself, and went
+down to breakfast....
+
+"I may add that the friend referred to as having been seen by me
+that night was also distinctly conscious of my presence and made
+the exclamation mentioned. We both wrote the next day, relating the
+experience of the night, and the letters corroborating the incident
+crossed in the post."
+
+Such strange doings certainly tend to prove that the human spirit can
+leave its body and rove abroad, at times; and if this is the case, it
+shows us that our body is far more detachable than we usually suppose;
+and hence that it can probably continue to exist after the death of the
+physical body, when it is detached altogether. Once this is proved, all
+objection to the reality and existence of "objective" ghosts will have
+been done away with.
+
+
+THEORIES OF HAUNTED HOUSES
+
+If we grant that certain houses may be "haunted," in the sense that
+they may be the centers of influences and forces as yet unseen and
+unknown, the question is: How explain such cases? What hypotheses can
+we advance to explain cases of haunted houses, which will recognize the
+reality of the phantom witnessed therein, and attempt to explain them
+as rationally as possible? Four main theories have been advanced by way
+of explanation, which I shall briefly outline.
+
+(1). There is the theory that the figures seen in houses of this nature
+are genuine, outstanding entities--real beings, which are just as real,
+though less solid and tangible, as any of the living inhabitants of the
+house. This is, of course, the popular conception of the ghosts seen in
+haunted houses, and it must be admitted that such a theory covers and
+explains the facts more completely and fully than any other. There are
+also many facts telling in its favor. For instance, when two persons
+see a figure from different angles or viewpoints; and one describes
+it in profile, while the other describes it as presenting a full face
+likeness; and if this is the angle in each case from which a real
+figure would naturally be seen, this surely seems to indicate that a
+solid form of some sort was present.
+
+Again, when three or four or more people see a figure at the same time,
+it is surely a strain upon our credulity to believe that a number of
+persons were similarly "hallucinated" at precisely the same time and in
+the same manner; and easier to believe that they all saw a figure at
+the same time, though in differing degrees of vividness and detail.
+
+Thirdly, we have the evidence from photography. In some instances,
+these figures have been photographed; and though there is doubtless
+much fraud in this connection, there is evidence that, in certain
+cases, genuine photographs of this nature have been taken. This is
+discussed elsewhere in this volume, however.
+
+Fourthly, we have the behavior of animals, in haunted houses. They
+often appear to see figures visible or invisible to others present at
+the time--bark at them, rub against them, stare at them, act as though
+terrified at what they see, etc. This will be noticed in many of the
+stories; and can be explained only with difficulty if we are to believe
+that the figures seen are merely hallucinations.
+
+
+THE GHOSTS OF ANIMALS, ETC.
+
+I have elsewhere spoken of the apparent ability of animals to see
+phantasmal forms and figures. The reverse of this is also true. Ghosts
+of animals have been seen--spectral dogs, cats, horses as well as human
+beings. These apparitions are very perplexing, and raise the question
+of the immortality of animals--a very vexed question, which has given
+rise to much discussion. Mr. H. Rider Haggard records the case of his
+own dog, whose apparition he saw at the very moment that the dog was
+killed by an express train some miles away. Did the animal succeed
+in affecting his master by telepathy? If not, why the coincidence? I
+myself have recorded a case in which a (real) cat spat at a phantom
+dog, seen independently by a clairvoyant, who had described it a
+few moments before to a group of spectators. Such cases are very
+interesting. They tend to prove that dogs, cats, horses and other
+animals also survive death--a conclusion which is certainly the most
+humane and logical to many minds.
+
+In addition to these animal apparitions, there are also grotesque,
+horrible, monstrous and undefinable ghosts. One or two cases of this
+character are described in this book. Sometimes the "seer" sees
+something awful, but cannot describe in words what it is. Many of the
+phantoms of the imaginative type are of this character. Again, there
+are grave-yard ghosts; banshees, gnomes, elementals, pixies, fairies,
+brownies, nature-spirits, hobgoblins, sylphs, salamanders, dragons,
+vampires, wraiths, corpse-candles, and many other awful beings which
+have been described from time to time in the past. We need not consider
+these in a book of this character, however. But, to return to our
+argument for the objective reality of "ghosts."
+
+Fifthly, we have those cases in which the apparition has produced
+a physical effect in the material world--snuffed a light, opened a
+door, pulled back the bed-curtains, etc. A hallucinatory figure could
+not do this. It has been suggested that all this is only a part of
+the hallucination, but when the thing is found to have been moved in
+reality, we must explain this somehow; for otherwise how did it change
+its place?
+
+Sixthly, we have cases in which the same apparition has been seen by
+several separate and independent persons in the same room or house,
+and afterwards they have recognized the features of this person in
+a photograph shown them--the photograph of the person supposed to
+haunt that particular house. If we were to believe that a simple
+hallucination caused the figure, how account for this identification?
+Surely the theory is far-fetched!
+
+For all these reasons, therefore, and others it would be possible
+to mention, there is much to be said in favor of this theory of
+haunted houses; the theory which says that the figures seen are real,
+semi-material entities.
+
+
+THE CLOTHES OF GHOSTS
+
+(2). The second view, opposed to that mentioned above, is this: Someone
+living in a house has experienced a hallucination, and then seen the
+same thing over and over again, by reason of auto-suggestion; or, if he
+moves away, and another tenant takes the house in turn, the thoughts
+of this second tenant are influenced, through thought-transference,
+by the first tenant, who broods and thinks over his experiences in
+the "haunted house," wonders whether the people now living in it
+are experiencing phenomena, etc. In this way, the minds of those
+living in the house are constantly influenced by thought-transference
+by living minds; and hallucinatory figures are produced in them,
+just as the picture of a playing card is induced in experimental
+thought-transference.
+
+There are two things to be said in favor of such a theory. In the first
+place, we have the analogy which telepathic experiments give us, in
+which certain visual images are undoubtedly transmitted from one mind
+to another; and it is natural to assume that an extension of this same
+process might account for many of the phantasmal forms seen in haunted
+houses, as explained elsewhere.
+
+In the second place, we immediately surmount the difficulty presented
+by the ghost's _clothes_. This is a stumbling-block to many
+investigators. However much we might believe that an etheric or astral
+or spiritual body might continue to persist after death, it is hard to
+believe that the clothes of the person who died also had "spiritual
+counterparts," and returned with him, to visit the earth and the scenes
+of former joys and miseries! We seldom read of a ghost without clothes;
+nude ghosts are not the fashion! Yet if we cannot believe this, how are
+we to explain this difficulty--and the fact that ghosts wear ghostly
+garments?
+
+If the ghost were a hallucination, we could understand all this easily
+enough. The clothes were imaginary, just as the figure was; they formed
+part of the mental image, just like the figures seen in dreams, etc.
+This, therefore, is one very strong point in favor of this hypothesis;
+but if the ghost is a real, outstanding entity, how account for his
+clothes?
+
+Several tentative explanations have been forthcoming. In the first
+place, it has been suggested that all ghosts are in reality partial
+"materializations" and that it is possible for a spirit to materialize
+and form drapery as well as solid flesh and bone. Both are a sort of
+condensation of matter, in varying degrees.
+
+Again, it has been suggested that a spirit has the power to create
+objects by the power of will; by merely thinking and willing to do so.
+In this way, man would be a real creator, in a miniature scale, and
+certain analogies could be found for this in the material world. The
+returning spirit would desire to return clothed; and this very desire
+would create the fitting garb. Other theories have been advanced, but
+the above are the simplest and most intelligible, and are all we need
+consider at present.
+
+All these difficulties, however, tell against the substantiality of
+ghosts; and in favor of this second theory of haunted houses.
+
+
+TELEPATHY FROM THE DEAD
+
+(3). The third theory which has been advanced, is an extension of the
+second. Thought-transference is still the agency invoked to explain
+the facts--but from the minds of dead, and not living persons. That
+is, assuming telepathy to be true, and possible between living minds;
+and assuming that individual consciousness survives the change called
+death; we can readily imagine that those who have "passed over" might
+affect and influence the living by thought-transference also, just as
+they did in life. On this theory, therefore, the ghost would still
+represent a hallucination; a mental or imaginary figure, and it would
+still be induced by telepathy from a distant mind; but that mind would
+be that of a so-called dead person. After death, we might suppose, this
+person would be thinking or dreaming over the past events; the scenes
+of his joys and sorrows; and these dreams would tend to influence the
+minds of those still living, and cause them to see the figures seen.
+The figures, on this theory, would be hallucinatory, but they would
+have a real, objective basis and starting-point for all that; and, as
+such, would represent the continued existence and activity on the part
+of the dead.
+
+Against this ingenious theory may be urged all those arguments which
+have been cited in favor of the materiality of apparitions.
+
+
+THE PSYCHIC ATMOSPHERE
+
+(4). A fourth theory is that which says that some _subtle psychic
+atmosphere_ is present in certain houses; and that this "atmosphere"
+affects and influences all who live within them, just as their physical
+atmosphere would, only in a different manner and degree. Everyone has
+doubtless experienced this atmosphere in certain houses, if they are
+at all sensitive. They either "like" a house or "dislike" it--for no
+apparent reason. Some houses rest and refresh you; others irritate you,
+etc. This theory contends that every living human being is constantly
+giving off a peculiar vital emanation or aura or effluence; and that
+this charges-up or impregnates the material objects in his immediate
+neighborhood, which soak it up like a sponge, and retain it after being
+removed from its presence. It is because of this fact that articles
+presented to trance mediums often recall the person to whom they
+belonged; it is because of this that "psychometry" is possible--that
+is, the ability of some persons to give the past history of an object
+by merely handling it; and it is because of this that certain houses
+become so charged with this magnetic aura, or whatever it may be, that
+they remain "charged" for some time; and, in discharging, create
+psychic disturbances and impressions which are seen or experienced as
+phantasmal appearances.
+
+The chief objection to this theory is that it is difficult to see how
+this general and impersonal "charging" process can create definite and
+clear-cut forms, possessing all the appearances of reality. Doubtless
+each theory contains much truth; and haunted houses represent, in
+many cases, a combination of _all_ these causes, working together and
+combining into one complex and unfortunately ill-understood whole. It
+is the duty of the future to disentangle this maze, as best it can; and
+explain the various factors which go to make up a haunted house of this
+character.
+
+
+FORMS CREATED BY WILL
+
+(5). Besides these theories, another might be suggested, which
+has never so far been advanced, so far as I am aware. It is that
+the phantasmal forms seen in haunted houses are real substantial
+_creations_, manufactured by the thoughts or will of the discarnate
+spirit, who fashions it out of "such stuff as dreams are made of." It
+has been said that "thoughts are things," and many believe that this
+is literally true. Certain it is that a limited number of peculiarly
+constructed persons can produce phenomena which seem to be solid
+creations of the will. So, if thought could ever be proved to be
+really creative; if it could not only _formulate_ but _objectify_ and
+_project into space_ images and forms, we should have here a rational
+explanation of many ghosts, as well as of their behavior. And just here
+a few words as to this latter may not be out of place.
+
+It has often been objected that ghosts cannot be realities; they cannot
+be real spirits, for the reason that they act in such a senseless
+manner. They seldom speak or reply, when spoken to. They seldom have
+any definite purpose. In short, they betray no intelligence. This being
+so, they must be hallucinations and not the realities they claim to be!
+
+The answer to this objection is found in the following consideration.
+Even granting all this to be true, many believing in ghosts do not for
+an instant contend that such ghosts represent the actual person the
+figure symbolises. It is a mere projection; a shell; a form created
+by the discarnate spirit, a resemblance, a phantasm. The central
+consciousness which animated and still animates that person is not _in_
+the ghostly form, but elsewhere. The phantasm represents, merely, a
+sort of impersonal wraith, and, as such, cannot be expected to possess
+intelligence or human characteristics. None are present within it.
+It is a very different thing from the real person it represents. The
+insipid and unintelligent behavior of ghosts, therefore, is only what
+we should expect. This fact is no argument against their reality, when
+rightly understood and interpreted.
+
+
+PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS
+
+In addition to haunted houses of this type, there are others, which
+must be referred to very briefly. Thus, in some cases, no figures have
+been seen, but remarkable sounds have been heard--sounds which have
+never been accounted for. Bangs, knocks, monotonous reading aloud,
+whispering, footsteps, etc., are some of the noises and sounds which
+have been heard in this way, and their origin often remains a mystery.
+It would take too long to discuss the various explanatory theories
+which have been advanced by psychic students to account for these
+sounds.
+
+In other types of haunted houses, physical manifestations take place,
+though nothing unusual is either seen or heard. Thus, in one case
+recorded by Lombroso (_After Death: What?_) numbers of bottles
+were broken one after the other, for no apparent cause, when he was
+actually looking at them. In still other cases, furniture has been
+upset, crockery broken, doorbells rung, etc., by no visible agency.
+John Wesley was persecuted in this manner for several years; and the
+reason was never discovered. Such cases are technically known as
+"poltergeists," and may be found in abundance in the "history of the
+supernatural."
+
+
+CAN HAUNTED HOUSES BE "CURED"?
+
+One question of considerable interest remains. It is this: Can
+so-called Haunted Houses be _cured_? Many of those who live in houses
+of this character would like to have these influences removed; but are
+unable to rid themselves of them. Can this be done?
+
+In some cases, this has doubtless been accomplished; while in others it
+has failed. We know too little as yet to lay down any arbitrary laws
+or rules which may be followed with safety in cases of this character.
+Sometimes one method succeeds, while another fails. I have known of
+cases where "exorcism" worked a complete cure; of others in which it
+failed miserably. I have known of cases in which suggestion, rightly
+applied, rid the house of its ghost; in other instances, no result was
+produced by similar methods! In a few instances mediums and psychics
+have been able to assist; in others their presence only seemed to
+make matters worse. We can but experiment and learn. Those who may be
+more interested in this aspect of the question will find it treated
+in Chapter XV. of my book "_The Coming Science_," which is devoted to
+"Haunted Houses and their Cure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD--I.
+
+In the following Chapter, I shall give a number of cases in which
+"Ghosts," or "Phantasms of the Dead," as they are called, have appeared
+to one or more persons at one time; sometimes telling them something
+they did not know; sometimes moving material objects in the room;
+sometimes pulling the bed-clothes off, etc. Nearly all these cases are
+well authenticated, and have been narrated at first-hand. Many of them
+have the corroborative testimony of several other persons, who also saw
+the phantasmal figure, or in some way shared in the experience. I shall
+begin with--
+
+
+A RUSSIAN GHOST
+
+The following story is vouched for by Mr. W. D. Addison, of Riga, and
+sent by him to Mr. W. T. Stead, who published it in _Borderland_:
+
+"It was in February, 1884, that the incidents I am about to relate
+occurred to me, and the story is well-known to my immediate friends.
+
+"Five weeks previously my wife had presented me with our first baby,
+and our house being a small one, I had to sleep on a bed made up in
+the drawing room--a spacious but cozy apartment, and the last place in
+which one would expect ghosts to select for their wanderings.
+
+"On the night in question I retired to my couch soon after ten, and
+fell asleep almost the moment I was between the sheets.
+
+"Instead of sleeping as, I am thankful to say, is my habit, straight
+through till morning, I woke up after a short dreamless sleep with
+the dim consciousness upon me that some one had called me by name. I
+was just turning the idea over in my mind when all doubts were solved
+by my hearing my name pronounced in a faint whisper, 'Willy.' Now the
+nurse who was in attendance on the baby, and who slept in the dressing
+room adjoining our bedroom, had been ill for the past few days, and on
+the previous evening my wife had come and asked me to assist her with
+the baby. As soon, therefore, as I heard this whisper, I turned round
+thinking, 'Ah, it is the baby again.'
+
+"The room had three windows in it, the night was moonless but starlit;
+there was snow on the ground, and therefore, 'snowlight,' and the
+blinds being up the room was by no means dark.
+
+"The first thing I noticed on turning round was the figure of a
+woman close to the foot of the bed, and whom (following the bent of
+my thoughts) I supposed to be my wife. 'What is up?' I asked, but
+the figure remained silent and motionless, and my eyes being more
+accustomed to the dimness, I noticed that it had a gray looking shawl
+over its head and shoulders, and that it was too short in stature to be
+my wife. I gazed at it silently, wondering who it could be; apparitions
+and ghosts were far from my thoughts, and the mistiness of the outlines
+of this silent figure did not strike me at the moment as it did
+afterwards.
+
+"I again addressed it, this time in the language of the country, 'What
+do you want?' Again no answer. And now it occurred to me that our
+servant girl sometimes walked in her sleep, and that this was she.
+Behind the head of my bed stood a small table, and I reached round for
+the match-box which was on it, never removing my eyes from the supposed
+somnambulist. The match-box was now in my hands, but just as I was
+taking out a match, the figure, to my astonishment, seemed to rise up
+from the floor, and move backwards toward the end window; at the same
+time it faded rapidly and became blurred with the gray light streaming
+in at the window, and 'ere I could strike the match it was gone. I lit
+the candle, jumped out of bed and ran to the door: it was fastened! To
+the left of the drawing room there was a boudoir, separated only by a
+curtain, this room was empty too, and the door likewise fastened.
+
+"I rubbed my eyes. I was puzzled. It struck me now for the first time
+that the figure was hazy looking, also that my wife was the only person
+who called me 'Willy,' and certainly the only person who could give the
+word its English pronunciation. I first searched both drawing room and
+boudoir, and then, opening the door, stepped into the passage, and went
+to my wife's door and listened. The baby was crying and my wife was up,
+so I knocked and was admitted. Knowing her to be strong minded and not
+nervous, I quietly related my experience. She expressed astonishment,
+and asked if I was not afraid to return to my bed in the drawing room.
+However, I was not, and after chatting for a few moments went back
+to my quarters, fastened the door, and getting into bed, thought the
+whole matter over very quietly. I could think of no explanation of the
+occurrence, and, feeling sleepy, blew out the light and was soon sound
+asleep again.
+
+"After a short but sound and dreamless slumber, I was again awakened,
+this time with my face towards the middle window; and there, close up
+against it, was the figure again, and owing to its propinquity to the
+light, it appeared to be a very dark object.
+
+"I at once reached out for the matches, but in doing so upset the
+table, and down it went with my candlestick, my watch, keys, etc.,
+making a terrific crash. As before, I had kept my eyes fixed on the
+figure, and I now observed that, whatever it was, it was advancing
+straight towards me, and in another moment retreat to the door would be
+cut off. It was not a comfortable idea to cope with the unknown in the
+dark, and in an instant I had seized the bed-clothes, and grasping a
+corner of them in each hand, and holding them up before me, I charged
+straight at the figure. (I suppose I thought that, by smothering the
+head of my supposed assailant, I could best repel the coming attack.)
+
+"The next moment I had landed on my knees on a sofa by the window with
+my arms on the window-sill, and with the consciousness that 'it' was
+now behind me--I having passed through it. With a bound I faced round,
+and was immediately immersed in a darkness impalpable to the touch,
+but so dense that it seemed to be weighing me down and squeezing me
+from all sides. I could not stir; the bed-clothes which I had seized
+as described hung over my left arm, the other was free, but seemed
+pressed down by a benumbing weight. I essayed to cry for help, but
+realized for the first time in my life what it means for the 'tongue
+to cleave to the roof of the mouth'; my tongue seemed to have become
+dry and to have swelled to a thickness of some inches; it stuck to
+the roof of my mouth, and I could not ejaculate a syllable. At last,
+after an appalling struggle, I succeeded in uttering, and I know that
+disjointed words, half prayer, half execrations of fear, left my lips,
+then my mind seemed to make one frantic effort, there seemed to come a
+wrench like an electric shock and my limbs were free; it was as tho' I
+tore myself out of something. In a few seconds I had reached and opened
+the door and was in the passage, listening to the hammerings of my
+heart-beats. All fear was gone from me, but I felt as though I had run
+miles for my life and that another ten yards of it would have killed me.
+
+"I again went to the door of my wife's room, and, hearing that she was
+up with the baby, I knocked and she opened. She is a witness to the
+state I was in: the drops rolling down my face, my hair was damp, and
+the beatings of my heart were audible some paces off. I can offer no
+explanations of what I saw, but as soon as my story became known, the
+people who had occupied the house previously told me that they had once
+put a visitor in that same drawing room, who had declared the room to
+be haunted and had refused to stay in it...."
+
+
+GRASPED BY A SPIRIT HAND
+
+The following account is vouched for by Major C. G. MacGregor, Ireland,
+who writes as follows:
+
+"In the end of the year 1871 I went over from Scotland to pay a short
+visit to a relative living in a square on the north side of Dublin.
+
+"In January, 1872, the husband of my relative, then in his
+eighty-fourth year, was seized with paralysis, and, having no trained
+nurse, the footman and I sat up with him for sixteen nights during his
+recovery. On the seventeenth night, at about 11:30 p.m., I said to the
+footman: 'The master seems so well, and sleeping soundly, I shall go
+to bed; and if he awakes worse, or you require me, call me.' I then
+retired to my room, which was over the one occupied by the invalid.
+
+"I went to bed and was soon asleep, when some time afterwards I was
+awakened by a slight push on the left shoulder. I was at the time
+lying on my right side facing the door (which was on the right side of
+my bed, and the fireplace on the left). I started up and said: 'Edward,
+is there anything wrong?' I received no answer, but immediately
+received another push. I got annoyed and said, 'Can you not speak, man,
+and tell me if anything is wrong?' Still no answer; and I had a feeling
+that I was going to get another push when I suddenly turned around
+and caught (what I then thought) a human hand, warm, soft and plump.
+I said: 'Who are you?' but I got no answer. I then tried to pull the
+person towards me, to endeavor to find out who it was, but although I
+am nearly thirteen stone, I could not move whoever it was, but felt
+that I myself was likely to be drawn from the bed. I then said, 'I will
+know who you are,' and having the hand tight in my hand, with my left I
+felt the wrist and arm--enclosed, as it seemed to me, in a tight sleeve
+of some winter material with a linen cuff; but when I got to the elbow
+all trace of the arm ceased! I was so astonished that I let the hand
+go, and just then the house clock struck 2 a.m. I then thought no one
+could possibly get to the door without my catching them; but lo! the
+door was fast shut as when I came to bed, and another thought struck
+me--the fact that, when I pulled the hand, I heard no one breathing,
+though I myself was 'puffed' from the strength I used!
+
+"Including the mistress of the house, there were in all five females,
+and I am assured that the hand belonged to no one of them. When I
+related the adventure, the servants exclaimed, 'Oh, it must be the
+master's old aunt Betty,'--an old lady who had lived for many years
+in the upper part of the house, occupying two rooms, and had died
+over fifty years ago, at a great age. I afterwards learned that the
+_room_ in which I felt the hand had been considered 'haunted,' and many
+curious noises and peculiar incidents had occurred there, such as the
+bed-clothes being torn off. One lady got a slap in the face from some
+invisible hand, and, when she lighted her candle, she saw something
+opaque fall, or jump off the bed. A general officer, a brother of the
+lady, slept there two nights, but preferred going to an hotel rather
+than remaining a third! He never would say what he heard or saw, but
+always asserted the room was 'uncanny.' I slept for months in that room
+afterwards and was never in the least disturbed. I never knew what
+nervousness was in my life, and only regret that my astonishment caused
+me to let go the hand before finding out the purpose of the visit.
+Whether it was meant for a warning or not, I may add that the old
+gentleman lived three years and six months afterwards...."
+
+
+"I AM SHOT!"
+
+The next case is well authenticated, and appeared in the _Proceedings_
+of the Society for Psychical Research (S. P. R.):
+
+After some preliminary remarks, the writer proceeds:
+
+"I awoke and saw standing by my bed, between me and the chest of
+drawers, a figure, which, in spite of the unwonted dress--unwonted, at
+least, to me--and of a full, black beard, I at once recognized as that
+of my old brother officer. He had on the usual khaki coat, worn by the
+officers on service in eastern climates.... His face was pale, but his
+bright black eyes shone as keenly as when, a year and a half before,
+they had looked upon me as he stood with one foot on the hansom,
+bidding me _adieu_.
+
+"Fully impressed for the moment that we were stationed together in
+Ireland or somewhere, and thinking I was in my barrack-room, I said,
+'Hello, P., am I late for parade?' P. looked at me steadily, and
+replied, 'I'm shot!'
+
+"'Shot!' I exclaimed, 'Good God, how and where?'
+
+"'Through the lungs,' replied P.; and as he spoke his right hand moved
+slowly up to his breast, until the fingers rested over the right lung.
+
+"'What were you doing?' I asked.
+
+"'The General sent me forward,' he answered; and the right hand left
+the breast to move slowly to the front, pointing over my head to the
+window, and at the same moment the figure melted away. I rubbed my
+eyes, to make sure I was not dreaming, and sprang out of bed. It was
+then 4.10 a.m. by the clock on my mantelpiece.
+
+"Two days later news was received that he had been killed at Lang's
+Neck between 11 and 12 o'clock on the night in question."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The following is a nautical story:
+
+
+HEAVE THE LEAD!
+
+In the year 1664, Captain Thomas Rogers, commander of a ship called the
+_Society_, was bound on a voyage from London to Virginia. The vessel
+being sent light to Virginia, for a loading of tobacco, carried little
+freight in her outward hold.
+
+"One day when they made an observation, the mates and officers brought
+their books and cast up their reckonings with the captain, to see how
+near they were to the coast of America. They all agreed that they were
+a _hundred leagues_ from the capes of Virginia. Upon these customary
+reckonings, and heaving the lead, and finding no ground at a hundred
+fathoms, they set the watch, and the captain turned in.
+
+"The weather was fine; a moderate gale of wind blew from the coast; so
+that the ship might have run about twelve or thirteen leagues in the
+night, after the captain was in his cabin.
+
+"He fell asleep, and slept very soundly for about three hours, when he
+woke again, and lay still till he heard his second mate turn out and
+relieve the watch. He then called his first mate, as he was going off
+watch, and asked him how all things fared? The mate answered that all
+was well, though the gale had freshened, and they were running at a
+great rate; but it was a fair wind, and a fair, clear night.
+
+"The captain then went to sleep again.
+
+"About an hour after, he dreamed that some one had pulled him, and bade
+him turn out and look abroad. He, however, lay still and went to sleep
+again; but was suddenly re-awakened. This occurred several times; and,
+though he knew not what was the reason, yet he found it impossible to
+go to sleep any more. Still he heard the vision say: 'Turn out and look
+abroad.'
+
+"The captain lay in this state of uneasiness nearly two hours, until
+finally he felt compelled to don his great coat and go on deck. All was
+well; it was a fine, clear night.
+
+"The men saluted him; and the captain called out: 'How's she heading?'
+
+"'Southwest by south, sir,' answered the mate; 'fair for the coast, and
+the wind east by north.'
+
+"'Very good,' said the captain, and as he was about to return to his
+cabin, _something_ stood by him, and said: 'Heave the lead.'
+
+"Upon hearing this the captain said to the second mate: 'When did you
+heave the lead? What water had you?'
+
+"'About an hour ago, sir,' replied the mate; 'sixty fathom.'
+
+"'Heave again,' the captain commanded.
+
+"When the lead was cast they had ground at eleven fathoms. This
+surprised them all; but much more when, at the next cast, it came up
+_seven_ fathoms.
+
+"Upon this, the captain, in a fright, bid them put the helm alee, and
+about ship, all hands ordered to back the sails, as is usual in such
+cases.
+
+"The proper orders being observed, the ship 'stayed' and came about;
+but before the sails filled, she had but four-fathoms-and-a-half water
+under her stern. As soon as she filled and stood off, they had seven
+fathoms again, and at the next cast eleven fathoms, and so on to twenty
+fathoms. They then stood off to seaward all the rest of the watch, to
+get into deep water, till daybreak, when, being a clear morning, the
+capes of Virginia were in fair view under their stern, and but a few
+leagues distant. Had they stood-on but one cable-length further, as
+they were going, they would have been ashore, and certainly lost their
+ship, if not their lives--all through the erroneous reckonings of the
+previous day. _Who_ or _what_ was it that waked the captain and bade
+him save the ship? That he has never been able to tell!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The incident which follows is somewhat similar--though more
+dramatic--being also a nautical story:
+
+
+THE RESCUE AT SEA
+
+The following famous narrative is taken from Mr. Robert Dale Owen's
+collection, printed in his _Footfalls on the Boundary of Another
+World_, and _The Debatable Land Between this World and the Next_. It is
+quite a famous case, and is vouched for by Mr. Owen. It is as follows:
+
+"Mr. Robert Bruce, descended from some branch of the Scottish family of
+the same name, was born in humble circumstances about the close of the
+eighteenth century at Torbay, in the south of England, and there bred
+up to a seafaring life. When about thirty years of age (in the year
+1828), he was first mate on board a barque trading between Liverpool
+and St. John's, New Brunswick.
+
+"On one of her voyages, bound westward, being then some five or six
+weeks out, and having neared the eastern portion of the Banks of
+Newfoundland, the captain and the mate had been on deck at noon, taking
+an observation of the sun; after which they both descended to calculate
+their day's work.
+
+"The cabin, a small one, was immediately at the stern of the vessel,
+and the short stairway, descending to it, ran athwart-ships.
+Immediately opposite to this stairway, just beyond a small, square
+landing, was the mate's state room; and from that landing there were
+two doors, close to each other--the one opening aft into the cabin,
+the other fronting the stairway into the stateroom. The desk in the
+stateroom was in the forward part of it, close to the door; so that
+anyone sitting at it, and looking over his shoulder, could see into the
+cabin.
+
+"The mate, absorbed in his calculation, which did not result as he
+expected, varying considerably from the 'dead reckoning,' had not
+noticed the captain's motions. When he had completed his calculations,
+he cried out, without looking round, 'I make our latitude and longitude
+so-and-so. Can that be right? How is yours, sir?'
+
+"Receiving no reply he repeated the question, glancing over his
+shoulder and perceiving, as he thought, the captain busy at his slate.
+Still no answer! Thereupon he rose, and, as he fronted the cabin
+door, the figure he had mistaken for the captain raised his head and
+disclosed to the astonished mate the features of an entire stranger.
+
+"Bruce was no coward, but as he met that fixed gaze, looking directly
+at him in grave silence, and became assured that it was no one whom he
+had ever seen before, it was too much for him; and, instead of stopping
+to question the seeming intruder, he rushed upon deck in such evident
+alarm that it instantly attracted the captain's attention.
+
+"'Why, Mr. Bruce,' said the latter, 'what in the world is the matter
+with you?'
+
+"'The matter, sir? Who is that at your desk?'
+
+"'No one that I know of.'
+
+"'But there _is_, sir, there's a stranger there.'
+
+"'A stranger? Why, man, you must be dreaming! You must have seen the
+steward there, or the second mate. Who else would venture down without
+orders?'
+
+"'But, sir, he was sitting in your arm chair, fronting the door,
+writing on your slate. Then he looked up full in my face; and if ever I
+saw a man plainly and distinctly in the world I saw him.'
+
+"'Him! Who?'
+
+"'Heaven knows, sir; I don't! I saw a man and a man I have never seen
+in my life before.'
+
+"'You must be going crazy, Mr. Bruce. A stranger, and we nearly six
+weeks out!'
+
+"The captain descended the stairs, and the mate followed him. Nobody in
+the cabin! They examined the staterooms. Not a soul could be found.
+
+"'Well, Mr. Bruce,' said the Captain, 'did not I tell you that you had
+been dreaming?'
+
+"'It's all very well to say so, sir; but if I didn't see that man
+writing on the slate may I never see home and family again!'
+
+"'Ah! Writing on the slate. Then it should be there still!' And the
+captain took it up. 'By heaven,' he exclaimed, 'here's something sure
+enough! Is that your writing, Mr. Bruce?'
+
+"The mate took the slate; and there, in plain, legible characters,
+stood the words: 'Steer to the Nor'-west.'
+
+"The captain sat down at his desk, the slate before him, in deep
+thought. At last turning the slate over, and pushing it toward Bruce,
+he said: 'Write down: "Steer to the nor'west."'
+
+"The mate complied; and the captain, comparing the two handwritings,
+said: 'Mr. Bruce, go and tell the second mate to come down here.'
+
+"He came, and at the captain's request, he also wrote the words. So did
+the steward. So in succession did every man of the crew who could write
+at all. But not one of the various hands resembled, in any degree, the
+mysterious writing.
+
+"When the crew retired, the captain sat deep in thought. 'Could anyone
+have been stowed away?' at last he said. 'The ship must be searched.
+Order up all hands.'
+
+"Every nook and corner of the vessel was thoroughly searched; not a
+living soul was found.
+
+"Accordingly, the captain decided to change the vessel's course
+according to the instructions received. A look-out was posted; who
+shortly reported an iceberg, and then, shortly after, a vessel close to
+it.
+
+"As they approached, the captain's glass disclosed the fact that it was
+a dismantled ship, apparently frozen to the ice.... It proved to be a
+vessel from Quebec, bound for Liverpool, with passengers on board. She
+had got entangled in the ice, and finally frozen fast; and had passed
+several weeks in a most critical situation. She was stove, her decks
+swept; in fact, a mere wreck; all her provisions and almost all her
+water gone. Her crew and passengers had lost all hope of being saved,
+and their gratitude at the unexpected rescue was proportionately great.
+
+"As one of the men who had been brought away in the third boat ascended
+the ship's side, the mate, catching a glimpse of his face, started back
+in consternation. It was the very face he had seen three or four hours
+before, looking up at him from the captain's desk! He communicated this
+fact to the captain.
+
+"After the comfort of the passengers had been seen to, the captain
+turned to the stranger, and said to him: 'I hope, sir, you will not
+think I am trifling with you, but I would be much obliged to you if you
+would write a few words on this slate.' And he handed him the slate,
+with that side up on which the mysterious writing was not.
+
+"'I will do anything you ask,' replied the passenger, 'but what shall I
+write?'
+
+"'A few words are all I want. Suppose you write: 'Steer to the
+nor'-west.'
+
+"The passenger, evidently puzzled to make out the motive of such a
+request, complied, however, with a smile. The captain took up the slate
+and examined it closely; then stepping aside so as to conceal the slate
+from the passenger, he turned it over and gave it to him the other side
+up.
+
+"'You say that this is your handwriting?' said he.
+
+"'I need not say so,' replied the other, looking at it, 'for you saw me
+write it.'
+
+"'And this?' said the captain, turning the slate over.
+
+"The man looked first at one writing, then at the other, quite
+confounded. At last: 'What is the meaning of this?' said he. 'I only
+wrote _one_ of these. Who wrote the _other_?'
+
+"'That's more than I can tell you, sir. My mate here says you wrote it,
+sitting at this desk, at noon to-day!'
+
+"The captain of the wreck and the passenger looked at each other,
+exchanging glances of intelligence and surprise; then the former asked
+the latter: 'Did you dream that you wrote on this slate?'
+
+"'No, sir, not that I remember.'
+
+"'You speak of dreaming,' said the captain of the barque. 'What was
+this gentleman about at noon to-day?'
+
+"'Captain,' rejoined the other, (the captain of the wreck), 'the
+whole thing is most mysterious and extraordinary; and I had intended
+to speak to you about it as soon as we got a little quiet. This
+gentleman--pointing to the passenger--being much exhausted, fell into
+a heavy sleep, or what seemed such, some time before noon. After an
+hour or more, he awoke, and said to me: 'Captain, we shall be relieved
+this very day.' When I asked him what reason he had for saying so, he
+replied that he had dreamed that he was on board a barque, and that
+she was coming to our rescue. He described her appearance and rig,
+and, to our utter astonishment, when your vessel hove in sight, she
+corresponded exactly to his description of her! We had not put much
+faith in what he said; yet still we hoped there might be something in
+it, for drowning men, as you know, catch at straws. As it turned out, I
+cannot doubt that it was all arranged by some overruling Providence.'
+
+"'There is not a doubt,' replied the captain of the barque, 'that the
+writing on the slate, let it come there as it may, saved all your
+lives. I was steering at the time considerably south of west, and I
+altered my course for the nor'-west, and had a look-out aloft, to
+see what would come of it. But you say,' he added, turning to the
+passenger, 'that you did not dream of writing on a slate?'
+
+"'No, sir. I have no recollection whatever of doing so. I got the
+impression that the barque I saw in my dream was coming to rescue us;
+but _how_ that impression came I cannot tell. There is another very
+strange thing about it,' he added. 'Everything here on board seems to
+be quite familiar; yet I am very sure that I was never in your vessel
+before. It is all a puzzle to me! What did your mate see?'
+
+"Thereupon Mr. Bruce related to them all the circumstances above
+detailed."
+
+
+HOW GHOSTS INFLUENCE US
+
+The following is a very interesting case, which brings vividly before
+us the fact that ghosts often draw power from those who witness their
+manifestations--just as they draw vitality from a materializing
+"medium," during a seance. As cases of this character are rare, the
+following is of considerable value:
+
+"It was an afternoon, last autumn, about six o'clock. I had returned
+from a stroll and was sitting in my own apartment on Central Park West,
+reading _Vanity Fair_. While turning over its pages I became suddenly
+aware of a novel and indescribable sensation. My chest and breathing
+became inwardly oppressed by some ponderous weight, while I became
+conscious of some 'presence' behind me, exerting a powerful influence
+on the forces within. On trying to turn my head to see what it could
+be, I was powerless to do so; neither could I lift a hand, or move in
+any way. I was not a little alarmed, and began immediately to reason.
+My mind was alive, though physically I was unable to move a muscle.
+It was as if the current of nerve force within seemed forcibly drawn
+together and focussed on a spot in front of me.
+
+"I gazed motionless, as though with something intenser than ordinary
+eyesight, on what was no longer vacant space. There an oval, misty
+light was forming--elongatory, widening, yes, actually developing
+into a human face and form. Was this hallucination, or some vision
+of the unseen, coming in so unexpected a fashion? Before me had
+arisen a remarkable figure, never seen before in a picture or
+life--dark-skinned, aged, with white beard, the expression intensely
+earnest, the features small, the bald head finely moulded, lofty over
+the forehead, the whole demeanor instinct with solemn grace.
+
+"He was speaking to me in deep tones, as if in urgent entreaty.
+What would I not give to hear words from such a figure! But no
+effort availed me to distinguish one articular sound. I tried to
+speak, but could not. With desperate effort I shook out the words,
+'Speak louder.' The face grew more intent, the voice louder and more
+emphatic. Was there something amiss with my own hearing, then, that
+I could distinguish no word amid these deeply emphasized tones?
+Slowly and deliberately the figure vanished--through the same stages
+of indistinctness, back to the globular lamplike whiteness, till it
+faded to nothingness. Before it had quite faded away, the face only
+of a woman arose, indistinct and dim. The same emphatic hum, though
+in a subdued note; the same paralysis of voice and muscle, the same
+strange force, as it was overshadowing me. With the disappearance of
+this second and far less interesting figure, I recovered my power of
+movement and arose.
+
+"My first impulse was to look around for the origin of this strange
+force; my second to rush to the looking-glass to make sure of myself.
+There could be no illusion. There I was, paler than usual, the forehead
+bathed in perspiration. I threw open the window. It was no dream. There
+were the passing trolley cars below, clanging up and down, while a
+crowd of noisy youngsters were playing in the park across the way. I
+sponged my face, and, greatly agitated, walked hurriedly to and fro.
+If this is real, I thought, it may recur. I would sit in the same
+position, try to be calm, read a book, remain as still and passive as I
+could, and see the result.
+
+"To my intense interest, and almost at once, the strange sense of some
+power operating on the nerve-forces within, followed by the same loss
+of muscular power, the same wide-awakeness of the reason, the same
+drawing out and concentrating of the energies on that spot in front,
+repeated itself--this time more deliberately, leaving me freer to take
+mental notes of what was happening. Again arose the noble, earnest
+figure, gazing at me, the hands moving in solemn accompaniment to the
+deep tones of voice. The same effort, painful on my part, to hear, with
+no result. The vision passed. Again the woman's face, insignificant and
+meaningless, succeeded it as before. She spoke, but in less emphatic
+tones. It flashed upon me that I _would_ hear. After a frantic effort,
+I caught two words--'Land,' 'America'--with positively no clue to their
+meaning.
+
+"I was wide awake when the first apparition appeared, and in a highly
+excited state of mind on its re-appearance."
+
+
+HOW A GHOST WARNED THE KING
+
+Kings and queens are not exempt from visitations of the supernatural;
+indeed, a large number of royal dignitaries have seen "ghosts," and
+have been haunted by specters in as unpleasant a manner as any ordinary
+mortal. Were we to hunt through the pages of history, we should find
+many of these--some of which it will doubtless be of interest to give
+at some future time. The following account is taken from the _Annals
+of the Kingdom of Scotland_, and is told in queer old English, with
+long 's's,' and so on, making it very hard to read in the original! I
+interpret it into modern English as best I can, maintaining its form:
+
+"While James IV. stayed at Linlithgow, to gather up the scattered
+remains of his army, which had been defeated by the Earl of Surrey, at
+Flodden-field, he went into the Church of St. Michael there to hear
+evening prayer. While he was at his devotion, a remarkable figure
+of an ancient man, with flowing amber-colored hair hanging over his
+shoulders, his forehead high, and inclining to baldness, his garments
+of a fine blue color, somewhat long and girded together, with a fine
+white cloth, of comely and very reverent aspect, was seen inquiring
+for the king; when his majesty being pointed out to him he made his
+way through the crowd till he came to him, and then, with a clown's
+simplicity, leaning over the cannon's feet, he addressed him in the
+following words: 'Sir, I am sent hither to entreat you to delay your
+intended expedition for this time, and proceed no further; for if you
+do, you will be unfortunate, and not prosper in your enterprise, nor
+any of your followers. I am further charged to warn you, not to follow
+the acquaintance, company or counsel of women, as you value your life,
+honour and estate.'
+
+"After giving him this admonition, he withdrew himself back through the
+crowd and disappeared.
+
+"When service was ended, the king enquired earnestly after him, but
+he could not be found or heard of anywhere, neither could any of the
+bystanders (of whom many narrowly watched him, resolving afterwards
+to have discoursed with him) feel or perceive how, when or where he
+passed from them, having in a manner vanished from their sight.
+
+"This caused the king to feel some uneasiness; 'for,' said he, 'if he
+were mortal man, how did he go so quickly hence, and how did he give me
+such advice, which I, of all men, know at this time to be of value?'
+The king was sorely puzzled; and called the warden of the church to
+him, and questioned him as to the man whom he had seen.
+
+"And when the warden had heard the tale from the king, he questioned
+him in turn, as to the man's appearance--whether he was this and that;
+and of the man's manner of speech. And when the king had answered to
+his satisfaction, he turned pale; and said: 'Oh, king, the personage
+whom you saw to-day was not mortal man; but one dead long ago; one
+who lived and died close here; and known to many of us well. He has
+been known to come before in times of great stress; and his advice has
+always been good. Truly, my lord, you have this day seen an apparition
+of a dead man.'
+
+"And the king marvelled at what he had seen."
+
+Thus ends the curious old narrative. It will be seen that several
+others saw the ghost besides the king. These are called "collective
+cases" by those engaged in psychical studies; for the reason that
+several persons saw the figure at the same time, or "collectively."
+Such cases have never been satisfactorily explained. For, if the
+phantom were a mere hallucination, as many claim, how did several see
+it at once?
+
+
+THE STAINS OF BLOOD
+
+The following narrative was personally related to Robert Dale Owen, by
+a clergyman of the Church of England, who was Chaplain, at the time, to
+the British Legation in Florence. It is as follows:
+
+"In the year 1856, I was staying with my wife and children, at a
+favorite watering place. In order to attend to some affairs of my
+own, I determined to leave my family there for three or four days.
+Accordingly, on the 8th of August, I took the railway, and arrived that
+evening an unexpected guest at the Hall--the residence of a gentleman
+whose acquaintance I had recently made, and with whom my sister was
+then staying.
+
+"I arrived late, soon afterwards went to bed, and before long fell
+asleep. Awaking after three or four hours, I was not surprised to find
+that I could sleep no more--for I never rest well in a strange bed.
+After trying, therefore, in vain to induce sleep, I began to arrange
+my plans for the day. I had been engaged some little time in this way,
+when I became suddenly sensitive to the fact that there was a light in
+the room. Turning round, I distinctly perceived a female figure; and
+what attracted my special attention was that the light by which I saw
+it emanated from itself. I watched the figure attentively. The features
+were not perceptible. After moving a little distance, it disappeared as
+suddenly as it had appeared.
+
+"My first thoughts were that there was some trick. I immediately got
+out of bed, struck a light, and found my bedroom door still locked. I
+then carefully examined the walls, to ascertain if there was any other
+concealed means of entrance or exit, but none could I find. I drew the
+curtains and opened the shutters, but all outside was silent and dark,
+there being no moonlight. After examining the room in every part, I
+went back to bed, and began thinking calmly over the whole matter. What
+had I seen? And why did _It appear_?
+
+"In the morning, as soon as I was up and dressed, I told my sister what
+I had seen. She then informed me that the house had the reputation of
+being 'haunted'; and that a murder had been committed in it; but not
+in the room in which I had slept. Later in the day I left--after making
+my sister promise to do all she could to unravel the mystery.
+
+"On the following Wednesday morning, I received a letter from my
+sister, in which she informed me that, since I left, she had made
+inquiries and had ascertained that the murder _was_ committed in the
+very room in which I slept! She added that she proposed visiting us the
+next day, and that she would like me to write out an account of what I
+had seen--together with a plan of the room, and that on that plan she
+wished me to mark the place of the appearance and disappearance of the
+figure.
+
+"This I immediately did; and the next day when my sister arrived, she
+asked me if I had complied with her request? I replied, pointing to the
+drawing room table: 'Yes, there is the account and the plan.'
+
+"As she rose to examine it, I prevented her, saying: 'Do not look
+at it until you have told me all you have to say, because you might
+unintentionally color your story by what you may read there.'
+
+"Thereupon she informed me that she had had the carpet taken up in the
+room I had occupied, and that the marks of blood from the murdered
+person were there, plainly visible, on a particular part of the floor.
+At my request she also then drew a plan of the room, and marked upon it
+the spots which still bore traces of blood. The two plans--my sister's
+and mine--were now compared; and we verified the most remarkable fact
+that _the place she had marked as the beginning and ending of the
+traces of blood coincided exactly with the spots marked on my plan as
+those on which the female figure had appeared and disappeared_!"
+
+
+FACE TO FACE!
+
+The following case is recorded by the wife of Colonel Lewin, and is
+reported in the _Proceedings_ of the S. P. R.:
+
+"In January, 1868, I took a house close to Hastings.... One night
+there was a heavy storm, the weather was bitterly cold, and a fire was
+burning in my bedroom when I went to bed at 10.30. I tried to go to
+sleep, but it was no use; the noise of the wind and the rain kept me
+awake. I must have been lying like this for a couple of hours when I
+became conscious of what seemed like a light in the room.... I thought
+the fire must have re-kindled itself, and crawled along on my knees
+on the bed to look at the fire over the high wooden foot, to see how
+this might be. I had no thought of anything but the fire, and was not
+nervous in the slightest degree. As I raised myself on my knees and
+looked over the foot of the bed, I found myself face to face, at a
+distance of about three feet, with the semblance of a man. I never for
+a moment thought he was a man, but was struck with the feeling that
+this was one from the dead.
+
+"The light seemed to emanate from round this figure, but the only
+portions which I saw clearly were the head and shoulders. The face I
+shall never forget; it was pale, emaciated, with a thin, high-bridged
+nose, and eyes deeply sunk and glowing in the sockets with a sort of
+glare. A long beard was seemingly rolled in under a white comforter,
+and on the head was a slouched felt hat. I had a nervous shock, and
+felt a dead person was looking upon _me_--a living one, but had no
+sensation of being actually frightened, until the figure moved slowly
+as if interposing between me and the door, then horror overcame me and
+I fell back in a dead faint. How long I remained unconscious I know
+not, but I came to myself cold and cramped; the room was quite dark and
+nothing was visible. Thoroughly tired out, I got into bed, and slept
+soundly until morning."
+
+
+JULIA, DARLING!
+
+The next example is from the _Proceedings_ of the S. P. R. (Vol. V.,
+pp. 440-41), and Mr. Myers states that the writer was well known to
+him. The account reads in part:
+
+"My mother died on the 24th of June, 1874, at Slima, Malta, where we
+were then residing for her health. Seven nights later she appeared
+to me.... I seemed to have been sleeping some time when I woke, and,
+turning over on the other side towards the window, saw my mother
+standing by my bedside, crying and wringing her hands. I had not
+been awake long enough to remember that she was dead, and exclaimed
+quite naturally, 'Why, dear, what's the matter?' and then suddenly
+remembering, I screamed. The nurse sprang up from the next room, but
+on the top step flung herself on her knees and began to tell her beads
+and cry. My father at the same moment arrived at the opposite door, and
+I heard his sudden exclamation of 'Julia, darling.' My mother turned
+towards him, and then to me, and, wringing her hands again, retreated
+towards the nursery and was lost. The nurse afterwards stated that she
+distinctly felt something pass her.... My father ordered her out of the
+room, and telling me that I had only been dreaming, stayed until I
+fell asleep. The next day, however, he told me that he, too, had seen
+the vision, and that he hoped to do so again, and that if ever she came
+to see me ... I was not to be frightened ... but she never appeared
+again."
+
+
+THE CUT ACROSS THE CHEEK
+
+In the narrative which follows, the apparition conveyed--by its very
+appearance--information which the percipient could not possibly have
+known. It is from Mr. H. Walton, of Dent, Sedburgh, England, and was
+sent to Mr. Stead, who published it:
+
+"In the month of April, 1881, I was located in Norfolk, and my duties
+took me once a fortnight to a fishing village on the coast--so I can
+guarantee the following facts: It is customary for the fishing smacks
+to go to Grimsby 'line fishing' in the spring. The vessels started one
+afternoon on their journey north. In the evening, a heavy north-east
+wind blew, and one of the boats mistook the white surf on the rocks
+for the reflection of a lighthouse. In consequence the boat got into
+shallow water, a heavy sea came, and swept two men from the deck. One
+man grasped a rope and was saved; the other, a younger man, failed to
+save himself, though an expert swimmer. It was said that he was heard
+to shout about 11 o'clock.
+
+"Towards one o'clock, the young man's mother, lying awake, saw his
+apparition come to the foot of the bed, clad in white, and she screamed
+with fright, and told her husband what she had seen, and that J. was
+drowned. He sought in vain to calm her by saying that she must have
+been dreaming. She asserted the contrary. Next day, when her daughter
+came in with the telegram of the sad event, before her daughter had
+time to speak, she cried out: 'J. is drowned,' and became unconscious;
+she remained in this state for many hours. When she regained
+consciousness, she told them particularly and distinctly what she had
+seen; and what is to the point is this remarkable thing: she said: 'If
+ever the body is found, it has a cut across the cheek,'--specifying
+which cheek. The body was found some days after, and exactly as mother
+had seen it, was the cut on the cheek."
+
+
+THE INVISIBLE HAND
+
+The following account was sent to the S. P. R. Ghosts are usually
+_seen_; they are sometimes heard; they are very rarely _felt_. The
+account which follows is an example of the latter class, in which the
+ghost was not only seen but touched.
+
+After stating that she was visiting a friend of hers in the country,
+when the event occurred, the narrator proceeds:
+
+"We went upstairs together, I being perhaps a couple of steps behind my
+friend, when, on reaching the topmost step, I felt something suddenly
+slip behind me from an unoccupied room on the left of the stairs.
+Thinking it must be imagination, no one being in the house except the
+widow and servant, who occupied rooms on another landing, I did not
+speak to my friend, who turned off to a room on the right, but walked
+quickly into my room, which faced the staircase, still feeling as
+though a tall figure was bending over me. I turned on the gas, struck a
+light, and was in the act of applying it, when I felt a heavy grasp on
+my arm of a hand, minus the middle finger. Upon this I uttered a loud
+cry, which brought my friend, the widow lady, and the servant girl,
+into the room to inquire the cause of my alarm. The two latter turned
+very pale on hearing the story. The house was thoroughly searched, but
+nothing was discovered.
+
+"Some weeks passed, and I had ceased to be alarmed at the occurrence,
+when I chanced to mention it whilst spending the afternoon with some
+friends. A gentleman asked me if I had ever heard a description or
+seen a 'carte' of the lady's late husband. On receiving a reply in the
+negative, he said, singularly enough, he was tall, had a slight stoop,
+and has lost the middle finger on his hand! On my return, I inquired of
+the servant, who had been in the family from childhood, if such were
+the case, and learned that it was quite correct, and that she (the
+girl) had once, when sleeping in the same room, awakened on feeling
+some one pressing down her knees, and on opening her eyes saw her late
+master by the bed side--on which she fainted, and had never dared to
+enter the room after dark since. She is not an imaginative girl; nor am
+I. When I was grasped, however, _I_ did not _see_ anything.
+
+"But worse was to follow! It so chanced that I had to sleep in that
+room once again, as the house was full of company, and there was
+nowhere else for me to go. I had by this time got over my fears, and
+hardly minded the idea of sleeping in the room at all. I left the room
+door open, turned out the light and was soon sound asleep.
+
+"Some time in the early hours of the morning I awoke with an
+indescribable feeling. I was _suddenly_ wide awake--without the
+slightest traces of sleep; yet I did not know _how_ I awoke; and had
+not any recollection of waking. But there I was wide awake, and staring
+up at the ceiling with wide-open eyes. My right hand was hanging over
+the side of the bed; so that it fell outwards, into the room. Imagine
+my horror, then, in feeling a hand suddenly grasp my hand, and I felt
+distinctly that it was _minus the middle finger_. The hand was icy
+cold, and of a peculiar hardness. I hung on to the hand, however,
+determined to go to the bottom of the affair. I gripped tightly; and
+still retained the hand in my grip. Bending over, I stretched out my
+left hand, and, with the fingers of that hand, felt over the hand and
+wrist I was holding. I then commenced to trace it up the arm. I had
+about reached the elbow--or a little below--when the arm suddenly
+ended--came to nothing; was no more! Yet the hand in mine was as
+solid as ever. This gave me such a shock that I let go the hand I was
+holding, and sank back onto my pillows. Then terror took possession of
+me; and I do not know what happened later. I only know that I had brain
+fever, which laid me low for several weeks. The occurrence has never
+been explained."
+
+
+THE APPARITION OF THE RADIANT BOY
+
+The following is a famous case, well-known as the "Apparition of the
+Radiant Boy." It was seen by the Marquis of Londonderry, and frequently
+spoken of by him afterwards.
+
+At the time of the appearance, Lord Londonderry was on a visit to a
+friend in the North of Ireland. The apartment assigned to him was one
+calculated to foster the belief in ghosts, because of its richly carved
+paneling--its huge fireplace, looking like the open entrance into a
+tomb--and the vast, ponderous draperies that hung in thick folds around
+the room.
+
+Lord Londonderry examined his chamber; he made himself acquainted with
+the forms and faces of the ancient possessors of the mansion, whose
+portraits hung around the room. Then, after dismissing his valet, he
+retired to bed.
+
+His candles had not long been extinguished when he perceived a light
+gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopies over his head.
+Conscious that there was no fire in the grate--that the curtains were
+closed--that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few minutes
+before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally entered
+his apartment; and, turning hastily around to the side from which the
+light proceeded, saw, to his infinite astonishment, not the form of a
+human visitor, but the figure of a fair boy, who seemed to be garmented
+in rays of mild and tempered glory, which beamed palely from his
+slender form, like the faint light of the declining moon and rendered
+the objects nearest to him dimly and indistinctly visible. The spirit
+stood but a short distance from the side of the bed.
+
+Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving him, Lord Londonderry
+got up and moved towards the figure. It retreated before him; as he
+slowly advanced, and with equal pace, slowly retired. It entered the
+gloomy arch of the capacious chimney, and then sank into the earth.
+Lord Londonderry returned to his bed, but not to rest; his mind was
+harassed by the consideration of the extraordinary event which had
+occurred to him. Was it real? Was it the work of imagination? Was it
+the result of imposture? It was all incomprehensible.
+
+He resolved in the morning not to mention the appearance till he should
+have well observed the manners and countenances of the family; he was
+conscious that, if any deception had been practised, its authors would
+be too delighted with their success to conceal the vanity of their
+triumph.
+
+When the guests assembled at the breakfast table, the eye of Lord
+Londonderry searched in vain for latent smiles--those conscious
+looks--that silent communication between the parties, by which
+the authors of such domestic conspiracies are generally betrayed.
+Everything, apparently, proceeded in its ordinary course. At last the
+hero of the tale felt bound to mention the occurrence of the night.
+
+At its conclusion, his host said: "The circumstances which you have
+just recounted appear very extraordinary to those who have not long
+been inmates of my dwelling; and are not conversant with the legends
+of my family; and to those who are, the event which has happened will
+only serve as the corroboration of an old tradition that has long been
+related of the apartment in which you slept. You have seen the 'Radiant
+Boy'; be content--it is an omen of prosperous fortunes. I would rather
+that this subject should not be mentioned." And here the affair ended.
+
+
+FISHER'S GHOST
+
+The following incident comes from Australia, and is well-known in that
+part of the world. It is usually known as "Fisher's Ghost," and is to
+the following effect:
+
+"A number of years ago, a free settler, named John Fisher, who had
+long successfully cultivated a grant of land in a remote district, and
+who was known to be possessed of a considerable sum of money, had been
+missing for some time after having visited the nearest market town,
+whither he had been in the habit of repairing with cattle and produce
+for sale.
+
+"An inquiry was instituted by his acquaintances; but his head servant,
+or rather his assistant on the farm--an ex-convict, who had lived many
+years with him in that situation--declared that his master had left the
+colony for some time on business, and that he expected him to return in
+a few months. As this man was generally known as Fisher's confidential
+servant, his assertion was believed--though some expressed surprise
+at the settler's abrupt and clandestine departure; for his character
+was good in every way. The 'month's wonder' soon subsided, however,
+and Fisher was forgotten. His assistant, meanwhile, managed the farm,
+bought and sold, and spent money freely. If questioned, which was
+but rarely, he would express his surprise at his master's delay, and
+pretend to expect him daily.
+
+"A few months after he had been first missed, a neighbouring settler,
+who was returning late on Saturday night from the market town, had
+occasion to pass within half a mile of Fisher's house. As he was riding
+by the fence which separated the farm from the high road, he distinctly
+saw the figure of a man seated on the railing, and at once recognized
+the form and features of his lost neighbor.
+
+"He instantly stopped and called to him by name; but the figure
+descended from the railing, and pointing appealingly toward the house,
+walked slowly across the field in that direction. The settler, having
+lost sight of him in the gloom, proceeded on his journey, and informed
+his family and neighbors that he had seen Fisher and spoken to him.
+On inquiry, however, Fisher's assistant said that he had not arrived,
+and affected to laugh at the settler's story--insinuating that he had
+probably drunk too freely at the market.
+
+"The neighbors were, however, not satisfied. The strange appearance of
+Fisher, sitting on the rail and pointing, with so much meaning, toward
+his own house aroused their suspicions, and they insisted upon a strict
+and immediate investigation by the police.
+
+"The party of investigators took with them an old and clever native.
+They had not proceeded far in the underbrush when they discovered a
+log, on which was a dark brown stain. This the native examined, and
+at once declared it to be '_white man's blood_.' He then, without
+hesitation, set off at a full run, toward a pond not far from the house.
+
+"He ran backwards and forwards about the pond, like a dog on the scent;
+and finally, borrowing a ram-rod from one of the settlers, ran it into
+the earth. He did this in one or two places; and finally said: '_White
+man here._'
+
+"The spot was immediately dug up, and a corpse, identified as that of
+Fisher, was discovered, its skull fractured, and evidently many weeks
+buried.
+
+"The guilty assistant was immediately arrested, and tried at Sydney, on
+circumstantial evidence alone--strong enough, however, to convict him,
+in spite of his self-possession, and protestations of innocence. He
+was sentenced to death; and, previous to his execution, made an ample
+confession of his guilt."
+
+
+HARRIET HOSMER'S VISION
+
+Lydia Maria Child relates the following interesting narrative:
+
+"When Harriet Hosmer, the sculptor, visited her native country a few
+years ago, I had an interview with her, during which our conversation
+happened to turn on dreams and visions.
+
+"'I have had some experience in that way,' said she. 'Let me tell
+you a singular circumstance that happened to me in Rome. An Italian
+girl named Rosa was in my employ for a long time, but was finally
+obliged to return to her mother on account of confirmed ill-health. We
+were mutually sorry to part, for we liked each other. When I took my
+customary exercise on horseback, I frequently called to see her. On one
+of these occasions, I found her brighter than I had seen her for some
+time past. I had long relinquished hopes of her recovery, but there was
+nothing in her appearance that gave the appearance of immediate danger.
+I left her with the expectation of calling to see her again many times.
+During the remainder of the day, I was busy in my studio, and I do not
+recollect that Rosa was in my thoughts after I had parted from her. I
+retired to rest in good health, and in a quiet frame of mind. But I
+woke from a sound sleep with the oppressive feeling that someone was in
+the room. I wondered at the sensation, for it was entirely new to me;
+but in vain I tried to dispel it. I peered beyond the curtains of my
+bed but could distinguish no objects in the darkness. Trying to gather
+my thoughts I reflected that the door was locked, and that I had put
+the key under my bolster. I felt for it and found it where I had placed
+it. I said to myself that I had probably had some ugly dream, and had
+waked with a vague impression of it still on my mind. Reasoning thus, I
+arranged myself comfortably for another nap.
+
+"'I am habitually a good sleeper and a stranger to fear, but do what I
+would, the idea still haunted me that someone was in the room. Finding
+it impossible to sleep, I longed for daylight to dawn, that I might
+rise and pursue my customary avocation. It was not long before I was
+able dimly to distinguish the furniture in my room, and, soon after,
+to hear familiar noises of servants opening windows and doors. An old
+clock with ringing vibration, proclaimed the hour. I counted one,
+two, three, four, five, and resolved to rise immediately. My bed was
+partially screened by a long curtain looped up at one side. As I raised
+my head from the pillow, Rosa looked inside the curtain, and smiled at
+me. The idea of anything supernatural did not occur to me. I was simply
+surprised and exclaimed: "Why, Rosa! How came you here when you are so
+ill?"
+
+"'In the old familiar tone to which I was so much accustomed, a voice
+replied, "I am well now."
+
+"'With no other thought but that of greeting her joyfully, I sprang out
+of bed. There was no Rosa there! When I became convinced that there was
+no one in the room but myself, I recollected the fact that my door was
+locked, and thought I must have seen a vision.
+
+"'At the breakfast table, I said to the old lady with whom I boarded:
+"Rosa is dead." I then summoned a messenger and sent him to inquire how
+Rosa was. He returned with the answer that she died that morning at 5
+o'clock.'
+
+"I wrote the story as Miss Hosmer told it to me, and after I had shown
+it to her, I asked her if she had any objection to its being published
+without suppression of names. She replied: 'You have reported the story
+of Rosa correctly. Make what use you please of it. You cannot think it
+more interesting or unaccountable than I do myself.'"
+
+
+THE APPARITION OF THE MURDERED BOY
+
+At the commencement of the French Revolution, Lady Pennyman and her
+two daughters and her friend, Mrs. Atkins, retired to Lisle, where
+they had hired a large and handsome house. A few weeks after taking
+possession, the housekeeper, with many apologies for being obliged to
+mention anything that might appear so idle and absurd, came to the
+apartment in which her mistress was sitting, and said that two of
+the servants who had accompanied her ladyship from England had that
+morning given warning, and expressed a determination of quitting her
+ladyship's service, on account of the mysterious noises by which they
+had been night after night disturbed and terrified. The room from which
+the sounds were supposed to have proceeded was at a distance from Lady
+Pennyman's apartments, and immediately over those that were occupied by
+the servants. To quiet the alarm Lady Pennyman resolved on leaving her
+own chamber for a time and establishing herself in the one which had
+been lately occupied by the domestics.
+
+The room above was a long, spacious one, which appeared to have been
+for a long time deserted. In the center of the chamber was a large iron
+cage. It was said that the late proprietor of the house--a young man of
+enormous wealth--had in his minority been confined in this cage by his
+uncle and guardian and starved to death.
+
+On the first night or two of Lady Pennyman's being established in her
+new apartment, she met with no interruption. This quiet, however, was
+of very short duration. One night she was awakened from her sleep by a
+slow and heavy step pacing the chamber overhead. It continued to move
+backwards and forwards for nearly an hour. There were more complaints
+from the housekeeper, no servants would remain. Lady Pennyman began
+herself to be alarmed. She requested the advice of Mrs. Atkins--a woman
+devoid of every kind of superstitious fear, and of tried courage. Mrs.
+Atkins determined to make the Cage room itself her sleeping quarters.
+A bed was accordingly placed in the apartment, and Mrs. Atkins retired
+to rest attended by her favorite spaniel--saying, as she bade them all
+good-night, "I and my dog are able to compete with a myriad of ghosts."
+
+Mrs. Atkins examined the chamber in every imaginable direction; she
+sounded every panel of the wainscot to prove there was no hollowness
+that might argue a concealed passage; and having securely bolted the
+door of the room, retired to rest, confident that she was secure
+against every material visitor, and totally incredulous of the airy
+encroachments of spiritual beings. She had only been asleep a few
+minutes, when her dog, which lay by her bedside, leaped, howling and
+terrified, on the bed. The bolted door of the chamber slowly opened and
+a pale, thin, sickly youth came in, cast his eyes mildly toward her,
+walked up to the iron cage in the middle of the room, and then leaned
+in the melancholy attitude of one revolving in his mind the sorrows of
+a cheerless and unblest existence. After a while he again withdrew, and
+retired by the way he entered.
+
+Mrs. Atkins, on witnessing his departure, felt the return of her
+resolution. She persuaded herself to believe the figure the work of
+some skillful imposter, and she determined on following its footsteps.
+She took up her lamp and hastened to the door. To her infinite
+surprise, she discovered it to be fastened, as she had herself left it
+on retiring to bed. On withdrawing the bolt, and opening the door, she
+saw the back of the youth descending the staircase. She followed till,
+on reaching the foot of the stairs, the form seemed to sink into the
+earth.
+
+The event was related to Lady Pennyman. She determined to remain no
+longer in her present habitation. Another residence was offered in the
+vicinity of Lisle, and this she took under the pretext that it was
+better suited to the size of her family.
+
+
+THE GHOST IN YELLOW CALICO
+
+The Rev. Elwyn Thomas, 35, Park Village East, N. W., London, has
+published a very remarkable experience of his own. It is as follows:
+
+"Twelve years ago," says the doctor, "I was the second minister of
+the Bryn Mawr Welsh Wesleyan Circuit, in the South Wales District. It
+was a beautiful evening in June when, after conducting the service
+at Llanyndir, I told the gentlemen with whom I generally stayed when
+preaching there, that three young friends had come to meet me from
+Crickhowell, and that I meant to accompany them back for about half a
+mile on their return journey, so would not be home before nine o'clock.
+
+"When I wished good-night to my friends it was about twenty minutes
+to nine but still light enough to see a good distance. The subject
+of our conversation all the way from the chapel until we parted
+was of a certain eccentric old character who then belonged to the
+Crickhowell church. I walked a little further down the road than I
+intended in order to hear the end of a very amusing story about him.
+Our conversation had no reference whatever to ghosts. Personally I was
+a strong disbeliever in ghosts and invariably ridiculed anyone whom I
+thought superstitious enough to believe in them.
+
+"When I had walked about a hundred yards away from my friends, after
+parting from them, I saw on the bank of the canal, what I thought at
+the moment was an old beggar. I couldn't help asking myself where this
+old man had come from. I had not seen him in going down the road. I
+turned round quite unconcernedly to have another look at him, and had
+no sooner done so than I saw, within half a yard of me one of the
+most remarkable and startling sights I hope it will ever be my lot to
+see. Almost on a level with my own face, I saw that of an old man,
+over every feature of which the putty colored skin was drawn tightly,
+except the forehead which was lined with deep wrinkles. The lips were
+extremely thin and appeared perfectly bloodless. The toothless mouth
+stood half open. The cheeks were hollow and sunken like those of a
+corpse, and the eyes which seemed far back in the middle of the head,
+were unnaturally luminous and piercing. The terrible object was wrapped
+in two bands of old yellow calico, one of which was drawn under the
+chin, and over the cheeks and tied at the top of the head, the other
+was drawn round the top of the wrinkled forehead and fastened at the
+back of the head. So deep and indelible an impression it made on my
+mind, that, were I an artist, I could paint that face to-day.
+
+"What I have thus tried to describe in many words, I saw at a glance.
+Acting on the impulse of the moment, I turned my face toward the
+village and ran away from the horrible vision with all my might for
+about sixty yards. I then stopped and turned around to see how far I
+had distanced it, and to my unspeakable horror, there it was still face
+to face with me as if I had not moved an inch. I grasped my umbrella
+and raised it to strike him, and you can imagine my feelings when I
+could see nothing between the face and the ground, except an irregular
+column of intense darkness, through which my umbrella passed as a stick
+goes through water!
+
+"I am sorry to say that I took to my heels with increasing speed. A
+little further than the space of this second encounter, the road which
+led to my host's house branched off the main road. Having gone two or
+three yards down this branch road, I turned around again. He had not
+followed me after I left the main road, but I could see the horribly
+fascinating face quite as plainly as when it was close by. It stood
+for a few minutes looking intently at me from the center of the main
+road. I then realized fully that it was not a human being in flesh and
+blood; and, with every vestige of fear gone, I quickly walked toward
+it to put my questions. But I was disappointed, for, no sooner had I
+made toward it, than it began to move slowly down the road keeping the
+same distance above it until it reached the churchyard wall; it then
+crossed the road and disappeared near where the yew tree stood inside.
+The moment it disappeared, I became unconscious. Two hours later I came
+to myself and I made my way slowly to my home. I could not say a word
+to explain what had happened, though I tried several times. It was five
+o'clock in the morning when I regained my power of speech. The whole of
+the following week I was laid up with a nervous prostration.
+
+"My host, after questioning me closely, told me that fifteen years
+before that time an old recluse of eccentric character, answering
+in every detail to my description (yellow calicoes, bands, and all)
+lived in a house whose ruins still stand close by where I saw the face
+disappear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+MORE PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD--II.
+
+The cases included in this chapter are also very well
+authenticated--some of them being longer and more detailed than those
+included in the last chapter. I shall begin with a group of so-called
+"Pact" Cases--cases, that is, in which a Pact or Agreement was made
+before death--to appear after death, if possible; when that promise
+seems to have been kept. The first case of this character is short, and
+merely illustrative of the kind of ghostly phenomena to be expected
+in cases of this nature. The latter cases are better attested. I give
+first the case of the Marquis of Rambouillet.
+
+
+COMPACTS TO APPEAR AFTER DEATH
+
+The story of the Marquis of Rambouillet's appearing after his death
+to his cousin, the Marquis de Precy, is well authenticated. These two
+noblemen, talking one day concerning the affairs of the next world, in
+a manner which showed they did not believe much about it, entered into
+an agreement that the first who died should come and give intelligence
+to the other.
+
+Soon afterwards the Marquis of Rambouillet set out for Flanders, which
+was then the seat of war, and the Marquis de Precy remained in Paris,
+being ill of a violent fever. About six weeks after, early one morning,
+he heard someone draw the curtains of his bed, and turning to see who
+it was, discovered the Marquis of Rambouillet in a buff coat and boots.
+He instantly got out of bed, and attempted to shake hands with his
+friend, but Rambouillet drew back, and told him he had only come to
+perform the promise he had formerly made; that nothing was more certain
+than another life; and that he earnestly advised him to alter his mode
+of life, for in the first battle he would be engaged in, he would
+certainly fall.
+
+Precy made a fresh attempt to touch his friend, but he immediately
+withdrew. Precy lay upon his bed wondering upon the strangeness of the
+circumstances for some time, when he saw the same appearance re-enter
+the apartment. Rambouillet, finding that Precy still disbelieved what
+he was told, showed him the wound of which he had died, and from which
+the blood still seemed to flow.
+
+Soon after this, Precy received a confirmation of Rambouillet's death,
+and was killed himself, according to the prediction, in the civil wars,
+at the battle of Faubourg St. Antoine.
+
+
+LORD BROUGHAM'S VISION
+
+The promise to appear was given and kept in the case of the apparition
+seen by Lord Brougham.
+
+The story is given as follows in the first volume of "Lord Brougham's
+Memoirs":
+
+"A most remarkable thing happened to me, so remarkable that I must
+tell the story from the beginning. After I left the High School I went
+with G----, my most intimate friend, to attend the classes in the
+University. There was no divinity class, but we frequently in our walks
+discussed many grave subjects--among others the immortality of the soul
+and a future state. This question, and the possibility of the dead
+appearing to the living, were the subject of much speculation, and we
+actually committed the folly of drawing up an agreement, written with
+our blood, to the effect that whichever of us died the first should
+appear to the other, and thus solve any doubts we had entertained of
+the 'life after death.' After we had finished our classes at the
+College, G---- went to India, having got an appointment there in the
+Civil Service. He seldom wrote to me, and after a lapse of a few years
+I had nearly forgotten his existence.... One day I had taken, as I have
+said, a warm bath, and, while lying in it and enjoying the comfort of
+the heat, I turned my head round, looking towards the chair on which
+I had deposited my clothes, as I was about to get out of the bath. On
+the chair sat G----, looking calmly at me! How I got out of the bath
+I know not; but on recovering my senses, I found myself sprawling
+on the floor. The apparition, or whatever it was that had taken the
+likeness of G----, had disappeared. This vision had produced such a
+shock that I had no inclination to talk about it, or to speak about it
+even to Stewart, but the impression it made upon me was too vivid to
+be easily forgotten, and so strongly was I affected by it that I have
+here written down the whole history, with the date, December 19th, and
+all the particulars, as they are now fresh before me. No doubt I had
+fallen asleep, and that the apparition presented so distinctly before
+my eyes was a dream I cannot for a moment doubt; yet for years I had
+had no communication with G----, nor had there been anything to recall
+him to my recollection. Nothing had taken place concerning our Swedish
+travels connected with G----, or with India, or with anything relating
+to him, or to any member of his family. I recollected quickly enough
+our old discussion, and the bargain we had made. I could not discharge
+from my mind the impression that G---- must have died, and that his
+appearance to me was to be received by me as a proof of a future state.
+This was on December 19th, 1799."
+
+In October, 1862, Lord Brougham added as a Postscript:
+
+"I have just been copying out from my Journal the account of this
+strange dream. _Certissima mortis imago!_ And now to finish the story
+begun about sixty years ago: Soon after my return to Edinborough there
+arrived a letter from India announcing G----'s death, and stating that
+he died on December 19th."
+
+Lord Brougham attempts to account for this vision by stating that it
+was probably a dream. But this is negatived by the fact that he was so
+startled by it as to scramble out of the bath in a great hurry--which
+would not be at all likely had it been a dream--for, as we know,
+nothing surprises us in dreams, or seems unlikely. And even granting
+that it were a dream, we still have the _coincidence_ to account for.
+_Why_ should Lord Brougham have dreamed this particular dream at the
+very moment his friend died? That fact has yet to be accounted for.
+
+
+THE TYRONE GHOST
+
+This is also known as the Beresford Ghost, and is one of the most
+famous cases of its kind on record. The account, as herein given, is
+that supplied by the granddaughter of Lady Beresford, to whom the
+experience came; and hence may be considered as accurate as it can
+be made. It furnishes us with a definite example of a "ghost that
+touches," and leaves a permanent mark of its visit, ever afterwards.
+Here is the account:
+
+"In the month of October, 1693, Sir Tristram and Lady Beresford went
+on a visit to her sister, Lady Macgill, at Gill Hall, now the seat of
+Lord Clanwilliam.... One morning Sir Tristram arose early, leaving Lady
+Beresford asleep, and went out for a walk before breakfast. When his
+wife joined the table very late, her appearance and the embarrassment
+of her manner attracted general attention, especially that of her
+husband. He made anxious inquiries as to her health, and asked her
+apart what had happened to her wrist, which was tied up with black
+ribbon tightly bound round it. She earnestly entreated him not to
+inquire more then, or thereafter, as to the cause of her wearing or
+continuing afterwards to wear that ribbon; 'for,' she added, 'you will
+never see me without it.' He replied: 'Since you urge it so vehemently,
+I promise you not to inquire more about it.'
+
+"After completing her hurried breakfast, she made inquiries as to
+whether the post had yet arrived. It had not yet come in, and Sir
+Tristram asked: 'Why are you so particularly eager about letters
+to-day?' 'Because I expect to hear of Lord Tyrone's death, which took
+place on Tuesday.' 'Well,' remarked Sir Tristram, 'I never put you
+down for a superstitious person, but I suppose that some idle dream
+has disturbed you.' Shortly after, the servant brought in the letters;
+one was sealed with black wax. 'It is as I expected,' she cried, 'he
+is dead.' The letter was from Lord Tyrone's steward to inform them
+that his master had died in Dublin, on Tuesday, 14 October, at 4 p.m.
+Sir Tristram endeavored to console her, and begged her to restrain her
+grief, when she assured him that she felt relieved and easier, now
+that she knew the actual fact. She added, 'I can now give you a most
+satisfactory piece of intelligence, _viz._, that I am with child, and
+that it will be a boy.' A son was born the following July.
+
+"On her forty-seventh birthday, Lady Beresford summoned her children
+to her side, and said to them: 'I have something of deep importance
+to communicate to you, my dear children, before I die. You are no
+strangers to the intimacy and affection which subsisted in early life
+between Lord Tyrone and myself.... We had made a solemn promise to
+one another, that whichever died first should, if permitted, appear
+to the other.... One night, years after this interchange of promises,
+I was sleeping with your father at Gill Hall, when I suddenly awoke
+and discovered Lord Tyrone sitting visibly by the side of the bed. I
+screamed out and vainly tried to arouse Sir Tristram. "Tell me," I
+said, "Lord Tyrone, why and wherefore are you here at this time of the
+night?" "Have you then forgotten our promises to each other, pledged
+in early life? I died on Tuesday, at 4 o'clock. I have been permitted
+thus to appear.... I am also suffered to inform you that you are with
+child, and will produce a son, who will marry an heiress; that Sir
+Tristram will not live long, that you will marry again, and you will
+die in your forty-seventh year." I begged from him some convincing sign
+or proof so that when the morning came I might rely upon it, and that
+it was not the phantom of my imagination. He caused the hangings of
+the bed to be drawn in an unusual way and impossible manner through
+an iron hook. I still was not satisfied, when he wrote his signature
+in my pocketbook. I wanted, however, more substantial proof of his
+visit, when he laid his hand, which was cold as marble, on my wrist;
+the sinews shrunk up, the nerves withered at the touch. "Now," he said,
+"let no mortal eye while you live ever see that wrist," and vanished.
+While I was conversing with him my thoughts were calm, but as soon as
+he disappeared I felt chilled with horror and dismay, a cold sweat came
+over me, and I again endeavored, but vainly, to awaken Sir Tristram; a
+flood of tears came to my relief, and I fell asleep....'
+
+"That year Lady Beresford died. On her deathbed, Lady Riverson unbound
+the black ribbon and found the wrist exactly as Lady Beresford had
+described it--every nerve withered, every sinew shrunk...."
+
+
+"DEAD OR ALIVE"
+
+In the following case the ghost kept its promise to appear--doing
+so, to all appearances, in spite of great obstacles. The incident is
+reported in Mr. W. T. Stead's _Real Ghost Stories_, pp. 205-8:
+
+"The following incident occurred to me some years ago, and all the
+details can be substantiated. The date was August 26, 1867, at
+midnight. I was then residing in the neighborhood of Hull, and held an
+appointment under the crown which necessitated my repairing thither
+every day for a few hours duty. My berth was almost a sinecure; and I
+had for some time been engaged to a young north country heiress, it
+being understood that on our marriage I should take her name and 'stand
+for the county' or rather for one of its divisions.
+
+"For her sake I had to break off a love affair, not of the most
+reputable order, with a girl in Hull. I will call her Louise. She was
+young, beautiful, and devoted to me. On the night of the 26th of August
+we took our last walk together, and a few minutes before midnight
+paused on a wooden bridge running across a kind of canal, locally
+termed a 'drain.' We paused on the bridge, listening to the swirling
+of the current against the wooden piles, and waiting for the stroke
+of midnight to part forever. In the few minutes interval she repeated
+_sotto voce_, Longfellow's 'Bridge,' the words of which, 'I stood on
+the bridge at midnight,' seemed terribly appropriate. After nearly
+twenty-five years I can never hear that piece recited without feeling
+a deadly chill, and the whole scene of two souls in agony again rising
+before me. Well! Midnight struck and we parted; but Louise said: 'Grant
+me one favor, the only one that I shall ever ask you on this earth;
+promise to meet me here twelve months from to-night at this same hour.'
+I demurred at first, thinking it would be bad for both of us, and only
+re-open partially-healed wounds. At last, however, I consented, saying,
+'Well, I will come if I am alive.' But she said, 'Say alive or dead.' I
+said, 'Very well, then, we will meet, dead or alive.'
+
+"The next year I was on the spot a few minutes before the time; and,
+punctual to the stroke of midnight, Louise arrived. By this time I had
+begun to regret the arrangement I had made; but it was of too solemn a
+nature to put aside. I therefore kept the appointment; but said that
+I did not care to renew the compact. Louise, however, persuaded me to
+renew it for one more year; and I consented, much against my will; and
+we again left each other, repeating the same formula, 'Dead or Alive.'
+
+"The next year after passed rapidly until the first week in July,
+when I was shot dangerously in the thigh by a fisherman named Thomas
+Piles, of Hull, a reputed smuggler. A party of four of us had hired
+his ten-ton yawl to go yachting round the Yorkshire coast, and amuse
+ourselves by shooting sea-birds amongst the millions of them at
+Flamborough Head. The third or fourth day out I was shot in the right
+thigh by the skipper Piles; and the day after, one and a quarter ounce
+of number 2 shot were cut out therefrom by the coastguard surgeon at
+Bridlington Quay (whose name I forget for the moment), assisted by Dr.
+Alexander Mackey, at the Black Lion hotel. The affair was in all the
+papers at the time, about a column of it appearing in the _Eastern
+Morning News_, of Hull.
+
+"As soon as I was able to be removed (two or three weeks) I was taken
+home, where Dr. Melburne King, of Hull, attended me. The day--and the
+night--(the 26th of August) came. I was then unable to walk without
+crutches, and that for only a short distance, so had to be wheeled
+about in a Bath chair. The distance to the trysting place being rather
+long, and the time and the circumstances being very peculiar, I did
+not avail myself of the services of my usual attendant, but specially
+retained an old servant of the family, who frequently did confidential
+commissions for me, and who knew Miss Louise well. We set forth
+'without beat of drum' and arrived at the bridge about a few minutes
+to midnight. I remember that it was a brilliant starlight night, but I
+do not think that there was any moon--at all events, at that hour. 'Old
+Bob,' as he was always affectionately called, wheeled me to the bridge,
+helped me out of the Bath chair, and gave me my crutch. I walked on to
+the bridge, and leaned my back against the white painted rail top, then
+lighted my briar-root, and had a comfortable smoke.
+
+"I was very much annoyed that I had allowed myself to be persuaded to
+come a second time, and determined to tell Louise positively that this
+should be our last meeting. Besides, _now_, I did not consider it fair
+to Miss K., with whom I was again 'negotiating.' So, if anything, it
+was in rather a sulky frame of mind that I awaited Louise. Just as the
+quarters before the hour began to chime I distinctly heard the 'clink,
+clink' of the little brass heels, which she always wore, sounding on
+the long flagged causeway, leading for 200 yards up to the bridge.
+As she got nearer, I could see her pass lamp after lamp in rapid
+succession, while the strokes of the large clock at Hull resounded
+through the stilly night.
+
+"At last the patter, patter of the tiny feet sounded on the woodwork
+of the bridge, and I saw her distinctly pass under the lamp at my
+side. When she got close to me I saw that she had neither hat nor cape
+on, and concluded that she had taken a cab at the further end of the
+flagged causeway, and (it being a very warm night) had left her wraps
+in the cab, and, for purposes of effect, had come the short distance in
+evening dress.
+
+"'Clink, clink,' went the brass heels, and she seemed about passing me,
+when I suddenly, urged by an impulse of affection, stretched out my
+arms to receive her. She passed _through_ them, intangible, impalpable,
+and as she looked at me I distinctly saw her lips move, and form the
+words 'Dead or Alive.' I even heard the words, but not with my outward
+ears, with something else, some other sense--what, I know not. I felt
+startled, surprised, but not afraid, until a moment afterwards, when I
+_felt_, but could not see, some other presence following her. I could
+_feel_, though I could not _hear_, the heavy, clumsy thud of feet
+following her; and my blood seemed turned to ice. Recovering myself
+with an effort, I shouted out to Old Bob, who was safely ensconsed
+with the Bath chair in a nook out of sight round the corner: 'Bob, who
+passed you just now?' In an instant the old Yorkshire-man was by my
+side. 'Ne'er a one passed me, sir.' 'Nonsense, Bob,' I replied, 'I told
+you that I was coming to meet Miss Louise, and she just passed me on
+the bridge, and _must_ have passed you, because there is no where else
+she _could_ go. You don't mean to tell me you didn't see her?' The old
+man replied solemnly: 'Maister Rob, there's something uncanny about it.
+I heered her come on the bridge, and off it, and I knaw them clickety
+heels onywhere! but I'm domned, sir, if she passed me! I'm thinking
+we'd better gang.' And 'gang' we did; and it was the small hours of the
+morning (getting daylight) before we left off talking over the affair,
+and went to bed.
+
+"The next day I made inquiries from Louise's family about her, and
+ascertained that she had died in Liverpool three months previously,
+being apparently delirious for a few hours before her death, and, our
+parting compact evidently weighing on her mind, as she kept repeating,
+'Dead or Alive--shall I be there?'--to the utter bewilderment of her
+friends, who could not divine her meaning--being, of course, entirely
+unaware of our agreement."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This completes the examples of the so-called "Pact" cases. In the
+following example, the phantasmal form conveyed a piece of information
+to the percipient which he could not well have known by any normal
+means.
+
+
+THE SCRATCH ON THE CHEEK
+
+The case appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the Amer. S. P. R., and the
+high character of the witnesses was vouched for by Dr. Hodgson and
+Prof. Royce. It is to the following effect:
+
+  "_January 11, 1888._
+
+"Sir: Replying to your recently published request for actual
+occurrences of psychical phenomena, I respectively submit the following
+remarkable occurrence to the consideration of your distinguished
+Society, with the assurance that the event made a more powerful
+impression upon my mind than the combined incidents of my whole
+life.... I was never in better health or possessed a clearer head and
+mind than at the time the incident occurred.
+
+"In 1867, my only sister, a young lady of eighteen years, died suddenly
+of cholera, in St. Louis, Mo. My attachment for her was very strong,
+and the blow a severe one to me. A year or so after her death, I became
+a commercial traveller, and it was in 1876, while on one of my Western
+trips that the event occurred.
+
+"I had 'drummed' the city of St. Joseph, Mo., and had gone to my room
+at the Pacific House to send in my orders, which were unusually large
+ones, so that I was in a very happy frame of mind indeed. My thoughts,
+of course, were about these orders, knowing how pleased my house would
+be at my success. I had not been thinking of my late sister, or in
+any manner reflecting on the past. The hour was high noon, and the
+sun was shining cheerfully into my room. While busy smoking a cigar,
+and writing out my orders, I suddenly became conscious that some one
+was sitting on my left, with one arm resting on the table. Quick as a
+flash I turned, and distinctly saw the form of my dead sister, and for
+a brief second or two looked her squarely in the face; and so sure was
+I that it was she, that I sprang forward in delight, calling her by
+name, and, as I did so, the apparition instantly vanished. Naturally I
+was startled and dumbfounded, almost doubting my senses; but the cigar
+in my mouth, and pen in hand, with the ink still moist on my letter,
+I satisfied myself I had not been dreaming and was still awake. I was
+near enough to touch her, had it been a physical possibility, and noted
+her features, expression, and details of dress, etc. She appeared as
+if alive. Her eyes looked kindly and perfectly naturally into mine.
+Her skin was so perfectly life-like that I could see the glow or
+moisture in the surface, and, on the whole there was no change in her
+appearance, otherwise than when alive.
+
+"Now comes the most remarkable confirmation of my statement, which
+cannot be doubted by those who know what I state actually occurred.
+This visitation, or whatever you may call it, so impressed me that I
+took the next train home, and in the presence of my parents and others
+I related what had occurred. My father, a man of rare good sense and
+very practical, was inclined to ridicule me, as he saw how earnestly
+I believed what I stated; but he, too, was amazed when later on I
+told them of a bright red line or _scratch_ on the right-hand side of
+my sister's face, which I distinctly had seen. When I mentioned this
+my mother rose trembling to her feet and nearly fainted away, and
+as soon as she had sufficiently recovered her self-possession, with
+tears streaming down her face, she exclaimed that I had indeed seen
+my sister, as no living mortal but herself was aware of that scratch,
+which she had actually made while doing some little act of kindness
+after my sister's death. She said she well remembered how pained she
+was to think she should have, unintentionally, marred the features
+of her dead daughter, and that, unknown to all, she had carefully
+obliterated all traces of the slight scratch with the aid of powder,
+etc., and that she had never mentioned it to a human being, from that
+day to this.... Yet I saw the scratch as bright as if just made...."
+
+[Confirmatory statements were obtained from the narrator's father and
+brother; his mother having died in the interval.]
+
+
+A GHOST IN HAMPTON COURT
+
+Miss X. (Mrs. Hans Spoer) relates the following interesting case, as
+occurring to herself, on a visit to the well-known Hampton Court.
+(_Essays in Psychical Research_, pp. 31-34):
+
+"I recently found myself the guest of a lady occupying a pleasant suite
+of rooms in Hampton Court Palace. For obvious reasons I cannot specify
+the name of my hostess, the exact date of my visit, or the precise
+whereabouts of her apartment.
+
+"Of course I was familiar with the Hampton Court ghost legend.... I
+examined the scene of the occurrences, and was allowed to ask questions
+at will. The ghost, I was told, visited habitually in a dozen different
+rooms--not, however, in the bright, dainty drawing room in which we
+were chatting, and where it was difficult to believe that we were
+discussing recent history.
+
+"As a matter of fact, it was very recent, indeed. But a few nights
+earlier, in a certain small but cheerful bedroom, a little girl had
+been awakened out of her sleep by a visitant so dramatic that I
+wondered whether the child had possibly gone to sleep again, after her
+original fright, and dreamed the later and more sensational part of the
+story.
+
+"My room was quaintly pretty, but somewhat peculiar in arrangement, and
+lighted only from the roof. I have seen 'ghosts' before, have slept for
+months together in haunted houses; and, though I find such visitants
+somewhat exciting, I cannot say that my prospects for the night filled
+me with any degree of apprehension.
+
+"At dinner and during the evening ghostly topics were avoided; there
+were other guests, and music and chat occupied us till 11 o'clock,
+when my hostess accompanied me to my room. I asked various questions
+as to my neighbours above and below, and the exact position of other
+members of the household, with a view to knowing how to interpret any
+sounds which might occur. About a third of the ceiling of my room was
+skylight; the servant's bedroom being situated over the remainder. Two
+sides of the room were bounded by a corridor, into which it opened;
+a third of the wall by the state apartments, while the fourth opened
+by folding doors upon a room for the time unoccupied (except by a cat,
+asleep upon a chair) out of which there opened a door, leading by a
+secret passage to the bank of the river.
+
+"I ascertained that the folding doors were locked; moreover, a heavy
+table stood against them on the outer side, and a wardrobe on the
+inner. The bedstead was a small one, without curtains; indeed, the room
+contained no hangings whatever. The door into the room opened so nearly
+to the head of my bed that there was space only for a small table, upon
+which I took care to place two long candles, and a plentiful supply of
+matches, being somewhat addicted to late and early reading.
+
+"I was tired, but a sense of duty demanded that I should not sleep
+through the 'witching hours,' so I sat up in bed, and gave my best
+attention to Lord Farrer's problem, 'Shall We Degrade our Standard
+of Value?' in the current number of the _National Review_, and, on
+the principle of always trying to see both sides of a question,
+thought of several reasons why we should not, with the author, come
+to a negative conclusion. The matter did not, however, excite me to
+the pitch of wakefulness; and when I finished the article, as the
+clock struck half-past one, I considered myself absolved from further
+responsibility, put out my lights, and was asleep before the next
+quarter sounded.
+
+"Nearly three hours later I was suddenly awakened from dreamless
+slumber by the sound of the opening of a door against which some piece
+of furniture was standing, in, as it seemed, the empty room to my
+right. I remembered the cat, and tried to conceive by what kind of
+'rampaging' she could contrive to be so noisy. A minute later there
+followed a thud apparently on _this_ side of the folding doors, and too
+heavy for even the prize animals of my home circle, not to speak of a
+mongrel stray, newly adopted and not yet doing credit to her keep! 'A
+dress fallen in the wardrobe,' was my next thought, and I stretched out
+my hand for the match-box, as a preliminary to enquiry.
+
+"I did not reach the matches. It seemed to me that a restraining
+hand was laid upon mine; I withdrew it quickly, and gazed around me
+in the darkness. Some minutes passed in blackness and silence. I had
+the sensation of a presence in the room, and finally, mindful of the
+tradition that a ghost should be spoken to, I said gently: 'Is anyone
+there? Can I do anything for you?' I remembered that the last person
+who entertained the ghost had said: 'Go away, I don't want you!' and I
+hoped that my visitor would admire my better manners and be responsive.
+However, there was no answer--no sound of any kind; and returning to
+my theory of the cat and the fallen dress, though nevertheless so far
+influenced by the recollection of those detaining fingers as not to
+attempt to strike a light, I rose and walked round my bed, keeping
+the right hand on the edge of the bedstead, while, with my left arm
+extended, I swept the surrounding space. As the room is small, I thus
+fairly well satisfied myself that it contained nothing unusual.
+
+"I was, though somewhat perplexed, about to grant myself license to
+go to sleep again, when in the darkness before me there began to glow
+a soft light. I watched it increase in brightness and in extent. It
+seemed to radiate from a central point, which gradually took form
+and became a tall, slight woman, moving slowly across the room from
+the folding doors on my right. As she passed the foot of my bed I
+felt a slight vibration of the spring mattress. At the further corner
+she stopped, so that I had time to observe her profile and general
+appearance. Her face was insipidly pretty; that of a woman from thirty
+to thirty-five years of age, her figure slight, her dress of a soft
+dark material, having a full skirt and broad sash or soft waist-band
+tied high up, almost under her arms, a crossed or draped 'kerchief over
+the shoulders, sleeves which I noticed fitted very tight below the
+elbow, and hair which was dressed so as not to lie flat to the head,
+either in curls or bows, I could not tell which. As she appeared to
+stand between me and the light, I cannot speak with any certainty as
+to the color, but the dress, though dark, was, I think, not black. In
+spite of all this definiteness, I was, of course, conscious that the
+figure was unsubstantial, and I felt guilty of absurdity in asking once
+more: 'Will you let me help you? Can I be of use to you?'
+
+"My voice sounded preternaturally loud, but I felt no surprise at
+noticing that it produced no effect upon my visitor. She stood still
+for perhaps two minutes--though it is very difficult to estimate time
+on such occasions. She then raised her hands, which were long and
+white, and held them before her as she sank upon her knees and slowly
+buried the face in her palms, in the attitude of prayer--when, quite
+suddenly, the light went out, and I was alone in the darkness.
+
+"I felt that the scene was ended, the curtain down, and had no
+hesitation in lighting the candle at my side.
+
+"I tried to examine the impression the vision conveyed. I felt that it
+was definitely that of reproach, yet of gentle resignation. There was
+no force, no passion; I had seen a meek, sad woman who had succumbed. I
+began to turn over in my mind the illustrious names of former occupants
+of the chamber. I fixed on one--a bad man of the worst kind, a mad
+fool of that time of wickedness and folly, the Regency--I thought of
+the secret passage in the next room, and began to weave an elaborate
+romance.
+
+"'This will not do here and now,' I reflected, as the clock struck
+four; and, as an act of mental discipline, I returned to my _National
+Review_.... I turned to Mr. Myers' article on 'The Drift of Psychical
+Research,' which I had already seen. I read:
+
+"'... Where telepathy operates, many intelligences may affect our
+own. Some of these are the minds of living persons, but some appear
+to be discarnate, to be spirits like ourselves, but released from the
+body, although still retaining much of the personality of earth. These
+spirits appear still to have some knowledge of our world, and to be in
+certain ways able to affect it.'
+
+"Here was, so to speak, the text of my illustration. I had quite enough
+to think about--more than I needed for that occasion. I never heard the
+clock strike five!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Let us try to examine this, a type of many ghost stories.
+
+"Elsewhere I have classified visions of persons, whether seen in the
+crystal or otherwise, as:
+
+"1. Visions of the living, clairvoyant or telepathic, usually
+accompanied by their own background, or adapting themselves to mine.
+
+"2. Visions of the departed, having no obvious relations to time and
+space.
+
+"3. Visions which are more or less of the nature of pictures, such
+as those which I voluntarily produce in the crystal from memory or
+imagination, or which appear in the background of real persons as
+illustrative of their thoughts of history. This is very often the case
+when an impression reaches me in visual form from the mind of a friend
+who, it may be, imperfectly remembers or is imperfectly informed as to
+the form and color of the picture his mind conveys.
+
+"Again I emphasize the fact that I am speculating, not
+dogmatizing--that I am speaking from internal evidence, with no
+possibility of corroboration, and that I am perfectly aware that
+each reader must take this for what it seems to him worth. Such being
+the case, I venture to classify the vision under Class III. Again,
+to borrow from Mr. Myers, I believe that what I saw may have been
+a _telepathic impression of the dreams_ (or I should prefer to say
+'_thoughts_') _of the dead_. If what I saw were indeed veridical or
+truth-telling--if my readers will agree to admit that what I saw was
+no mere illusion, or morbid hallucination, or imagination (taking the
+word in its commonly-accepted sense)--then I believe that my visitor
+was not a departed spirit, such as it has before now, perhaps, been
+my privilege to meet, but rather an image as such--just as the figure
+which, it may be, sits at my dining table is not _really_ the friend
+whose visit a few hours later it announces, but only a representation
+of him, having no objective existence apart from the truth of the
+information it conveys--a thought which is personal to the brain which
+thinks it.
+
+"I have already said that, preconceived notions apart, I had no
+impression of reality. I recognized that what I saw and felt was an
+externalization of impressions unconsciously received, possibly from
+some discarnate mind...."
+
+
+HALF-PAST ONE O'CLOCK
+
+The following case is in many ways classical. Mrs. Claughton, to whom
+the experience came, was a widowed lady, living in good social circles.
+The full account of her experience is to be found in the _Proceedings_
+of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. XI., pp. 547-59), and
+contains statements and personal investigations by Dr. Ferrier, Andrew
+Lang, Mr. Myers and the Marquis of Bute as well as corroborative
+testimony from the Clerk at Meresby, Mrs. Claughton's governess, copies
+of letters, diaries, memoranda, etc. The whole case is very complicated
+and impressive; and embodies a combination of apparent spirit
+communication, clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, apparitions,
+and supernormal dreams. The chief and most interesting account is the
+statement made by Mrs. Claughton to the Marquis of Bute, and recorded
+by him as follows:
+
+"She was staying in 1893 with her two children at 6 Blake St., a house
+belonging to Mrs. Appleby, daughter of the late Mrs. Blackburn ...
+but let to Mrs. Buckley. She had heard the house was haunted, and may
+have heard that the ghost was Mrs. Blackburn's. She had been told also
+that water was spilt on the floors inexplicably. They arrived on
+October 4th. About 1.15 a.m., Monday, October 9th, Mrs. Claughton was
+in bed with one of her children, the other sleeping in the room. Mrs.
+Claughton had offered to be of any use she could to Miss Buckley, who
+had arrived from London on the Saturday, not feeling very well. She
+had been asleep, and was awakened by the footsteps of a person coming
+downstairs, whom she supposed to be a servant coming to call her. The
+steps stopped at the door. The sounds were repeated twice more at the
+interval of a few moments. Mrs. Claughton rose, lit the candle, and
+opened the door. There was no one there. She noticed the clock outside
+pointed to 1.20 a.m. She shut the door, got into bed, read, and,
+leaving the candle burning, went to sleep. Woke up, finding the candle
+spluttering out. Heard a sound like a sigh. Saw a woman standing by
+the bed. She had a soft white shawl round the shoulders, held by the
+right hand towards the left shoulder, bending slightly forwards. Mrs.
+Claughton thinks the hair was lightish brown, and the shawl partly
+over the head, but does not remember distinctly, and has no impression
+of the rest of the dress; it was not grave-clothes. She said: 'Follow
+me.' Mrs. Claughton rose, took the candle, and followed her out of
+the room, across the passage, and into the drawing-room. She had no
+recollection as to the opening of the doors. The house maid next day
+declared that the drawing-room door had been locked by her. On entering
+the drawing-room, Mrs. Claughton, finding the candle on the point of
+extinction, replaced it by a pink one from the chiffonier near the
+door. The figure nearly at the end of the room, turned three-quarters
+round, said 'to-morrow,' and disappeared. Mrs. Claughton returned to
+the bedroom, where she found her elder child (not the one in the bed)
+sitting up. It asked: 'Who is the lady in white?' Mrs. Claughton thinks
+she answered the child: 'It's only me--mother; go to sleep,' or the
+like words, and hushed her to sleep in her arms. The baby remained fast
+asleep. She lit the gas and remained awake for some two hours, then put
+out the lights and went to sleep. Had no fear while seeing the figure,
+but was upset after seeing it. Would not be prepared to swear that she
+might not have walked in her sleep. Pink candle, partly burned, in her
+room in morning. Does not know if she took it burnt or new.
+
+"In the morning she spoke to Mr. Buckley, on whose advice she went to
+ask Dr. Ferrier as to the figure about 3 p.m. He and his wife said
+the description was like that of Mrs. Blackburn, whom Mrs. Claughton
+already suspected it to be. Thinks Dr. Ferrier already told her that
+Miss Blackburn (Mrs. Appleby) had seen her mother in the same house.
+Mrs. Claughton cannot recognize the photograph of Mrs. Blackburn shown
+to her by Mr. Y. (who got it from Mrs. M.). She says the figure seemed
+smaller, and the features were more pinched and attenuated, like those
+of a person in the last stages of consumption, which was also the
+general appearance. By his advice, Mr. Buckley put an electric bell
+under Mrs. Claughton's pillow, communicating with Miss Buckley's room,
+as Mrs. Claughton determined to sit up that night and watch.
+
+"That night Mrs. Claughton sat up dressed, with the gas burning. About
+12 she partly undressed, put on a dressing gown, and lay down outside
+the bed, gas still burning, and fell asleep reading. Woke up and found
+the same woman as before, but the expression even more agitated. She
+bent over Mrs. Claughton and said: 'I have come, listen.' She then made
+a certain statement and asked Mrs. Claughton to do certain things.
+Mrs. Claughton said: 'Am I dreaming, or is it true?' The figure said
+something like: 'If you doubt me, you will find that the date of my
+marriage was * * *.' (This was the date of the marriage, which took
+place in India, of Mrs. Blackburn to Mr. Blackburn, who is alive and
+married again. Mrs. Claughton first learned the corroboration of the
+date from Dr. Ferrier on the following Thursday). After this Mrs.
+Claughton saw a man standing on Mrs. B.'s left hand--tall, dark, well
+made, healthy, sixty years old, or more, ordinary man's day clothes,
+kind, good expression. A conversation ensued between the three, in
+course of which man stated himself to be George Howard, buried in
+Meresby Churchyard (Mrs. Claughton had never heard of Meresby or of
+George Howard) and gave the date of his marriage * * * and death * * *.
+[Entries of these dates seen by me in Mrs. Claughton's pocketbook, as
+torn out and lent to me. F. W. H. Myers.] He desired Mrs. Claughton to
+go to Meresby and verify these dates in the registration, and, if found
+correct, to go to the church at the ensuing 1.15 a.m. and wait at the
+grave therein (S. W. corner of S. aisle) of Richard Hart, died * * *,
+ętat * * *. She was to verify this reference also in the registers.
+He said her railway ticket would not be taken, and she was to send it
+along with a white rose from his grave to Dr. Ferrier. Forbade her
+having any previous communication with the place, or going in her own
+name. Said Joseph Wright, a dark man, to whom she should describe him,
+would help her. That she would lodge with a woman who would tell her
+that she had a child (drowned) buried in the same churchyard. When Mrs.
+Claughton had done all this, she should hear the rest of the history.
+Towards the end of the conversation, Mrs. Claughton saw a third
+phantom, that of a man whose name she is not free to give, in great
+trouble, standing, with hands on face (which he afterwards lowered,
+showing face) behind Mrs. Blackburn's right. The three disappeared.
+Mrs. Claughton rose and went to the door to look out at the clock, but
+was seized with faintness, returned and rang the electric bell. Mr.
+Buckley found her on the ground. She was able to ask the time, which
+was about 1.20 a.m. Then fainted, and the Buckleys undressed her and
+put her to bed.
+
+"That morning, Tuesday, Mrs. Claughton sent for Dr. Ferrier, who
+corroborated certain matters so far as she asked him, and ascertained
+for her the date of Mrs. Blackburn's marriage (she received his note
+of the date on Thursday). She went to the Post Office, and found that
+Meresby existed. Returned, and ascertained that it was in Suffolk,
+and so wrote that evening to Dr. Ferrier, and went to London with her
+daughters that (Thursday) evening.
+
+"Friday night, Mrs. Claughton dreamt that she arrived at 5, after
+dusk, that a fair was going on, and that she had to go to place after
+place to get lodgings. Also, she and her eldest daughter dreamt that
+she would fail if she did not go alone. Went to Station for 12 noon
+train on Saturday. Went to refreshment room for luncheon, telling
+porter to call her in time. He went by mistake to waiting room, and
+she missed train and had to wait (going to the British Museum, where
+she wrote her name in Jewel room) until 3.5, as stated. House where
+she finally found lodgings was that of Joseph Wright, who turned out
+to be the parish clerk. She sent for the curate by porter, to ask as
+to consulting registers, but as he was dining out he did not come till
+after she had gone to bed. Sunday morning, Mrs. Wright spoke to her
+about the drowned child buried in the churchyard. Went to forenoon
+service, and immediately afterwards went into vestry and verified the
+registers; described George Howard to Joseph Wright, who had known him
+and recognized description; then was taken by Joseph Wright to the
+graves of Richard Hart and George Howard. On the latter there is no
+stone, but three mounds surrounded by a railing overgrown with white
+roses. She gathered rose for Dr. Ferrier, as had been directed. Walked
+and talked with curate, who was not sympathetic. After luncheon went
+with Mrs. Wright and walked round Howard's house (country house in
+park). Attended evening service, and afterwards, while, watching the
+lights put out and the church furniture covered up, wondered if she
+would have the nerve to go on. Back to supper; afterwards slept and had
+dream of a terrorizing character, whereof has full written description.
+Dark night, hardly any moon, a few stars. To church with Joseph Wright
+at 1 a.m., with whom searched interior and found it empty. At 1.20
+a.m. was locked in alone, having no light; had been told to take
+Bible, but had only church-service, which she had left in vestry in
+the morning. Waited near grave of Richard Hart; felt no fear. Received
+communication, but does not feel free to give any detail; no light.
+History begun at Blake street then completed. Was directed to take
+another white rose from George Howard's grave and gathered rose for
+Miss Howard, as had been directed. Home and bed, and slept well for the
+first time since first seeing Mrs. Blackburn.
+
+"Next day went and sketched church and identified grave of Mrs. Rose,
+on whose grave, she had been told in church, she would find a message
+for herself. The words engraved were * * *.
+
+"Then called on Miss Howard and recognized strong likeness to her
+father. Carried out all things desired by the dead to the full, as
+had been requested. Has had no communication from any of them since.
+Nothing since has appeared in Blake street. The wishes expressed to
+her were not illogical or unreasonable, as the ratiocination of dreams
+often appears, but perfectly rational, reasonable, and of natural
+importance."
+
+
+MY OWN TRUE GHOST STORY
+
+The following narrative was told to me by a very well-known artist; who
+maintains the strict accuracy of every word in his account, as given
+below:
+
+"I had been living in Paris for some months when I decided to change
+my quarters, and move into a studio more in keeping with my present
+allowance. After a brief search, I saw one which exactly suited me. It
+was a large room, at the end of a long, dark rambling passage, with
+doors leading into other studios on either side all the way down. As my
+neighbours turned out to be a very jolly, happy crew, I liked the life
+immensely, and everything promised well for the new abode.
+
+"I had been there for, perhaps, two weeks when I had my first 'ghostly'
+adventure. I had been out rather late, having had late supper, and
+perhaps a little too much wine for my best health. At the same time, I
+was absolutely sober, and in full possession of all my senses. I felt a
+little happy and convivial--that was all.
+
+"Walking along the passage, I was approaching my door when I distinctly
+heard the rustle of a silk skirt walking down the passage ahead of
+me. As the hallway was dark, I could not see whether or not the girl
+was just in front of me, or some distance away. It never for a moment
+struck me that it was not a flesh-and-blood visitant. My only thought
+was: One of the boys has been having a little supper, and this must
+be one of his visitors going home. I called aloud: 'Mayn't I strike
+a light and show you the way along this dark hall?' And, suiting the
+action to the word, I struck a match, and held it up over my head.
+Nothing was visible! I peered into vacancy; no female figure could
+I see. I listened for the sound of steps, or the swish of a silken
+petticoat; but not a sound could I hear. I walked along the passage;
+not a sign of life was anywhere manifest. Everything was dark, lonely
+and deserted.
+
+"I came to the conclusion that I must have been deceived; and thought
+no more about it. I went to bed and to sleep.
+
+"It was, perhaps, two nights later when the same thing occurred. Coming
+home, about 10 o'clock at night, I heard the same swish of the skirt;
+the same soft, feminine footsteps. This time the hall was light, and I
+could _see_ that no one was there. I recalled the incident of the other
+evening, and a cold chill began to creep up my backbone. I entered my
+room, however, lit the lamp, leaving my door open. 'Now,' thought I,
+'if anyone passes that door again, I shall surely see them.' I put on a
+dressing gown and a pair of slippers, and sat down to read--facing the
+door.
+
+"Perhaps five minutes had elapsed when I saw the door very slowly
+open still further on its hinges. A moment later I felt in the room a
+'Presence,' which I distinctly felt to be that of a young woman, about
+twenty years of age. So vivid was the mental picture I formed of this
+person that her very features and coloring were sensed by me--though,
+of course, I had no means of knowing whether or not I was right.
+
+"The Presence glided across the room, and sat itself upon the edge of
+my sofa, about three feet distant from where I sat. I looked at the
+spot intently, and felt that the eyes of my invisible visitor were
+upon me, regarding me intently, as though studying my character to the
+best of her ability. She had a comfortable sort of feeling about her,
+which made me seem at once at home with her; so that, without further
+ceremony, I said to the Presence: 'Pray make yourself at home. If I can
+do anything for you, let me know.'
+
+"I waited, but of course there was no response. Only I thought I caught
+again the faintest rustle of silk, as the figure seated itself in a
+more comfortable position. I put down my book, and began to paint. The
+feeling of loneliness, which I had experienced ever since my removal
+into the new studio, vanished immediately. I felt that a living,
+human--if invisible--being was with me, watching my work and keeping me
+company during the long hours of discouragement and unproductive effort.
+
+"Several times, during the course of the evening, I spoke to the
+Presence; but received no reply. Only I felt its proximity, and knew
+when the figure changed its position, as it did once or twice. Once it
+came over and stood by my side, as though looking at the canvas, and
+criticising it with me. Then it went back to its seat at the end of
+the sofa.
+
+"Bed time came. I felt almost abashed to go to bed with this feminine
+presence in the room! However, as there was nothing left for me to do,
+I undressed, got into bed, and blew out the light. The Presence came
+over and sat on the side of my bed. When I went to sleep, it was still
+sitting there.
+
+"The next morning it had gone. I felt inexpressibly lonely. I missed
+the Presence, whom I now began to call 'Her' instead of 'It,' and
+wished she would return and keep me company! It did not do so, however,
+until the following evening, when, about nine o'clock, I again felt her
+approach, felt her entrance through my studio door, and felt her seat
+herself in my easy chair, and turn her eyes upon me. I knew that she
+was regarding me intently--perhaps critically--and I felt almost angry
+that I, in turn, could not see her. I gazed at the chair _determined_
+to see her; but nothing save empty space met my gaze! With a gesture of
+impatience and irritation, I turned away, and went on with my painting.
+
+"Presently, I was aware that She was standing beside me, examining
+the painting upon the easel. 'Well, do you like it?' I said almost
+caustically. The Presence immediately returned and sat in the chair,
+and I knew that I had offended Her. I threw my brush and pallet aside
+and apologized. So she came and stood by me again; and again she
+remained with me until I closed my eyes in sleep.
+
+"This sort of thing went on for several weeks. Every evening the
+Presence visited me, kept me company, making the day seem long and
+dreary until she came. I waited for her appearance with growing
+impatience. I could never see or feel anything; my spoken words
+brought no response; yet there she was; and I felt just as assured of
+the presence, in my studio, of a feminine spiritual being as of my
+own existence. Every evening the Presence was with me when I went to
+sleep; every morning it had vanished. The sense of friendliness and
+companionship was complete and unmistakable.
+
+"One evening my visitor failed to appear! I could do no work; I
+paced the floor, I could do nothing, think of nothing! The sense of
+desolation and loneliness was absolute. I hardly realized, until then,
+how completely I had grown accustomed to the presence of my invisible
+visitor. I missed her more than I ever dreamed I could miss anyone in
+life. Forlorn and forsaken, I went to bed, and finally dropped into a
+fitful and broken sleep.
+
+"For about a week things went on in this way. I had grown gradually
+reconciled to my lonely life, and was painting hard for an exhibition
+which was near at hand. One evening I came into the studio, and I found
+the Presence waiting for me--seated in the easy chair, by the fire.
+
+"I felt my heart and whole being give a throb of joy and
+recognition--just as it would at the sight of an old and very dear
+friend. I knew how much I had missed her! I knew that She had risen,
+and was standing, facing me, as I entered. Before I had time to check
+myself, or think what I was doing, I had rushed forward, crying
+'Dearest,' with outstretched arms, and had embraced the spot where I
+knew her to be standing! I grasped the empty air, but I somehow felt
+two hands placed upon my shoulders, and the imprint of a delicate kiss
+upon my lips.
+
+"I no longer felt lonely. I whistled, I sang, I took off my coat,
+and, donning jacket and slippers, set to work with joy upon my
+picture. I painted hard, and all the while the Presence stood by me,
+criticising--approving or disapproving--and in every instance I felt
+Her criticism and judgment to be right.
+
+"A year went by. I had to give up my studio, and return to America, on
+my father's sudden death. The parting with the Presence I shall never
+forget. Had two lovers in the flesh parted from one another, it could
+not have been more real, more touching, more sincere. For my own part I
+was heartbroken. The Presence, too, I knew to be weeping. The parting
+was long and sorrowful. Finally, I tore myself away.
+
+"I have never seen or felt anything from that day to this. But of
+the reality and objective existence of that Presence I am as assured
+as I am of any event in my life. No one can tell me that it was a
+trick of the imagination--I know better! She was as real to me as any
+personality I have ever known. Yes, the Unreal is Real, of that I have
+no doubt whatever. My own experience with the Ghostly world has proved
+that to _my_ satisfaction!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+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."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+GHOST STORIES OF A MORE DRAMATIC NATURE
+
+In the cases which are adduced in the present chapter, the standard
+of evidence cannot be considered so high; many of them have been
+recorded in good faith as actual experiences, but they will probably
+fail to carry conviction to the same extent as those which have gone
+before. Still, many of these narratives are singularly striking and
+interesting; and for this reason deserve to be included in this
+volume. The reader may therefore place any construction he may choose
+upon these cases; as they are presented not as evidence but as
+entertainment. I shall begin with some personal experiences of a Scotch
+seer, who, according to his own accounts, has experienced some of the
+most dramatic and remarkable manifestations conceivable.
+
+
+DISEASE-PHANTOMS
+
+Mr. Elliott O'Donnell--a man about whom it has been said that "the
+gates of his soul are open on the Hell side," has had many strange
+experiences with spirits, mostly evil and horrible, and has recorded
+these in his books "Ghostly Phenomena," "Byways of Ghostland," etc.
+From his voluminous writings on his own personal experiences, I cite a
+few cases, to show the character of the phenomena:
+
+"I have, from time to time, witnessed many manifestations which I
+believe to be super-physical, both from the peculiarity of their
+properties, and from the effect their presence invariably produce
+on me--an effect I cannot associate with anything physical. One of
+the first occult phenomena I remember, appeared to me when I was
+about five years of age. I was then living in a town in the West of
+England, and had, according to the usual custom, been put to bed at
+six o'clock. I had spent a very happy day, playing with my favorite
+toys--soldiers--and, not being in the least degree tired, was amusing
+myself with planning a fresh campaign for the following morning, when
+I noticed suddenly that the bedroom door (which I distinctly remember
+my nurse carefully latching) was slowly opening. Thinking this was very
+curious, but without the slightest suspicion of 'ghosts,' I sat up in
+bed and watched.
+
+"The door continued to open, and at last I caught sight of something
+so extraordinary that my guilty conscience at once associated it with
+the Devil--with regard to whom I distinctly recollected to have spoken
+that afternoon in a sceptical, and I frankly admit, very disrespectful
+manner. But far from feeling the proximity of that heat which all those
+who profess authority on Satanic matters ascribe to Satan, I felt
+decidedly cold--so cold, indeed, that my hands grew numb and my teeth
+chattered. At first I only saw two light glittering eyes that fixed
+themselves upon me with an expression of diabolical glee, but I was
+soon able to perceive that they were set in a huge, flat face, covered
+with fulsome-looking yellow spots about the size of a threepenny bit.
+I do not remember noticing any of the other features, save the mouth,
+which was large and gaping. The body to which the head was attached
+was quite nude, and covered all over with spots similar to those on
+the face. I cannot recall any arms, though I have vivid recollections
+of two thick and, to all appearances, jointless legs, by the use of
+which it left the doorway, and gliding noiselessly over the carpet,
+approached the empty bed, placed in a parallel position to my own.
+There it halted, and thrusting its mis-shapen head forward, it fixed
+its malevolent eyes on me with a penetrating stare. On this occasion,
+I was far less frightened than on any of my subsequent experiences with
+the occult. Why, I cannot say, as the manifestation was certainly one
+of the most hideous I have ever seen. My curiosity, however, was far
+greater than my fear, and I kept asking myself what the thing was, and
+why it was there?
+
+"It did not seem to be composed of ordinary flesh and blood, but rather
+of some luminous matter that resembles the light emanating from a
+glow-worm.
+
+"After remaining in the same attitude for what seemed to me an
+incalculably long time, it gradually receded, and assuming all of
+a sudden a horizontal attitude, passed head first through the wall
+opposite to where I sat. Next day, I made a sketch of the apparition,
+and showed it to my relatives, who, of course, told me I had been
+dreaming. About two weeks later I was ill in bed with a painful, if
+not actually dangerous, disease. I was giving an account of this
+manifestation at a lecture I delivered two or three years ago in
+B., and when I had finished speaking, I was called aside by one of
+the audience who very shyly told me that he too had had a similar
+experience. Prior to being attacked by diphtheria, he had seen a
+queer-looking apparition which had approached his bedside and leaned
+over him. He assured me that he had been fully awake at the time, and
+had applied tests to prove that the phantom was entirely objective.
+
+"A number of other cases, too, have been reported to me, in which
+various species of phantasms have been seen before various illnesses.
+Hence I believe that certain spirits are symbolical of certain
+diseases, if not the actual creators of the bacilli from which
+these diseases arise. To these phantasms I have given the name of
+_Morbas_...."
+
+
+THE TALE OF THE MUMMY
+
+"During one of my sojourns in Paris," says Mr. Elliott O'Donnell, in
+his "Byways of Ghost Land," "I met a Frenchman who, he informed me, had
+just returned from the East. I asked him if he had brought back any
+curios such as vases, funeral urns, weapons or amulets. 'Yes, lots,'
+he replied, 'two cases full. But no mummies! Mon Dieu! No mummies. You
+ask me why? Ah! Thereby hangs a tale. If you will have patience, I will
+tell it you.'
+
+"The following is the gist of his narrative:
+
+"'Some seasons ago I traveled up the Nile as far as Assiut, and when
+there, managed to pay a visit to the grand ruins of Thebes. Among the
+various treasures I brought away with me was a mummy. I found it lying
+in an enormous lidless sarcophagus, close to a mutilated statue of
+Anubis. On my return to Assiut, I had the mummy placed in my tent, and
+thought no more of it till something awoke me with startling suddenness
+in the night. Then, obeying a peculiar impulse, I turned over on my
+side and looked in the direction of my treasure.
+
+"'The nights in the Soudan at this time of year are brilliant, one can
+even see to read, and every object in the desert is almost as clearly
+visible as by day. But I was quite startled by the whiteness of the
+glow which rested on the mummy, the face of which was immediately
+opposite mine. The remains--those of Met-Om-Karema, lady of the College
+of the god Amen-ra--were swathed in bandages, some of which had worn
+away in parts or become loose; and the figure, plainly discernible, was
+that of a shapely woman with elegant bust, well-formed limbs, rounded
+arms and small hands. The thumbs were slender, and the fingers, each of
+which was separately bandaged, long and tapering. The neck was full,
+the cranium rather long, the nose aquiline, the chin firm. Imitation
+eyes, brows, and lips were painted on the wrappings, and the effect
+thus produced and in the phosphorescent glare of the moonbeams, was
+very weird. I was quite alone in the tent, the only European who
+accompanied me to Assiut, having stayed in the town by preference, and
+my servants being encamped at one hundred or so yards from me on the
+ground.
+
+"'Sound travels far in the desert, but the silence now was absolute,
+and, though I listened attentively, I could not detect the slightest
+noise--man, beast and insect were abnormally still. There was something
+in the air, too, which struck me as unusual; an odd, clammy coldness
+that reminded me at once of the catacombs in Paris. I had hardly,
+however, conceived the resemblance, when a sob--low, gentle, but very
+distinct--sent a thrill of horror through me. It was ridiculous,
+absurd. It could not be, and I fought against the idea as to whence
+the sound had proceeded, as something too utterly fantastic, too
+utterly impossible. I tried to occupy my mind with other thoughts--the
+frivolities of Cairo, the casinos of Nice; but all to no purpose;
+and soon, on my eager, throbbing ear there again fell that sound,
+that low and gentle sob. My hair stood on end; this time there was no
+doubt, no possible manner of doubt--the mummy lived! I looked at it
+aghast. I strained my vision to detect any movement in its limbs,
+but none was perceptible. Yet the noise had come from it, it had
+breathed--breathed--and even as I hissed the word unconsciously through
+my clenched lips, the bosom of the mummy rose and fell.
+
+"'A frightful terror seized me. I tried to shriek to my servants; I
+could not ejaculate a syllable. I tried to close my eye-lids, but
+they were held open as in a vice. Again there came a sob that was
+immediately succeeded by a sigh; and a tremor ran through the figure
+from head to foot. One of its hands then began to move, the fingers
+clutched the air convulsively, then grew rigid, then curled slowly
+into the palms, then suddenly straightened. The bandages concealing
+them from view then fell off, and to my agonized sight were disclosed
+objects that struck me as strangely familiar. There is something about
+fingers, a marked individuality, I never forget. No two persons' hands
+are alike. And in these fingers, in their excessive whiteness, round
+knuckles, and blue veins, I read a likeness whose prototype, struggle
+how I would, I could not recall. Gradually the hand moved upwards, and,
+reaching the throat, the fingers set to work at once to remove the
+wrappings. My terror was now sublime. I dare not imagine, I dare not
+for one instant think, what I should see. And there was no getting away
+from it; I could not stir an inch, and the ghastly revelation would
+take place within a yard of my face!
+
+"'One by one the bandages came off. A glimmer of skin, pale as marble;
+the beginning of the nose, the whole nose; the upper lip, exquisitely,
+delicately cut; the teeth, white and even on the whole, but here and
+there a shining gold filling; the under lip, soft and gentle; a mouth
+I knew, but--God, where? In my dreams, in the wild fantasies that had
+oft-times visited by pillow at night--in delirium, in reality, where?
+Mon Dieu! WHERE?
+
+"'The uncasing continued. The chin next, a chin that was purely
+feminine, purely classical; then the upper part of the head--the hair
+long, black, luxuriant--the forehead low and white--the brows black,
+firmly pencilled; and last of all, the eyes!--and as they met my
+frenzied gaze, smiled, smiled right down into the depths of my living
+soul, I recognized them--they were the eyes of my mother, my mother
+who had died in my boyhood! Seized with a madness that knew no bounds,
+I sprang to my feet. The figure rose and confronted me. I flung open
+my arms to embrace her, the woman of all women in the world I loved
+best, the only woman I had ever loved. Shrinking from my touch, she
+cowered against the side of the tent. I fell on my knees before her and
+kissed--what? Not the feet of my mother, but those of the long-buried
+dead. Sick with repulsion and fear I looked up, and there bending over
+and peering into my eyes was the face, the fleshless, mouldering face
+of the foul and barely recognizable corpse! With a shriek of horror
+I rolled backwards, and, springing to my feet, prepared to fly. I
+glanced at the mummy. It was lying on the ground, stiff and still,
+every bandage in its place; whilst standing over it, a look of fiendish
+glee in its light, doglike eyes, was the figure of Anubis, lurid and
+menacing.
+
+"'The voices of my servants, assuring me they were coming, broke the
+silence, and in an instant the apparition vanished.
+
+"'I had had enough of the tent, however, at least for that night, and,
+seeking refuge in the town, I whiled away the hours till morning with
+a fragrant cigar and a novel. Directly I had breakfasted, I took the
+mummy back to Thebes, and left it there. No thank you, Mr. O'Donnell, I
+collect many kinds of curios, but--no more mummies!'"
+
+
+FACE SLAPPED BY A GHOST
+
+The following remarkable event occurred to a friend of mine--an
+elderly, married lady, whom I have known for some time. She is now
+making her home in Brooklyn, but at the time of her gruesome experience
+was residing in England. It is some years since this occurred, but the
+incident, she assured me, lives just as vividly in her mind as though
+it all happened yesterday. This is her story, just as she told it to me:
+
+"I was staying with some friends in the country. They had an old,
+rambling house, with long, draughty halls and corridors all over it. As
+the house was already full of guests, I had to sleep in a large room,
+at the end of the long passage, on the ground floor. The room in itself
+was comfortable enough--large and warm. Yet there was an atmosphere
+about that apartment which I did not quite like; in fact, the whole
+house made me feel 'creepy,' for no reason that I can give.
+
+"Bed-time came all too soon; and I took my candle and was shown my
+room. My hostess saw that I had everything I needed; and then, saying
+good-night, went upstairs to bed.
+
+"I had half undressed when I saw the door of my room gently and quietly
+opened, as though a stealthy hand were softly pressing it open. I
+gazed transfixed, until, when wide open, I could see that no one was,
+in reality, on the other side of the door. At that I drew a breath
+of relief. 'A draught,' I thought, 'coming down the hallway. It is
+nothing.' And I chided myself on my fears; shut the door, and proceeded
+to undress.
+
+"I had not gone far, however, when to my amazement the door opened
+again; just as quietly and stealthily as before. Again I closed the
+door, and proceeded with my undressing. I had by this time finished,
+and had donned my night-gown preparatory to getting into bed.
+
+"At that moment I was horrified to see my door open for the _third_
+time, just as it did before--slowly, slowly, until it rested on its
+hinges, wide open to the hall. I now determined to investigate; so,
+taking my candle in my hand, I stepped out into the hall and proceeded
+down towards the front door.
+
+"I had not taken more than three or four steps, however, when the
+candle in my hands was extinguished--as though a breath of wind, coming
+from nowhere, had blown it out. I did not much relish this, as the
+matches were in my room. But I determined to keep on, in the dark,
+and see what the cause of this could be. So I kept on and on, down
+the dark hall--my left hand holding the extinguished candle; my right
+extended so that I could feel the solid masonry all the way down the
+corridor.
+
+"I had proceeded, perhaps, half way, when a strange thing occurred. I
+suddenly felt myself slapped on the left cheek by something cold and
+moist and clammy. I put my hand up to my face, and felt it was wet. For
+an instant I hesitated; then I proceeded, down the hall, until I came
+to the front door. That I found closed and locked. Having thus explored
+the whole length of the hall and found nothing, I turned back to regain
+my room. Still holding the candle in my left hand, and still feeling
+the wall with my outstretched right hand, I crept cautiously along, not
+knowing what to expect.
+
+"Again, I had proceeded about half way down the hall when I felt the
+same cold, quick slap in the face (this time on the right cheek) and
+again I found it was wet.
+
+"Thoroughly frightened now, I fled to my room as fast as my legs could
+carry me. Once within, I closed and secured the door by placing a chair
+against it. Next, finding my box of matches, I relighted my candle.
+Then I surveyed myself in the mirror, to see what could be upon my
+face.
+
+"Imagine my horror when, on looking in the glass, I discovered two
+long streaks of blood, one upon either cheek! I was so terror-struck
+that I gazed at myself for a few moments unable to move or speak. Then
+I screamed, and after that I have no very clear recollection of what
+happened. I have a hazy recollection of anxious faces bending over me;
+of a low hum of voices; then oblivion.
+
+"It took me many weeks to recover from the shock of that night."
+
+
+ALONE WITH A GHOST IN A CHURCH
+
+The following case is sent me by a correspondent:
+
+I once knew a young man by the name of Charles D. Bradlaugh, who took a
+delight in ridiculing ghost stories and, whenever possible, in proving
+them to be due to fraud, trickery or hallucination. He stated he was
+"afraid of nothing." I said to him one day in conversation: "If you are
+as fearless as you say, would you be willing to spend a night alone,
+locked up in a Church with a corpse freshly placed in its coffin?"
+
+He replied that he would do it any time; so the test was shortly
+arranged. One of the parishioners had just died, and had been placed
+in the crypt of the church, with the lid of the coffin removed. The
+lights were all extinguished; we locked the door after us, and went
+away, leaving Bradlaugh and the spirits to fight it out between them.
+
+What occurred during the night must be told in Bradlaugh's own words,
+as nearly as I can recall them:
+
+"When I heard the key turn in the door, that night, I confess that a
+strange feeling came over me for the first time in my life. I wanted
+to get out; but of course I knew it was useless; and in the next place
+my pride forbade my leaving. Shaking off the superstitious fear that
+had settled upon me, I turned away; and proceeded to explore, as best I
+could, the whole of the church.
+
+"A bright moonlight fell in through the windows, casting queer shadows
+in various directions; and across the long rows of pews and the altar
+at the far end of the church. I walked about, looking at everything
+curiously, as it had been long since I found myself inside a church.
+Then I proceeded to the crypt, and, walking boldly up to the coffin, I
+gazed long and earnestly at the corpse lying within it, as though to
+familiarize myself with it. I went on the principle that 'familiarity
+breeds contempt.' When I had done this, I went back to the nave of the
+church, and, finding a comfortable place, I lay down, and was soon in
+a state bordering on sleep. I should have been asleep, probably, very
+soon; but, just as I was dropping off, I heard a faint sound coming
+from the direction of the crypt. It was like a deep sigh, and this
+was followed by other sounds which I find it hard to describe. All I
+know is that, in the quiet and stillness of that awful place, those
+sounds, slight as they were, were truly appalling, and chilled the very
+blood in my veins. Their very indistinctness added to their terror. I
+could not conceive what could make such uncanny noises. I sat up, and
+strained my eyes in the darkness, trying to penetrate the gloom. Then
+I heard the first faint footsteps coming up the stairs from the crypt!
+At first, these were faint, but they became louder and louder; until
+finally I could hear them plainly. Undoubtedly they were foot-falls, as
+though a human being were mounting the steps from the crypt where the
+corpse had been laid!
+
+"I rose from my seat, my hair standing on end, while queer, cold
+shivers ran up and down my back. I advanced one or two paces toward the
+door, hardly knowing what to expect. Then, as I looked, I saw step into
+the bright moonlight, the corpse that a few moments before I had seen
+lying in the coffin downstairs!
+
+"Frantic with fear, I rushed at the corpse, still shrouded, as it was,
+in the white wrappings which, torn and dishevelled, still enveloped the
+body. I raised one hand as though to strike the ghost, and thrust the
+hateful thing from me; when I felt a stunning blow on the point of my
+jaw, and a moment later I had lost sensibility. When I awoke, you were
+all round me. You know the rest."
+
+To make a long story short, it turned out that the supposed "corpse"
+was not really dead at all, but in a sort of trance; and had been
+buried prematurely. He had revived in the night; and was advancing into
+the church when he encountered Bradlaugh in the doorway. Thinking him a
+robber or an assassin, he had struck first; and, being a powerful man
+and a good boxer, he had knocked out Bradlaugh by a blow on the jaw.
+When we arrived in the morning, we found Bradlaugh senseless, and the
+"corpse," now stripped of his grave clothes, bending over him, dashing
+cold water in his face!
+
+
+A HAUNTED HOUSE IN FRANCE
+
+The following case, said to be authentic, is quoted here because of
+the incident of the "shouts and laughter" which were heard, and which
+serve to throw an interesting sidelight on the case which follows it.
+
+The Rev. F. G. Lee, in his book, _Sights and Shadows_, gives the
+following account, sent to him, of a haunted house in France:
+
+"In the spring of the year 1891, great excitement was occasioned by
+a disembodied spirit in a haunted house in LePort, at Nice. This is
+situated in a terrace close to the quarries, where, after the reports
+concerning it, as many as two thousand persons were often gathered
+round it. The spirits haunting it--never visible, however--would
+beat the inmates so unmercifully that the blows would leave bruises.
+Hundreds of persons saw the result, and testified to the undoubted
+facts. The local police, on being appealed to, and having heard the
+evidence of numerous eye-witnesses, and of those persons who were
+inconvenienced, formed a body of organized inquirers, who, shrewd
+enough in mundane matters, utterly failed to discover anything or
+anybody.
+
+"On one occasion, thirteen men sat up in three rooms which had been
+well lighted, and some of them played cards for several hours to while
+away the time. During the whole of this occurrence, the strangest
+noises were heard in various parts of the building. It seemed, at
+one time, as if a whole regiment of soldiers were tramping up the
+chief staircase. Pictures swung to and fro upon the walls, without any
+visible motive effect.[4] Then heavy blows were heard on the walls, and
+it appeared that the closed doors and the shutters were being violently
+struck and thumped, as if with a large hammer wrapped in cloth.
+
+      [4] This is a common feature of haunted houses.--H.C.
+
+"On two occasions, a room on the ground floor was found to be in the
+densest darkness, though outside the house the sun was shining. On
+another occasion, just before midnight, when certain persons were
+specially present to note any supernatural occurrences, all the lamps
+in the house were suddenly put out; while shouts and laughter were
+heard in every part of the place, more particularly from the empty
+rooms. At the same time, heavy blows were experienced by those present,
+who were very severely bruised, and a large bottle of ink was thrown by
+invisible hands from the top of the staircase.
+
+"Every attempt was made to discover the source of these extraordinary
+disorders, but without avail. They were reported to have ceased for
+several months, but to have commenced again at a later period. A local
+communication says that they still 'occur at intervals.'"
+
+
+A HAUNTED HOUSE IN GEORGIA
+
+The following account is taken from the report of the San Francisco
+_Examiner_, and is certainly one of the most striking cases of the
+character on record. It is not put forward as strictly "evidential,"
+but its interesting nature certainly warrants its insertion in this
+volume.
+
+"Soon after the Walsinghams took up their abode in their new home,
+they began to be disturbed by strange sounds and odd phenomena. These
+disturbances generally took the form of noises in the house after the
+family had retired and the lights had been extinguished--continual
+banging of the doors, things overturned, the doorbell rang, and the
+annoying of the house dog, a large and intelligent mastiff.
+
+"One day Don Cęsar, the mastiff, was found in the hallway barking
+furiously and bristling with rage, while his eyes seemed directed to
+the wall just before him. At last he made a spring forward with a
+hoarse yelp of ungovernable fury, only to fall back as if flung down by
+some powerful and cruel hand. Upon examination it was found that his
+neck had been broken.
+
+"The house cat, on the contrary, seemed rather to enjoy the favor of
+the ghost, and would often enter a door as if escorting some visitor,
+whose hand was stroking her back. She would also climb about a chair,
+rubbing herself and purring as if well pleased at the presence of some
+one in the seat. She and Don Cęsar invariably manifested this eccentric
+conduct at the same time, as though the mysterious being were visible
+to both of them.
+
+"The annoying visitant finally took to arousing the family at all hours
+of the night by making such a row as to render any rest impossible.
+
+"This noise, which consisted of shouts, groans, hideous laughter, and a
+peculiar, most distressing wail, would sometimes proceed, apparently,
+from under the house, sometimes from the ceiling and at other times in
+the very room in which the family was seated. One night Miss Amelia
+Walsingham, the young lady daughter, was engaged at her toilet, when
+she felt a hand softly laid on her shoulder. Thinking it her mother or
+sister, she glanced at the glass before her, only to be thunderstruck
+at seeing the mirror reflect no form but her own, though she could
+plainly see a man's broad hand lying on her arm.
+
+"She brought the family to her by her screams, but when they reached
+her all sign of the mysterious hand had gone. Mr. Walsingham himself
+saw footsteps form beside his own while walking through the garden
+after a light rain.
+
+"The marks were those of a man's naked feet, and fell beside his own,
+as if the person walked at his side.
+
+"Matters grew so serious that the Walsinghams became frightened, and
+talked of leaving the house, when an event took place which confirmed
+them in this determination. The family was seated at the supper table
+with several guests who were spending the evening when a loud groan was
+heard in the room overhead.
+
+"This was, however, nothing unusual, and very little notice was taken
+of it until one of the visitors pointed out a stain of what looked like
+blood on the white table cloth, and it was seen that some liquid was
+slowly dripping on the table from the ceiling overhead. This liquid was
+so much like freshly-shed blood that it horrified those who watched its
+slow dropping. Mr. Walsingham, with several of his guests, ran hastily
+upstairs and into the room directly over the one in which the blood was
+dripping.
+
+"A carpet covered the floor, and nothing appeared to explain the source
+of the ghastly rain; but, anxious to satisfy themselves thoroughly,
+the carpet was immediately ripped up, and the boarding found to be
+perfectly dry, and even covered with a thin layer of dust, and all the
+while the floor was being examined the persons below could swear the
+blood never ceased to drop. A stain the size of a dinner-plate was
+formed before the drops ceased to fall. This stain was examined the
+next day under the microscope, and was pronounced by competent chemists
+to be human blood.
+
+"The Walsinghams left the house next day, and since then the place
+has been apparently given over to spooks and evil spirits, which make
+the night hideous with the noise of revel, shouts and furious yells.
+Hundreds from all over this county and adjacent ones have visited the
+place, but few have had the courage to pass the night in the haunted
+house. One daring spirit, however, Horace Gunn, of Savannah, accepted
+a wager that he could not spend twenty-four hours in it, and did so,
+though he declares that there is not enough money in the country to
+make him pass another night there. He was found the morning after
+by his friends with whom he made the wager, in a swoon. He has never
+recovered from the shock of his horrible experience, and is still
+confined to his bed suffering from nervous prostration.
+
+"His story is that shortly after nightfall he endeavored to kindle
+a fire in one of the rooms, and to light the lamp with which he had
+provided himself, but to his surprise and consternation, found it
+impossible to do either. An icy breath, which seemed to proceed from
+some invisible person at his side, extinguished each match as he
+lighted it. At this peculiarly terrifying turn of affairs Mr. Gunn
+would have left the house and forfeited the amount of his wager, a
+considerable one, but he was restrained by the fear of ridicule. He
+steadied himself in the dark with what calmness he could, and waited
+developments.
+
+"For some time nothing occurred, and the young man was half-dozing,
+when, after an hour or two, he was brought to his feet by a sudden yell
+of pain or rage that seemed to come from under the house. This appeared
+to be the signal for an outbreak of hideous noises all over the house.
+The sound of running feet could be heard scurrying up and down the
+stairs, hastening from one room to another, as if one person fled from
+the pursuit of a second. This kept up for nearly an hour, but at last
+ceased altogether, and for some time Mr. Gunn sat in darkness and
+quiet, and had about concluded that the performance was over for the
+night. At last, however, his attention was attracted by a white spot
+that gradually appeared on the opposite wall.
+
+"The spot continued to brighten, until it seemed a disc of white
+fire, when the horrified spectator saw that the light emanated from
+and surrounded a human head, which, without a body, or any visible
+means of support, was moving slowly along the wall, about the height
+of a man from the floor. This ghastly head appeared to be that of
+an aged person, though whether male or female it was difficult to
+determine. The hair was long and gray, and matted together with
+dark clots of blood, which also issued from a deep jagged wound in
+one temple. The cheeks were fallen in and the whole face indicated
+suffering and unspeakable misery. The eyes were wide open, and gleamed
+with an unearthly fire, while the glassy eyes seemed to follow the
+terror-stricken Gunn, who was too thoroughly paralyzed by what he saw
+to move or cry out. Finally, the head disappeared and the room was once
+more left in darkness, but the young man could hear what seemed to be
+half a dozen persons moving about him, while the whole house shook as
+if rocked by some violent earthquake.
+
+"The groaning and the wailing that broke forth from every direction was
+something terrific, and an unearthly rattle and banging as of china
+or tin pans being flung to the ground floor from the upper story added
+to the deafening noise. Gunn at last roused himself sufficiently to
+try and leave the haunted house. Feeling his way along the wall, in
+order to avoid the beings, whatever they were, that filled the room,
+the young man had nearly succeeded in reaching the door when he found
+himself seized by the ankle and was violently thrown to the floor. He
+was grasped by icy hands, which sought to grip him about the throat. He
+struggled with his unseen foe, but was soon overpowered and choked into
+insensibility. When found by his friends, his throat was black with the
+marks of long, thin fingers, armed with cruel, curved nails.
+
+"The only explanation which, can be found for these mysterious
+manifestations is that about three months before, a number of bones
+were discovered on the Walsingham place, which some declared even then
+to be those of a human being. Mr. Walsingham pronounced them, however,
+to be an animal's, and they were hastily thrown into an adjacent
+limekiln. It is supposed to be the outraged spirit of a person to whom
+they belonged in life which is now creating such consternation."
+
+
+SHAKEN BY A GHOST
+
+The following narrative is vouched for by Mrs. H. S. Iredell, of
+Tunbridge Wells, England, a relative of the Rev. Dr. Lee, who gives the
+case in his _Sights and Shadows_:
+
+"The haunted house in question is near Wandsworth common. The late
+occupants of it were a man, his wife and their child. They had to
+leave it, for they could get no rest in it at night for the fearful
+noises which went on incessantly, like sounds as of a sledge-hammer
+wrapped in flannel struck against the walls. The sister-in-law of the
+late occupants, who told me of it, had spent some days at the house,
+so I heard all the story first-hand. One night she likewise felt as if
+someone had taken her by the shoulders and she was being roughly shaken
+from side to side. Her husband, who was with her, saw her at the time
+she was being shaken by an invisible power, stretched out his hand
+to take hold of her; but he felt right up his arm to his shoulder a
+_shock_, as it were of electricity, which made him instantly draw back
+and cry out. Nothing was ever seen, but in the special sleeping-room
+which seemed to be haunted, the clothes used to be pulled off the bed
+at night and thrown on the floor, and then they used to raise or rear
+themselves up again on the bed....
+
+"Since the above was written, it is reported, that no less than five
+families have respectively occupied the house as tenants, who one and
+all have left it as soon as possible. It is now said to be permanently
+untenanted."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This case is given because of the incident of the "electric shock"
+which the percipient received, when attempting to interfere with
+the "spirit"; and serves as an interesting modern and apparently
+well-authenticated instance of what occurred in Lytton's story, which
+follows.
+
+
+THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN
+
+Bulwer Lytton's story, "The House and the Brain," is, perhaps, the most
+remarkable ghost story of this character on record, and is considered,
+by many, the best ever written. The phenomena occur in a house which
+is reputed to be haunted; no one will live in it. At last one brave
+soul determines to pass the night within its walls; he and his servant
+take up their abode in it, and, after various startling adventures of
+a minor character, the "grand climax" of the night is reached. As the
+author sat reading by the fire, the following occurred, which is told
+in his own words:
+
+"I now became aware that something interposed between the page and the
+light--the page was over-shadowed; I looked up, and I saw what I shall
+find it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to describe.
+
+"It was a Darkness shaping itself forth from the air in very undefined
+outline. I cannot say it was a human form, and yet it had more
+resemblance to a human form, or rather shadow, than to anything else.
+As it stood, wholly apart and distinct from the air and light around
+it, its dimensions seemed gigantic, the summit nearly touching the
+ceiling. While I gazed, a feeling of intense cold seized me. An iceberg
+could not more have chilled me; nor could the cold of an iceberg have
+been more purely physical. I feel convinced that it was not the cold
+caused by fear. As I continued to gaze, I thought--but this I cannot
+say with precision--that I distinguished two eyes looking on me from
+the height. One moment I fancied that I distinguished them clearly; the
+next they seemed gone; but still two rays of pale blue light frequently
+shot through the darkness, as from the height on which, I half
+believed, half doubted, that I had encountered the eyes.
+
+"I strove to speak--my voice utterly failed me; I could only think to
+myself, Is this fear? It is _not_ fear! I strove to rise; in vain; I
+felt weighed down by an irresistible force. Indeed, my impression was
+that of an immense and overwhelming Power opposed to my volition; that
+sense of utter inadequacy to cope with a force beyond man's, which one
+may feel _physically_ in a storm at sea, in a conflagration, or when
+confronting some terrible wild beast--or rather, perhaps, the shark of
+the ocean, I felt _morally_. Opposed to my will was another will, as
+far superior to its strength as storm, fire and shark are superior in
+material force to the force of man.
+
+"And now--as this impression grew on me--now came, at last,
+horror--horror of a degree that no words can convey. Still I retained
+pride, if not courage; and in my own mind I said: 'This is horror, but
+it is not fear; unless I fear I cannot be harmed; my reason rejects
+this thing; it is an illusion--I do not fear.' With a violent effort I
+succeeded at last in stretching out my hand towards the weapon on the
+table; as I did so, on the arm and shoulder I received a strange shock,
+and my arm fell to my side powerless. And now, to add to my horror,
+the light began slowly to wane from the candles--they were not, as it
+were, extinguished, but their flame seemed very gradually withdrawn--it
+was the same with the fire; the light was extinguished from the fuel;
+in a few minutes the room was in utter darkness. The dread that came
+over me, to be thus in the dark with that Thing, whose power was so
+intensely felt, brought on a reaction of nerve. In fact, terror had
+reached that climax, that either my senses must have deserted me, or I
+must have burst through the spell. I _did_ burst through it. I found
+voice, though the voice was a shriek. I remember that I broke forth
+with words like these--'I do not fear, my soul does not fear'; and at
+the same time I found the strength to rise. Still in that profound
+gloom I rushed to one of the windows--tore aside the curtain--flung
+open the shutters; my first thought was--LIGHT. And when I saw the
+moon high, clear and calm, I felt a joy that almost compensated me for
+my previous terror. There was the moon; there also was the light from
+the gas lamps in the deserted, slumberous street. I turned to look
+back into the room; the moon penetrated its shadow very palely and
+partially--but still there was light. The dark Thing, whatever it might
+be, was gone--except that I could yet see a dim shadow, which seemed
+the shadow of that shade against the opposite wall.
+
+"My eye now rested on the table, and from under the table (which was
+without cloth or cover--an old mahogany round table) there rose a
+hand, visible as far as the wrist. It was a hand, seemingly, as much
+of flesh and blood as my own, but the hand of an aged person--lean,
+wrinkled, small too--a woman's hand. That hand very softly closed on
+the two letters that lay on the table; hand and letters both vanished.
+Then there came the same three loud, measured knocks I had heard on the
+bed-head before this extraordinary drama commenced.
+
+"As these sounds slowly ceased, I felt the whole room vibrate sensibly;
+and at the far end there rose, from the floor, sparks or globules, like
+globules of light, many colored--green, yellow, fire-red, azure. Up
+and down, to and fro, hither, thither, as tiny Will o' the Wisps, the
+sparks moved, slow and swift, each at its own caprice. A chair (as in
+the drawing-room below) was now advanced from the wall without apparent
+agency, and placed at the opposite side of the table. Suddenly, as
+forth from the air, there grew a shape, a woman's shape. It was
+distinct as a shape of life--ghastly as the shape of death. The face
+was that of youth, with a strange, mournful beauty; the throat and
+shoulders were bare; the rest of the form in a loose robe of cloudy
+white. It began sleeking its long, yellow hair, which fell over its
+shoulders; its eyes were not turned towards me, but to the floor; it
+seemed listening, watching, waiting. The shadow of the shade in the
+background grew darker; and again I thought I saw the eyes gleaming out
+from the summit of the shadow--eyes fixed upon that shape.
+
+"As if from the door, though it did not open, there grew out another
+shape, equally distinct, equally ghastly--a man's shape--a young man's.
+It was in the dress of the last century, or rather the likeness to such
+dress (for both the male and the female, though defined, were evidently
+unsubstantial, impalpable, simulacra, phantasms), and there was
+something incongruous, grotesque, yet fearful in the contrast between
+the elaborate finery, the courtly precision of that old-fashioned garb,
+with its ruffles and lace and buckles, and the corpse-like aspect and
+ghost-like stillness of the flitting wearer. Just as the male shape
+approached the female, the dark shadow started from the wall, and
+all three for a moment were wrapped in darkness. When the pale light
+returned, the two phantasms were as if in the grasp of the shadow, that
+towered between them, and there was a blood stain on the breast of the
+female; and the phantom male was leaning on its phantom sword, and
+blood seemed trickling fast from the ruffles, from the lace; and the
+darkness of the intermediate Shadow swallowed them up--they were gone.
+And again the bubbles of light shot, and sailed, and undulated, growing
+thicker and thicker and more wildly confused in their movements.
+
+"The closet door to the right of the fireplace now opened, and from
+the aperture there came the form of an aged woman. In her hand she
+held letters--the very letters over which I had seen the hand close;
+and behind her I heard a footstep. She turned round as if to listen,
+and then she opened her letters and seemed to read; and over her
+shoulder I saw a livid face, the face of a man long drowned--bloated,
+bleached--seaweed tangled in its dripping hair, and at her feet lay a
+form as of a corpse, and beside the corpse there towered a child, a
+miserable, squalid child, with famine in its cheeks and fear in its
+eyes. And as I looked in the old woman's face, the wrinkles and lines
+vanished; and it became the face of youth--hard-eyed, stony, but still
+youth; and the Shadow darted forth and darkened over these phantoms as
+it had darkened over the last.
+
+"Nothing now was left but the Shadow, and on that my eyes were intently
+fixed, till again eyes grew out of the Shadow--malignant, serpent
+eyes. And the bubbles of light again rose and fell, and in their
+disordered, irregular, turbulent maze, mingled with the wan moonlight.
+And now from these globules themselves, as from the shell of an egg,
+monstrous things burst out; the air grew filled with them; larvę so
+bloodless and so hideous that I can in no way describe them except
+to remind the reader of the swarming life which the solar microscope
+brings before the eyes in a drop of water--things transparent, supple,
+agile, chasing each other, devouring each other--forms like nought
+ever beheld by the naked eye. As the shapes were without symmetry, so
+their movements were without order. In their very vagrancies there
+was no sport; they came round me and round; thicker and faster and
+swifter, swarming over my head, crawling over my right arm, which was
+outstretched in involuntary command against all evil things. Sometimes
+I felt myself touched, but not by them; invisible hands touched me.
+Once I felt the clutch of cold, soft fingers at my throat, I was still
+equally conscious that if I gave way to fear I should be in bodily
+peril; and I concentrated all my faculties in the single focus of
+resisting, stubborn will. And I turned my sight from the Shadow--above
+all, from those strange serpent eyes--eyes that had now become
+distinctly visible. For there, though in nought else round me, I was
+aware that there was a WILL, and a will of intense, creative, working
+evil, which might crush down my own.
+
+"The pale atmosphere in the room began now to redden as if in the air
+of some near conflagration. The larvę grew lurid as things that live on
+fire. Again the room vibrated; again I heard the three measured knocks;
+and again all things were swallowed up in the darkness of the dark
+shadow--as if out of that darkness all had come, into that darkness all
+had returned.
+
+"As the gloom receded, the Shadow was wholly gone. Slowly, as it had
+been withdrawn, the flame grew again into the candles on the table,
+again into the fuel in the grate....
+
+"The room came once more calmly, healthfully into sight.
+
+"Nothing more chanced for the rest of the night. Nor, indeed, had I
+long to wait before the dawn broke...."
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+HISTORICAL GHOSTS
+
+
+Royalty and well-known personages have seen ghosts in all ages of the
+world's history; certainly they are not exempt from the common run of
+humanity so far as ghostly visitations are concerned! Mr. Stead has
+compiled a number of notable cases of this character, of which the
+following are probably the most noteworthy:
+
+
+ROYAL
+
+_Henry IV._ of France told D'Aubigne that, in the presence of
+himself, the Archbishop of Lyons, and three ladies of the Court, the
+Queen (Margaret of Valois) saw the apparition of a certain Cardinal
+afterwards found to have died at the moment.
+
+_Abel the Fratricide_, King of Denmark, still haunts the woods of
+Poole, near the city of Sleswig.
+
+_Valdemar IV._ haunts Gurre Wood, near Elsinore.
+
+_Charles XI._, of Sweden, accompanied by his chamberlain and state
+physician, witnessed the trial of the assassin of Gartavus III., which
+occurred nearly a century later.
+
+_James IV._, of Scotland, was warned by an apparition against his
+intended expedition into England. He, however, proceeded and fell at
+Flodden Field.
+
+_Charles I._, of England, was also warned by an apparition, but paying
+no heed, was disastrously defeated at Naseby.
+
+_Queen Elizabeth_ is said to have been warned of her death by the
+apparition of her own double.
+
+
+EMPERORS
+
+_Trajan_ and _Caracalla_ both saw apparitions, which they recorded.
+
+_Theodosius_ and _Julian the Apostate_ both beheld apparitions, at
+important crises in their lives.
+
+
+FAMOUS MEN
+
+_Sir Robert Peel_ and his brother both saw Lord Byron in London when he
+was in reality lying dangerously ill of a fever in Patras. During the
+same fever, he also appeared to others.
+
+_Julius Caesar_, _Xerxes_, _Drusus_, _Pausanius_, _Dio_ (General of
+Syracuse), _Admiral Coligni_ all saw apparitions, which made a deep
+impression on them in every case.
+
+_Napoleon_, at St. Helena, saw and conversed with the apparition of
+Josephine, who warned him of his approaching death. _Blucher_, on
+the day of his death, was also told of it by an apparition. _General
+Garfield_ saw and conversed with his father, latterly deceased.
+_Lincoln_ had a certain premonitory dream which occurred three times
+in relation to important battles, and the fourth on the eve of his
+assassination.
+
+_Dante_, son of the poet, was visited in a dream by his father, who
+conversed with him and told him (correctly) where to find the missing
+thirteen cantos of the "Commedia."
+
+_Goethe_ saw his own double riding by his side under conditions which
+really occurred years later.
+
+_Tasso_ saw and conversed with beings invisible to those about him.
+
+_Cellini_ was dissuaded from suicide by the apparition of a young man
+who frequently visited and encouraged him.
+
+_Mozart_ was visited by a mysterious person who ordered him to compose
+a _requiem_, and came frequently to inquire after its progress, but
+disappeared on its completion, which occurred just in time for its
+performance at his own funeral.
+
+_Ben Johnson_ was visited by the apparition of his eldest son with the
+mark of a bloody cross upon his forehead at the moment of his death by
+the plague.
+
+_Thackery_ wrote: "It is all very well for you who have probably never
+seen spirit manifestations to talk as you do, but had you seen what I
+have witnessed you would hold a different opinion."
+
+_Hugh Miller_, _Maria Edgeworth_, _Captain Marryat_, _Madame de Stael_,
+_Sir Humphrey Davy_, _William Harvey_, _Francis Bacon_, _Martin
+Luther_, _George Fox_, _Cardinal Newman_, _Bishop Wilberforce_, and
+many others have seen apparitions, or held converse with the unseen
+world in one form or another, as recorded by themselves.
+
+Among the famous historical hauntings, we must not forget to mention
+the famous _Cock Lane Ghost_ which occurred about 1760. According to a
+brief paragraph printed in the _London Ledger_, 1762, we read that:
+
+"For some time a great knocking having been heard in the night, at
+the officiating parish clerk's of St. Sepulchre's, in Cock Lane near
+Smithfield, to the great terror of the family, and all means used to
+discover the meaning of it having failed, four gentlemen sat up there
+last Friday night, among whom was a clergyman standing withinside the
+door, who asked various questions. On his asking whether anyone had
+been murdered, no answer was made; but on his asking whether anyone had
+been poisoned, it knocked one and thirty times. The report current in
+the neighborhood is that a woman was some time ago poisoned, and buried
+in St. John's Clerkenwell, by her brother-in-law."
+
+These knockings and phenomena occurred for a considerable time, until
+the whole community became interested in the manifestations. While
+various theories were advanced at the time--and since--to explain this
+ghost, no definite conclusion has ever been arrived at.
+
+The _Drummer of Tedworth_ is a still older and equally famous ghost,
+who flourished about a hundred years before the Cock Lane Ghost, and
+was investigated (and the results carefully recorded) by Sir Joseph
+Glanvil, F.R.S., who wrote a book about the case: "_Sadducismus
+Triumphatus_," which was also devoted to the general phenomena of
+witchcraft. Here, also, we find records of unaccountable "knockings"
+and similar phenomena, which lasted for a considerable time, and which
+have never yet been explained.
+
+The ghost which invaded _John Wesley's_ house stayed with them for
+several years, and manifested his presence in a variety of elaborate
+and ingenious ways. Those who are interested in this ghost and his
+doings should read Wesley's _Journal_; also the various discussions,
+_pro_ and _con._, which have appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the
+Society for Psychical Research, from time to time. It is a most curious
+and suggestive record.
+
+The _Devils of Loudon_ might also be cited as an interesting case
+of psychic phenomena; and here trance, automatic speech, etc., were
+observed--as well as the usual physical phenomena. This is perhaps
+one of the earliest cases which was closely observed, and in which
+skeptical criticism was applied. This case will be found recorded in
+Mr. H. Addington Bruce's "_Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters_."
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+THE PHANTOM ARMIES SEEN IN FRANCE
+
+
+History abounds in cases showing the apparent intrusion of spiritual
+help in time of trouble, and in the annals of military history, these
+accounts are not lacking. On several occasions, the Crusaders thought
+that they saw angelic hosts fighting for them--phantom horsemen
+charging the enemy, when their own utter destruction seemed imminent.
+In the wars between the English and the Scotch, several such cases were
+cited, and the Napoleonic wars also furnished examples. But the most
+striking evidence of this character--because the newest--and supported,
+apparently, by a good deal of first-hand and sincere testimony, is
+that afforded by the Phantom Armies seen in France during the retreat
+of the British army from Mons--the field of Agincourt. Cut off by
+overwhelming numbers, and all but annihilated, the British army fought
+desperately, but the 80,000 were opposed by 300,000 Germans, backed by
+a terrific fire of artillery, and were indeed in a critical position.
+They were only saved, as we know, by the heroism of a small force of
+men--a rearguard--who were practically wiped out in consequence. At the
+most critical moment came what appeared to be angelic assistance. The
+tide of battle seemed to be stemmed by supernatural means. In a letter
+written by a soldier who actually witnessed these startling events,
+quoted by the Hon. Mrs. St. John Mildmay (_North American Review_,
+August, 1915), the following graphic account is given. Our soldier
+writes--
+
+"The men joked at the shells and found many funny names for them, and
+had bets about them, and greeted them with music-hall songs, as they
+screamed in this terrific cannonade.... The climax seemed to have been
+reached, but 'a seven-times heated hell' of the enemy's onslaught fell
+upon them, rending brother from brother. At that very moment, they saw
+from their trenches a tremendous host moving against their lines. Five
+hundred of the thousand (who had been detailed to fight the rear-guard
+action) remained, and as far as they could see the German infantry was
+pressing on against them, column by column, a grey world of men--10,000
+of them, as it appeared afterwards. There was no hope at all. Some of
+them shook hands. One man improvised a new version of the battle song
+Tipperary, ending 'and we shan't get there!' And all went on firing
+steadily.... The enemy dropped line after line, while the few machine
+guns did their best. Everyone knew it was of no use. The dead grey
+bodies lay in companies and battalions, but others came on and on,
+swarming and advancing from beyond and beyond.
+
+"'World without end, Amen,' said one of the British soldiers, with some
+irreverence, as he took aim and fired. Then he remembered a vegetarian
+restaurant in London, where he had once or twice eaten queer dishes of
+cutlets made of lentils and nuts that pretended to be steaks. On all
+the plates in this restaurant a figure of St. George was printed in
+blue with the motto, _Adsit Anglis Sanctus Georgius_ (May St. George
+be a present help to England!) The soldier happened to know 'Latin
+and other useless things,' so now, as he fired at the grey advancing
+mass, 300 yards away, he uttered the pious vegetarian motto. He went
+on firing to the end, till at last Bill on his right had to clout him
+cheerfully on the head to make him stop, pointing out as he did so that
+the King's ammunition cost money and was not lightly to be wasted....
+For, as the Latin scholar uttered his invocation, he felt something
+between a shudder and an electric shock pass through his body. The roar
+of the battle died down in his ears to a gentle murmur, and instead of
+it, he says, he heard a great voice louder than a thunder peal, crying
+'Array! Array!' His heart grew hot as a burning coal, then it grew cold
+as ice within him, for it seemed to him a tumult of voices answered to
+the summons. He heard or seemed to hear thousands shouting:
+
+  "'_St. George! St. George!_
+
+  "'_Ha! Messire, Ha! Sweet Saint, grant us good deliverance!_
+
+  "'_St. George for Merrie England!_
+
+  "'_Harow! Harow! Monseigneur St. George, succour us, Ha! St.
+  George! A low bow, and a strong bow, Knight of Heaven, aid us!_'
+
+"As the soldier heard these voices, he saw before him, beyond the
+trench, a long line of shapes with a shining about them. They were like
+men who drew the bow, and with another shout their cloud of arrows flew
+singing through the air toward the German host. The other men in the
+trenches were firing all the while. They had no hope, but they aimed
+just as if they had been shooting at Bisley.
+
+"Suddenly one of these lifted up his voice in plain English. 'Gawd help
+us,' he bellowed to the man next him, 'but we're bloomin' marvels! Look
+at those grey gentlemen! Look at them! They're not going down in dozens
+or hundreds--its _thousands_ it is! Look, look! There's a regiment gone
+while I'm talking to ye!'
+
+"'Shut it,' the other soldier bellowed, taking aim. 'What are ye
+talkin' about?' But he gulped with astonishment even as he spoke, for
+indeed the grey men were falling by the thousands. The English could
+hear the guttural scream of their revolvers as they shot, and line
+after line crashed to the earth. All the while the Latin-bred soldier
+heard the cry 'Harow, Harow! Monseigneur! Dear Saint! Quick to our aid!
+St. George help us!'
+
+"The singing arrows darkened the air, the hordes melted before them.
+'More machine guns,' Bill yelled to Tom. 'Don't hear them,' Tom yelled
+back, 'but thank God, anyway, that they have got it in the neck!'
+
+"In fact, there were ten thousand dead German soldiers left before
+that salient of the English army, and consequently--_no Sedan_. In
+Germany the General Staff decided that the English must have employed
+turpenite shells, as no wounds were discernible on the bodies of the
+dead soldiers. But the man who knew what nuts tasted like when they
+called themselves steak, knew also that St. George had brought his
+Agincourt Bowmen to help the English."
+
+Such accounts have been confirmed by others. Thus, Miss Phyllis
+Campbell, writing in "_The Occult Review_" (October, 1915), says:
+
+"I tremble, now that it is safely past, to look back on the terrible
+week that brought the Allies to Vitry-le-Francois. We had not had
+our clothes off for the whole of that week, because no sooner had we
+reached home, too weary to undress, or to eat, and fallen on our beds,
+than the 'chug-chug' of the commandant's car would sound into the
+silence of the deserted street, and the horn would imperatively summon
+us back to duty--because, in addition to our duties as _ambulancier
+auxiliare_, we were interpreters to the post, now at this moment
+diminished to half-a-dozen.
+
+"Returning at 4.30 in the morning, we stood on the end of the
+platform, watching the train crawl through the blue-green mist of
+the forest, into the clearing, and draw up with the first wounded
+from Vitry-le-Francois. It was packed with dead and dying and badly
+wounded. For a time we forgot our weariness in a race against
+time--removing the dead and dying, and attending to those in need. I
+was bandaging a man's shattered arm with the _majeur_ instructing me,
+while he stitched a horrible gap in his head, when Madame de A----,
+the heroic president of the post, came and replaced me. 'There is an
+English in the fifth wagon,' she said. 'He wants something--I think a
+holy picture!'
+
+"The idea of an English soldier wanting a holy picture struck me, even
+in that atmosphere of blood and misery, as something to smile at--but I
+hurried away. 'The English' was a Lancashire Fusilier. He was propped
+in a corner, his left arm tied-up in a peasant woman's handkerchief,
+and his head newly bandaged. He should have been in a state of collapse
+from loss of blood, for his tattered uniform was soaked and caked in
+blood, and his face paper-white under the dirt of conflict. He looked
+at me with bright, courageous eyes and asked for a picture or a medal
+(he didn't care which) of St. George. I asked him if he was a Catholic.
+'No,' he was Wesleyan Methodist, ... and he wanted a picture or a medal
+of St. George, _because he had seen him on a white horse_, leading the
+British at Vitry-le-Francois, when the Allies turned.
+
+"There was an F.R.A. man, wounded in the leg, sitting beside him on
+the floor; he saw my look of amazement, and hastened in: 'It's true,
+sister,' he said. 'We all saw it. First there was a sort of yellow-mist
+like, sort of risin' before the Germans as they came on the top of the
+hill--come on like a solid wall, they did--springing out of the earth
+just solid--no end to 'em! I just give up. No use fighting the whole
+German race, thinks I; it's all up with _us_. The next minute comes
+this funny cloud of light, and when it clears off, there's a tall man
+with yellow hair in golden armour, on a white horse, holding his sword
+up, and his mouth open as if he was saying: "Come on, boys! I'll put
+the kybosh on the devils!" Sort of "This is my picnic" expression.
+Then, before you could say "knife," the Germans had turned, and we were
+after them, fighting like ninety....'
+
+"'Where was this?' I asked. But neither of them could tell. They had
+marched, fighting a rearguard action, from Mons, till St. George had
+appeared through the haze of light, and turned the enemy. They both
+_knew_ it was St. George. Hadn't they seen him with a sword on every
+'quid' they'd ever seen? The Frenchies had seen him too--ask them; but
+they said it was St. Michęl...."
+
+Much additional testimony of a like nature might be given--and has
+been collected by students of psychical research. If the spiritual
+world ever intervenes in matters mundane, it assuredly did so on this
+occasion. And it could hardly have chosen a more opportune time. Could
+the aspiring thoughts of the dead and dying, and those still living
+and fighting for their country, have drawn "St. George" to earth, to
+aid in again redeeming his country from a foreign foe? Could a simple
+"hallucination" have been so widespread and so prevalent? Or might
+there not have been some spiritual energy behind the visions thus
+seen--stimulating them, and inspiring and encouraging the stricken
+soldiers? We cannot say. We only know what the soldiers themselves
+say; and we also know the undoubted effects upon the enemy. For on
+both occasions were the Germans repulsed with terrible slaughter.
+Perhaps the vision of St. George led our soldiers into closer touch and
+_rapport_ with the consciousness of some high intelligence--or the veil
+was rent, separating the two worlds--as so often appears to be the case
+in apparitions and visions of this character.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHY
+
+
+Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. M. R. James.
+
+Wandering Ghosts. F. Marion Crawford.
+
+John Silence. A. Blackwood.
+
+Modern Ghosts. DeMaupassant, (and others).
+
+Twenty-five Ghost Stories. W. Bob Holland.
+
+A Book of Ghosts. Baring Gould.
+
+The Shape of Fear. Peattie.
+
+Book of Dreams and Ghosts. Andrew Lang.
+
+Cock Lane and Common Sense. A. Lang.
+
+Real Ghost Stories. W. T. Stead.
+
+More Ghost Stories. W. T. Stead.
+
+The Great Amherst Mystery. Walter Hubbell.
+
+The Bell Witch. M. V. Ingram.
+
+The Alleged Haunting of B---- House. Miss X.
+
+Haunted Houses and Haunted Men. Hon. John Harris.
+
+Ghostly Phenomena. Elliott O'Donnell.
+
+Byways of Ghost Land. Elliott O'Donnell.
+
+Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters. H. A. Bruce.
+
+Posthumous Humanity: a Study of Phantoms. D'Assier.
+
+Apparitions and Thought-Transference. Frank Podmore.
+
+The New View of Ghosts. F. Podmore.
+
+_Proceedings_ and _Journals_ of the S. P. R.
+
+Borderland (Magazine). _Ed. by_ W. T. Stead.
+
+Haunted Houses of Great Britain. Ingraham.
+
+The Night Side of Nature. Catherine Crowe.
+
+The House and the Brain. Bulwer Lytton.
+
+Nightmare Tales. H. P. Blavatsky.
+
+Apparitions: a Narrative of Facts. B. W. Saville.
+
+Startling Ghost Stories. Anon.
+
+Sights and Shadows. F. G. Lee.
+
+Dracula. Bram Stoker.
+
+The Phantom of the Opera. Gaston Leroux.
+
+
+[NOTE.--The above list does not pretend to be in any way exhaustive nor
+are the books quoted in any way equal in evidential value. They are
+merely types or examples of Ghost Stories, from various points of view;
+which, if the reader is interested, he may read with both pleasure and
+profit.]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Small capitals were changed to all capitals.
+
+The following 3 missing section headers were added to the table of
+contents: The Ghosts of Animals p. 53, Proofs of Immateriality p. 168,
+and Conduct of Animals in the House p. 169; but minor differences
+between the section headers in the table of contents and in the text
+were not corrected.
+
+Errors in punctuation were corrected.
+
+Several badly printed words were guessed from the context and filled
+in.
+
+Otherwise the original was preserved, including unusual and
+inconsistent spelling and hyphenation and unmatched double
+quotation marks.
+
+The following corrections were made, on page
+
+    7 "Par's" changed to "Paris" (in London, Paris, Rome, Venice)
+   11 "occuping" changed to "occupying" (space-occupying entities)
+   14 "wierd" changed to "weird" (in the still, weird hours of the
+      night)
+   63 "polteregists" changed to "poltergeists" (technically known as
+      "poltergeists,")
+   79 "Boundry" changed to "Boundary" (Footfalls on the Boundary of
+      Another World)
+  106 "occurence" changed to "occurrence" (mention the occurrence of
+      the night)
+  110 "mutally" changed to "mutually" (We were mutually sorry to part)
+  131 "trysing" changed to "trysting" (distance to the trysting place)
+  146 "exterminalization" changed to "externalization" (what I saw and
+      felt was an externalization of impressions)
+  182 "lynig" changed to "lying" (While lying there a large glass
+      paper-weight)
+  183 "gneuine" changed to "genuine" (they never lived in a genuine
+      one)
+  186 extra blank line removed within poem (To follow and kill,/Or
+      make tremble with fear.)
+  191 "possesed" changed to "possessed" (The whimsical idea now
+      possessed me to arrange the room)
+  194 "etxent" changed to "extent" (conviction to the same extent as
+      those)
+  196 "slink" changed to "slunk" (but suddenly slunk away with its
+      tail between its legs)
+  196 "has" changed to "had" (the impression that it had seen)
+  197 "fright-than" changed to "frightened than" (far less frightened
+      than on any of my subsequent experiences)
+  198 "pantasms" changed to "phantasms" (To these phantasms I have
+      given the name)
+  208 "familiary" changed to "familiarity" (familiarity breeds
+      contempt)
+  231 "assasin" changed to "assassin" (the trial of the assassin of
+      Gartavus III.)
+  238 "batallions" changed to "battalions" (companies and battalions)
+  240 "gutteral" changed to "guttural" (could hear the guttural scream
+      of their revolvers)
+  241 "Vitry-le-Francoise" changed to "Vitry-le-Francois" (draw up with
+      the first wounded from Vitry-le-Francois).
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***
+
+
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+<body>
+<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, True Ghost Stories, by Hereward Carrington</h1>
+<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p>
+<p>Title: True Ghost Stories</p>
+<p>Author: Hereward Carrington</p>
+<p>Release Date: January 8, 2014  [eBook #44625]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4 class="pg">E-text prepared by eagkw, Robert Cicconetti,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from page images generously made available by<br />
+    Internet Archive/American Libraries<br />
+    (<a href="https://archive.org/details/americana">https://archive.org/details/americana</a>)</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      <a href="https://archive.org/details/trueghoststories00carr">
+      https://archive.org/details/trueghoststories00carr</a>
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="covernote">
+<p>Note: The cover of this book was created by the transcriber and is placed
+in the public domain. A more detailed transcriber&rsquo;s note can be
+found at the end of this book.</p>
+</div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1>True Ghost Stories</h1>
+
+<p class="tp1">BY<br />
+
+<span class="auth">HEREWARD CARRINGTON</span></p>
+
+<p class="tp1"><i>Author of &ldquo;The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Coming<br />
+Science,&rdquo; &ldquo;Death: its Causes and Phenomena,&rdquo;<br />
+&ldquo;Death Deferred,&rdquo; etc.</i></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/logo.png" width="25" height="23" alt="Logo" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="tp1">NEW YORK<br />
+<span class="f14">THE J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY</span><br />
+57 ROSE STREET<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+
+<p class="tp2">
+Copyright, 1915, by<br />
+J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+
+<p class="tp3">
+<i>To</i><br />
+MY DEAR FRIENDS<br />
+<span class="f12">THE MARSHALLS</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2 class="bg"><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr>
+  <td class="col1">BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#PUBLISHERS_NOTE">7</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">PREFACE</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#PREFACE">9</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">CHAPTER I</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">What is a Ghost?</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">13</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Terror of the Dark</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_TERROR_OF_THE_DARK">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">What is a Ghost?</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#WHAT_IS_A_GHOST">18</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Historic Investigations</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HISTORIC_INVESTIGATIONS">20</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Death Coincidences</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#DEATH_COINCIDENCES">21</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Are They Due to Chance?</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#ARE_THEY_DUE_TO_CHANCE">24</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Explanation</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_EXPLANATION">26</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Experimental Apparitions</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#EXPERIMENTAL_APPARITIONS">27</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Telepathic Hallucinations</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#TELEPATHIC_HALLUCINATIONS">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Ghosts Which Move Material Objects</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#GHOSTS_WHICH_MOVE_MATERIAL_OBJECTS">37</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Photographs of Ghosts</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#PHOTOGRAPHS_OF_GHOSTS">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The &ldquo;Double&rdquo; and the Spiritual Body</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_DOUBLE_AND_THE_SPIRITUAL_BODY">40</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">What Happens at the Moment of Death</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#WHAT_HAPPENS_AT_THE_MOMENT_OF_DEATH">43</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">How the Soul May Leave the Body</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HOW_THE_SOUL_MAY_LEAVE_THE_BODY">47</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Theories of Haunted Houses</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THEORIES_OF_HAUNTED_HOUSES">51</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Ghosts of Animals, etc.</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_GHOSTS_OF_ANIMALS_ETC">53</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Clothes of Ghosts</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_CLOTHES_OF_GHOSTS">55</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Telepathy from the Dead</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#TELEPATHY_FROM_THE_DEAD">57</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Psychic Atmosphere</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_PSYCHIC_ATMOSPHERE">59</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Forms Created by Will</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#FORMS_CREATED_BY_WILL">60</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Physical Manifestations</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#PHYSICAL_MANIFESTATIONS">62</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Can Haunted Houses be &ldquo;Cured&rdquo;?</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CAN_HAUNTED_HOUSES_BE_CURED">63</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">CHAPTER II</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Phantasms of the Dead&mdash;I</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">65</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">A Russian Ghost</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#A_RUSSIAN_GHOST">65</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Grasped by a Spirit Hand</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#GRASPED_BY_A_SPIRIT_HAND">71</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">&ldquo;I Am Shot!&rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#I_AM_SHOT">74</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">&ldquo;Heave the Lead!&rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HEAVE_THE_LEAD">75</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Rescue at Sea</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_RESCUE_AT_SEA">78</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">How Ghosts Influence Us</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HOW_GHOSTS_INFLUENCE_US">86</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">How a Ghost Warned the King</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HOW_A_GHOST_WARNED_THE_KING">90</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Stains of Blood</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_STAINS_OF_BLOOD">93</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Face to Face</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#FACE_TO_FACE">96</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">&ldquo;Julia, Darling!&rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#JULIA_DARLING">98</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Cut Across the Cheek</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_CUT_ACROSS_THE_CHEEK">99</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Invisible Hand</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_INVISIBLE_HAND">100</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Apparition of the Radiant Boy</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_RADIANT_BOY">104</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Fisher&rsquo;s Ghost</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#FISHERS_GHOST">106</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Harriet Hosmer&rsquo;s Vision</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HARRIET_HOSMERS_VISION">109</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Apparition of the Murdered Boy</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_MURDERED_BOY">112</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Ghost in Yellow Calico</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_GHOST_IN_YELLOW_CALICO">116</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">CHAPTER III</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">More Phantasms of the Dead&mdash;II</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">120</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Compacts to Appear after Death</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#COMPACTS_TO_APPEAR_AFTER_DEATH">120</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Lord Brougham&rsquo;s Vision</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#LORD_BROUGHAMS_VISION">122</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Tyrone Ghost</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_TYRONE_GHOST">125</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Dead or Alive!</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#DEAD_OR_ALIVE">128</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Scratch on the Cheek</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_SCRATCH_ON_THE_CHEEK">135</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">A Ghost in Hampton Court</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#A_GHOST_IN_HAMPTON_COURT">139</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Half-Past One O&rsquo;clock</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#HALF-PAST_ONE_OCLOCK">147</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">My Own True Ghost Story</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#MY_OWN_TRUE_GHOST_STORY">155</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Haunted Houses</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">163</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Record of a Haunted House</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_RECORD_OF_A_HAUNTED_HOUSE">165</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Proofs of Immateriality</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#PROOFS_OF_IMMATERIALITY">168</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Conduct of Animals in the House</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CONDUCT_OF_ANIMALS_IN_THE_HOUSE">169</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">B&mdash;&mdash; House</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#B_HOUSE">170</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Willington Mill</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#WILLINGTON_MILL">174</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Great Amherst Mystery</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_GREAT_AMHERST_MYSTERY">176</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Brook House</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#BROOK_HOUSE">186</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">CHAPTER V</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Ghost Stories of a More Dramatic Nature</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">194</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Disease-Phantoms</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#DISEASE_PHANTOMS">194</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Tale of a Mummy</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_TALE_OF_THE_MUMMY">198</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Face Slapped by a Ghost</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#FACE_SLAPPED_BY_A_GHOST">204</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Alone with a Ghost in Church</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#ALONE_WITH_A_GHOST_IN_A_CHURCH">207</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">A Haunted House in France</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_FRANCE">210</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">A Haunted House in Georgia</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_GEORGIA">213</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Shaken by a Ghost</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#SHAKEN_BY_A_GHOST">220</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The House and the Brain</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#THE_HOUSE_AND_THE_BRAIN">221</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">APPENDIX A</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Historical Ghosts</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#APPENDIX_A">230</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">APPENDIX B</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">The Phantom Armies Seen in France</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#APPENDIX_B">236</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col3" colspan="2">APPENDIX C</td>
+</tr><tr>
+  <td class="col1">Bibliography</td>
+  <td class="col2"><a href="#APPENDIX_C">245</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="f9">
+<h2 class="bg"><a name="PUBLISHERS_NOTE" id="PUBLISHERS_NOTE"></a>PUBLISHER&rsquo;S NOTE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>HEREWARD CARRINGTON, author of &ldquo;True Ghost Stories,&rdquo;
+is well known in this country, and in Europe, as a
+prominent scientific writer on psychical and occult subjects.
+He has been a member of both the English and
+American Societies of Psychical Research for more than
+15 years; has written over a dozen books on the subject&mdash;a
+number of which has been translated into foreign languages
+(such as Japanese and Arabic), and he has lectured
+in London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Milan, Genoa, Turin, etc.&mdash;before
+scientific organizations. His writings are well
+known, and have earned him a high place in psychical circles.
+He&rsquo;s a late member of the Council of the American
+Scientific Society, of the American Geographical Society,
+and of the American Health League. He collaborated in
+the &ldquo;American Encyclopędia,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Standard Dictionary,&rdquo;
+etc. His experience in the investigation of psychical mysteries
+is unrivalled. He has travelled all over the country
+investigating &ldquo;cases,&rdquo; spending nights in &ldquo;haunted houses,&rdquo;
+and accounts of his investigations have appeared in the
+Reports of the various Psychical Societies, and also in his
+own publications.</p>
+
+<p>In &ldquo;True Ghost Stories,&rdquo; Mr. Carrington presents a number
+of startling cases of this character; but they are not
+the ordinary &ldquo;ghost stories&rdquo;&mdash;based on pure fiction, and
+having no foundation in reality. Here we have a well-arranged
+collection of incidents, all thoroughly investigated
+and vouched for, and the testimony obtained first-hand and
+corroborated by others. The chapter on &ldquo;Haunted Houses&rdquo;
+is particularly striking. The first chapter deals with the
+interesting question, &ldquo;What is a Ghost?&rdquo; and attempts to
+answer this question in the light of the latest scientific
+theories which have been advanced to explain these supernatural
+happenings and visitants. It is a book of absorbing
+interest, and cannot fail to grip and hold the attention
+of every reader&mdash;no matter whether he be a student of
+these questions, or one merely in search of hair-raising
+anecdotes and stories. He will find them here a-plenty!</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a><br /><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2 class="bg"><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>The following little book endeavors to bring
+together a number of &ldquo;ghost stories&rdquo; of the more
+startling and dramatic type,&mdash;but stories, nevertheless,
+which seem to be well authenticated; and
+which have been obtained, in most instances, at
+first hand, from the original witnesses; and
+often contain corroborative testimony from
+others who also experienced the ghostly phenomena.
+Some of these incidents, indeed, rise
+to the dignity of scientific evidence; others are
+less well authenticated cases,&mdash;but interesting
+for all that. These have been grouped in various
+Chapters, according to their evidential value.
+Chapters <abbr title="2">II.</abbr> and <abbr title="3">III.</abbr> contain well-evidenced
+cases, some of which have been taken from the
+<cite>Proceedings</cite> and <cite>Journals</cite> of the Society for
+Psychical Research (S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.), or from <cite>Phantasms
+of the Living</cite>, or from other scientific
+books, in which narratives of this character receive
+serious consideration. Chapter V., on the
+contrary, contains a number of incidents which,&mdash;striking
+and dramatic as they are,&mdash;cannot be
+included in the two earlier Chapters, as presenting
+real evidence of Ghosts; but are published
+rather as startling and interesting ghost <em>stories</em>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+Chapter IV., devoted to &ldquo;Haunted Houses,&rdquo; contains
+brief accounts of the most famous Haunted
+Houses, and of the phenomena which have been
+witnessed within them. Appendix A gives a list
+of a few of the important &ldquo;Historical Ghosts,&rdquo;
+Appendix B describes the &ldquo;Phantom Armies&rdquo;
+lately seen by the Allied troops in France&mdash;while
+Appendix C lists a number of books of
+Ghost Stories which the interested reader may
+care to peruse. A short Glossary, at the beginning
+of the book, explains the meaning of certain
+terms used,&mdash;which are not, perhaps, ordinarily
+met with in books of this character.</p>
+
+<p>In the Introductory Chapter, I have endeavored
+to explain, very briefly, the nature and
+character of Ghosts; what they <em>are</em>; and the
+various scientific theories which have been
+brought forward, of late years, to explain
+Ghosts. I hope that this may prove of interest
+to the reader; in case it does not do so, he is
+invited to &ldquo;skip&rdquo; directly to Chapter II., which
+begins our account of &ldquo;True Ghost Stories.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>I wish to express my thanks in this place to
+the Council of the English S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R. for special
+permission to quote and to summarize several
+striking cases here reproduced; also to Miss
+Estelle Stead, for permission to utilize several
+cases previously printed at length in Mr. Wm.&nbsp;T.
+Stead&rsquo;s collections of Ghost Stories.      <span class="rght">H.&nbsp;C.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2 class="bg"><a name="GLOSSARY_OF_TERMS_USED" id="GLOSSARY_OF_TERMS_USED"></a>GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Agent</span>&mdash;The person who, in thought-transference
+experiments, endeavors to impress his
+thoughts upon the &ldquo;percipient&rdquo; or &ldquo;receiver.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Death-Coincidence</span>&mdash;A case in which an apparition
+or other ghostly phenomenon has taken
+place, at the moment of the death of the person
+represented by the phantom.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ghost</span>&mdash;An apparition, a phantom. Some contend
+that all ghosts are &ldquo;subjective&rdquo; or purely
+mental (hallucinations); others that some
+ghosts are &ldquo;objective&rdquo;&mdash;that is, space-occupying
+entities, which exist apart from the seer, who
+sees them. These points will be found fully discussed
+in this book.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hallucination</span>&mdash;A mental experience, in
+which a phantom is seen, a voice heard, etc.,
+when there is no real external cause for this seeing
+or hearing. Hallucinations are more complete
+than mere &ldquo;illusions.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Pact</span>&mdash;An agreement, entered into before
+death, between two persons, that, whichever one
+dies first, shall appear to the other one. These
+are here called &ldquo;Pact Cases.&rdquo; [A Pact may also
+mean an agreement between a necromancer of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+some spirit-intelligence, as in Magic; but the
+word is not used in that sense in this book.]</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Percipient</span>&mdash;The receiver of the telepathic or
+other message. The one who experiences the
+phenomenon.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Phantasm</span>&mdash;A phantom; an apparition; a
+&ldquo;ghost.&rdquo; The word is more inclusive than any
+of the words suggested; and is used by preference,
+by most psychic students.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Telepathy</span>&mdash;Mind-reading; thought-transference.</p>
+
+<hr class="l1" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="ttl">TRUE GHOST STORIES</p>
+
+<hr class="l2" />
+
+<h2 class="fst"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+
+<h3>WHAT IS A GHOST?</h3>
+
+<p>Ghosts have been believed in by every nation,
+at every time and at every stage of the world&rsquo;s
+evolution. No matter where we may go, we find
+them stalking through the pages of history;<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and
+even in our own cynical and materialistic age,
+we not only find &ldquo;ghosts&rdquo; still; but the evidence
+for their existence is stronger than ever! It is
+nonsense to say that &ldquo;no sensible person believes
+in ghosts,&rdquo; because many thousands of
+them <em>do</em>. Why do they believe? Would they believe
+if they had no cause to do so?</p>
+
+<p>The &ldquo;terror of the dark,&rdquo; which we all have
+more or less, from which every child suffers (how
+intensely!) during its early years&mdash;a terror
+which is, to a certain extent, shared by animals
+and even insects&mdash;does all this signify nothing?
+Those who have looked into this question thoroughly,
+believe that there is, in every truth, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+terrible reality justifying this instinctive fear;
+that evil and horrible things lurk about us in the
+still, weird hours of the night; that there are
+truly &ldquo;powers and principalities&rdquo; with which
+we often toy, without knowing or realizing the
+frightful dangers which result from this tampering
+with the unseen world. Yes; there is a true
+&ldquo;tyranny of the dark.&rdquo; Phenomena and ghostly
+manifestations take place in darkness which
+would never occur in light; and which cease
+when a light is struck. All ghostly phenomena
+are associated with darkness, and the &ldquo;wee small
+hours of the night.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>All this is exemplified in the following interesting
+narrative, which I may entitle:</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_TERROR_OF_THE_DARK" id="THE_TERROR_OF_THE_DARK"></a>THE TERROR OF THE DARK</h3>
+
+<p>&ldquo;All my life I have been afraid of the dark,&rdquo;
+said an acquaintance to me the other day, when
+we were discussing psychical matters. &ldquo;I know
+that it is childish,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;and I ought
+to have outgrown it years ago; but, as a matter
+of fact, I haven&rsquo;t. After all, isn&rsquo;t there some
+reason for the fears that we all feel, more or less,
+at that time? Doesn&rsquo;t the Bible speak of &lsquo;the
+terrors of the Dark;&rsquo; and are not all animals,
+and even insects, afraid of the dark&mdash;so much so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+that you cannot induce them to enter a dark
+place if they can help it? Light not only enables
+you to see what is around you; but it acts in a
+certain positive manner over &lsquo;the powers of
+darkness,&rsquo; whatever they are, and prevents their
+operation. All spirit mediums will tell you
+that materialization and manifestations of that
+character cannot take place in the light; it prevents
+their occurrence. So, after all, as I said,
+isn&rsquo;t there some reasonable ground for one&rsquo;s fear
+at such times?&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>I said nothing; but gazed into the fire. After
+all, were not his arguments somewhat impressive?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;But,&rdquo; continued my friend, &ldquo;it is not altogether
+because of these speculative reasons that
+I fear the dark; it is because of a terrible experience
+I once had, and which has left me terror-struck,
+ever since, whenever I am left without
+light even for an instant. I will tell you the
+story, and let you judge for yourself.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It was several years ago; in an old house we
+rented at that time, and from which we removed
+soon after the event I am about to relate. I was
+afraid of the dark, even then, and always left a
+night-light burning by the side of my bed when
+I went to sleep. One night I woke up, feeling
+the springs of the bed on which I was lying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+vibrate in a peculiar manner, impossible to describe.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Looking up, I saw, standing by the side of
+my bed, a young man, dressed in rags, having a
+face ghastly white, and showing every indication
+of dissipation. He was regarding me intently.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I shall never forget the shock I received on
+beholding that figure; not only because of the
+unexpected appearance; but because of the fact
+that I could perceive the opposite wall and furniture
+<em>through</em> the body. I knew at once that I beheld
+a spirit; and my blood ran cold at the
+thought. What I had dreaded all my life was at
+last fulfilled!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My next thought was &lsquo;I am so glad the night-light
+is burning. What should I do if I were in
+darkness?&rsquo; As though the form read my
+thoughts, and was intent on torturing me to the
+limit of endurance, it leaned over, and the next
+instant had snuffed the candle! The phantom
+and I were alone in the black darkness!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Words cannot describe my feelings at that instant.
+The blood froze in my veins, and the
+tongue clave to the roof of my mouth. I tried to
+speak, but could not. I only held out one hand
+as if to ward off the awful presence by pressing
+it away.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next instant I felt the bed-clothes gently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+turned down on the further side of the bed, and
+partly pulled off me. The springs of the bed
+were depressed, and I knew that the fearsome
+visitor was crawling into bed! It would lie
+down by my side; perhaps touch me; perhaps&mdash;who
+could tell? The agony of mind I experienced
+in those few moments I shall never forget!
+My only wonder is that my reason did not give
+way!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Then a curious thing happened. Even in the
+state of mind, as I was then, I could perceive
+that the bed was gradually rising up again into
+its normal position. The weight upon it was
+growing less and less. Finally, it was again
+level, and I felt the bed clothes carefully replaced
+over me. The phantom had withdrawn!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;For hours I lay awake, not daring to move.
+After what seemed a century, the first faint
+shafts of light fell across the room, betokening
+the welcome morn. Finally glorious day broke.
+Glorious light! Hateful darkness! Cannot you
+see why I hate it so?&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>But, fortunately, this evil and horrible side of
+ghost-land is not universal.</p>
+
+<p>Ghosts do not always present themselves as so
+formidable and gruesome! Some of them prove
+helpful; others seem to wish to right a wrong;
+some even seem to have a sense of humor! So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+there are all sorts of ghosts, just as there are all
+sorts of people; and the variety is just as great
+in the one case as in the other.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="WHAT_IS_A_GHOST" id="WHAT_IS_A_GHOST"></a>WHAT IS A GHOST?</h3>
+
+<p>But, after all, what <em>is</em> a ghost? What do we
+mean by this? Where do ghosts live, and how?
+What do they do with themselves? How do they
+manifest? Why do they return? These are
+some of the questions which the average man
+asks himself&mdash;unless he totally disbelieves in
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Most men, it is true, disbelieve in ghosts&mdash;unless
+they have had some experience to convince
+them to the contrary. Yet, after all, why should
+they? As Mr. W.&nbsp;T. Stead once remarked:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Real Ghost Stories! How can there be real
+ghost stories when there are no real ghosts?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;But are there no real ghosts? You may not
+have seen one, but it does not follow that therefore
+they do not exist. How many of us have
+seen the microbe that kills? There are at least
+as many persons who testify that they have seen
+apparitions as there are men of science who have
+examined the microbe. You and I, who have
+seen neither, must perforce take the testimony
+of others. The evidence for the microbe may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+conclusive, the evidence as to apparitions may be
+worthless; but in both cases it is a case of testimony,
+not of personal experience.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The average conception of a Ghost is probably
+somewhat as follows: That it is a thin, tall figure,
+wrapped in a sheet, walking about the
+house, clanking chains behind it, and scaring out
+of his wits anyone who sees it. According to
+this view, a ghost would be as material and substantial
+a thing as a buzz-saw or a lap-dog, and
+exists just as fully &ldquo;in space.&rdquo; Such, however, is
+not the conception of the ghost which modern
+science entertains. Many investigators who have
+examined this question closely have come to the
+conclusion that ghosts <em>do</em> actually exist; but
+when we come to the more troublesome question:
+<em>What are they?</em> we are met at once with difficulties
+and disagreements. The recent scientific
+theories and explanations of the subject are complex
+and subtle; and necessitate a certain preliminary
+knowledge on the part of the student in
+order for him to understand them. I shall explain
+as briefly and clearly as possible exactly
+what these theories are. For the moment, I
+wish to speak, first of all, of the history of
+psychic investigation; and particularly that portion
+of it which deals with apparitions or &ldquo;ghost
+hunting.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HISTORIC_INVESTIGATIONS" id="HISTORIC_INVESTIGATIONS"></a>HISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS</h3>
+
+<p>Here and there, serious investigators have always
+existed. In the sixteenth century Dr.
+Glanvil pursued this study with great genius
+and patience; Dr. Johnson also was a firm believer
+in the reality of &ldquo;ghosts&rdquo;; Sir Walter
+Scott and others of his time were investigators,
+the famous Dr. Perrier wrote a treatise on apparitions,
+and similar investigations have been
+continued up to the present day. The first organized
+and systematic attempt to solve the
+problem, and to find out exactly <em>what ghosts are</em>,
+however, was made by the Society for Psychical
+Research (S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.) in 1882. Practically all the
+investigations which have been carried on since
+then have led to important results.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the above mentioned Society was
+founded, and material began to be collected, it
+was found that many cases had to do with haunted
+houses, many with apparitions, but the greater
+number of them hinged around the one point&mdash;the
+coincidence of apparitions with the death
+of the persons represented. An apparition of a
+certain person would be seen in London, let us
+say; and some hours later a telegram would arrive,
+conveying the news that this person had
+just been killed. When the time was compared,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+it was found to agree exactly; the hour of the
+death and that of the apparition tallying to the
+minute.</p>
+
+<p>Chance, you say? Perhaps so. <em>One</em> case of
+this character might be explained in such manner;
+but could <em>fifty</em>? Could a <em>hundred</em>? It became
+a question of statistics&mdash;of figures; these
+alone can answer our question.</p>
+
+<p>Before considering these, however, let us give
+a few examples of cases of &ldquo;death-coincidences,&rdquo;
+so that the reader may see the character of the
+evidence presented. He may then appreciate the
+value of a great mass of such evidence, when published
+<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in extenso</i>.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="DEATH_COINCIDENCES" id="DEATH_COINCIDENCES"></a>DEATH-COINCIDENCES</h3>
+
+<p>The first case we take is from M. Flammarion&rsquo;s
+book, <cite>The Unknown</cite> (p. 108), and is as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My mother ... who lived in Burgundy,
+heard one Tuesday, between nine and ten o&rsquo;clock,
+the door of the bedroom open and close violently.
+At the same time, she heard herself called twice&mdash;&lsquo;Lucie,
+Lucie!&rsquo; The following Tuesday, she
+heard that her uncle Clementin, who had always
+had a great affection for her, had died that Tuesday
+morning, precisely between nine and ten
+o&rsquo;clock....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the following instance, the notification is in
+visual, instead of auditory form, and is taken
+from the <cite>Proceedings</cite>, S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R., Vol. X., pp. 213-14:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;About the 14th of September, 1882, my sister
+and I felt worried and distressed by hearing the
+&lsquo;death watch&rsquo;; it lasted a whole day and night.
+We got up earlier than usual the next morning,
+about six o&rsquo;clock, to finish some birthday presents
+for our mother. As my sister and I were
+working and talking together, I looked up, and
+saw our young acquaintance standing in front
+of me and looking at us. I turned to my sister;
+she saw nothing. I looked again to where he
+stood; he had vanished. We agreed not to tell
+any one....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Some time afterwards we heard that our
+young acquaintance had either committed suicide
+or had been killed; he was found dead in the
+woods, twenty-four hours after landing. On
+looking back to my diary, I found that the
+marks I made in it corresponded to the date of
+his death.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The following case is reported in Podmore&rsquo;s
+<cite>Apparitions and Thought Transference</cite>, p.&nbsp;265:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The first Thursday of April, 1881, while sitting
+at tea with my back to the window, and
+talking with my wife in the usual way, I plainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+heard a rap at the window, and, looking round, I
+said to my wife, &lsquo;Why, there&rsquo;s my grandmother,&rsquo;
+and went to the door, but could not see anyone;
+and still feeling sure it was my grandmother,
+and, knowing that, though eighty-three years of
+age, she was very active and fond of a joke, I
+went round the house, but could not see anyone.
+My wife did not hear it. On the following
+Saturday, I had news that my grandmother
+died in Yorkshire about half an hour before the
+time I heard the rapping. The last time I saw
+her alive I promised, if well, I would attend
+her funeral; that was some two years before. I
+was in good health and had no trouble; age,
+twenty-six years. I did not know that my grandmother
+was ill.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Rev. Matthew Frost.</span>&rdquo;<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>Mrs. Frost writes:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I beg to certify that I perfectly remember all
+the circumstances my husband has named, but I
+heard and saw nothing myself.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The following case is from <cite>Phantasms of the
+Living</cite>, Vol. II., p.&nbsp;50:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On February 26th, 1850, I was awake, for I
+was to go to my sister-in-law, and visiting was
+then an event for me. About two o&rsquo;clock in the
+morning my brother walked into our room (my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+sister&rsquo;s) and stood beside my bed. I called to
+her, &lsquo;Here is &mdash;&mdash;.&rsquo; He was at the time quartered
+at Paisley, and a mail-car from Belfast
+passed about that hour not more than a mile
+from our village.... He looked down
+on us most lovingly, and kindly, and waved his
+hand, and he was gone! I recollect it all as if it
+were only last night it occurred, and my feeling
+of astonishment, not at his coming into the room
+at all, but where he could have gone. At that
+very hour he died.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gurney writes:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We have confirmed the date of death in the
+Army List, and find from a newspaper notice
+that the death took place in the early morning,
+and was extremely sudden.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Cases such as the above could be multiplied
+into the hundreds; but it is not necessary. For
+our present purposes, the above samples will at
+least serve to show the character of these &ldquo;death-coincidences,&rdquo;
+and how accurate and how numerous
+they often are.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="ARE_THEY_DUE_TO_CHANCE" id="ARE_THEY_DUE_TO_CHANCE"></a>ARE THEY DUE TO CHANCE?</h3>
+
+<p>The cases of &ldquo;death-coincidences&rdquo; came in so
+thick and so fast that, some time after its foundation,
+the Society for Psychical Research published<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+an enormous book in two volumes, called
+&ldquo;Phantasms of the Living,&rdquo; which contained
+some 702 cases of this character. The possibility
+of &ldquo;chance coincidence&rdquo; was very carefully
+worked out; and it was ascertained that the
+number of collected cases was many thousand
+times more numerous than chance alone could
+be supposed to account for. A &ldquo;connection&rdquo; of
+some sort was thought to be proved.</p>
+
+<p>But objections at once began to be heard! &ldquo;In
+order to prove your point you must collect a
+greater number of cases than this; you must get
+more facts before we can consider your point
+proved!&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>So the investigators again set to work, and
+carried on a far more extensive investigation, in
+several countries, covering a period of several
+years. The results were the same. After collecting
+some 30,000 cases, and calculating the number
+of death-coincidences contained in this number,
+it was again proved, and most conclusively,
+that the number of coincidences was far more
+numerous than could be accounted for by any
+theory of chance. Professor Sidgwick&rsquo;s Committee,
+therefore, signed the following joint
+statement, at the conclusion of their lengthy Report:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;<em>Between deaths and apparitions of the dying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+person a connection exists which is not due to
+chance alone. This we hold as a proved
+fact....</em>&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>These are weighty words. They represent an
+important forward step in our investigation of
+these involved and complex questions. <em>Something</em>
+takes place at death, which serves to unite,
+in some sort of spiritual bond, the dying and the
+still living relatives or friends. <em>What is</em> this
+connection? In what may it be supposed to
+consist?</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_EXPLANATION" id="THE_EXPLANATION"></a>THE EXPLANATION</h3>
+
+<p>For an explanation, we must begin by going
+back to experimental thought-transference. We
+know that it is possible, under certain conditions,
+for one person to affect another, otherwise
+than through the regular avenues of the five
+senses. This &ldquo;telepathic&rdquo; action between mind
+and mind is now pretty well known, and operates
+more or less throughout life. By means of
+this, it is occasionally possible for one person to
+impress a scene or a picture upon the mind of
+another, so that the other shall see before him,
+as it were, in space, a vivid mental picture of the
+scene in the other&rsquo;s mind.</p>
+
+<p>This being so, it seems plausible to suppose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+that it might be possible to convey the impression
+or picture of <em>one&rsquo;s self</em> to another&mdash;since
+this may be supposed to be the most precise and
+best-known picture we have. Would it not be
+possible to think of one&rsquo;s own appearance so
+intensely as to cause a mental representation of
+it to appear before another person, distant some
+miles away?</p>
+
+<p>Apparently this <em>has</em> been done, many times.
+&ldquo;Experimental apparitions&rdquo; of this character
+have frequently been <em>induced</em>; accounts of a few
+of which will be found in this volume. The picture
+is mental, in such a case; it is an imaginative
+creation; it is a hallucination,&mdash;although
+it was caused or created by another, distant
+mind. It was, it is true, a hallucination; but as
+it was induced by telepathy, we have for such
+apparitions the name of &ldquo;telepathic hallucinations.&rdquo;
+It is this theory of &ldquo;telepathic hallucinations&rdquo;
+which is invoked to explain many of
+these cases of death-coincidences, or apparitions
+of the dying.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="EXPERIMENTAL_APPARITIONS" id="EXPERIMENTAL_APPARITIONS"></a>EXPERIMENTAL APPARITIONS</h3>
+
+<p>The following types of &ldquo;experimental apparitions&rdquo;
+are good examples of the ability to induce
+a phantasmal form at a distance by &ldquo;willing&rdquo; to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+do so. As to the nature of this figure: there is
+as yet no unanimity of opinion&mdash;some authorities
+preferring to believe that such cases represent
+merely an extension of the power of
+thought-transference, known to us; others, on
+the contrary, contending that such cases prove
+the existence and travelling powers of the &ldquo;astral&rdquo;
+or &ldquo;spiritual body.&rdquo; Of this, however,
+more later.</p>
+
+<p>Here is a case of this nature, experienced by
+the English investigator, the Rev. William
+Stainton Moses, who corroborates the following
+account, which is furnished by the agent:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One evening I resolved to appear to Z., at
+some miles&rsquo; distance. I did not inform him beforehand
+of the intended experiment, but retired
+to rest shortly before midnight, my thoughts intently
+fixed on Z., with whose rooms and surroundings
+I was quite unacquainted. I soon fell
+asleep, and woke next morning unconscious of
+anything having taken place. On seeing Z. a
+few days afterwards, I inquired: &lsquo;Did anything
+happen at your rooms on Saturday night?&rsquo;
+&lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; he replied, &lsquo;a great deal happened. I had
+been sitting over the fire with M., smoking and
+chatting. About 12:30 he rose to leave, and I
+let him out myself. I returned to the fire to finish
+my pipe, when I saw you sitting in the chair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+just vacated by him. I looked intently at you,
+and then took up a newspaper to assure myself
+that I was not dreaming; but on laying it down
+I saw you still there. While I gazed, without
+speaking, you faded away.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>In the case which follows, the initials only are
+used; but the writer of the account was known
+to the officers of the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R., who vouched for
+the general trustworthiness of the writer:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On a certain Sunday evening in November,
+1881, having been reading of the great power
+which the human will is capable of exercising, I
+determined, with the whole force of my being,
+that I would be present in spirit in the front
+bedroom of the second floor of a house situated
+at 22 Hogarth Road, Kensington, in which room
+slept two young ladies of my acquaintance,&mdash;namely,
+Miss L.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;V. and Miss E.&nbsp;C.&nbsp;V., aged
+respectively twenty-five and eleven years. I was
+living at the time at 23 Kildare Gardens, at a
+distance of about three miles from Hogarth
+Road, and I had not mentioned in any way my
+intention of trying this experiment to either of
+the above ladies, for the simple reason that it
+was only on retiring to rest upon this Sunday
+night that I made up my mind to do so. The
+time at which I determined to be there was one
+o&rsquo;clock in the morning; and I had a strong intention<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+of making my presence perceptible. On
+the following Thursday I went to see the ladies
+in question, and, in the course of my conversation
+(without any allusion to the subject on my
+part), the elder one told me that on the previous
+Saturday night she had been much terrified by
+perceiving me standing by her bedside, and that
+she screamed when the apparition advanced towards
+her, and awoke her little sister, who also
+saw me.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I asked her if she was awake at the time, and
+she replied most decidedly in the affirmative;
+and, upon my inquiring the time of the occurrence,
+she replied, &lsquo;About one o&rsquo;clock in the
+morning.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This lady at my request wrote down a statement
+of the event, and signed it....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gurney (one of the authors of <cite>Phantasms
+of the Living</cite>) became deeply interested in these
+experiments, and requested Mr. B. to notify him
+in advance on the next occasion when he proposed
+to make his presence known in this
+strange manner. Accordingly, March 22d, 1884,
+he received the following letter:</p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>&ldquo;Dear Mr. Gurney:&mdash;I am going to try the
+experiment to-night of making my presence perceptible
+at 44 Morland Square, at 12 P.&nbsp;M. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+will let you know the result in a few days.
+Yours very sincerely,      <span class="rght">&ldquo;S.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;B.&rdquo;</span></p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>The next letter, which was written on April
+3, contained the following statement, prepared
+by the recipient, Miss L.&nbsp;S. Verity:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On Saturday night, March 22, 1884, at about
+midnight, I had a distinct impression that Mr.
+S.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;B. was present in my room, and I distinctly
+saw him, being quite awake. He came
+toward me and stroked my hair. I voluntarily
+gave him this information when he called to see
+me on Wednesday, April 2, telling him the time
+and the circumstances of the apparition without
+any suggestion on his part. The appearance
+in my room was most vivid and quite unmistakable.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Miss A.&nbsp;S. Verity also furnishes this corroborative
+statement:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I remember my sister telling me that she had
+seen S.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;B. and that he touched her hair, before
+he came to see us on April 2.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The agent&rsquo;s statement of the affair is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On Saturday, March 22, I determined to
+make my presence perceptible to Miss V. at 44
+Morland Square, Notting Hill, at twelve midnight;
+and as I had previously arranged with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+Mr. Gurney that I should post him a letter of
+the evening on which I tried my next experiment
+(stating the time and other particulars) I sent
+him a note to acquaint him with the above facts.
+About ten days afterwards I called upon Miss
+V., and she voluntarily told me that on March
+22, at twelve o&rsquo;clock, midnight, she had seen me
+so vividly in her room (whilst wide awake)
+that her nerves had been much shaken, and she
+had been obliged to send for a doctor in the
+morning.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>These cases will at least prove the possibility
+of such a thing as &ldquo;experimental apparitions,&rdquo;
+and, explain them as we may, they are, at all
+events, most interesting and significant. They
+prove the reality of &ldquo;telepathic phantasms&rdquo;&mdash;of
+apparitions produced in another by the power
+of mind. This is, at least, the modern conception
+of the facts.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="TELEPATHIC_HALLUCINATIONS" id="TELEPATHIC_HALLUCINATIONS"></a>TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATIONS</h3>
+
+<p>How may the theory be said to work? How
+can a telepathic impulse from a distant mind
+cause a picture to appear in space, as it were,
+before the recipient? Here is the last word of
+modern science in this direction; here is the
+theory which has been advanced to explain puzzling
+cases of this character.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When we look at and see an object, the sight-centers
+of the brain are roused into activity;
+unless they are so aroused, we see nothing, and
+whenever they are so aroused, <em>no matter from
+what cause</em>, we have the sensation of sight. We
+<em>see</em>.</p>
+
+<p>But we get no further than this; we do not
+reason about the thing seen, or analyze; or think
+to ourselves, &ldquo;this is a red apple; I like red apples,&rdquo;
+etc. No, we only see or perceive the object.
+All the reasoning <em>about</em> the object takes
+place in the higher thought-centres of the brain.
+A diagram will, perhaps, help to make all this
+clear.</p>
+
+<div class="figright">
+<img src="images/illo033.jpg" width="141" height="127" alt="Diagram" />
+</div>
+
+<p>When light-waves coming
+from the eye, A, travel along
+the optic nerves, and excite
+into activity the sight-centers&mdash;at
+B&mdash;we have the sensation
+of sight, as before said.
+Nerve currents then travel
+<em>up</em> the nerves, going from B to C, and in these
+higher centers, they are associated and analyzed,
+and we then &ldquo;reflect&rdquo; upon the thing seen, etc.
+This is the normal process of sight.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if the eye, or the optic nerves, or the
+sight-centers themselves become diseased, we
+still have the sensation of seeing, though there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+is no material object there; we have ordinary
+hallucinations of all kinds&mdash;delirium tremens,
+etc. If the sight-centers are stimulated <em>as much</em>
+as they would be by the incoming nerve stimuli
+from the eye, we have &ldquo;full-blown hallucinations.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Now, it is obvious that one method of stimulating
+the sight-centers into activity is for a
+nervous current to come <em>downwards</em>, along the
+nerves running from C to B. It is probable
+that something of this sort takes place when we
+experience &ldquo;memory pictures.&rdquo; If you shut your
+eyes and picture the face of some dear friend,
+you will be able to see it before you more or
+less clearly. The higher psychical centers of the
+brain have excited the sight-centers into a certain
+activity; and these have given us the sensation
+of dim, inward sight. If the stimulus
+were stronger, we should have cases of intense
+&ldquo;visualization&rdquo;; such as the figures which occur
+in the crystal ball, etc.&mdash;they being doubtless
+produced in this manner.</p>
+
+<p>Although the &ldquo;sluice-gates,&rdquo; so to speak, running
+from C to B are, therefore, always open
+<em>slightly</em>; they are never open wide; it is not
+natural for them to be so. But if, under any
+great stress, thought or emotion, the downward
+nervous current were as strong as that ordinarily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+running from A to B; then we should
+appear to see as clearly; the object would appear
+just as solid and real and outstanding to
+us as any other entity. We should experience
+a &ldquo;full-blown hallucination.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>All this being so, it is almost natural to suppose
+that <em>one</em> method by which these psychical
+sluice-gates could be more widely opened would
+be under the impact of <em>a telepathic impulse</em>. If
+we assume that this in some manner arouses
+into instantaneous and great activity the higher
+psychical centers (C), these would very probably
+communicate this impulse to B&mdash;downwards,
+along the nerve-tracts connecting the two
+(or to the hearing centers, when we should experience
+an auditory hallucination, and hear our
+name spoken, etc.). In this way we could account
+for a telepathic hallucination, originating
+in this manner; and it is surely to be supposed
+that, at the moment of death, some peculiar
+quickening of the mental and spiritual life
+takes place&mdash;the peculiar flashes of memory by
+those drowning, etc., seeming to show this.</p>
+
+<p>So, then, we arrive at a sort of explanation of
+many of these cases of apparitions, occurring
+at the moment of death; for we have shown
+them to be &ldquo;telepathic hallucinations.&rdquo; This is
+also the correct explanation, doubtless, for many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+cases in which apparitions of the living have
+been seen&mdash;in which a phantasm of a living
+person has appeared to another, during sleep, or
+in hypnotic trance, etc.</p>
+
+<p>But how about those ghosts which appear
+some time after death? They, at least, cannot
+be explained by any such theory. What has
+been said by way of explanation of these cases?</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that telepathy is the
+basis of the explanation thus far. Let us extend
+this. We have only to suppose that the
+spirit of man survives the shock of death, and
+that it can continue to exert its powers and capacities
+also. For, if a living mind can influence
+the living by telepathy; why not a &ldquo;dead&rdquo; one?
+Why should not the surviving spirit of man
+continue to influence us, by telepathy? If they
+could, we should still have cases of telepathic
+hallucinations&mdash;induced from the mind of a discarnate,
+not an incarnate, spirit. The &ldquo;ghost&rdquo;
+might still be a telepathic hallucination. And
+if several persons saw the figure at once, we
+should, on this theory, have a case of collective
+hallucination&mdash;in which one mind affected all
+the rest equally and simultaneously.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="GHOSTS_WHICH_MOVE_MATERIAL_OBJECTS" id="GHOSTS_WHICH_MOVE_MATERIAL_OBJECTS"></a>GHOSTS WHICH MOVE MATERIAL OBJECTS</h3>
+
+<p>Such is the theory&mdash;rather far-fetched, it is
+true; but certainly the most rational and common-sense
+so far advanced to explain many of
+the facts. It is probable, however, that this explanation
+will not serve to explain <em>all</em> of them.
+Thus, in those cases where the apparition moved
+a material object, opened a door, etc., such a
+theory would have to be abandoned, for the
+simple reason that a mental concept, an hallucination,
+cannot open doors and move objects!
+There must be an outstanding, material entity
+to effect this. There must be a real ghost. And
+in those cases where the apparition has been
+seen by several persons at once, or even photographed,
+it seems more reasonable to suppose
+that a material, space-occupying body was present
+rather than to assume that the various witnesses
+or the camera were hallucinated.</p>
+
+<p>In the following cases, for example, the apparition
+performs a definite physical action&mdash;snuffs
+a candle with its fingers, an action
+which a pure hallucination could hardly be supposed
+to perform. The account is by the Rev.
+D.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;G. Gwynne, M.I., and is printed in <cite>Phantasms
+of the Living</cite>, Vol. II., pp. 202-3. After<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+telling of certain minor phenomena, he proceeds:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I now come to the mutual experience of
+something that is as fresh in its impression as if
+it were the occurrence of yesterday. During the
+night I became aware of a draped figure passing
+across the foot of the bed towards the fireplace.
+I had the impression that the arm was raised,
+pointing with the hand towards the mantlepiece,
+on which a night-light was burning. Mrs.
+Gwynne at this moment seized my arm, and the
+light <em>was extinguished</em>. Notwithstanding, I distinctly
+saw the figure returning towards the
+door, and being under the impression that one
+of our servants had found her way into the
+room, I leaped out of bed to intercept the intruder,
+but found, and saw, nothing....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>[Mrs. Gwynne confirms the story, adding, &ldquo;I
+distinctly saw the hand of the phantom placed
+over the night-light, which was at once extinguished.&rdquo;]</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="PHOTOGRAPHS_OF_GHOSTS" id="PHOTOGRAPHS_OF_GHOSTS"></a>PHOTOGRAPHS OF GHOSTS</h3>
+
+<p>Again, it is claimed that ghosts have sometimes
+been photographed, though very rarely.
+In a number of cases, attempts have been made
+to photograph ghosts seen in haunted-houses;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+but, though the figures have been seen by all
+present, the photographic plate has failed to record
+any impression of the phantom. In other
+cases, on the contrary, definite impressions <em>have</em>
+been obtained; and, though there is doubtless
+much fraud among professional mediums, who
+claim to produce &ldquo;spirit photographs,&rdquo; there are
+many cases on record in which no professional
+medium was employed, and in which faces were
+certainly seen upon the developed plate. Experiments
+have also been made in photographing
+the body at the moment of death; to see if any
+impression could be made upon the plate&mdash;by
+the soul, in its passage from the body; and,
+though many of these have proved negative, Dr.
+Baraduc, of Paris, has obtained a number of
+photographs which have never been explained.
+Again, numerous researches in the region of so-called
+&ldquo;thought photography&rdquo; have given some
+basis for the belief that thought may be, under
+certain conditions, photographed&mdash;as for example,
+in the experiments of Dr. Ochorowicz and
+others. It may be said, therefore, that some
+progress is being made in this direction by psychic
+investigators (particularly by the French
+observers, who are far ahead of the rest of the
+world in these branches of psychic investigation),
+and that, with increased sensitiveness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+film and plate, and greater perfection of lens
+and camera, it is to be hoped that the time is not
+far distant when it will be possible to photograph
+the unseen just as we photograph living
+persons.</p>
+
+<p>There are &ldquo;ghosts,&rdquo; therefore, which are hallucinations;
+and there are ghosts which are genuine
+phantasms&mdash;the &ldquo;real article.&rdquo; It becomes
+a question, in each instance, of sifting the evidence;
+finding out <em>which they are</em>. Yet, if there
+are real, objective, outstanding ghosts, how can
+we explain them? In what do they consist? In
+short, we are back to our original question:
+What are ghosts?</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_DOUBLE_AND_THE_SPIRITUAL_BODY" id="THE_DOUBLE_AND_THE_SPIRITUAL_BODY"></a>THE &ldquo;DOUBLE,&rdquo; AND THE SPIRITUAL BODY</h3>
+
+<p>Before we can answer this question satisfactorily,
+we must consider one or two preliminary
+questions. First of all, we must speak of the
+&ldquo;double&rdquo;&mdash;the astral or spiritual or ethic body,
+which resides in man, as well as his physical
+body.<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>St. Paul constantly emphasized the fact that
+man has a material body and a &ldquo;spiritual body.&rdquo;
+This inner body is the exact shape of the physical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+body&mdash;its counterpart, its double. In life,
+under ordinary conditions, the two are inseparable;
+but at death, the severance takes place and
+man continues to live on in this etheric envelope.
+This inner body has been studied very
+carefully by students of the occult; and a good
+deal is now known about it&mdash;its comings and
+goings, its composition, and the method of its
+departure at death. For our present purposes,
+however, it is enough to say that such a body
+exists, and that it is the vehicle man continues
+to use and manipulate, after his death and his
+departure from this plane.</p>
+
+<p>It so happens that, under certain peculiar
+conditions, the inner body of man is capable of
+being detached or separated from the physical
+body. This usually occurs in trance, sleep, hypnotic
+and mesmeric states, etc.; or may be performed
+&ldquo;experimentally,&rdquo; by some who have cultivated
+this power in themselves. When this
+body goes on such &ldquo;excursions&rdquo;&mdash;leaving the
+physical body practically dead, to all appearances&mdash;it
+may be seen by those in its immediate
+vicinity, just as a material body would be&mdash;if
+they are sufficiently sensitive or receptive.</p>
+
+<p>The following interesting case, (recorded in
+<cite>Phantasms of the Living</cite>, Vol. I, pp. 225-26) is
+a good example of the apparent traveling of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+body to another place, and the perception of that
+body by a second person, who happens to be
+there. Two individuals, at all events, shared in
+the experience, which is otherwise hard to account
+for. The case is recorded by the Rev. P.&nbsp;H.
+Newnham, and is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In March, 1854, I was up at Oxford, keeping
+my last term, in lodgings. I was subject to violent
+neuralgic headaches, which always culminated
+in sleep. One evening, about 8 p.m., I had
+an unusually violent one; when it became unendurable,
+about 9 p.m., I went into my bedroom,
+and flung myself, without undressing, on
+the bed, and soon fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I then had a singularly clear and vivid
+dream, all the incidents of which are as clear in
+my memory as ever. I dreamed that I was
+stopping with the family of a lady who subsequently
+became my wife. All the younger ones
+had gone to bed, and I stopped chatting to the
+father and mother, standing up by the fireplace.
+Presently I bade them good-night, took my candle,
+and went off to bed. On arriving in the
+hall, I perceived that my fiancee had been detained
+downstairs, and was only then near the
+top of the staircase. I rushed upstairs, overtook
+her on the top step, and passed my two
+arms around her waist, under her arms, from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+behind. Although I was carrying my candle in
+the left hand, when I ran upstairs, this did not,
+in my dream, interfere with this gesture.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On this I woke, and the clock in the house
+struck ten almost immediately afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;So strong was the impression of the dream
+that I wrote a detailed account of it the next
+morning to my fiancee.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;<em>Crossing</em> my letter, <em>not</em> in answer to it, I received
+a letter from the lady in question: &lsquo;Were
+you thinking about me very specially last night,
+just about ten o&rsquo;clock? For, as I was going upstairs
+to bed, I distinctly heard your footsteps
+on the stairs, and felt you put your arms round
+my waist.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>[Mrs. Newnham wrote a confirmation of this
+account, which was also published.]</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="WHAT_HAPPENS_AT_THE_MOMENT_OF_DEATH" id="WHAT_HAPPENS_AT_THE_MOMENT_OF_DEATH"></a>WHAT HAPPENS AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH</h3>
+
+<p>In all these cases, of course, the psychic body
+of the subject returns and re-animates the physical
+body; for if it did not do so, death would
+take place. When death does actually take
+place, this is what occurs; and psychics and
+clairvoyants assert that they are able to see and
+follow this process perfectly; and many of them
+have described exactly what takes place at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+moment of death. The following description,
+for example, given by Andrew Jackson Davis, is
+taken from his <cite>Death, and the After Life</cite>, pp.
+15-16, and is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Suppose the person is now dying. It is to
+be a rapid death. The feet first grow cold. The
+clairvoyant sees over the head what may be
+called a magnetic halo&mdash;an etherial emanation,
+in appearance golden, and throbbing as though
+conscious. The body is now cold up to the knees
+and elbows, and the emanation has ascended
+higher in the air. The legs are cold to the hips
+and the arms to the shoulders; and the emanation,
+though it has not risen higher in the room,
+is more expanded. The death-coldness steals
+over the breast and round on either side, and the
+emanation has attained a higher position nearer
+the ceiling. The person has ceased to breathe,
+the pulse is still, and the emanation is elongated
+and fashioned in the outline of a human form.
+Beneath, it is connected with the brain. The
+head of the person is internally throbbing&mdash;a
+slow, deep throb&mdash;not painful but like the beat
+of the sea. Hence the thinking faculties are
+rational, while nearly every part of the person is
+dead. Owing to the brain&rsquo;s momentum, I have
+seen a dying person, even at the last feeble pulsebeat,
+rouse impulsively and rise up in bed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+converse with a friend, but the next instant he
+was gone&mdash;his brain being the last to yield up
+the life principle.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The golden emanation, which extends up
+midway to the ceiling, is connected to the brain
+by a very fine life-thread. Now the body of the
+emanation ascends. Then appears something
+white and shining, like a human head; next, in
+a very few moments, a faint outline of the face
+divine, then the fair neck and beautiful shoulders;
+then, in rapid succession, come all parts of
+the new body down to the feet&mdash;a bright, shining
+image, a little smaller than its physical body, but
+a perfect prototype or reproduction in all except
+its disfigurements. The fine life-thread continues
+attached to the old brain. The next thing is
+the withdrawal of the electric principle. When
+this thread snaps the spiritual body is free, and
+prepared to accompany its guardians to the
+Summer-Land. Yes, there is a spiritual body; it
+is sown in dishonor and raised in brightness.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>It is doubtless this spiritual body which is the
+true cause of many apparitions&mdash;of many ghost
+stories. It is this body which is seen by the seer
+or percipient in many a ghost story; it is this
+body which moves objects and touches the individual
+who sees the ghost. This body is detached
+at death, as we have seen, and afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+is free to rove at its own free will. Apparitions
+of the dead might thus be accounted for; while
+all those cases of apparitions of the dying which
+are with difficulty explained as due to pure telepathy
+might also thus find their explanation.
+The spiritual body, freed at that moment, would
+manifest its presence to the distant percipient as
+it did after death. So far so good, but how
+about apparitions of the living? How explain
+those cases in which the apparition of a living
+person has been seen, when the spiritual body
+is supposedly safely attached to the physical
+body?</p>
+
+<p>Many of them are doubtless cases of telepathy;
+but in those cases which seem to demand
+the presence of a body of some sort, we may suppose
+that the spiritual body may become detached,
+at times, under certain peculiar conditions,
+from the material body which it inhabits
+and animates, and can then manifest independently
+at a distance. The following cases are illustrative,
+apparently, of this fact; showing us
+that the &ldquo;etheric body&rdquo; can manifest on occasion
+at will at a distance from the physical
+body.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HOW_THE_SOUL_MAY_LEAVE_THE_BODY" id="HOW_THE_SOUL_MAY_LEAVE_THE_BODY"></a>HOW THE SOUL MAY LEAVE THE BODY</h3>
+
+<p>&ldquo;... I put out the light and returned, but
+no sooner had I done this than ... I could
+feel a creeping sensation moving up my legs. I
+got up and lit the gas and went back to bed;
+with pillows arranged in such a way as to make
+me comfortable. In a comparatively short time,
+all circulation ceased in my legs, and they were
+as cold as those of the dead. The creeping sensation
+began in the lower part of the body, and
+that also became cold.... There was no sensation
+of pain or even of physical discomfort. I
+would pinch my legs with my thumb and finger,
+and there was no feeling or no indication of
+blood whatever. I might as well have pinched a
+piece of rubber so far as the sensation produced
+was concerned. As the movement continued upward,
+all at once there came a flashing of lights
+in my eyes and a ringing in my ears, and it
+seemed for an instant as though I had become
+unconscious. When I came out of this state, I
+seemed to be walking in the air. No words can
+describe the exhilaration and freedom that I experienced.
+At no time in my life had my mind
+been so clear and so free. Just then I thought
+of a friend who was more than a thousand miles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+distant. Then I seemed to be traveling with
+great rapidity through the atmosphere about me.
+Everything was light and yet it was not the light
+of the day or the sun, but, I might say, a peculiar
+light of its own, such as I have never
+known. It could not have been a minute after
+that I thought of my friends, before I was conscious
+of standing in a room where the gas-jets
+were turned up, and my friend was standing
+with his back toward me, but, suddenly turning
+and seeing me, said: &lsquo;What in the world are
+you doing here? I thought you were in Florida&rsquo;&mdash;and
+he started to come toward me. While I
+heard the words distinctly, I was unable to answer.
+An instant later I was gone; and the
+consciousness of the memorable things that
+transpired that memorable night has never been
+forgotten. I seemed to leave the earth, and
+everything pertaining to it, and enter a condition
+of life of which it is absolutely impossible
+to give here any thought I had concerning it,
+because there was no correspondence to anything
+I had ever seen or heard or known of in
+any way. The wonder and the joy of it was unspeakable;
+and I can readily understand now
+what Paul meant when he said &lsquo;I knew a man,
+whether in the body or out of it I know not,
+who was caught up to the third heaven, and saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+things which it is not possible (lawful) to utter.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In this latter experience there was neither
+consciousness of time nor of space; in fact, it
+can be described more as a consciousness of elastic
+feeling than anything else. It came to me
+after a time that I could <em>stay</em> there if I so desired,
+but with that thought came also the consciousness
+of the friends on earth and the duties
+there required of me. The desire to stay was
+intense, but in my mind I clearly reasoned over
+it&mdash;whether I should gratify my desire or return
+to my work on earth. Four times my
+thought and reason told me that my duties required
+me to return, but I was so dissatisfied
+with each conclusion that I finally said: &lsquo;Now
+I will think and reason this matter out once
+more, and whatever conclusion I reach I will
+abide by.&rsquo; I reached the same conclusion, and
+had not much more than reached it when I became
+conscious of being in a room and looking
+down on a body propped up in bed, which I recognized
+as my own! I cannot tell what strange
+feelings came over me. This body, to all intents
+and purposes, looked to be dead. There
+was no indication of life about it, and yet here
+I was apart from the body, with my mind perfectly
+clear and alert, and the consciousness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+another body to which matter of any kind offered
+no resistance.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After what might have been a minute or
+two, looking at the body, I began to try and
+control it, and in a very short time all sense of
+separation from the physical body ceased, and I
+was only conscious of a directed effort toward
+its use. After what seemed to be quite a long
+time, I was able to move, got up from the bed,
+dressed myself, and went down to breakfast....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I may add that the friend referred to as having
+been seen by me that night was also distinctly
+conscious of my presence and made the
+exclamation mentioned. We both wrote the
+next day, relating the experience of the night,
+and the letters corroborating the incident
+crossed in the post.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Such strange doings certainly tend to prove
+that the human spirit can leave its body and
+rove abroad, at times; and if this is the case, it
+shows us that our body is far more detachable
+than we usually suppose; and hence that it can
+probably continue to exist after the death of
+the physical body, when it is detached altogether.
+Once this is proved, all objection to
+the reality and existence of &ldquo;objective&rdquo; ghosts
+will have been done away with.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THEORIES_OF_HAUNTED_HOUSES" id="THEORIES_OF_HAUNTED_HOUSES"></a>THEORIES OF HAUNTED HOUSES</h3>
+
+<p>If we grant that certain houses may be
+&ldquo;haunted,&rdquo; in the sense that they may be the
+centers of influences and forces as yet unseen
+and unknown, the question is: How explain
+such cases? What hypotheses can we advance
+to explain cases of haunted houses, which will
+recognize the reality of the phantom witnessed
+therein, and attempt to explain them as rationally
+as possible? Four main theories have been
+advanced by way of explanation, which I shall
+briefly outline.</p>
+
+<p>(1). There is the theory that the figures seen
+in houses of this nature are genuine, outstanding
+entities&mdash;real beings, which are just as real,
+though less solid and tangible, as any of the
+living inhabitants of the house. This is, of
+course, the popular conception of the ghosts seen
+in haunted houses, and it must be admitted that
+such a theory covers and explains the facts more
+completely and fully than any other. There
+are also many facts telling in its favor. For
+instance, when two persons see a figure from
+different angles or viewpoints; and one describes
+it in profile, while the other describes it as presenting
+a full face likeness; and if this is the
+angle in each case from which a real figure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+would naturally be seen, this surely seems to
+indicate that a solid form of some sort was
+present.</p>
+
+<p>Again, when three or four or more people see
+a figure at the same time, it is surely a strain
+upon our credulity to believe that a number of
+persons were similarly &ldquo;hallucinated&rdquo; at precisely
+the same time and in the same manner;
+and easier to believe that they all saw a figure
+at the same time, though in differing degrees of
+vividness and detail.</p>
+
+<p>Thirdly, we have the evidence from photography.
+In some instances, these figures have been
+photographed; and though there is doubtless
+much fraud in this connection, there is evidence
+that, in certain cases, genuine photographs of
+this nature have been taken. This is discussed
+elsewhere in this volume, however.</p>
+
+<p>Fourthly, we have the behavior of animals, in
+haunted houses. They often appear to see figures
+visible or invisible to others present at the
+time&mdash;bark at them, rub against them, stare at
+them, act as though terrified at what they see,
+etc. This will be noticed in many of the stories;
+and can be explained only with difficulty if we
+are to believe that the figures seen are merely
+hallucinations.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_GHOSTS_OF_ANIMALS_ETC" id="THE_GHOSTS_OF_ANIMALS_ETC"></a>THE GHOSTS OF ANIMALS, ETC.</h3>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere spoken of the apparent ability
+of animals to see phantasmal forms and figures.
+The reverse of this is also true. Ghosts
+of animals have been seen&mdash;spectral dogs, cats,
+horses as well as human beings. These apparitions
+are very perplexing, and raise the question
+of the immortality of animals&mdash;a very vexed
+question, which has given rise to much discussion.
+Mr. H. Rider Haggard records the case
+of his own dog, whose apparition he saw at the
+very moment that the dog was killed by an express
+train some miles away. Did the animal
+succeed in affecting his master by telepathy? If
+not, why the coincidence? I myself have recorded
+a case in which a (real) cat spat at a
+phantom dog, seen independently by a clairvoyant,
+who had described it a few moments before
+to a group of spectators. Such cases are very
+interesting. They tend to prove that dogs, cats,
+horses and other animals also survive death&mdash;a
+conclusion which is certainly the most humane
+and logical to many minds.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to these animal apparitions, there
+are also grotesque, horrible, monstrous and undefinable
+ghosts. One or two cases of this character
+are described in this book. Sometimes the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+&ldquo;seer&rdquo; sees something awful, but cannot describe
+in words what it is. Many of the phantoms
+of the imaginative type are of this character.
+Again, there are grave-yard ghosts; banshees,
+gnomes, elementals, pixies, fairies, brownies,
+nature-spirits, hobgoblins, sylphs, salamanders,
+dragons, vampires, wraiths, corpse-candles,
+and many other awful beings which have been
+described from time to time in the past. We
+need not consider these in a book of this character,
+however. But, to return to our argument
+for the objective reality of &ldquo;ghosts.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Fifthly, we have those cases in which the apparition
+has produced a physical effect in the
+material world&mdash;snuffed a light, opened a door,
+pulled back the bed-curtains, etc. A hallucinatory
+figure could not do this. It has been suggested
+that all this is only a part of the hallucination,
+but when the thing is found to have been
+moved in reality, we must explain this somehow;
+for otherwise how did it change its place?</p>
+
+<p>Sixthly, we have cases in which the same apparition
+has been seen by several separate and
+independent persons in the same room or house,
+and afterwards they have recognized the features
+of this person in a photograph shown them&mdash;the
+photograph of the person supposed to haunt
+that particular house. If we were to believe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+that a simple hallucination caused the figure,
+how account for this identification? Surely the
+theory is far-fetched!</p>
+
+<p>For all these reasons, therefore, and others it
+would be possible to mention, there is much to
+be said in favor of this theory of haunted houses;
+the theory which says that the figures seen are
+real, semi-material entities.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_CLOTHES_OF_GHOSTS" id="THE_CLOTHES_OF_GHOSTS"></a>THE CLOTHES OF GHOSTS</h3>
+
+<p>(2). The second view, opposed to that mentioned
+above, is this: Someone living in a house
+has experienced a hallucination, and then seen
+the same thing over and over again, by reason of
+auto-suggestion; or, if he moves away, and another
+tenant takes the house in turn, the
+thoughts of this second tenant are influenced,
+through thought-transference, by the first tenant,
+who broods and thinks over his experiences
+in the &ldquo;haunted house,&rdquo; wonders whether the
+people now living in it are experiencing phenomena,
+etc. In this way, the minds of those living
+in the house are constantly influenced by
+thought-transference by living minds; and hallucinatory
+figures are produced in them, just as
+the picture of a playing card is induced in experimental
+thought-transference.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There are two things to be said in favor of
+such a theory. In the first place, we have the
+analogy which telepathic experiments give us,
+in which certain visual images are undoubtedly
+transmitted from one mind to another; and it
+is natural to assume that an extension of this
+same process might account for many of the
+phantasmal forms seen in haunted houses, as
+explained elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place, we immediately surmount
+the difficulty presented by the ghost&rsquo;s <em>clothes</em>.
+This is a stumbling-block to many investigators.
+However much we might believe that an etheric
+or astral or spiritual body might continue to
+persist after death, it is hard to believe that the
+clothes of the person who died also had &ldquo;spiritual
+counterparts,&rdquo; and returned with him, to
+visit the earth and the scenes of former joys and
+miseries! We seldom read of a ghost without
+clothes; nude ghosts are not the fashion! Yet
+if we cannot believe this, how are we to explain
+this difficulty&mdash;and the fact that ghosts wear
+ghostly garments?</p>
+
+<p>If the ghost were a hallucination, we could
+understand all this easily enough. The clothes
+were imaginary, just as the figure was; they
+formed part of the mental image, just like the
+figures seen in dreams, etc. This, therefore, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+one very strong point in favor of this hypothesis;
+but if the ghost is a real, outstanding entity,
+how account for his clothes?</p>
+
+<p>Several tentative explanations have been
+forthcoming. In the first place, it has been suggested
+that all ghosts are in reality partial &ldquo;materializations&rdquo;
+and that it is possible for a spirit
+to materialize and form drapery as well as solid
+flesh and bone. Both are a sort of condensation
+of matter, in varying degrees.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it has been suggested that a spirit has
+the power to create objects by the power of will;
+by merely thinking and willing to do so. In this
+way, man would be a real creator, in a miniature
+scale, and certain analogies could be found
+for this in the material world. The returning
+spirit would desire to return clothed; and this
+very desire would create the fitting garb. Other
+theories have been advanced, but the above are
+the simplest and most intelligible, and are all
+we need consider at present.</p>
+
+<p>All these difficulties, however, tell against the
+substantiality of ghosts; and in favor of this second
+theory of haunted houses.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="TELEPATHY_FROM_THE_DEAD" id="TELEPATHY_FROM_THE_DEAD"></a>TELEPATHY FROM THE DEAD</h3>
+
+<p>(3). The third theory which has been advanced,
+is an extension of the second. Thought-transference<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+is still the agency invoked to explain
+the facts&mdash;but from the minds of dead,
+and not living persons. That is, assuming telepathy
+to be true, and possible between living
+minds; and assuming that individual consciousness
+survives the change called death; we can
+readily imagine that those who have &ldquo;passed
+over&rdquo; might affect and influence the living by
+thought-transference also, just as they did in
+life. On this theory, therefore, the ghost would
+still represent a hallucination; a mental or imaginary
+figure, and it would still be induced by
+telepathy from a distant mind; but that mind
+would be that of a so-called dead person. After
+death, we might suppose, this person would be
+thinking or dreaming over the past events; the
+scenes of his joys and sorrows; and these dreams
+would tend to influence the minds of those still
+living, and cause them to see the figures seen.
+The figures, on this theory, would be hallucinatory,
+but they would have a real, objective basis
+and starting-point for all that; and, as such,
+would represent the continued existence and activity
+on the part of the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Against this ingenious theory may be urged
+all those arguments which have been cited in
+favor of the materiality of apparitions.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_PSYCHIC_ATMOSPHERE" id="THE_PSYCHIC_ATMOSPHERE"></a>THE PSYCHIC ATMOSPHERE</h3>
+
+<p>(4). A fourth theory is that which says that
+some <em>subtle psychic atmosphere</em> is present in
+certain houses; and that this &ldquo;atmosphere&rdquo; affects
+and influences all who live within them,
+just as their physical atmosphere would, only in
+a different manner and degree. Everyone has
+doubtless experienced this atmosphere in certain
+houses, if they are at all sensitive. They
+either &ldquo;like&rdquo; a house or &ldquo;dislike&rdquo; it&mdash;for no apparent
+reason. Some houses rest and refresh
+you; others irritate you, etc. This theory contends
+that every living human being is constantly
+giving off a peculiar vital emanation or
+aura or effluence; and that this charges-up or
+impregnates the material objects in his immediate
+neighborhood, which soak it up like a
+sponge, and retain it after being removed from
+its presence. It is because of this fact that articles
+presented to trance mediums often recall
+the person to whom they belonged; it is because
+of this that &ldquo;psychometry&rdquo; is possible&mdash;that is,
+the ability of some persons to give the past history
+of an object by merely handling it; and it
+is because of this that certain houses become so
+charged with this magnetic aura, or whatever it
+may be, that they remain &ldquo;charged&rdquo; for some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+time; and, in discharging, create psychic disturbances
+and impressions which are seen or experienced
+as phantasmal appearances.</p>
+
+<p>The chief objection to this theory is that it is
+difficult to see how this general and impersonal
+&ldquo;charging&rdquo; process can create definite and clear-cut
+forms, possessing all the appearances of
+reality. Doubtless each theory contains much
+truth; and haunted houses represent, in many
+cases, a combination of <em>all</em> these causes, working
+together and combining into one complex and
+unfortunately ill-understood whole. It is the
+duty of the future to disentangle this maze, as
+best it can; and explain the various factors
+which go to make up a haunted house of this
+character.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="FORMS_CREATED_BY_WILL" id="FORMS_CREATED_BY_WILL"></a>FORMS CREATED BY WILL</h3>
+
+<p>(5). Besides these theories, another might be
+suggested, which has never so far been advanced,
+so far as I am aware. It is that the
+phantasmal forms seen in haunted houses are
+real substantial <em>creations</em>, manufactured by the
+thoughts or will of the discarnate spirit, who
+fashions it out of &ldquo;such stuff as dreams are
+made of.&rdquo; It has been said that &ldquo;thoughts are
+things,&rdquo; and many believe that this is literally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+true. Certain it is that a limited number of peculiarly
+constructed persons can produce phenomena
+which seem to be solid creations of the
+will. So, if thought could ever be proved to
+be really creative; if it could not only <em>formulate</em>
+but <em>objectify</em> and <em>project into space</em> images and
+forms, we should have here a rational explanation
+of many ghosts, as well as of their behavior.
+And just here a few words as to this latter may
+not be out of place.</p>
+
+<p>It has often been objected that ghosts cannot
+be realities; they cannot be real spirits, for
+the reason that they act in such a senseless
+manner. They seldom speak or reply, when
+spoken to. They seldom have any definite purpose.
+In short, they betray no intelligence.
+This being so, they must be hallucinations and
+not the realities they claim to be!</p>
+
+<p>The answer to this objection is found in the
+following consideration. Even granting all this
+to be true, many believing in ghosts do not for
+an instant contend that such ghosts represent
+the actual person the figure symbolises. It is a
+mere projection; a shell; a form created by the
+discarnate spirit, a resemblance, a phantasm.
+The central consciousness which animated and
+still animates that person is not <em>in</em> the ghostly
+form, but elsewhere. The phantasm represents,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+merely, a sort of impersonal wraith, and, as
+such, cannot be expected to possess intelligence
+or human characteristics. None are present
+within it. It is a very different thing from the
+real person it represents. The insipid and unintelligent
+behavior of ghosts, therefore, is only
+what we should expect. This fact is no argument
+against their reality, when rightly understood
+and interpreted.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="PHYSICAL_MANIFESTATIONS" id="PHYSICAL_MANIFESTATIONS"></a>PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS</h3>
+
+<p>In addition to haunted houses of this type,
+there are others, which must be referred to very
+briefly. Thus, in some cases, no figures have
+been seen, but remarkable sounds have been
+heard&mdash;sounds which have never been accounted
+for. Bangs, knocks, monotonous reading aloud,
+whispering, footsteps, etc., are some of the noises
+and sounds which have been heard in this way,
+and their origin often remains a mystery. It
+would take too long to discuss the various explanatory
+theories which have been advanced by
+psychic students to account for these sounds.</p>
+
+<p>In other types of haunted houses, physical
+manifestations take place, though nothing unusual
+is either seen or heard. Thus, in one case
+recorded by Lombroso (<cite>After Death: What?</cite>)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+numbers of bottles were broken one after the
+other, for no apparent cause, when he was actually
+looking at them. In still other cases, furniture
+has been upset, crockery broken, doorbells
+rung, etc., by no visible agency. John Wesley
+was persecuted in this manner for several
+years; and the reason was never discovered.
+Such cases are technically known as &ldquo;poltergeists,&rdquo;
+and may be found in abundance in the
+&ldquo;history of the supernatural.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="CAN_HAUNTED_HOUSES_BE_CURED" id="CAN_HAUNTED_HOUSES_BE_CURED"></a>CAN HAUNTED HOUSES BE &ldquo;CURED&rdquo;?</h3>
+
+<p>One question of considerable interest remains.
+It is this: Can so-called Haunted
+Houses be <em>cured</em>? Many of those who live in
+houses of this character would like to have these
+influences removed; but are unable to rid themselves
+of them. Can this be done?</p>
+
+<p>In some cases, this has doubtless been accomplished;
+while in others it has failed. We know
+too little as yet to lay down any arbitrary laws
+or rules which may be followed with safety in
+cases of this character. Sometimes one method
+succeeds, while another fails. I have known of
+cases where &ldquo;exorcism&rdquo; worked a complete cure;
+of others in which it failed miserably. I have
+known of cases in which suggestion, rightly applied,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+rid the house of its ghost; in other instances,
+no result was produced by similar methods!
+In a few instances mediums and psychics
+have been able to assist; in others their presence
+only seemed to make matters worse. We
+can but experiment and learn. Those who may
+be more interested in this aspect of the question
+will find it treated in Chapter <abbr title="15">XV.</abbr> of my book
+&ldquo;<cite>The Coming Science</cite>,&rdquo; which is devoted to
+&ldquo;Haunted Houses and their Cure.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> See Appendix <a href="#APPENDIX_A">A</a>.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Theosophists distinguish between all these various bodies;
+psychic students strive, for the most part, only to
+prove the objective existence of any one of them.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="PHANTASMS_OF_THE_DEAD_I" id="PHANTASMS_OF_THE_DEAD_I"></a>PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD&mdash;I.</h3>
+
+<p>In the following Chapter, I shall give a number
+of cases in which &ldquo;Ghosts,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Phantasms
+of the Dead,&rdquo; as they are called, have appeared
+to one or more persons at one time; sometimes
+telling them something they did not know;
+sometimes moving material objects in the room;
+sometimes pulling the bed-clothes off, etc.
+Nearly all these cases are well authenticated,
+and have been narrated at first-hand. Many of
+them have the corroborative testimony of several
+other persons, who also saw the phantasmal
+figure, or in some way shared in the experience.
+I shall begin with&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="A_RUSSIAN_GHOST" id="A_RUSSIAN_GHOST"></a>A RUSSIAN GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>The following story is vouched for by Mr. W.&nbsp;D.
+Addison, of Riga, and sent by him to Mr. W.&nbsp;T.
+Stead, who published it in <cite>Borderland</cite>:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It was in February, 1884, that the incidents
+I am about to relate occurred to me, and the
+story is well-known to my immediate friends.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Five weeks previously my wife had presented
+me with our first baby, and our house being a
+small one, I had to sleep on a bed made up in
+the drawing room&mdash;a spacious but cozy apartment,
+and the last place in which one would expect
+ghosts to select for their wanderings.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On the night in question I retired to my
+couch soon after ten, and fell asleep almost the
+moment I was between the sheets.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Instead of sleeping as, I am thankful to say,
+is my habit, straight through till morning, I
+woke up after a short dreamless sleep with the
+dim consciousness upon me that some one had
+called me by name. I was just turning the idea
+over in my mind when all doubts were solved by
+my hearing my name pronounced in a faint
+whisper, &lsquo;Willy.&rsquo; Now the nurse who was in
+attendance on the baby, and who slept in the
+dressing room adjoining our bedroom, had been
+ill for the past few days, and on the previous
+evening my wife had come and asked me to assist
+her with the baby. As soon, therefore, as
+I heard this whisper, I turned round thinking,
+&lsquo;Ah, it is the baby again.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The room had three windows in it, the night
+was moonless but starlit; there was snow on the
+ground, and therefore, &lsquo;snowlight,&rsquo; and the
+blinds being up the room was by no means dark.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The first thing I noticed on turning round was
+the figure of a woman close to the foot of the
+bed, and whom (following the bent of my
+thoughts) I supposed to be my wife. &lsquo;What is
+up?&rsquo; I asked, but the figure remained silent and
+motionless, and my eyes being more accustomed
+to the dimness, I noticed that it had a gray looking
+shawl over its head and shoulders, and that
+it was too short in stature to be my wife. I
+gazed at it silently, wondering who it could be;
+apparitions and ghosts were far from my
+thoughts, and the mistiness of the outlines of
+this silent figure did not strike me at the moment
+as it did afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I again addressed it, this time in the language
+of the country, &lsquo;What do you want?&rsquo;
+Again no answer. And now it occurred to me
+that our servant girl sometimes walked in her
+sleep, and that this was she. Behind the head
+of my bed stood a small table, and I reached
+round for the match-box which was on it, never
+removing my eyes from the supposed somnambulist.
+The match-box was now in my hands,
+but just as I was taking out a match, the figure,
+to my astonishment, seemed to rise up from the
+floor, and move backwards toward the end window;
+at the same time it faded rapidly and became
+blurred with the gray light streaming in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+at the window, and &rsquo;ere I could strike the match
+it was gone. I lit the candle, jumped out of bed
+and ran to the door: it was fastened! To the
+left of the drawing room there was a boudoir,
+separated only by a curtain, this room was
+empty too, and the door likewise fastened.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I rubbed my eyes. I was puzzled. It struck
+me now for the first time that the figure was
+hazy looking, also that my wife was the only
+person who called me &lsquo;Willy,&rsquo; and certainly the
+only person who could give the word its English
+pronunciation. I first searched both drawing
+room and boudoir, and then, opening the
+door, stepped into the passage, and went to my
+wife&rsquo;s door and listened. The baby was crying
+and my wife was up, so I knocked and was admitted.
+Knowing her to be strong minded and
+not nervous, I quietly related my experience.
+She expressed astonishment, and asked if I was
+not afraid to return to my bed in the drawing
+room. However, I was not, and after chatting
+for a few moments went back to my quarters,
+fastened the door, and getting into bed, thought
+the whole matter over very quietly. I could
+think of no explanation of the occurrence, and,
+feeling sleepy, blew out the light and was soon
+sound asleep again.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After a short but sound and dreamless slumber,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+I was again awakened, this time with my
+face towards the middle window; and there,
+close up against it, was the figure again, and
+owing to its propinquity to the light, it appeared
+to be a very dark object.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I at once reached out for the matches, but
+in doing so upset the table, and down it went
+with my candlestick, my watch, keys, etc., making
+a terrific crash. As before, I had kept my
+eyes fixed on the figure, and I now observed
+that, whatever it was, it was advancing straight
+towards me, and in another moment retreat to
+the door would be cut off. It was not a comfortable
+idea to cope with the unknown in the
+dark, and in an instant I had seized the bed-clothes,
+and grasping a corner of them in each
+hand, and holding them up before me, I charged
+straight at the figure. (I suppose I thought
+that, by smothering the head of my supposed assailant,
+I could best repel the coming attack.)</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next moment I had landed on my knees
+on a sofa by the window with my arms on the
+window-sill, and with the consciousness that &lsquo;it&rsquo;
+was now behind me&mdash;I having passed through it.
+With a bound I faced round, and was immediately
+immersed in a darkness impalpable to
+the touch, but so dense that it seemed to be
+weighing me down and squeezing me from all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+sides. I could not stir; the bed-clothes which I
+had seized as described hung over my left arm,
+the other was free, but seemed pressed down by
+a benumbing weight. I essayed to cry for help,
+but realized for the first time in my life what it
+means for the &lsquo;tongue to cleave to the roof of the
+mouth&rsquo;; my tongue seemed to have become dry
+and to have swelled to a thickness of some
+inches; it stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I
+could not ejaculate a syllable. At last, after an
+appalling struggle, I succeeded in uttering, and
+I know that disjointed words, half prayer, half
+execrations of fear, left my lips, then my mind
+seemed to make one frantic effort, there seemed
+to come a wrench like an electric shock and my
+limbs were free; it was as tho&rsquo; I tore myself out
+of something. In a few seconds I had reached
+and opened the door and was in the passage,
+listening to the hammerings of my heart-beats.
+All fear was gone from me, but I felt as though
+I had run miles for my life and that another
+ten yards of it would have killed me.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I again went to the door of my wife&rsquo;s room,
+and, hearing that she was up with the baby, I
+knocked and she opened. She is a witness to
+the state I was in: the drops rolling down my
+face, my hair was damp, and the beatings of
+my heart were audible some paces off. I can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+offer no explanations of what I saw, but as soon
+as my story became known, the people who had
+occupied the house previously told me that they
+had once put a visitor in that same drawing
+room, who had declared the room to be haunted
+and had refused to stay in it....&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="GRASPED_BY_A_SPIRIT_HAND" id="GRASPED_BY_A_SPIRIT_HAND"></a>GRASPED BY A SPIRIT HAND</h3>
+
+<p>The following account is vouched for by Major
+C.&nbsp;G. MacGregor, Ireland, who writes as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the end of the year 1871 I went over
+from Scotland to pay a short visit to a relative
+living in a square on the north side of Dublin.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In January, 1872, the husband of my relative,
+then in his eighty-fourth year, was seized
+with paralysis, and, having no trained nurse,
+the footman and I sat up with him for sixteen
+nights during his recovery. On the seventeenth
+night, at about 11:30 p.m., I said to the footman:
+&lsquo;The master seems so well, and sleeping
+soundly, I shall go to bed; and if he awakes
+worse, or you require me, call me.&rsquo; I then retired
+to my room, which was over the one occupied
+by the invalid.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I went to bed and was soon asleep, when
+some time afterwards I was awakened by a
+slight push on the left shoulder. I was at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+time lying on my right side facing the door
+(which was on the right side of my bed, and the
+fireplace on the left). I started up and said:
+&lsquo;Edward, is there anything wrong?&rsquo; I received
+no answer, but immediately received another
+push. I got annoyed and said, &lsquo;Can you not
+speak, man, and tell me if anything is wrong?&rsquo;
+Still no answer; and I had a feeling that I was
+going to get another push when I suddenly
+turned around and caught (what I then
+thought) a human hand, warm, soft and plump.
+I said: &lsquo;Who are you?&rsquo; but I got no answer. I
+then tried to pull the person towards me, to endeavor
+to find out who it was, but although I
+am nearly thirteen stone, I could not move
+whoever it was, but felt that I myself was likely
+to be drawn from the bed. I then said, &lsquo;I will
+know who you are,&rsquo; and having the hand tight in
+my hand, with my left I felt the wrist and arm&mdash;enclosed,
+as it seemed to me, in a tight sleeve
+of some winter material with a linen cuff; but
+when I got to the elbow all trace of the arm
+ceased! I was so astonished that I let the hand
+go, and just then the house clock struck 2 a.m.
+I then thought no one could possibly get to the
+door without my catching them; but lo! the door
+was fast shut as when I came to bed, and another
+thought struck me&mdash;the fact that, when I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+pulled the hand, I heard no one breathing,
+though I myself was &lsquo;puffed&rsquo; from the strength
+I used!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Including the mistress of the house, there
+were in all five females, and I am assured that
+the hand belonged to no one of them. When I
+related the adventure, the servants exclaimed,
+&lsquo;Oh, it must be the master&rsquo;s old aunt Betty,&rsquo;&mdash;an
+old lady who had lived for many years in the
+upper part of the house, occupying two rooms,
+and had died over fifty years ago, at a great
+age. I afterwards learned that the <em>room</em> in
+which I felt the hand had been considered
+&lsquo;haunted,&rsquo; and many curious noises and peculiar
+incidents had occurred there, such as the bed-clothes
+being torn off. One lady got a slap in
+the face from some invisible hand, and, when she
+lighted her candle, she saw something opaque
+fall, or jump off the bed. A general officer, a
+brother of the lady, slept there two nights, but
+preferred going to an hotel rather than remaining
+a third! He never would say what he heard
+or saw, but always asserted the room was &lsquo;uncanny.&rsquo;
+I slept for months in that room afterwards
+and was never in the least disturbed. I
+never knew what nervousness was in my life,
+and only regret that my astonishment caused me
+to let go the hand before finding out the purpose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+of the visit. Whether it was meant for a warning
+or not, I may add that the old gentleman
+lived three years and six months afterwards....&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="I_AM_SHOT" id="I_AM_SHOT"></a>&ldquo;I AM SHOT!&rdquo;</h3>
+
+<p>The next case is well authenticated, and appeared
+in the <cite>Proceedings</cite> of the Society for
+Psychical Research (S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.):</p>
+
+<p>After some preliminary remarks, the writer
+proceeds:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I awoke and saw standing by my bed, between
+me and the chest of drawers, a figure,
+which, in spite of the unwonted dress&mdash;unwonted,
+at least, to me&mdash;and of a full, black
+beard, I at once recognized as that of my old
+brother officer. He had on the usual khaki coat,
+worn by the officers on service in eastern climates....
+His face was pale, but his bright
+black eyes shone as keenly as when, a year and
+a half before, they had looked upon me as he
+stood with one foot on the hansom, bidding me
+<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">adieu</i>.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Fully impressed for the moment that we
+were stationed together in Ireland or somewhere,
+and thinking I was in my barrack-room,
+I said, &lsquo;Hello, P., am I late for parade?&rsquo; P.
+looked at me steadily, and replied, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m shot!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Shot!&rsquo; I exclaimed, &lsquo;Good God, how and
+where?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Through the lungs,&rsquo; replied P.; and as he
+spoke his right hand moved slowly up to his
+breast, until the fingers rested over the right
+lung.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;What were you doing?&rsquo; I asked.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The General sent me forward,&rsquo; he answered;
+and the right hand left the breast to move
+slowly to the front, pointing over my head to
+the window, and at the same moment the figure
+melted away. I rubbed my eyes, to make sure
+I was not dreaming, and sprang out of bed. It
+was then 4.10 a.m. by the clock on my mantelpiece.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Two days later news was received that he
+had been killed at Lang&rsquo;s Neck between 11 and
+12 o&rsquo;clock on the night in question.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>The following is a nautical story:</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HEAVE_THE_LEAD" id="HEAVE_THE_LEAD"></a>HEAVE THE LEAD!</h3>
+
+<p>In the year 1664, Captain Thomas Rogers,
+commander of a ship called the <i id="shipname">Society</i>, was
+bound on a voyage from London to Virginia.
+The vessel being sent light to Virginia, for a
+loading of tobacco, carried little freight in her
+outward hold.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One day when they made an observation, the
+mates and officers brought their books and cast
+up their reckonings with the captain, to see
+how near they were to the coast of America.
+They all agreed that they were a <em>hundred
+leagues</em> from the capes of Virginia. Upon these
+customary reckonings, and heaving the lead, and
+finding no ground at a hundred fathoms, they
+set the watch, and the captain turned in.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The weather was fine; a moderate gale of
+wind blew from the coast; so that the ship
+might have run about twelve or thirteen leagues
+in the night, after the captain was in his cabin.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;He fell asleep, and slept very soundly for
+about three hours, when he woke again, and lay
+still till he heard his second mate turn out and
+relieve the watch. He then called his first mate,
+as he was going off watch, and asked him how
+all things fared? The mate answered that all
+was well, though the gale had freshened, and
+they were running at a great rate; but it was a
+fair wind, and a fair, clear night.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The captain then went to sleep again.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;About an hour after, he dreamed that some
+one had pulled him, and bade him turn out and
+look abroad. He, however, lay still and went
+to sleep again; but was suddenly re-awakened.
+This occurred several times; and, though he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+knew not what was the reason, yet he found it
+impossible to go to sleep any more. Still he
+heard the vision say: &lsquo;Turn out and look
+abroad.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The captain lay in this state of uneasiness
+nearly two hours, until finally he felt compelled
+to don his great coat and go on deck. All was
+well; it was a fine, clear night.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The men saluted him; and the captain called
+out: &lsquo;How&rsquo;s she heading?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Southwest by south, sir,&rsquo; answered the
+mate; &lsquo;fair for the coast, and the wind east by
+north.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Very good,&rsquo; said the captain, and as he was
+about to return to his cabin, <em>something</em> stood by
+him, and said: &lsquo;Heave the lead.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Upon hearing this the captain said to the
+second mate: &lsquo;When did you heave the lead?
+What water had you?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;About an hour ago, sir,&rsquo; replied the mate;
+&lsquo;sixty fathom.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Heave again,&rsquo; the captain commanded.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When the lead was cast they had ground at
+eleven fathoms. This surprised them all; but
+much more when, at the next cast, it came up
+<em>seven</em> fathoms.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Upon this, the captain, in a fright, bid them
+put the helm alee, and about ship, all hands ordered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+to back the sails, as is usual in such cases.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The proper orders being observed, the ship
+&lsquo;stayed&rsquo; and came about; but before the sails
+filled, she had but four-fathoms-and-a-half water
+under her stern. As soon as she filled and
+stood off, they had seven fathoms again, and at
+the next cast eleven fathoms, and so on to
+twenty fathoms. They then stood off to seaward
+all the rest of the watch, to get into deep water,
+till daybreak, when, being a clear morning, the
+capes of Virginia were in fair view under their
+stern, and but a few leagues distant. Had they
+stood-on but one cable-length further, as they
+were going, they would have been ashore, and
+certainly lost their ship, if not their lives&mdash;all
+through the erroneous reckonings of the previous
+day. <em>Who</em> or <em>what</em> was it that waked the captain
+and bade him save the ship? That he has
+never been able to tell!&rdquo;</p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>The incident which follows is somewhat similar&mdash;though
+more dramatic&mdash;being also a nautical
+story:</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_RESCUE_AT_SEA" id="THE_RESCUE_AT_SEA"></a>THE RESCUE AT SEA</h3>
+
+<p>The following famous narrative is taken from
+Mr. Robert Dale Owen&rsquo;s collection, printed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+his <cite>Footfalls on the Boundary of Another
+World</cite>, and <cite>The Debatable Land Between this
+World and the Next</cite>. It is quite a famous case,
+and is vouched for by Mr. Owen. It is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Mr. Robert Bruce, descended from some
+branch of the Scottish family of the same name,
+was born in humble circumstances about the
+close of the eighteenth century at Torbay, in the
+south of England, and there bred up to a seafaring
+life. When about thirty years of age (in
+the year 1828), he was first mate on board a
+barque trading between Liverpool and St.
+John&rsquo;s, New Brunswick.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On one of her voyages, bound westward, being
+then some five or six weeks out, and having
+neared the eastern portion of the Banks of Newfoundland,
+the captain and the mate had been
+on deck at noon, taking an observation of the
+sun; after which they both descended to calculate
+their day&rsquo;s work.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The cabin, a small one, was immediately at
+the stern of the vessel, and the short stairway,
+descending to it, ran athwart-ships. Immediately
+opposite to this stairway, just beyond a
+small, square landing, was the mate&rsquo;s state
+room; and from that landing there were two
+doors, close to each other&mdash;the one opening aft<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+into the cabin, the other fronting the stairway
+into the stateroom. The desk in the stateroom
+was in the forward part of it, close to the door;
+so that anyone sitting at it, and looking over his
+shoulder, could see into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The mate, absorbed in his calculation, which
+did not result as he expected, varying considerably
+from the &lsquo;dead reckoning,&rsquo; had not noticed
+the captain&rsquo;s motions. When he had completed
+his calculations, he cried out, without looking
+round, &lsquo;I make our latitude and longitude so-and-so.
+Can that be right? How is yours, sir?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Receiving no reply he repeated the question,
+glancing over his shoulder and perceiving, as he
+thought, the captain busy at his slate. Still no
+answer! Thereupon he rose, and, as he fronted
+the cabin door, the figure he had mistaken for
+the captain raised his head and disclosed to the
+astonished mate the features of an entire
+stranger.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Bruce was no coward, but as he met that
+fixed gaze, looking directly at him in grave silence,
+and became assured that it was no one
+whom he had ever seen before, it was too much
+for him; and, instead of stopping to question
+the seeming intruder, he rushed upon deck in
+such evident alarm that it instantly attracted
+the captain&rsquo;s attention.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Why, Mr. Bruce,&rsquo; said the latter, &lsquo;what in
+the world is the matter with you?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The matter, sir? Who is that at your
+desk?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;No one that I know of.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;But there <em>is</em>, sir, there&rsquo;s a stranger there.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;A stranger? Why, man, you must be
+dreaming! You must have seen the steward
+there, or the second mate. Who else would venture
+down without orders?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;But, sir, he was sitting in your arm chair,
+fronting the door, writing on your slate. Then
+he looked up full in my face; and if ever I saw
+a man plainly and distinctly in the world I saw
+him.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Him! Who?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Heaven knows, sir; I don&rsquo;t! I saw a man
+and a man I have never seen in my life before.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;You must be going crazy, Mr. Bruce. A
+stranger, and we nearly six weeks out!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The captain descended the stairs, and the
+mate followed him. Nobody in the cabin! They
+examined the staterooms. Not a soul could be
+found.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Well, Mr. Bruce,&rsquo; said the Captain, &lsquo;did not
+I tell you that you had been dreaming?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;It&rsquo;s all very well to say so, sir; but if I
+didn&rsquo;t see that man writing on the slate may I
+never see home and family again!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Ah! Writing on the slate. Then it should
+be there still!&rsquo; And the captain took it up. &lsquo;By
+heaven,&rsquo; he exclaimed, &lsquo;here&rsquo;s something sure
+enough! Is that your writing, Mr. Bruce?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The mate took the slate; and there, in plain,
+legible characters, stood the words: &lsquo;Steer to
+the Nor&rsquo;-west.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The captain sat down at his desk, the slate
+before him, in deep thought. At last turning
+the slate over, and pushing it toward Bruce, he
+said: &lsquo;Write down: &ldquo;Steer to the nor&rsquo;west.&rdquo;&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The mate complied; and the captain, comparing
+the two handwritings, said: &lsquo;Mr. Bruce,
+go and tell the second mate to come down here.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;He came, and at the captain&rsquo;s request, he
+also wrote the words. So did the steward. So
+in succession did every man of the crew who
+could write at all. But not one of the various
+hands resembled, in any degree, the mysterious
+writing.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When the crew retired, the captain sat deep
+in thought. &lsquo;Could anyone have been stowed
+away?&rsquo; at last he said. &lsquo;The ship must be
+searched. Order up all hands.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Every nook and corner of the vessel was
+thoroughly searched; not a living soul was
+found.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Accordingly, the captain decided to change<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+the vessel&rsquo;s course according to the instructions
+received. A look-out was posted; who shortly
+reported an iceberg, and then, shortly after, a
+vessel close to it.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As they approached, the captain&rsquo;s glass disclosed
+the fact that it was a dismantled ship,
+apparently frozen to the ice.... It proved to
+be a vessel from Quebec, bound for Liverpool,
+with passengers on board. She had got entangled
+in the ice, and finally frozen fast; and had
+passed several weeks in a most critical situation.
+She was stove, her decks swept; in fact, a mere
+wreck; all her provisions and almost all her
+water gone. Her crew and passengers had lost
+all hope of being saved, and their gratitude at
+the unexpected rescue was proportionately great.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As one of the men who had been brought
+away in the third boat ascended the ship&rsquo;s side,
+the mate, catching a glimpse of his face, started
+back in consternation. It was the very face he
+had seen three or four hours before, looking up
+at him from the captain&rsquo;s desk! He communicated
+this fact to the captain.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After the comfort of the passengers had been
+seen to, the captain turned to the stranger, and
+said to him: &lsquo;I hope, sir, you will not think I
+am trifling with you, but I would be much
+obliged to you if you would write a few words<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+on this slate.&rsquo; And he handed him the slate,
+with that side up on which the mysterious writing
+was not.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I will do anything you ask,&rsquo; replied the
+passenger, &lsquo;but what shall I write?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;A few words are all I want. Suppose you
+write: &lsquo;Steer to the nor&rsquo;-west.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The passenger, evidently puzzled to make out
+the motive of such a request, complied, however,
+with a smile. The captain took up the slate and
+examined it closely; then stepping aside so as to
+conceal the slate from the passenger, he turned
+it over and gave it to him the other side up.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;You say that this is your handwriting?&rsquo;
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I need not say so,&rsquo; replied the other, looking
+at it, &lsquo;for you saw me write it.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;And this?&rsquo; said the captain, turning the
+slate over.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The man looked first at one writing, then at
+the other, quite confounded. At last: &lsquo;What is
+the meaning of this?&rsquo; said he. &lsquo;I only wrote <em>one</em>
+of these. Who wrote the <em>other</em>?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;That&rsquo;s more than I can tell you, sir. My
+mate here says you wrote it, sitting at this desk,
+at noon to-day!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The captain of the wreck and the passenger
+looked at each other, exchanging glances of intelligence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+and surprise; then the former asked
+the latter: &lsquo;Did you dream that you wrote on
+this slate?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;No, sir, not that I remember.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;You speak of dreaming,&rsquo; said the captain of
+the barque. &lsquo;What was this gentleman about
+at noon to-day?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Captain,&rsquo; rejoined the other, (the captain
+of the wreck), &lsquo;the whole thing is most mysterious
+and extraordinary; and I had intended to
+speak to you about it as soon as we got a little
+quiet. This gentleman&mdash;pointing to the passenger&mdash;being
+much exhausted, fell into a heavy
+sleep, or what seemed such, some time before
+noon. After an hour or more, he awoke, and
+said to me: &lsquo;Captain, we shall be relieved this
+very day.&rsquo; When I asked him what reason he
+had for saying so, he replied that he had
+dreamed that he was on board a barque, and
+that she was coming to our rescue. He described
+her appearance and rig, and, to our utter
+astonishment, when your vessel hove in sight,
+she corresponded exactly to his description of
+her! We had not put much faith in what he
+said; yet still we hoped there might be something
+in it, for drowning men, as you know,
+catch at straws. As it turned out, I cannot
+doubt that it was all arranged by some overruling
+Providence.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;There is not a doubt,&rsquo; replied the captain of
+the barque, &lsquo;that the writing on the slate, let
+it come there as it may, saved all your lives. I
+was steering at the time considerably south of
+west, and I altered my course for the nor&rsquo;-west,
+and had a look-out aloft, to see what would come
+of it. But you say,&rsquo; he added, turning to the
+passenger, &lsquo;that you did not dream of writing
+on a slate?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;No, sir. I have no recollection whatever of
+doing so. I got the impression that the barque
+I saw in my dream was coming to rescue us; but
+<em>how</em> that impression came I cannot tell. There
+is another very strange thing about it,&rsquo; he added.
+&lsquo;Everything here on board seems to be quite familiar;
+yet I am very sure that I was never in
+your vessel before. It is all a puzzle to me!
+What did your mate see?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Thereupon Mr. Bruce related to them all the
+circumstances above detailed.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HOW_GHOSTS_INFLUENCE_US" id="HOW_GHOSTS_INFLUENCE_US"></a>HOW GHOSTS INFLUENCE US</h3>
+
+<p>The following is a very interesting case, which
+brings vividly before us the fact that ghosts often
+draw power from those who witness their
+manifestations&mdash;just as they draw vitality from
+a materializing &ldquo;medium,&rdquo; during a seance. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+cases of this character are rare, the following is
+of considerable value:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It was an afternoon, last autumn, about six
+o&rsquo;clock. I had returned from a stroll and was
+sitting in my own apartment on Central Park
+West, reading <cite>Vanity Fair</cite>. While turning over
+its pages I became suddenly aware of a novel
+and indescribable sensation. My chest and
+breathing became inwardly oppressed by some
+ponderous weight, while I became conscious of
+some &lsquo;presence&rsquo; behind me, exerting a powerful
+influence on the forces within. On trying to turn
+my head to see what it could be, I was powerless
+to do so; neither could I lift a hand, or move
+in any way. I was not a little alarmed, and began
+immediately to reason. My mind was alive,
+though physically I was unable to move a muscle.
+It was as if the current of nerve force
+within seemed forcibly drawn together and focussed
+on a spot in front of me.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I gazed motionless, as though with something
+intenser than ordinary eyesight, on what was no
+longer vacant space. There an oval, misty light
+was forming&mdash;elongatory, widening, yes, actually
+developing into a human face and form.
+Was this hallucination, or some vision of the unseen,
+coming in so unexpected a fashion? Before
+me had arisen a remarkable figure, never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+seen before in a picture or life&mdash;dark-skinned,
+aged, with white beard, the expression intensely
+earnest, the features small, the bald head finely
+moulded, lofty over the forehead, the whole demeanor
+instinct with solemn grace.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;He was speaking to me in deep tones, as if in
+urgent entreaty. What would I not give to hear
+words from such a figure! But no effort availed
+me to distinguish one articular sound. I tried
+to speak, but could not. With desperate effort I
+shook out the words, &lsquo;Speak louder.&rsquo; The face
+grew more intent, the voice louder and more emphatic.
+Was there something amiss with my
+own hearing, then, that I could distinguish no
+word amid these deeply emphasized tones?
+Slowly and deliberately the figure vanished&mdash;through
+the same stages of indistinctness, back
+to the globular lamplike whiteness, till it faded
+to nothingness. Before it had quite faded away,
+the face only of a woman arose, indistinct and
+dim. The same emphatic hum, though in a subdued
+note; the same paralysis of voice and muscle,
+the same strange force, as it was overshadowing
+me. With the disappearance of this second
+and far less interesting figure, I recovered
+my power of movement and arose.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My first impulse was to look around for the
+origin of this strange force; my second to rush<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+to the looking-glass to make sure of myself.
+There could be no illusion. There I was, paler
+than usual, the forehead bathed in perspiration.
+I threw open the window. It was no dream.
+There were the passing trolley cars below, clanging
+up and down, while a crowd of noisy youngsters
+were playing in the park across the way.
+I sponged my face, and, greatly agitated, walked
+hurriedly to and fro. If this is real, I thought,
+it may recur. I would sit in the same position,
+try to be calm, read a book, remain as still and
+passive as I could, and see the result.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;To my intense interest, and almost at once,
+the strange sense of some power operating on
+the nerve-forces within, followed by the same
+loss of muscular power, the same wide-awakeness
+of the reason, the same drawing out and
+concentrating of the energies on that spot in
+front, repeated itself&mdash;this time more deliberately,
+leaving me freer to take mental notes of
+what was happening. Again arose the noble,
+earnest figure, gazing at me, the hands moving
+in solemn accompaniment to the deep tones of
+voice. The same effort, painful on my part, to
+hear, with no result. The vision passed. Again
+the woman&rsquo;s face, insignificant and meaningless,
+succeeded it as before. She spoke, but in less
+emphatic tones. It flashed upon me that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+<em>would</em> hear. After a frantic effort, I caught
+two words&mdash;&lsquo;Land,&rsquo; &lsquo;America&rsquo;&mdash;with positively
+no clue to their meaning.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was wide awake when the first apparition
+appeared, and in a highly excited state of mind
+on its re-appearance.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HOW_A_GHOST_WARNED_THE_KING" id="HOW_A_GHOST_WARNED_THE_KING"></a>HOW A GHOST WARNED THE KING</h3>
+
+<p>Kings and queens are not exempt from visitations
+of the supernatural; indeed, a large number
+of royal dignitaries have seen &ldquo;ghosts,&rdquo; and
+have been haunted by specters in as unpleasant
+a manner as any ordinary mortal. Were we to
+hunt through the pages of history, we should
+find many of these&mdash;some of which it will doubtless
+be of interest to give at some future time.
+The following account is taken from the <cite>Annals
+of the Kingdom of Scotland</cite>, and is told in queer
+old English, with long &lsquo;s&rsquo;s,&rsquo; and so on, making it
+very hard to read in the original! I interpret
+it into modern English as best I can, maintaining
+its form:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;While James <abbr title="4">IV.</abbr> stayed at Linlithgow, to
+gather up the scattered remains of his army,
+which had been defeated by the Earl of Surrey,
+at Flodden-field, he went into the Church of St.
+Michael there to hear evening prayer. While<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+he was at his devotion, a remarkable figure of an
+ancient man, with flowing amber-colored hair
+hanging over his shoulders, his forehead high,
+and inclining to baldness, his garments of a fine
+blue color, somewhat long and girded together,
+with a fine white cloth, of comely and very reverent
+aspect, was seen inquiring for the king;
+when his majesty being pointed out to him he
+made his way through the crowd till he came to
+him, and then, with a clown&rsquo;s simplicity, leaning
+over the cannon&rsquo;s feet, he addressed him in the
+following words: &lsquo;Sir, I am sent hither to entreat
+you to delay your intended expedition for
+this time, and proceed no further; for if you do,
+you will be unfortunate, and not prosper in your
+enterprise, nor any of your followers. I am
+further charged to warn you, not to follow the
+acquaintance, company or counsel of women, as
+you value your life, honour and estate.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After giving him this admonition, he withdrew
+himself back through the crowd and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When service was ended, the king enquired
+earnestly after him, but he could not be found
+or heard of anywhere, neither could any of the
+bystanders (of whom many narrowly watched
+him, resolving afterwards to have discoursed
+with him) feel or perceive how, when or where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+he passed from them, having in a manner vanished
+from their sight.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This caused the king to feel some uneasiness;
+&lsquo;for,&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;if he were mortal man, how did
+he go so quickly hence, and how did he give me
+such advice, which I, of all men, know at this
+time to be of value?&rsquo; The king was sorely puzzled;
+and called the warden of the church to
+him, and questioned him as to the man whom
+he had seen.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;And when the warden had heard the tale
+from the king, he questioned him in turn, as to
+the man&rsquo;s appearance&mdash;whether he was this and
+that; and of the man&rsquo;s manner of speech. And
+when the king had answered to his satisfaction,
+he turned pale; and said: &lsquo;Oh, king, the personage
+whom you saw to-day was not mortal man;
+but one dead long ago; one who lived and died
+close here; and known to many of us well. He
+has been known to come before in times of great
+stress; and his advice has always been good.
+Truly, my lord, you have this day seen an apparition
+of a dead man.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;And the king marvelled at what he had
+seen.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Thus ends the curious old narrative. It will
+be seen that several others saw the ghost besides
+the king. These are called &ldquo;collective<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+cases&rdquo; by those engaged in psychical studies; for
+the reason that several persons saw the figure
+at the same time, or &ldquo;collectively.&rdquo; Such cases
+have never been satisfactorily explained. For, if
+the phantom were a mere hallucination, as many
+claim, how did several see it at once?</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_STAINS_OF_BLOOD" id="THE_STAINS_OF_BLOOD"></a>THE STAINS OF BLOOD</h3>
+
+<p>The following narrative was personally related
+to Robert Dale Owen, by a clergyman of
+the Church of England, who was Chaplain, at
+the time, to the British Legation in Florence.
+It is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the year 1856, I was staying with my
+wife and children, at a favorite watering place.
+In order to attend to some affairs of my own,
+I determined to leave my family there for three
+or four days. Accordingly, on the 8th of August,
+I took the railway, and arrived that evening
+an unexpected guest at the Hall&mdash;the residence
+of a gentleman whose acquaintance I had
+recently made, and with whom my sister was
+then staying.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I arrived late, soon afterwards went to bed,
+and before long fell asleep. Awaking after three
+or four hours, I was not surprised to find that I
+could sleep no more&mdash;for I never rest well in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+strange bed. After trying, therefore, in vain to
+induce sleep, I began to arrange my plans for
+the day. I had been engaged some little time in
+this way, when I became suddenly sensitive to
+the fact that there was a light in the room.
+Turning round, I distinctly perceived a female
+figure; and what attracted my special attention
+was that the light by which I saw it emanated
+from itself. I watched the figure attentively.
+The features were not perceptible. After moving
+a little distance, it disappeared as suddenly
+as it had appeared.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My first thoughts were that there was some
+trick. I immediately got out of bed, struck a
+light, and found my bedroom door still locked.
+I then carefully examined the walls, to ascertain
+if there was any other concealed means of
+entrance or exit, but none could I find. I drew
+the curtains and opened the shutters, but all
+outside was silent and dark, there being no
+moonlight. After examining the room in every
+part, I went back to bed, and began thinking
+calmly over the whole matter. What had I
+seen? And why did <em>It appear</em>?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the morning, as soon as I was up and
+dressed, I told my sister what I had seen. She
+then informed me that the house had the reputation
+of being &lsquo;haunted&rsquo;; and that a murder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+had been committed in it; but not in the room
+in which I had slept. Later in the day I left&mdash;after
+making my sister promise to do all she
+could to unravel the mystery.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On the following Wednesday morning, I received
+a letter from my sister, in which she informed
+me that, since I left, she had made inquiries
+and had ascertained that the murder <em>was</em>
+committed in the very room in which I slept!
+She added that she proposed visiting us the next
+day, and that she would like me to write out an
+account of what I had seen&mdash;together with a
+plan of the room, and that on that plan she
+wished me to mark the place of the appearance
+and disappearance of the figure.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This I immediately did; and the next day
+when my sister arrived, she asked me if I had
+complied with her request? I replied, pointing
+to the drawing room table: &lsquo;Yes, there is the
+account and the plan.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As she rose to examine it, I prevented her,
+saying: &lsquo;Do not look at it until you have told
+me all you have to say, because you might unintentionally
+color your story by what you may
+read there.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Thereupon she informed me that she had had
+the carpet taken up in the room I had occupied,
+and that the marks of blood from the murdered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+person were there, plainly visible, on a
+particular part of the floor. At my request she
+also then drew a plan of the room, and marked
+upon it the spots which still bore traces of
+blood. The two plans&mdash;my sister&rsquo;s and mine&mdash;were
+now compared; and we verified the most
+remarkable fact that <em>the place she had marked
+as the beginning and ending of the traces of
+blood coincided exactly with the spots marked
+on my plan as those on which the female figure
+had appeared and disappeared</em>!&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="FACE_TO_FACE" id="FACE_TO_FACE"></a>FACE TO FACE!</h3>
+
+<p>The following case is recorded by the wife of
+Colonel Lewin, and is reported in the <cite>Proceedings</cite>
+of the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In January, 1868, I took a house close to
+Hastings.... One night there was a heavy
+storm, the weather was bitterly cold, and a fire
+was burning in my bedroom when I went to bed
+at 10.30. I tried to go to sleep, but it was no
+use; the noise of the wind and the rain kept me
+awake. I must have been lying like this for a
+couple of hours when I became conscious of
+what seemed like a light in the room.... I
+thought the fire must have re-kindled itself, and
+crawled along on my knees on the bed to look
+at the fire over the high wooden foot, to see how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+this might be. I had no thought of anything
+but the fire, and was not nervous in the slightest
+degree. As I raised myself on my knees and
+looked over the foot of the bed, I found myself
+face to face, at a distance of about three feet,
+with the semblance of a man. I never for a
+moment thought he was a man, but was struck
+with the feeling that this was one from the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The light seemed to emanate from round this
+figure, but the only portions which I saw clearly
+were the head and shoulders. The face I shall
+never forget; it was pale, emaciated, with a thin,
+high-bridged nose, and eyes deeply sunk and
+glowing in the sockets with a sort of glare. A
+long beard was seemingly rolled in under a
+white comforter, and on the head was a slouched
+felt hat. I had a nervous shock, and felt a dead
+person was looking upon <em>me</em>&mdash;a living one, but
+had no sensation of being actually frightened,
+until the figure moved slowly as if interposing
+between me and the door, then horror overcame
+me and I fell back in a dead faint. How long I
+remained unconscious I know not, but I came
+to myself cold and cramped; the room was quite
+dark and nothing was visible. Thoroughly tired
+out, I got into bed, and slept soundly until
+morning.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="JULIA_DARLING" id="JULIA_DARLING"></a>JULIA, DARLING!</h3>
+
+<p>The next example is from the <cite>Proceedings</cite> of
+the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R. (Vol. V., pp. 440-41), and Mr.
+Myers states that the writer was well known to
+him. The account reads in part:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My mother died on the 24th of June, 1874, at
+Slima, Malta, where we were then residing for
+her health. Seven nights later she appeared to
+me.... I seemed to have been sleeping some
+time when I woke, and, turning over on the
+other side towards the window, saw my mother
+standing by my bedside, crying and wringing
+her hands. I had not been awake long enough
+to remember that she was dead, and exclaimed
+quite naturally, &lsquo;Why, dear, what&rsquo;s the matter?&rsquo;
+and then suddenly remembering, I screamed.
+The nurse sprang up from the next room, but
+on the top step flung herself on her knees and
+began to tell her beads and cry. My father at
+the same moment arrived at the opposite door,
+and I heard his sudden exclamation of &lsquo;Julia,
+darling.&rsquo; My mother turned towards him, and
+then to me, and, wringing her hands again, retreated
+towards the nursery and was lost. The
+nurse afterwards stated that she distinctly felt
+something pass her.... My father ordered
+her out of the room, and telling me that I had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+only been dreaming, stayed until I fell asleep.
+The next day, however, he told me that he, too,
+had seen the vision, and that he hoped to do so
+again, and that if ever she came to see me ...
+I was not to be frightened ... but she never
+appeared again.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_CUT_ACROSS_THE_CHEEK" id="THE_CUT_ACROSS_THE_CHEEK"></a>THE CUT ACROSS THE CHEEK</h3>
+
+<p>In the narrative which follows, the apparition
+conveyed&mdash;by its very appearance&mdash;information
+which the percipient could not possibly
+have known. It is from Mr. H. Walton, of
+Dent, Sedburgh, England, and was sent to Mr.
+Stead, who published it:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the month of April, 1881, I was located
+in Norfolk, and my duties took me once a fortnight
+to a fishing village on the coast&mdash;so I can
+guarantee the following facts: It is customary
+for the fishing smacks to go to Grimsby &lsquo;line
+fishing&rsquo; in the spring. The vessels started one
+afternoon on their journey north. In the evening,
+a heavy north-east wind blew, and one of
+the boats mistook the white surf on the rocks
+for the reflection of a lighthouse. In consequence
+the boat got into shallow water, a heavy
+sea came, and swept two men from the deck.
+One man grasped a rope and was saved; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+other, a younger man, failed to save himself,
+though an expert swimmer. It was said that he
+was heard to shout about 11 o&rsquo;clock.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Towards one o&rsquo;clock, the young man&rsquo;s
+mother, lying awake, saw his apparition come
+to the foot of the bed, clad in white, and she
+screamed with fright, and told her husband
+what she had seen, and that J. was drowned.
+He sought in vain to calm her by saying that
+she must have been dreaming. She asserted the
+contrary. Next day, when her daughter came in
+with the telegram of the sad event, before her
+daughter had time to speak, she cried out: &lsquo;J. is
+drowned,&rsquo; and became unconscious; she remained
+in this state for many hours. When she
+regained consciousness, she told them particularly
+and distinctly what she had seen; and
+what is to the point is this remarkable thing:
+she said: &lsquo;If ever the body is found, it has a cut
+across the cheek,&rsquo;&mdash;specifying which cheek.
+The body was found some days after, and exactly
+as mother had seen it, was the cut on the
+cheek.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_INVISIBLE_HAND" id="THE_INVISIBLE_HAND"></a>THE INVISIBLE HAND</h3>
+
+<p>The following account was sent to the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.
+Ghosts are usually <em>seen</em>; they are sometimes
+heard; they are very rarely <em>felt</em>. The account<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+which follows is an example of the latter class,
+in which the ghost was not only seen but
+touched.</p>
+
+<p>After stating that she was visiting a friend
+of hers in the country, when the event occurred,
+the narrator proceeds:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We went upstairs together, I being perhaps
+a couple of steps behind my friend, when, on
+reaching the topmost step, I felt something suddenly
+slip behind me from an unoccupied room
+on the left of the stairs. Thinking it must be
+imagination, no one being in the house except
+the widow and servant, who occupied rooms on
+another landing, I did not speak to my friend,
+who turned off to a room on the right, but
+walked quickly into my room, which faced the
+staircase, still feeling as though a tall figure
+was bending over me. I turned on the gas,
+struck a light, and was in the act of applying it,
+when I felt a heavy grasp on my arm of a hand,
+minus the middle finger. Upon this I uttered
+a loud cry, which brought my friend, the widow
+lady, and the servant girl, into the room to inquire
+the cause of my alarm. The two latter
+turned very pale on hearing the story. The
+house was thoroughly searched, but nothing was
+discovered.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Some weeks passed, and I had ceased to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+alarmed at the occurrence, when I chanced to
+mention it whilst spending the afternoon with
+some friends. A gentleman asked me if I had
+ever heard a description or seen a &lsquo;carte&rsquo; of the
+lady&rsquo;s late husband. On receiving a reply in
+the negative, he said, singularly enough, he was
+tall, had a slight stoop, and has lost the middle
+finger on his hand! On my return, I inquired
+of the servant, who had been in the family from
+childhood, if such were the case, and learned
+that it was quite correct, and that she (the girl)
+had once, when sleeping in the same room, awakened
+on feeling some one pressing down her
+knees, and on opening her eyes saw her late master
+by the bed side&mdash;on which she fainted, and
+had never dared to enter the room after dark
+since. She is not an imaginative girl; nor am I.
+When I was grasped, however, <em>I</em> did not <em>see</em>
+anything.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;But worse was to follow! It so chanced that
+I had to sleep in that room once again, as the
+house was full of company, and there was nowhere
+else for me to go. I had by this time got
+over my fears, and hardly minded the idea of
+sleeping in the room at all. I left the room door
+open, turned out the light and was soon sound
+asleep.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Some time in the early hours of the morning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+I awoke with an indescribable feeling. I
+was <em>suddenly</em> wide awake&mdash;without the slightest
+traces of sleep; yet I did not know <em>how</em> I awoke;
+and had not any recollection of waking. But
+there I was wide awake, and staring up at the
+ceiling with wide-open eyes. My right hand
+was hanging over the side of the bed; so that it
+fell outwards, into the room. Imagine my horror,
+then, in feeling a hand suddenly grasp my
+hand, and I felt distinctly that it was <em>minus the
+middle finger</em>. The hand was icy cold, and of a
+peculiar hardness. I hung on to the hand, however,
+determined to go to the bottom of the affair.
+I gripped tightly; and still retained the
+hand in my grip. Bending over, I stretched out
+my left hand, and, with the fingers of that hand,
+felt over the hand and wrist I was holding. I
+then commenced to trace it up the arm. I had
+about reached the elbow&mdash;or a little below&mdash;when
+the arm suddenly ended&mdash;came to nothing;
+was no more! Yet the hand in mine was as solid
+as ever. This gave me such a shock that I let go
+the hand I was holding, and sank back onto my
+pillows. Then terror took possession of me; and
+I do not know what happened later. I only
+know that I had brain fever, which laid me low
+for several weeks. The occurrence has never
+been explained.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_RADIANT_BOY" id="THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_RADIANT_BOY"></a>THE APPARITION OF THE RADIANT BOY</h3>
+
+<p>The following is a famous case, well-known
+as the &ldquo;Apparition of the Radiant Boy.&rdquo; It was
+seen by the Marquis of Londonderry, and frequently
+spoken of by him afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of the appearance, Lord Londonderry
+was on a visit to a friend in the North of
+Ireland. The apartment assigned to him was
+one calculated to foster the belief in ghosts,
+because of its richly carved paneling&mdash;its huge
+fireplace, looking like the open entrance into a
+tomb&mdash;and the vast, ponderous draperies that
+hung in thick folds around the room.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Londonderry examined his chamber; he
+made himself acquainted with the forms and
+faces of the ancient possessors of the mansion,
+whose portraits hung around the room. Then,
+after dismissing his valet, he retired to bed.</p>
+
+<p>His candles had not long been extinguished
+when he perceived a light gleaming on the draperies
+of the lofty canopies over his head. Conscious
+that there was no fire in the grate&mdash;that
+the curtains were closed&mdash;that the chamber had
+been in perfect darkness but a few minutes before,
+he supposed that some intruder must have
+accidentally entered his apartment; and, turning
+hastily around to the side from which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+light proceeded, saw, to his infinite astonishment,
+not the form of a human visitor, but the
+figure of a fair boy, who seemed to be garmented
+in rays of mild and tempered glory, which
+beamed palely from his slender form, like the
+faint light of the declining moon and rendered
+the objects nearest to him dimly and indistinctly
+visible. The spirit stood but a short distance
+from the side of the bed.</p>
+
+<p>Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving
+him, Lord Londonderry got up and
+moved towards the figure. It retreated before
+him; as he slowly advanced, and with equal
+pace, slowly retired. It entered the gloomy arch
+of the capacious chimney, and then sank into
+the earth. Lord Londonderry returned to his
+bed, but not to rest; his mind was harassed by
+the consideration of the extraordinary event
+which had occurred to him. Was it real? Was
+it the work of imagination? Was it the result
+of imposture? It was all incomprehensible.</p>
+
+<p>He resolved in the morning not to mention the
+appearance till he should have well observed the
+manners and countenances of the family; he was
+conscious that, if any deception had been practised,
+its authors would be too delighted with
+their success to conceal the vanity of their
+triumph.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When the guests assembled at the breakfast
+table, the eye of Lord Londonderry searched in
+vain for latent smiles&mdash;those conscious looks&mdash;that
+silent communication between the parties,
+by which the authors of such domestic conspiracies
+are generally betrayed. Everything, apparently,
+proceeded in its ordinary course. At
+last the hero of the tale felt bound to mention
+the occurrence of the night.</p>
+
+<p>At its conclusion, his host said: &ldquo;The circumstances
+which you have just recounted appear
+very extraordinary to those who have not long
+been inmates of my dwelling; and are not conversant
+with the legends of my family; and to
+those who are, the event which has happened
+will only serve as the corroboration of an old
+tradition that has long been related of the apartment
+in which you slept. You have seen the
+&lsquo;Radiant Boy&rsquo;; be content&mdash;it is an omen of
+prosperous fortunes. I would rather that this
+subject should not be mentioned.&rdquo; And here
+the affair ended.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="FISHERS_GHOST" id="FISHERS_GHOST"></a>FISHER&rsquo;S GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>The following incident comes from Australia,
+and is well-known in that part of the world. It
+is usually known as &ldquo;Fisher&rsquo;s Ghost,&rdquo; and is to
+the following effect:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A number of years ago, a free settler, named
+John Fisher, who had long successfully cultivated
+a grant of land in a remote district, and
+who was known to be possessed of a considerable
+sum of money, had been missing for some time
+after having visited the nearest market town,
+whither he had been in the habit of repairing
+with cattle and produce for sale.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;An inquiry was instituted by his acquaintances;
+but his head servant, or rather his assistant
+on the farm&mdash;an ex-convict, who had
+lived many years with him in that situation&mdash;declared
+that his master had left the colony for
+some time on business, and that he expected him
+to return in a few months. As this man was
+generally known as Fisher&rsquo;s confidential servant,
+his assertion was believed&mdash;though some expressed
+surprise at the settler&rsquo;s abrupt and clandestine
+departure; for his character was good in
+every way. The &lsquo;month&rsquo;s wonder&rsquo; soon subsided,
+however, and Fisher was forgotten. His
+assistant, meanwhile, managed the farm, bought
+and sold, and spent money freely. If questioned,
+which was but rarely, he would express
+his surprise at his master&rsquo;s delay, and pretend
+to expect him daily.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A few months after he had been first missed,
+a neighbouring settler, who was returning late<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+on Saturday night from the market town, had
+occasion to pass within half a mile of Fisher&rsquo;s
+house. As he was riding by the fence which
+separated the farm from the high road, he distinctly
+saw the figure of a man seated on the
+railing, and at once recognized the form and
+features of his lost neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;He instantly stopped and called to him by
+name; but the figure descended from the railing,
+and pointing appealingly toward the house,
+walked slowly across the field in that direction.
+The settler, having lost sight of him in the
+gloom, proceeded on his journey, and informed
+his family and neighbors that he had seen Fisher
+and spoken to him. On inquiry, however,
+Fisher&rsquo;s assistant said that he had not arrived,
+and affected to laugh at the settler&rsquo;s story&mdash;insinuating
+that he had probably drunk too freely
+at the market.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The neighbors were, however, not satisfied.
+The strange appearance of Fisher, sitting on the
+rail and pointing, with so much meaning, toward
+his own house aroused their suspicions, and they
+insisted upon a strict and immediate investigation
+by the police.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The party of investigators took with them an
+old and clever native. They had not proceeded
+far in the underbrush when they discovered a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+log, on which was a dark brown stain. This the
+native examined, and at once declared it to be
+&lsquo;<em>white man&rsquo;s blood</em>.&rsquo; He then, without hesitation,
+set off at a full run, toward a pond not far
+from the house.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;He ran backwards and forwards about the
+pond, like a dog on the scent; and finally, borrowing
+a ram-rod from one of the settlers, ran it
+into the earth. He did this in one or two places;
+and finally said: &lsquo;<em>White man here.</em>&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The spot was immediately dug up, and a
+corpse, identified as that of Fisher, was discovered,
+its skull fractured, and evidently many
+weeks buried.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The guilty assistant was immediately arrested,
+and tried at Sydney, on circumstantial
+evidence alone&mdash;strong enough, however, to convict
+him, in spite of his self-possession, and protestations
+of innocence. He was sentenced to
+death; and, previous to his execution, made an
+ample confession of his guilt.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HARRIET_HOSMERS_VISION" id="HARRIET_HOSMERS_VISION"></a>HARRIET HOSMER&rsquo;S VISION</h3>
+
+<p>Lydia Maria Child relates the following interesting
+narrative:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When Harriet Hosmer, the sculptor, visited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+her native country a few years ago, I had an interview
+with her, during which our conversation
+happened to turn on dreams and visions.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I have had some experience in that way,&rsquo;
+said she. &lsquo;Let me tell you a singular circumstance
+that happened to me in Rome. An Italian
+girl named Rosa was in my employ for a
+long time, but was finally obliged to return to
+her mother on account of confirmed ill-health.
+We were mutually sorry to part, for we liked each
+other. When I took my customary exercise on
+horseback, I frequently called to see her. On
+one of these occasions, I found her brighter
+than I had seen her for some time past. I had
+long relinquished hopes of her recovery, but
+there was nothing in her appearance that gave
+the appearance of immediate danger. I left her
+with the expectation of calling to see her again
+many times. During the remainder of the day, I
+was busy in my studio, and I do not recollect
+that Rosa was in my thoughts after I had parted
+from her. I retired to rest in good health, and
+in a quiet frame of mind. But I woke from a
+sound sleep with the oppressive feeling that
+someone was in the room. I wondered at the
+sensation, for it was entirely new to me; but in
+vain I tried to dispel it. I peered beyond the
+curtains of my bed but could distinguish no objects<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+in the darkness. Trying to gather my
+thoughts I reflected that the door was locked,
+and that I had put the key under my bolster.
+I felt for it and found it where I had placed it.
+I said to myself that I had probably had some
+ugly dream, and had waked with a vague impression
+of it still on my mind. Reasoning thus,
+I arranged myself comfortably for another nap.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I am habitually a good sleeper and a
+stranger to fear, but do what I would, the idea
+still haunted me that someone was in the room.
+Finding it impossible to sleep, I longed for daylight
+to dawn, that I might rise and pursue my
+customary avocation. It was not long before I
+was able dimly to distinguish the furniture in
+my room, and, soon after, to hear familiar noises
+of servants opening windows and doors. An old
+clock with ringing vibration, proclaimed the
+hour. I counted one, two, three, four, five, and
+resolved to rise immediately. My bed was partially
+screened by a long curtain looped up at
+one side. As I raised my head from the pillow,
+Rosa looked inside the curtain, and smiled at
+me. The idea of anything supernatural did not
+occur to me. I was simply surprised and exclaimed:
+&ldquo;Why, Rosa! How came you here
+when you are so ill?&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;In the old familiar tone to which I was so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+much accustomed, a voice replied, &ldquo;I am well
+now.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;With no other thought but that of greeting
+her joyfully, I sprang out of bed. There was no
+Rosa there! When I became convinced that
+there was no one in the room but myself, I recollected
+the fact that my door was locked, and
+thought I must have seen a vision.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;At the breakfast table, I said to the old
+lady with whom I boarded: &ldquo;Rosa is dead.&rdquo; I
+then summoned a messenger and sent him to inquire
+how Rosa was. He returned with the answer
+that she died that morning at 5 o&rsquo;clock.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I wrote the story as Miss Hosmer told it to
+me, and after I had shown it to her, I asked her
+if she had any objection to its being published
+without suppression of names. She replied:
+&lsquo;You have reported the story of Rosa correctly.
+Make what use you please of it. You cannot
+think it more interesting or unaccountable than
+I do myself.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_MURDERED_BOY" id="THE_APPARITION_OF_THE_MURDERED_BOY"></a>THE APPARITION OF THE MURDERED BOY</h3>
+
+<p>At the commencement of the French Revolution,
+Lady Pennyman and her two daughters
+and her friend, Mrs. Atkins, retired to Lisle,
+where they had hired a large and handsome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+house. A few weeks after taking possession, the
+housekeeper, with many apologies for being
+obliged to mention anything that might appear
+so idle and absurd, came to the apartment in
+which her mistress was sitting, and said that
+two of the servants who had accompanied her
+ladyship from England had that morning given
+warning, and expressed a determination of quitting
+her ladyship&rsquo;s service, on account of the
+mysterious noises by which they had been night
+after night disturbed and terrified. The room
+from which the sounds were supposed to have
+proceeded was at a distance from Lady Pennyman&rsquo;s
+apartments, and immediately over those
+that were occupied by the servants. To quiet
+the alarm Lady Pennyman resolved on leaving
+her own chamber for a time and establishing
+herself in the one which had been lately occupied
+by the domestics.</p>
+
+<p>The room above was a long, spacious one,
+which appeared to have been for a long time deserted.
+In the center of the chamber was a
+large iron cage. It was said that the late proprietor
+of the house&mdash;a young man of enormous
+wealth&mdash;had in his minority been confined in
+this cage by his uncle and guardian and starved
+to death.</p>
+
+<p>On the first night or two of Lady Pennyman&rsquo;s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+being established in her new apartment, she met
+with no interruption. This quiet, however, was
+of very short duration. One night she was
+awakened from her sleep by a slow and heavy
+step pacing the chamber overhead. It continued
+to move backwards and forwards for nearly
+an hour. There were more complaints from the
+housekeeper, no servants would remain. Lady
+Pennyman began herself to be alarmed. She requested
+the advice of Mrs. Atkins&mdash;a woman devoid
+of every kind of superstitious fear, and of
+tried courage. Mrs. Atkins determined to make
+the Cage room itself her sleeping quarters. A
+bed was accordingly placed in the apartment,
+and Mrs. Atkins retired to rest attended by her
+favorite spaniel&mdash;saying, as she bade them all
+good-night, &ldquo;I and my dog are able to compete
+with a myriad of ghosts.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Atkins examined the chamber in every
+imaginable direction; she sounded every panel
+of the wainscot to prove there was no hollowness
+that might argue a concealed passage; and
+having securely bolted the door of the room,
+retired to rest, confident that she was secure
+against every material visitor, and totally incredulous
+of the airy encroachments of spiritual
+beings. She had only been asleep a few minutes,
+when her dog, which lay by her bedside,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+leaped, howling and terrified, on the bed. The
+bolted door of the chamber slowly opened and
+a pale, thin, sickly youth came in, cast his eyes
+mildly toward her, walked up to the iron cage
+in the middle of the room, and then leaned in
+the melancholy attitude of one revolving in his
+mind the sorrows of a cheerless and unblest existence.
+After a while he again withdrew, and
+retired by the way he entered.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Atkins, on witnessing his departure, felt
+the return of her resolution. She persuaded herself
+to believe the figure the work of some skillful
+imposter, and she determined on following
+its footsteps. She took up her lamp and hastened
+to the door. To her infinite surprise, she
+discovered it to be fastened, as she had herself
+left it on retiring to bed. On withdrawing the
+bolt, and opening the door, she saw the back of
+the youth descending the staircase. She followed
+till, on reaching the foot of the stairs, the
+form seemed to sink into the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The event was related to Lady Pennyman.
+She determined to remain no longer in her present
+habitation. Another residence was offered
+in the vicinity of Lisle, and this she took under
+the pretext that it was better suited to the size
+of her family.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_GHOST_IN_YELLOW_CALICO" id="THE_GHOST_IN_YELLOW_CALICO"></a>THE GHOST IN YELLOW CALICO</h3>
+
+<p>The Rev. Elwyn Thomas, 35, Park Village
+East, N.&nbsp;W., London, has published a very remarkable
+experience of his own. It is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Twelve years ago,&rdquo; says the doctor, &ldquo;I was
+the second minister of the Bryn Mawr Welsh
+Wesleyan Circuit, in the South Wales District.
+It was a beautiful evening in June when, after
+conducting the service at Llanyndir, I told the
+gentlemen with whom I generally stayed when
+preaching there, that three young friends had
+come to meet me from Crickhowell, and that I
+meant to accompany them back for about half
+a mile on their return journey, so would not be
+home before nine o&rsquo;clock.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When I wished good-night to my friends it
+was about twenty minutes to nine but still light
+enough to see a good distance. The subject of
+our conversation all the way from the chapel
+until we parted was of a certain eccentric old
+character who then belonged to the Crickhowell
+church. I walked a little further down the road
+than I intended in order to hear the end of a
+very amusing story about him. Our conversation
+had no reference whatever to ghosts. Personally
+I was a strong disbeliever in ghosts and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+invariably ridiculed anyone whom I thought superstitious
+enough to believe in them.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When I had walked about a hundred yards
+away from my friends, after parting from them,
+I saw on the bank of the canal, what I thought
+at the moment was an old beggar. I couldn&rsquo;t
+help asking myself where this old man had come
+from. I had not seen him in going down the
+road. I turned round quite unconcernedly to
+have another look at him, and had no sooner
+done so than I saw, within half a yard of me one
+of the most remarkable and startling sights I
+hope it will ever be my lot to see. Almost on a
+level with my own face, I saw that of an old
+man, over every feature of which the putty colored
+skin was drawn tightly, except the forehead
+which was lined with deep wrinkles. The
+lips were extremely thin and appeared perfectly
+bloodless. The toothless mouth stood half open.
+The cheeks were hollow and sunken like those of
+a corpse, and the eyes which seemed far back in
+the middle of the head, were unnaturally luminous
+and piercing. The terrible object was
+wrapped in two bands of old yellow calico, one
+of which was drawn under the chin, and over
+the cheeks and tied at the top of the head, the
+other was drawn round the top of the wrinkled
+forehead and fastened at the back of the head.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+So deep and indelible an impression it made on
+my mind, that, were I an artist, I could paint
+that face to-day.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;What I have thus tried to describe in many
+words, I saw at a glance. Acting on the impulse
+of the moment, I turned my face toward the
+village and ran away from the horrible vision
+with all my might for about sixty yards. I then
+stopped and turned around to see how far I had
+distanced it, and to my unspeakable horror,
+there it was still face to face with me as if I had
+not moved an inch. I grasped my umbrella and
+raised it to strike him, and you can imagine my
+feelings when I could see nothing between the
+face and the ground, except an irregular column
+of intense darkness, through which my umbrella
+passed as a stick goes through water!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I am sorry to say that I took to my heels
+with increasing speed. A little further than the
+space of this second encounter, the road which
+led to my host&rsquo;s house branched off the main
+road. Having gone two or three yards down
+this branch road, I turned around again. He
+had not followed me after I left the main road,
+but I could see the horribly fascinating face
+quite as plainly as when it was close by. It
+stood for a few minutes looking intently at me
+from the center of the main road. I then realized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+fully that it was not a human being in flesh
+and blood; and, with every vestige of fear gone,
+I quickly walked toward it to put my questions.
+But I was disappointed, for, no sooner
+had I made toward it, than it began to move
+slowly down the road keeping the same distance
+above it until it reached the churchyard wall; it
+then crossed the road and disappeared near
+where the yew tree stood inside. The moment
+it disappeared, I became unconscious. Two
+hours later I came to myself and I made my way
+slowly to my home. I could not say a word to
+explain what had happened, though I tried several
+times. It was five o&rsquo;clock in the morning
+when I regained my power of speech. The
+whole of the following week I was laid up with
+a nervous prostration.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My host, after questioning me closely, told
+me that fifteen years before that time an old recluse
+of eccentric character, answering in every
+detail to my description (yellow calicoes, bands,
+and all) lived in a house whose ruins still stand
+close by where I saw the face disappear.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+
+<h3>MORE PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD&mdash;II.</h3>
+
+<p>The cases included in this chapter are also
+very well authenticated&mdash;some of them being
+longer and more detailed than those included in
+the last chapter. I shall begin with a group of
+so-called &ldquo;Pact&rdquo; Cases&mdash;cases, that is, in which
+a Pact or Agreement was made before death&mdash;to
+appear after death, if possible; when that
+promise seems to have been kept. The first case
+of this character is short, and merely illustrative
+of the kind of ghostly phenomena to be expected
+in cases of this nature. The latter cases
+are better attested. I give first the case of the
+Marquis of Rambouillet.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="COMPACTS_TO_APPEAR_AFTER_DEATH" id="COMPACTS_TO_APPEAR_AFTER_DEATH"></a>COMPACTS TO APPEAR AFTER DEATH</h3>
+
+<p>The story of the Marquis of Rambouillet&rsquo;s appearing
+after his death to his cousin, the Marquis
+de Precy, is well authenticated. These two
+noblemen, talking one day concerning the affairs
+of the next world, in a manner which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+showed they did not believe much about it, entered
+into an agreement that the first who died
+should come and give intelligence to the other.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards the Marquis of Rambouillet
+set out for Flanders, which was then the seat of
+war, and the Marquis de Precy remained in
+Paris, being ill of a violent fever. About six
+weeks after, early one morning, he heard someone
+draw the curtains of his bed, and turning to
+see who it was, discovered the Marquis of Rambouillet
+in a buff coat and boots. He instantly
+got out of bed, and attempted to shake hands
+with his friend, but Rambouillet drew back, and
+told him he had only come to perform the promise
+he had formerly made; that nothing was
+more certain than another life; and that he earnestly
+advised him to alter his mode of life, for
+in the first battle he would be engaged in, he
+would certainly fall.</p>
+
+<p>Precy made a fresh attempt to touch his
+friend, but he immediately withdrew. Precy lay
+upon his bed wondering upon the strangeness of
+the circumstances for some time, when he saw
+the same appearance re-enter the apartment.
+Rambouillet, finding that Precy still disbelieved
+what he was told, showed him the wound of
+which he had died, and from which the blood
+still seemed to flow.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, Precy received a confirmation
+of Rambouillet&rsquo;s death, and was killed himself,
+according to the prediction, in the civil wars,
+at the battle of Faubourg St. Antoine.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="LORD_BROUGHAMS_VISION" id="LORD_BROUGHAMS_VISION"></a>LORD BROUGHAM&rsquo;S VISION</h3>
+
+<p>The promise to appear was given and kept in
+the case of the apparition seen by Lord
+Brougham.</p>
+
+<p>The story is given as follows in the first volume
+of &ldquo;Lord Brougham&rsquo;s Memoirs&rdquo;:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A most remarkable thing happened to me, so
+remarkable that I must tell the story from the
+beginning. After I left the High School I went
+with G&mdash;&mdash;, my most intimate friend, to attend
+the classes in the University. There was no divinity
+class, but we frequently in our walks discussed
+many grave subjects&mdash;among others the
+immortality of the soul and a future state. This
+question, and the possibility of the dead appearing
+to the living, were the subject of much speculation,
+and we actually committed the folly of
+drawing up an agreement, written with our
+blood, to the effect that whichever of us died the
+first should appear to the other, and thus solve
+any doubts we had entertained of the &lsquo;life after
+death.&rsquo; After we had finished our classes at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+College, G&mdash;&mdash; went to India, having got an appointment
+there in the Civil Service. He seldom
+wrote to me, and after a lapse of a few
+years I had nearly forgotten his existence....
+One day I had taken, as I have said, a warm
+bath, and, while lying in it and enjoying the comfort
+of the heat, I turned my head round, looking
+towards the chair on which I had deposited
+my clothes, as I was about to get out of the bath.
+On the chair sat G&mdash;&mdash;, looking calmly at me!
+How I got out of the bath I know not; but on
+recovering my senses, I found myself sprawling
+on the floor. The apparition, or whatever it was
+that had taken the likeness of G&mdash;&mdash;, had disappeared.
+This vision had produced such a
+shock that I had no inclination to talk about it,
+or to speak about it even to Stewart, but the
+impression it made upon me was too vivid to be
+easily forgotten, and so strongly was I affected
+by it that I have here written down the whole
+history, with the date, December 19th, and all
+the particulars, as they are now fresh before me.
+No doubt I had fallen asleep, and that the apparition
+presented so distinctly before my eyes
+was a dream I cannot for a moment doubt; yet
+for years I had had no communication with
+G&mdash;&mdash;, nor had there been anything to recall
+him to my recollection. Nothing had taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+place concerning our Swedish travels connected
+with G&mdash;&mdash;, or with India, or with anything relating
+to him, or to any member of his family.
+I recollected quickly enough our old discussion,
+and the bargain we had made. I could not discharge
+from my mind the impression that G&mdash;&mdash;
+must have died, and that his appearance to me
+was to be received by me as a proof of a future
+state. This was on December 19th, 1799.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>In October, 1862, Lord Brougham added as a
+Postscript:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have just been copying out from my Journal
+the account of this strange dream. <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Certissima
+mortis imago!</i> And now to finish the story
+begun about sixty years ago: Soon after my return
+to Edinborough there arrived a letter from
+India announcing G&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo;s death, and stating
+that he died on December 19th.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Lord Brougham attempts to account for this
+vision by stating that it was probably a dream.
+But this is negatived by the fact that he was so
+startled by it as to scramble out of the bath in
+a great hurry&mdash;which would not be at all likely
+had it been a dream&mdash;for, as we know, nothing
+surprises us in dreams, or seems unlikely. And
+even granting that it were a dream, we still have
+the <em>coincidence</em> to account for. <em>Why</em> should
+Lord Brougham have dreamed this particular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+dream at the very moment his friend died?
+That fact has yet to be accounted for.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_TYRONE_GHOST" id="THE_TYRONE_GHOST"></a>THE TYRONE GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>This is also known as the Beresford Ghost,
+and is one of the most famous cases of its kind
+on record. The account, as herein given, is that
+supplied by the granddaughter of Lady Beresford,
+to whom the experience came; and hence
+may be considered as accurate as it can be made.
+It furnishes us with a definite example of a
+&ldquo;ghost that touches,&rdquo; and leaves a permanent
+mark of its visit, ever afterwards. Here is the
+account:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the month of October, 1693, Sir Tristram
+and Lady Beresford went on a visit to her sister,
+Lady Macgill, at Gill Hall, now the seat of
+Lord Clanwilliam.... One morning Sir Tristram
+arose early, leaving Lady Beresford asleep,
+and went out for a walk before breakfast.
+When his wife joined the table very late, her appearance
+and the embarrassment of her manner
+attracted general attention, especially that of
+her husband. He made anxious inquiries as to
+her health, and asked her apart what had happened
+to her wrist, which was tied up with black
+ribbon tightly bound round it. She earnestly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+entreated him not to inquire more then, or thereafter,
+as to the cause of her wearing or continuing
+afterwards to wear that ribbon; &lsquo;for,&rsquo; she
+added, &lsquo;you will never see me without it.&rsquo; He
+replied: &lsquo;Since you urge it so vehemently, I
+promise you not to inquire more about it.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After completing her hurried breakfast, she
+made inquiries as to whether the post had yet
+arrived. It had not yet come in, and Sir Tristram
+asked: &lsquo;Why are you so particularly
+eager about letters to-day?&rsquo; &lsquo;Because I expect
+to hear of Lord Tyrone&rsquo;s death, which took place
+on Tuesday.&rsquo; &lsquo;Well,&rsquo; remarked Sir Tristram,
+&lsquo;I never put you down for a superstitious person,
+but I suppose that some idle dream has disturbed
+you.&rsquo; Shortly after, the servant brought
+in the letters; one was sealed with black wax.
+&lsquo;It is as I expected,&rsquo; she cried, &lsquo;he is dead.&rsquo; The
+letter was from Lord Tyrone&rsquo;s steward to inform
+them that his master had died in Dublin, on
+Tuesday, 14 October, at 4 p.m. Sir Tristram
+endeavored to console her, and begged her to restrain
+her grief, when she assured him that she
+felt relieved and easier, now that she knew the
+actual fact. She added, &lsquo;I can now give you a
+most satisfactory piece of intelligence, <abbr title="namely">viz.</abbr>, that
+I am with child, and that it will be a boy.&rsquo; A
+son was born the following July.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On her forty-seventh birthday, Lady Beresford
+summoned her children to her side, and
+said to them: &lsquo;I have something of deep importance
+to communicate to you, my dear children,
+before I die. You are no strangers to the intimacy
+and affection which subsisted in early life
+between Lord Tyrone and myself.... We had
+made a solemn promise to one another, that
+whichever died first should, if permitted, appear
+to the other.... One night, years after this
+interchange of promises, I was sleeping with
+your father at Gill Hall, when I suddenly awoke
+and discovered Lord Tyrone sitting visibly by
+the side of the bed. I screamed out and vainly
+tried to arouse Sir Tristram. &ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; I said,
+&ldquo;Lord Tyrone, why and wherefore are you here
+at this time of the night?&rdquo; &ldquo;Have you then forgotten
+our promises to each other, pledged in
+early life? I died on Tuesday, at 4 o&rsquo;clock. I
+have been permitted thus to appear.... I am
+also suffered to inform you that you are with
+child, and will produce a son, who will marry
+an heiress; that Sir Tristram will not live long,
+that you will marry again, and you will die in
+your forty-seventh year.&rdquo; I begged from him
+some convincing sign or proof so that when the
+morning came I might rely upon it, and that it
+was not the phantom of my imagination. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+caused the hangings of the bed to be drawn in
+an unusual way and impossible manner through
+an iron hook. I still was not satisfied, when he
+wrote his signature in my pocketbook. I
+wanted, however, more substantial proof of his
+visit, when he laid his hand, which was cold as
+marble, on my wrist; the sinews shrunk up, the
+nerves withered at the touch. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; he said,
+&ldquo;let no mortal eye while you live ever see that
+wrist,&rdquo; and vanished. While I was conversing
+with him my thoughts were calm, but as soon
+as he disappeared I felt chilled with horror and
+dismay, a cold sweat came over me, and I again
+endeavored, but vainly, to awaken Sir Tristram;
+a flood of tears came to my relief, and I fell
+asleep....&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;That year Lady Beresford died. On her
+deathbed, Lady Riverson unbound the black ribbon
+and found the wrist exactly as Lady Beresford
+had described it&mdash;every nerve withered,
+every sinew shrunk....&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="DEAD_OR_ALIVE" id="DEAD_OR_ALIVE"></a>&ldquo;DEAD OR ALIVE&rdquo;</h3>
+
+<p>In the following case the ghost kept its promise
+to appear&mdash;doing so, to all appearances, in
+spite of great obstacles. The incident is reported
+in Mr. W.&nbsp;T. Stead&rsquo;s <cite>Real Ghost Stories</cite>,
+pp. 205-8:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The following incident occurred to me some
+years ago, and all the details can be substantiated.
+The date was August 26, 1867, at midnight.
+I was then residing in the neighborhood
+of Hull, and held an appointment under the
+crown which necessitated my repairing thither
+every day for a few hours duty. My berth was
+almost a sinecure; and I had for some time been
+engaged to a young north country heiress, it being
+understood that on our marriage I should
+take her name and &lsquo;stand for the county&rsquo; or
+rather for one of its divisions.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;For her sake I had to break off a love affair,
+not of the most reputable order, with a girl in
+Hull. I will call her Louise. She was young,
+beautiful, and devoted to me. On the night of
+the 26th of August we took our last walk together,
+and a few minutes before midnight
+paused on a wooden bridge running across a
+kind of canal, locally termed a &lsquo;drain.&rsquo; We
+paused on the bridge, listening to the swirling
+of the current against the wooden piles, and
+waiting for the stroke of midnight to part forever.
+In the few minutes interval she repeated
+<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">sotto voce</i>, Longfellow&rsquo;s &lsquo;Bridge,&rsquo; the words of
+which, &lsquo;I stood on the bridge at midnight,&rsquo;
+seemed terribly appropriate. After nearly twenty-five
+years I can never hear that piece recited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+without feeling a deadly chill, and the whole
+scene of two souls in agony again rising before
+me. Well! Midnight struck and we parted;
+but Louise said: &lsquo;Grant me one favor, the only
+one that I shall ever ask you on this earth;
+promise to meet me here twelve months from to-night
+at this same hour.&rsquo; I demurred at first,
+thinking it would be bad for both of us, and
+only re-open partially-healed wounds. At last,
+however, I consented, saying, &lsquo;Well, I will come
+if I am alive.&rsquo; But she said, &lsquo;Say alive or dead.&rsquo;
+I said, &lsquo;Very well, then, we will meet, dead or
+alive.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next year I was on the spot a few minutes
+before the time; and, punctual to the stroke
+of midnight, Louise arrived. By this time I had
+begun to regret the arrangement I had made;
+but it was of too solemn a nature to put aside.
+I therefore kept the appointment; but said that
+I did not care to renew the compact. Louise,
+however, persuaded me to renew it for one more
+year; and I consented, much against my will;
+and we again left each other, repeating the same
+formula, &lsquo;Dead or Alive.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next year after passed rapidly until the
+first week in July, when I was shot dangerously
+in the thigh by a fisherman named Thomas Piles,
+of Hull, a reputed smuggler. A party of four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+of us had hired his ten-ton yawl to go yachting
+round the Yorkshire coast, and amuse ourselves
+by shooting sea-birds amongst the millions of
+them at Flamborough Head. The third or
+fourth day out I was shot in the right thigh by
+the skipper Piles; and the day after, one and a
+quarter ounce of number 2 shot were cut out
+therefrom by the coastguard surgeon at Bridlington
+Quay (whose name I forget for the moment),
+assisted by Dr. Alexander Mackey, at
+the Black Lion hotel. The affair was in all the
+papers at the time, about a column of it appearing
+in the <cite>Eastern Morning News</cite>, of Hull.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As soon as I was able to be removed (two or
+three weeks) I was taken home, where Dr. Melburne
+King, of Hull, attended me. The day&mdash;and
+the night&mdash;(the 26th of August) came. I
+was then unable to walk without crutches, and
+that for only a short distance, so had to be
+wheeled about in a Bath chair. The distance to
+the trysting place being rather long, and the
+time and the circumstances being very peculiar,
+I did not avail myself of the services of my usual
+attendant, but specially retained an old servant
+of the family, who frequently did confidential
+commissions for me, and who knew Miss
+Louise well. We set forth &lsquo;without beat of
+drum&rsquo; and arrived at the bridge about a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+minutes to midnight. I remember that it was a
+brilliant starlight night, but I do not think that
+there was any moon&mdash;at all events, at that hour.
+&lsquo;Old Bob,&rsquo; as he was always affectionately called,
+wheeled me to the bridge, helped me out of the
+Bath chair, and gave me my crutch. I walked
+on to the bridge, and leaned my back against
+the white painted rail top, then lighted my briar-root,
+and had a comfortable smoke.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was very much annoyed that I had allowed
+myself to be persuaded to come a second
+time, and determined to tell Louise positively
+that this should be our last meeting. Besides,
+<em>now</em>, I did not consider it fair to Miss K., with
+whom I was again &lsquo;negotiating.&rsquo; So, if anything,
+it was in rather a sulky frame of mind
+that I awaited Louise. Just as the quarters before
+the hour began to chime I distinctly heard
+the &lsquo;clink, clink&rsquo; of the little brass heels, which
+she always wore, sounding on the long flagged
+causeway, leading for 200 yards up to the bridge.
+As she got nearer, I could see her pass lamp after
+lamp in rapid succession, while the strokes
+of the large clock at Hull resounded through
+the stilly night.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;At last the patter, patter of the tiny feet
+sounded on the woodwork of the bridge, and I
+saw her distinctly pass under the lamp at my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+side. When she got close to me I saw that she
+had neither hat nor cape on, and concluded that
+she had taken a cab at the further end of the
+flagged causeway, and (it being a very warm
+night) had left her wraps in the cab, and, for
+purposes of effect, had come the short distance
+in evening dress.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Clink, clink,&rsquo; went the brass heels, and she
+seemed about passing me, when I suddenly,
+urged by an impulse of affection, stretched out
+my arms to receive her. She passed <em>through</em>
+them, intangible, impalpable, and as she looked
+at me I distinctly saw her lips move, and form
+the words &lsquo;Dead or Alive.&rsquo; I even heard the
+words, but not with my outward ears, with
+something else, some other sense&mdash;what, I know
+not. I felt startled, surprised, but not afraid,
+until a moment afterwards, when I <em>felt</em>, but
+could not see, some other presence following her.
+I could <em>feel</em>, though I could not <em>hear</em>, the heavy,
+clumsy thud of feet following her; and my blood
+seemed turned to ice. Recovering myself with
+an effort, I shouted out to Old Bob, who was
+safely ensconsed with the Bath chair in a nook
+out of sight round the corner: &lsquo;Bob, who passed
+you just now?&rsquo; In an instant the old Yorkshire-man
+was by my side. &lsquo;Ne&rsquo;er a one passed me,
+sir.&rsquo; &lsquo;Nonsense, Bob,&rsquo; I replied, &lsquo;I told you that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+I was coming to meet Miss Louise, and she just
+passed me on the bridge, and <em>must</em> have passed
+you, because there is no where else she <em>could</em> go.
+You don&rsquo;t mean to tell me you didn&rsquo;t see her?&rsquo;
+The old man replied solemnly: &lsquo;Maister Rob,
+there&rsquo;s something uncanny about it. I heered
+her come on the bridge, and off it, and I knaw
+them clickety heels onywhere! but I&rsquo;m domned,
+sir, if she passed me! I&rsquo;m thinking we&rsquo;d better
+gang.&rsquo; And &lsquo;gang&rsquo; we did; and it was the small
+hours of the morning (getting daylight) before
+we left off talking over the affair, and went to
+bed.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next day I made inquiries from Louise&rsquo;s
+family about her, and ascertained that she had
+died in Liverpool three months previously, being
+apparently delirious for a few hours before her
+death, and, our parting compact evidently
+weighing on her mind, as she kept repeating,
+&lsquo;Dead or Alive&mdash;shall I be there?&rsquo;&mdash;to the utter
+bewilderment of her friends, who could not divine
+her meaning&mdash;being, of course, entirely unaware
+of our agreement.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<hr class="l4" />
+
+<p>This completes the examples of the so-called
+&ldquo;Pact&rdquo; cases. In the following example, the
+phantasmal form conveyed a piece of information<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+to the percipient which he could not well
+have known by any normal means.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_SCRATCH_ON_THE_CHEEK" id="THE_SCRATCH_ON_THE_CHEEK"></a>THE SCRATCH ON THE CHEEK</h3>
+
+<p>The case appeared in the <cite>Proceedings</cite> of the
+Amer. S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R., and the high character of the
+witnesses was vouched for by Dr. Hodgson and
+Prof. Royce. It is to the following effect:</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+&ldquo;<i>January 11, 1888.</i><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Sir: Replying to your recently published
+request for actual occurrences of psychical phenomena,
+I respectively submit the following remarkable
+occurrence to the consideration of
+your distinguished Society, with the assurance
+that the event made a more powerful impression
+upon my mind than the combined incidents of
+my whole life.... I was never in better health
+or possessed a clearer head and mind than at the
+time the incident occurred.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In 1867, my only sister, a young lady of
+eighteen years, died suddenly of cholera, in St.
+Louis, Mo. My attachment for her was very
+strong, and the blow a severe one to me. A
+year or so after her death, I became a commercial
+traveller, and it was in 1876, while on one
+of my Western trips that the event occurred.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had &lsquo;drummed&rsquo; the city of St. Joseph, Mo.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+and had gone to my room at the Pacific House
+to send in my orders, which were unusually
+large ones, so that I was in a very happy frame
+of mind indeed. My thoughts, of course, were
+about these orders, knowing how pleased my
+house would be at my success. I had not been
+thinking of my late sister, or in any manner reflecting
+on the past. The hour was high noon,
+and the sun was shining cheerfully into my
+room. While busy smoking a cigar, and writing
+out my orders, I suddenly became conscious
+that some one was sitting on my left, with one
+arm resting on the table. Quick as a flash I
+turned, and distinctly saw the form of my dead
+sister, and for a brief second or two looked her
+squarely in the face; and so sure was I that it
+was she, that I sprang forward in delight, calling
+her by name, and, as I did so, the apparition
+instantly vanished. Naturally I was startled
+and dumbfounded, almost doubting my senses;
+but the cigar in my mouth, and pen in hand,
+with the ink still moist on my letter, I satisfied
+myself I had not been dreaming and was still
+awake. I was near enough to touch her, had it
+been a physical possibility, and noted her features,
+expression, and details of dress, etc. She
+appeared as if alive. Her eyes looked kindly
+and perfectly naturally into mine. Her skin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+was so perfectly life-like that I could see the
+glow or moisture in the surface, and, on the
+whole there was no change in her appearance,
+otherwise than when alive.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Now comes the most remarkable confirmation
+of my statement, which cannot be doubted by
+those who know what I state actually occurred.
+This visitation, or whatever you may call it,
+so impressed me that I took the next train
+home, and in the presence of my parents and
+others I related what had occurred. My father,
+a man of rare good sense and very practical, was
+inclined to ridicule me, as he saw how earnestly
+I believed what I stated; but he, too, was
+amazed when later on I told them of a bright
+red line or <em>scratch</em> on the right-hand side of
+my sister&rsquo;s face, which I distinctly had seen.
+When I mentioned this my mother rose trembling
+to her feet and nearly fainted away, and as
+soon as she had sufficiently recovered her self-possession,
+with tears streaming down her face,
+she exclaimed that I had indeed seen my sister,
+as no living mortal but herself was aware of
+that scratch, which she had actually made while
+doing some little act of kindness after my sister&rsquo;s
+death. She said she well remembered how
+pained she was to think she should have, unintentionally,
+marred the features of her dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+daughter, and that, unknown to all, she had
+carefully obliterated all traces of the slight
+scratch with the aid of powder, etc., and that she
+had never mentioned it to a human being, from
+that day to this.... Yet I saw the scratch
+as bright as if just made....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>[Confirmatory statements were obtained from
+the narrator&rsquo;s father and brother; his mother
+having died in the interval.]</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="A_GHOST_IN_HAMPTON_COURT" id="A_GHOST_IN_HAMPTON_COURT"></a>A GHOST IN HAMPTON COURT</h3>
+
+<p>Miss X. (Mrs. Hans Spoer) relates the following
+interesting case, as occurring to herself,
+on a visit to the well-known Hampton Court.
+(<cite>Essays in Psychical Research</cite>, pp. 31-34):</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I recently found myself the guest of a lady
+occupying a pleasant suite of rooms in Hampton
+Court Palace. For obvious reasons I cannot
+specify the name of my hostess, the exact date of
+my visit, or the precise whereabouts of her apartment.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Of course I was familiar with the Hampton
+Court ghost legend.... I examined the scene
+of the occurrences, and was allowed to ask
+questions at will. The ghost, I was told, visited
+habitually in a dozen different rooms&mdash;not, however,
+in the bright, dainty drawing room in
+which we were chatting, and where it was difficult<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+to believe that we were discussing recent
+history.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As a matter of fact, it was very recent, indeed.
+But a few nights earlier, in a certain
+small but cheerful bedroom, a little girl had
+been awakened out of her sleep by a visitant so
+dramatic that I wondered whether the child had
+possibly gone to sleep again, after her original
+fright, and dreamed the later and more sensational
+part of the story.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My room was quaintly pretty, but somewhat
+peculiar in arrangement, and lighted only from
+the roof. I have seen &lsquo;ghosts&rsquo; before, have slept
+for months together in haunted houses; and,
+though I find such visitants somewhat exciting,
+I cannot say that my prospects for the night
+filled me with any degree of apprehension.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;At dinner and during the evening ghostly
+topics were avoided; there were other guests,
+and music and chat occupied us till 11 o&rsquo;clock,
+when my hostess accompanied me to my room.
+I asked various questions as to my neighbours
+above and below, and the exact position of other
+members of the household, with a view to knowing
+how to interpret any sounds which might
+occur. About a third of the ceiling of my room
+was skylight; the servant&rsquo;s bedroom being situated
+over the remainder. Two sides of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+room were bounded by a corridor, into which it
+opened; a third of the wall by the state apartments,
+while the fourth opened by folding doors
+upon a room for the time unoccupied (except by
+a cat, asleep upon a chair) out of which there
+opened a door, leading by a secret passage to
+the bank of the river.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I ascertained that the folding doors were
+locked; moreover, a heavy table stood against
+them on the outer side, and a wardrobe on the
+inner. The bedstead was a small one, without
+curtains; indeed, the room contained no hangings
+whatever. The door into the room opened
+so nearly to the head of my bed that there was
+space only for a small table, upon which I took
+care to place two long candles, and a plentiful
+supply of matches, being somewhat addicted to
+late and early reading.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was tired, but a sense of duty demanded
+that I should not sleep through the &lsquo;witching
+hours,&rsquo; so I sat up in bed, and gave my best attention
+to Lord Farrer&rsquo;s problem, &lsquo;Shall We Degrade
+our Standard of Value?&rsquo; in the current
+number of the <cite>National Review</cite>, and, on the
+principle of always trying to see both sides of a
+question, thought of several reasons why we
+should not, with the author, come to a negative
+conclusion. The matter did not, however, excite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+me to the pitch of wakefulness; and when I finished
+the article, as the clock struck half-past
+one, I considered myself absolved from further
+responsibility, put out my lights, and was asleep
+before the next quarter sounded.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Nearly three hours later I was suddenly
+awakened from dreamless slumber by the sound
+of the opening of a door against which some
+piece of furniture was standing, in, as it seemed,
+the empty room to my right. I remembered the
+cat, and tried to conceive by what kind of &lsquo;rampaging&rsquo;
+she could contrive to be so noisy. A
+minute later there followed a thud apparently
+on <em>this</em> side of the folding doors, and too heavy
+for even the prize animals of my home circle,
+not to speak of a mongrel stray, newly adopted
+and not yet doing credit to her keep! &lsquo;A dress
+fallen in the wardrobe,&rsquo; was my next thought,
+and I stretched out my hand for the match-box,
+as a preliminary to enquiry.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I did not reach the matches. It seemed to
+me that a restraining hand was laid upon mine;
+I withdrew it quickly, and gazed around me in
+the darkness. Some minutes passed in blackness
+and silence. I had the sensation of a presence
+in the room, and finally, mindful of the tradition
+that a ghost should be spoken to, I said
+gently: &lsquo;Is anyone there? Can I do anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+for you?&rsquo; I remembered that the last person
+who entertained the ghost had said: &lsquo;Go away,
+I don&rsquo;t want you!&rsquo; and I hoped that my visitor
+would admire my better manners and be responsive.
+However, there was no answer&mdash;no sound
+of any kind; and returning to my theory of the
+cat and the fallen dress, though nevertheless so
+far influenced by the recollection of those detaining
+fingers as not to attempt to strike a light, I
+rose and walked round my bed, keeping the right
+hand on the edge of the bedstead, while, with my
+left arm extended, I swept the surrounding
+space. As the room is small, I thus fairly well
+satisfied myself that it contained nothing unusual.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was, though somewhat perplexed, about to
+grant myself license to go to sleep again, when
+in the darkness before me there began to glow a
+soft light. I watched it increase in brightness
+and in extent. It seemed to radiate from a central
+point, which gradually took form and became
+a tall, slight woman, moving slowly across
+the room from the folding doors on my right.
+As she passed the foot of my bed I felt a slight
+vibration of the spring mattress. At the further
+corner she stopped, so that I had time to observe
+her profile and general appearance. Her
+face was insipidly pretty; that of a woman from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+thirty to thirty-five years of age, her figure
+slight, her dress of a soft dark material, having
+a full skirt and broad sash or soft waist-band
+tied high up, almost under her arms, a crossed
+or draped &lsquo;kerchief over the shoulders, sleeves
+which I noticed fitted very tight below the elbow,
+and hair which was dressed so as not to lie
+flat to the head, either in curls or bows, I could
+not tell which. As she appeared to stand between
+me and the light, I cannot speak with any
+certainty as to the color, but the dress, though
+dark, was, I think, not black. In spite of all
+this definiteness, I was, of course, conscious
+that the figure was unsubstantial, and I felt
+guilty of absurdity in asking once more: &lsquo;Will
+you let me help you? Can I be of use to you?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My voice sounded preternaturally loud, but
+I felt no surprise at noticing that it produced
+no effect upon my visitor. She stood still for
+perhaps two minutes&mdash;though it is very difficult
+to estimate time on such occasions. She then
+raised her hands, which were long and white,
+and held them before her as she sank upon her
+knees and slowly buried the face in her palms,
+in the attitude of prayer&mdash;when, quite suddenly,
+the light went out, and I was alone in the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I felt that the scene was ended, the curtain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+down, and had no hesitation in lighting the candle
+at my side.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I tried to examine the impression the vision
+conveyed. I felt that it was definitely that of
+reproach, yet of gentle resignation. There was
+no force, no passion; I had seen a meek, sad woman
+who had succumbed. I began to turn over
+in my mind the illustrious names of former occupants
+of the chamber. I fixed on one&mdash;a bad
+man of the worst kind, a mad fool of that time
+of wickedness and folly, the Regency&mdash;I thought
+of the secret passage in the next room, and began
+to weave an elaborate romance.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;This will not do here and now,&rsquo; I reflected,
+as the clock struck four; and, as an act of mental
+discipline, I returned to my <cite>National Review</cite>....
+I turned to Mr. Myers&rsquo; article on
+&lsquo;The Drift of Psychical Research,&rsquo; which I had
+already seen. I read:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;... Where telepathy operates, many intelligences
+may affect our own. Some of these
+are the minds of living persons, but some appear
+to be discarnate, to be spirits like ourselves, but
+released from the body, although still retaining
+much of the personality of earth. These spirits
+appear still to have some knowledge of our
+world, and to be in certain ways able to affect
+it.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Here was, so to speak, the text of my illustration.
+I had quite enough to think about&mdash;more
+than I needed for that occasion. I never
+heard the clock strike five!</p>
+
+<hr class="l3" />
+
+<p>&ldquo;Let us try to examine this, a type of many
+ghost stories.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Elsewhere I have classified visions of persons,
+whether seen in the crystal or otherwise,
+as:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;1. Visions of the living, clairvoyant or telepathic,
+usually accompanied by their own background,
+or adapting themselves to mine.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;2. Visions of the departed, having no obvious
+relations to time and space.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;3. Visions which are more or less of the nature
+of pictures, such as those which I voluntarily
+produce in the crystal from memory or imagination,
+or which appear in the background of
+real persons as illustrative of their thoughts of
+history. This is very often the case when an impression
+reaches me in visual form from the
+mind of a friend who, it may be, imperfectly remembers
+or is imperfectly informed as to the
+form and color of the picture his mind conveys.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Again I emphasize the fact that I am speculating,
+not dogmatizing&mdash;that I am speaking
+from internal evidence, with no possibility of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+corroboration, and that I am perfectly aware
+that each reader must take this for what it
+seems to him worth. Such being the case, I venture
+to classify the vision under Class III.
+Again, to borrow from Mr. Myers, I believe that
+what I saw may have been a <em>telepathic impression
+of the dreams</em> (or I should prefer to say
+&lsquo;<em>thoughts</em>&rsquo;) <em>of the dead</em>. If what I saw were
+indeed veridical or truth-telling&mdash;if my readers
+will agree to admit that what I saw was no mere
+illusion, or morbid hallucination, or imagination
+(taking the word in its commonly-accepted
+sense)&mdash;then I believe that my visitor was not
+a departed spirit, such as it has before now,
+perhaps, been my privilege to meet, but rather
+an image as such&mdash;just as the figure which, it
+may be, sits at my dining table is not <em>really</em> the
+friend whose visit a few hours later it announces,
+but only a representation of him, having
+no objective existence apart from the truth
+of the information it conveys&mdash;a thought which
+is personal to the brain which thinks it.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have already said that, preconceived notions
+apart, I had no impression of reality. I
+recognized that what I saw and felt was an externalization
+of impressions unconsciously received,
+possibly from some discarnate mind....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HALF-PAST_ONE_OCLOCK" id="HALF-PAST_ONE_OCLOCK"></a>HALF-PAST ONE O&rsquo;CLOCK</h3>
+
+<p>The following case is in many ways classical.
+Mrs. Claughton, to whom the experience came,
+was a widowed lady, living in good social circles.
+The full account of her experience is to be found
+in the <cite>Proceedings</cite> of the Society for Psychical
+Research (Vol. XI., pp. 547-59), and contains
+statements and personal investigations by Dr.
+Ferrier, Andrew Lang, Mr. Myers and the Marquis
+of Bute as well as corroborative testimony
+from the Clerk at Meresby, Mrs. Claughton&rsquo;s
+governess, copies of letters, diaries, memoranda,
+etc. The whole case is very complicated and impressive;
+and embodies a combination of apparent
+spirit communication, clairvoyance, telepathy,
+precognition, apparitions, and supernormal
+dreams. The chief and most interesting account
+is the statement made by Mrs. Claughton
+to the Marquis of Bute, and recorded by him as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;She was staying in 1893 with her two children
+at 6 Blake St., a house belonging to Mrs.
+Appleby, daughter of the late Mrs. Blackburn
+... but let to Mrs. Buckley. She had heard
+the house was haunted, and may have heard that
+the ghost was Mrs. Blackburn&rsquo;s. She had been
+told also that water was spilt on the floors inexplicably.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+They arrived on October 4th. About
+1.15 a.m., Monday, October 9th, Mrs. Claughton
+was in bed with one of her children, the other
+sleeping in the room. Mrs. Claughton had offered
+to be of any use she could to Miss Buckley,
+who had arrived from London on the Saturday,
+not feeling very well. She had been asleep, and
+was awakened by the footsteps of a person coming
+downstairs, whom she supposed to be a servant
+coming to call her. The steps stopped at
+the door. The sounds were repeated twice more
+at the interval of a few moments. Mrs. Claughton
+rose, lit the candle, and opened the door.
+There was no one there. She noticed the clock
+outside pointed to 1.20 a.m. She shut the door,
+got into bed, read, and, leaving the candle burning,
+went to sleep. Woke up, finding the candle
+spluttering out. Heard a sound like a sigh.
+Saw a woman standing by the bed. She had a
+soft white shawl round the shoulders, held by
+the right hand towards the left shoulder, bending
+slightly forwards. Mrs. Claughton thinks
+the hair was lightish brown, and the shawl
+partly over the head, but does not remember
+distinctly, and has no impression of the rest of
+the dress; it was not grave-clothes. She said:
+&lsquo;Follow me.&rsquo; Mrs. Claughton rose, took the candle,
+and followed her out of the room, across the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+passage, and into the drawing-room. She had
+no recollection as to the opening of the doors.
+The house maid next day declared that the drawing-room
+door had been locked by her. On entering
+the drawing-room, Mrs. Claughton, finding
+the candle on the point of extinction, replaced
+it by a pink one from the chiffonier near
+the door. The figure nearly at the end of the
+room, turned three-quarters round, said &lsquo;to-morrow,&rsquo;
+and disappeared. Mrs. Claughton returned
+to the bedroom, where she found her
+elder child (not the one in the bed) sitting up.
+It asked: &lsquo;Who is the lady in white?&rsquo; Mrs.
+Claughton thinks she answered the child: &lsquo;It&rsquo;s
+only me&mdash;mother; go to sleep,&rsquo; or the like words,
+and hushed her to sleep in her arms. The baby
+remained fast asleep. She lit the gas and remained
+awake for some two hours, then put out
+the lights and went to sleep. Had no fear while
+seeing the figure, but was upset after seeing it.
+Would not be prepared to swear that she might
+not have walked in her sleep. Pink candle,
+partly burned, in her room in morning. Does
+not know if she took it burnt or new.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the morning she spoke to Mr. Buckley, on
+whose advice she went to ask Dr. Ferrier as to
+the figure about 3 p.m. He and his wife said the
+description was like that of Mrs. Blackburn,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+whom Mrs. Claughton already suspected it to
+be. Thinks Dr. Ferrier already told her that
+Miss Blackburn (Mrs. Appleby) had seen her
+mother in the same house. Mrs. Claughton cannot
+recognize the photograph of Mrs. Blackburn
+shown to her by Mr. Y. (who got it from Mrs.
+M.). She says the figure seemed smaller, and
+the features were more pinched and attenuated,
+like those of a person in the last stages of consumption,
+which was also the general appearance.
+By his advice, Mr. Buckley put an electric
+bell under Mrs. Claughton&rsquo;s pillow, communicating
+with Miss Buckley&rsquo;s room, as Mrs.
+Claughton determined to sit up that night and
+watch.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;That night Mrs. Claughton sat up dressed,
+with the gas burning. About 12 she partly undressed,
+put on a dressing gown, and lay down
+outside the bed, gas still burning, and fell
+asleep reading. Woke up and found the same
+woman as before, but the expression even more
+agitated. She bent over Mrs. Claughton and
+said: &lsquo;I have come, listen.&rsquo; She then made a
+certain statement and asked Mrs. Claughton to
+do certain things. Mrs. Claughton said: &lsquo;Am I
+dreaming, or is it true?&rsquo; The figure said something
+like: &lsquo;If you doubt me, you will find that
+the date of my marriage was *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*.&rsquo; (This was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+the date of the marriage, which took place in
+India, of Mrs. Blackburn to Mr. Blackburn, who
+is alive and married again. Mrs. Claughton
+first learned the corroboration of the date from
+Dr. Ferrier on the following Thursday). After
+this Mrs. Claughton saw a man standing on
+Mrs. B.&rsquo;s left hand&mdash;tall, dark, well made,
+healthy, sixty years old, or more, ordinary man&rsquo;s
+day clothes, kind, good expression. A conversation
+ensued between the three, in course of
+which man stated himself to be George Howard,
+buried in Meresby Churchyard (Mrs. Claughton
+had never heard of Meresby or of George
+Howard) and gave the date of his marriage *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*
+and death *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*. [Entries of these dates seen by
+me in Mrs. Claughton&rsquo;s pocketbook, as torn out
+and lent to me. F.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;H. Myers.] He desired Mrs.
+Claughton to go to Meresby and verify these
+dates in the registration, and, if found correct,
+to go to the church at the ensuing 1.15 a.m. and
+wait at the grave therein (S.&nbsp;W. corner of S.
+aisle) of Richard Hart, died *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*, ętat *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*.
+She was to verify this reference also in the registers.
+He said her railway ticket would not be
+taken, and she was to send it along with a white
+rose from his grave to Dr. Ferrier. Forbade her
+having any previous communication with the
+place, or going in her own name. Said Joseph<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+Wright, a dark man, to whom she should describe
+him, would help her. That she would
+lodge with a woman who would tell her that she
+had a child (drowned) buried in the same
+churchyard. When Mrs. Claughton had done all
+this, she should hear the rest of the history.
+Towards the end of the conversation, Mrs.
+Claughton saw a third phantom, that of a man
+whose name she is not free to give, in great trouble,
+standing, with hands on face (which he afterwards
+lowered, showing face) behind Mrs.
+Blackburn&rsquo;s right. The three disappeared.
+Mrs. Claughton rose and went to the door to
+look out at the clock, but was seized with
+faintness, returned and rang the electric bell.
+Mr. Buckley found her on the ground. She was
+able to ask the time, which was about 1.20 a.m.
+Then fainted, and the Buckleys undressed her
+and put her to bed.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;That morning, Tuesday, Mrs. Claughton sent
+for Dr. Ferrier, who corroborated certain matters
+so far as she asked him, and ascertained for
+her the date of Mrs. Blackburn&rsquo;s marriage (she
+received his note of the date on Thursday). She
+went to the Post Office, and found that Meresby
+existed. Returned, and ascertained that it was
+in Suffolk, and so wrote that evening to Dr.
+Ferrier, and went to London with her daughters
+that (Thursday) evening.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Friday night, Mrs. Claughton dreamt that
+she arrived at 5, after dusk, that a fair was going
+on, and that she had to go to place after
+place to get lodgings. Also, she and her eldest
+daughter dreamt that she would fail if she did
+not go alone. Went to Station for 12 noon train
+on Saturday. Went to refreshment room for
+luncheon, telling porter to call her in time. He
+went by mistake to waiting room, and she
+missed train and had to wait (going to the
+British Museum, where she wrote her name in
+Jewel room) until 3.5, as stated. House where
+she finally found lodgings was that of Joseph
+Wright, who turned out to be the parish clerk.
+She sent for the curate by porter, to ask as to
+consulting registers, but as he was dining out
+he did not come till after she had gone to bed.
+Sunday morning, Mrs. Wright spoke to her
+about the drowned child buried in the churchyard.
+Went to forenoon service, and immediately
+afterwards went into vestry and verified
+the registers; described George Howard to Joseph
+Wright, who had known him and recognized
+description; then was taken by Joseph Wright
+to the graves of Richard Hart and George Howard.
+On the latter there is no stone, but three
+mounds surrounded by a railing overgrown with
+white roses. She gathered rose for Dr. Ferrier,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+as had been directed. Walked and talked with
+curate, who was not sympathetic. After luncheon
+went with Mrs. Wright and walked round
+Howard&rsquo;s house (country house in park). Attended
+evening service, and afterwards, while,
+watching the lights put out and the church furniture
+covered up, wondered if she would have
+the nerve to go on. Back to supper; afterwards
+slept and had dream of a terrorizing character,
+whereof has full written description. Dark
+night, hardly any moon, a few stars. To church
+with Joseph Wright at 1 a.m., with whom
+searched interior and found it empty. At 1.20
+a.m. was locked in alone, having no light; had
+been told to take Bible, but had only church-service,
+which she had left in vestry in the morning.
+Waited near grave of Richard Hart; felt
+no fear. Received communication, but does not
+feel free to give any detail; no light. History
+begun at Blake street then completed. Was directed
+to take another white rose from George
+Howard&rsquo;s grave and gathered rose for Miss Howard,
+as had been directed. Home and bed, and
+slept well for the first time since first seeing
+Mrs. Blackburn.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Next day went and sketched church and
+identified grave of Mrs. Rose, on whose grave,
+she had been told in church, she would find a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+message for herself. The words engraved were
+*&nbsp;*&nbsp;*.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Then called on Miss Howard and recognized
+strong likeness to her father. Carried out all
+things desired by the dead to the full, as had
+been requested. Has had no communication
+from any of them since. Nothing since has appeared
+in Blake street. The wishes expressed to
+her were not illogical or unreasonable, as the
+ratiocination of dreams often appears, but perfectly
+rational, reasonable, and of natural importance.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="MY_OWN_TRUE_GHOST_STORY" id="MY_OWN_TRUE_GHOST_STORY"></a>MY OWN TRUE GHOST STORY</h3>
+
+<p>The following narrative was told to me by a
+very well-known artist; who maintains the strict
+accuracy of every word in his account, as given
+below:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had been living in Paris for some months
+when I decided to change my quarters, and move
+into a studio more in keeping with my present
+allowance. After a brief search, I saw one
+which exactly suited me. It was a large room,
+at the end of a long, dark rambling passage,
+with doors leading into other studios on either
+side all the way down. As my neighbours<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+turned out to be a very jolly, happy crew, I
+liked the life immensely, and everything promised
+well for the new abode.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had been there for, perhaps, two weeks
+when I had my first &lsquo;ghostly&rsquo; adventure. I had
+been out rather late, having had late supper,
+and perhaps a little too much wine for my best
+health. At the same time, I was absolutely sober,
+and in full possession of all my senses. I
+felt a little happy and convivial&mdash;that was all.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Walking along the passage, I was approaching
+my door when I distinctly heard the rustle
+of a silk skirt walking down the passage ahead
+of me. As the hallway was dark, I could not see
+whether or not the girl was just in front of me,
+or some distance away. It never for a moment
+struck me that it was not a flesh-and-blood visitant.
+My only thought was: One of the boys
+has been having a little supper, and this must
+be one of his visitors going home. I called
+aloud: &lsquo;Mayn&rsquo;t I strike a light and show you
+the way along this dark hall?&rsquo; And, suiting the
+action to the word, I struck a match, and held it
+up over my head. Nothing was visible! I
+peered into vacancy; no female figure could I see.
+I listened for the sound of steps, or the swish of
+a silken petticoat; but not a sound could I hear.
+I walked along the passage; not a sign of life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+was anywhere manifest. Everything was dark,
+lonely and deserted.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I came to the conclusion that I must have
+been deceived; and thought no more about it.
+I went to bed and to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It was, perhaps, two nights later when the
+same thing occurred. Coming home, about 10
+o&rsquo;clock at night, I heard the same swish of the
+skirt; the same soft, feminine footsteps. This
+time the hall was light, and I could <em>see</em> that no
+one was there. I recalled the incident of the
+other evening, and a cold chill began to creep
+up my backbone. I entered my room, however,
+lit the lamp, leaving my door open. &lsquo;Now,&rsquo;
+thought I, &lsquo;if anyone passes that door again, I
+shall surely see them.&rsquo; I put on a dressing gown
+and a pair of slippers, and sat down to read&mdash;facing
+the door.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps five minutes had elapsed when I
+saw the door very slowly open still further on
+its hinges. A moment later I felt in the room a
+&lsquo;Presence,&rsquo; which I distinctly felt to be that of a
+young woman, about twenty years of age. So
+vivid was the mental picture I formed of this
+person that her very features and coloring were
+sensed by me&mdash;though, of course, I had no means
+of knowing whether or not I was right.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The Presence glided across the room, and sat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+itself upon the edge of my sofa, about three feet
+distant from where I sat. I looked at the spot
+intently, and felt that the eyes of my invisible
+visitor were upon me, regarding me intently, as
+though studying my character to the best of her
+ability. She had a comfortable sort of feeling
+about her, which made me seem at once at home
+with her; so that, without further ceremony, I
+said to the Presence: &lsquo;Pray make yourself at
+home. If I can do anything for you, let me
+know.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I waited, but of course there was no response.
+Only I thought I caught again the
+faintest rustle of silk, as the figure seated itself
+in a more comfortable position. I put down my
+book, and began to paint. The feeling of loneliness,
+which I had experienced ever since my
+removal into the new studio, vanished immediately.
+I felt that a living, human&mdash;if invisible&mdash;being
+was with me, watching my work and
+keeping me company during the long hours of
+discouragement and unproductive effort.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Several times, during the course of the evening,
+I spoke to the Presence; but received no
+reply. Only I felt its proximity, and knew when
+the figure changed its position, as it did once or
+twice. Once it came over and stood by my side,
+as though looking at the canvas, and criticising<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+it with me. Then it went back to its seat at the
+end of the sofa.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Bed time came. I felt almost abashed to go
+to bed with this feminine presence in the room!
+However, as there was nothing left for me to do,
+I undressed, got into bed, and blew out the
+light. The Presence came over and sat on the
+side of my bed. When I went to sleep, it was
+still sitting there.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next morning it had gone. I felt inexpressibly
+lonely. I missed the Presence, whom
+I now began to call &lsquo;Her&rsquo; instead of &lsquo;It,&rsquo; and
+wished she would return and keep me company!
+It did not do so, however, until the following
+evening, when, about nine o&rsquo;clock, I again felt
+her approach, felt her entrance through my studio
+door, and felt her seat herself in my easy
+chair, and turn her eyes upon me. I knew that
+she was regarding me intently&mdash;perhaps critically&mdash;and
+I felt almost angry that I, in turn,
+could not see her. I gazed at the chair <em>determined</em>
+to see her; but nothing save empty space
+met my gaze! With a gesture of impatience and
+irritation, I turned away, and went on with my
+painting.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Presently, I was aware that She was standing
+beside me, examining the painting upon the
+easel. &lsquo;Well, do you like it?&rsquo; I said almost caustically.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+The Presence immediately returned and
+sat in the chair, and I knew that I had offended
+Her. I threw my brush and pallet aside and
+apologized. So she came and stood by me again;
+and again she remained with me until I closed
+my eyes in sleep.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This sort of thing went on for several weeks.
+Every evening the Presence visited me, kept me
+company, making the day seem long and dreary
+until she came. I waited for her appearance
+with growing impatience. I could never see or
+feel anything; my spoken words brought no response;
+yet there she was; and I felt just as assured
+of the presence, in my studio, of a feminine
+spiritual being as of my own existence.
+Every evening the Presence was with me when I
+went to sleep; every morning it had vanished.
+The sense of friendliness and companionship was
+complete and unmistakable.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One evening my visitor failed to appear! I
+could do no work; I paced the floor, I could do
+nothing, think of nothing! The sense of desolation
+and loneliness was absolute. I hardly
+realized, until then, how completely I had grown
+accustomed to the presence of my invisible visitor.
+I missed her more than I ever dreamed I
+could miss anyone in life. Forlorn and forsaken,
+I went to bed, and finally dropped into a
+fitful and broken sleep.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;For about a week things went on in this
+way. I had grown gradually reconciled to my
+lonely life, and was painting hard for an exhibition
+which was near at hand. One evening I
+came into the studio, and I found the Presence
+waiting for me&mdash;seated in the easy chair, by the
+fire.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I felt my heart and whole being give a throb
+of joy and recognition&mdash;just as it would at the
+sight of an old and very dear friend. I knew
+how much I had missed her! I knew that She
+had risen, and was standing, facing me, as I entered.
+Before I had time to check myself, or
+think what I was doing, I had rushed forward,
+crying &lsquo;Dearest,&rsquo; with outstretched arms, and
+had embraced the spot where I knew her to be
+standing! I grasped the empty air, but I somehow
+felt two hands placed upon my shoulders,
+and the imprint of a delicate kiss upon my lips.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I no longer felt lonely. I whistled, I sang, I
+took off my coat, and, donning jacket and slippers,
+set to work with joy upon my picture. I
+painted hard, and all the while the Presence
+stood by me, criticising&mdash;approving or disapproving&mdash;and
+in every instance I felt Her criticism
+and judgment to be right.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A year went by. I had to give up my studio,
+and return to America, on my father&rsquo;s sudden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+death. The parting with the Presence I shall
+never forget. Had two lovers in the flesh parted
+from one another, it could not have been more
+real, more touching, more sincere. For my own
+part I was heartbroken. The Presence, too, I
+knew to be weeping. The parting was long and
+sorrowful. Finally, I tore myself away.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have never seen or felt anything from that
+day to this. But of the reality and objective existence
+of that Presence I am as assured as I
+am of any event in my life. No one can tell me
+that it was a trick of the imagination&mdash;I know
+better! She was as real to me as any personality
+I have ever known. Yes, the Unreal is
+Real, of that I have no doubt whatever. My own
+experience with the Ghostly world has proved
+that to <em>my</em> satisfaction!&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HAUNTED_HOUSES" id="HAUNTED_HOUSES"></a>HAUNTED HOUSES</h3>
+
+<p>When &ldquo;phantasms of the dead&rdquo; constantly appear
+in one house, and there only, that house is
+said to be &ldquo;haunted&rdquo; and, in such a case, the
+phantasms seem to be attracted to the <em>locality</em>
+more than to the individuals living in it. This
+is usually the case in so-called haunted houses;
+no matter <em>who</em> lives within them, they one and
+all see the spectral forms; but this is not invariably
+so. In the case of the &ldquo;Great Amherst
+Mystery,&rdquo; for example&mdash;given below&mdash;the haunting
+seemed to be associated with the <em>person</em>
+more than the <em>house</em>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 <cite>Proceedings</cite> of
+the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R., and the facts were carefully investigated
+at the time, by competent investigators.
+The first instance is particularly interesting, because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+of the experiments which were tried to ascertain
+the nature of the &ldquo;ghost,&rdquo; 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&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_RECORD_OF_A_HAUNTED_HOUSE" id="THE_RECORD_OF_A_HAUNTED_HOUSE"></a>THE RECORD OF A HAUNTED HOUSE</h3>
+
+<p>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 <cite>Proceedings</cite> of the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;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
+&ldquo;ghost&rdquo; as the following brief account will show:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had gone up to my room, but was not yet in
+bed, when I heard someone at the door, and went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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&mdash;my
+brothers and a friend having just given
+up tennis, finding it too dark; my elder sister,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The apparitions were (always) of exactly
+the same type, seen in the same places by the
+same people, at varying intervals.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;During the year, at Mr. Myers&rsquo; suggestion, I
+kept a photographic camera constantly ready to
+try to photograph the figure, but on the few occasions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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 <em>touch</em> her, but did not
+succeed. On cornering her, as I did once or
+twice, she vanished.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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 <em>flame</em> 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 &lsquo;cold
+wind&rsquo; though their candles were not blown out.
+They saw nothing. The steps then descended the
+stairs, re-ascended, again descended, and did not
+return....</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;s faces before
+their feet.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="PROOFS_OF_IMMATERIALITY" id="PROOFS_OF_IMMATERIALITY"></a>PROOFS OF IMMATERIALITY</h3>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;2. The sudden and complete disappearance
+of the figure while still in full view.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;3. The impossibility of touching the figure....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;4. It has appeared in a room with the doors
+shut.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="CONDUCT_OF_ANIMALS_IN_THE_HOUSE" id="CONDUCT_OF_ANIMALS_IN_THE_HOUSE"></a>CONDUCT OF ANIMALS IN THE HOUSE</h3>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We have strong grounds for believing that
+the apparition was seen by two dogs.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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
+<em>loss</em>, as if I had lost power to the figure.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Most of the other percipients speak of a feeling
+of cold wind, but I myself have not experienced
+this....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="B_HOUSE" id="B_HOUSE"></a>B&mdash;&mdash; HOUSE</h3>
+
+<p>This is a very famous case of &ldquo;Haunting,&rdquo;
+which was investigated by Sir Oliver Lodge, Mr.
+F.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;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:</p>
+
+
+<p>&ldquo;<i>February 4, Thursday.</i> I awoke suddenly,
+just before 3 a.m. Miss Moore, who had been
+lying awake for over two hours, said: &lsquo;I want
+you to stay awake and listen.&rsquo; 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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+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&mdash;&mdash;,
+who, having spoken and obtained no answer,
+was reminding me of her presence. I looked
+backward with an exclamation&mdash;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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As the day began with the above, and as I
+had had a quiet rest, I went to &lsquo;the copse&rsquo; 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&mdash;Miss
+Moore, Miss Langton and myself.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I saw &lsquo;Ishbel&rsquo; and &lsquo;Marget&rsquo; in the old spot
+across the burn. [Two &lsquo;spirits&rsquo; who had been
+seen about the house, several times before].
+&lsquo;Ishbel&rsquo; was on her knees in the attitude of weeping,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+&lsquo;Marget&rsquo; apparently reasoning with her in
+a low voice, to which &lsquo;Ishbel&rsquo; 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, &lsquo;What did you see?&rsquo; (She
+had been told nothing, except that the Colonel,
+who did not know details then, had said in her
+presence something about &lsquo;a couple of nuns.&rsquo;)
+She said: &lsquo;I saw nothing, but I heard a low
+talking.&rsquo; 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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This morning&rsquo;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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+by them. They continued for nearly an hour.
+Then another sound began <em>in</em> 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.<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> It
+was close, exactly opposite the bed. Miss Moore
+woke up, and we heard the noise going on till
+nearly eight o&rsquo;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....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks later, Miss X., wrote in her
+&ldquo;Journal&rdquo;:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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&mdash;that
+the influence is evil and horrible&mdash;even poor little
+&lsquo;Spooks&rsquo; (the dog) who was never terrified
+before, has been since our return here. The
+worn faces at breakfast are really a dismal
+sight.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Soon after this the investigators left the
+house.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="WILLINGTON_MILL" id="WILLINGTON_MILL"></a>WILLINGTON MILL</h3>
+
+<p>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 <cite>Journal</cite> 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&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When two of Mrs. Proctor&rsquo;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&rsquo;s sister-in-law had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On one occasion, Mr. Mann, the old mill foreman,
+with his wife and daughter, and Mrs.
+Proctor&rsquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The children, however, were the chief ghost-seers.
+On one occasion one of the little girls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+came to Mrs. Davidson and said: &lsquo;There is a lady
+sitting on the bed in mamma&rsquo;s bedroom. She
+has eyeholes but no eyes; and she looked so
+hard at me.&rsquo; On another occasion a boy of two
+years old was charmed with the ghost, and
+laughed and kicked, crying out: &lsquo;Ah dares
+somebody&mdash;pee, pee!&rsquo; 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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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 &lsquo;in the cellar.&rsquo; This
+was not verified. The full story, as narrated,
+is certainly one of the most curious to be found
+anywhere.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_GREAT_AMHERST_MYSTERY" id="THE_GREAT_AMHERST_MYSTERY"></a>THE GREAT AMHERST MYSTERY</h3>
+
+<p>This is one of the most remarkable cases on
+record. It is the case of a haunted house, in
+which many <em>physical</em> manifestations of all sorts
+took place, and were observed by nearly a hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+persons, all of whom testified as to the
+reality of the facts. The house in question is
+situated in Amherst, N.&nbsp;S.&mdash;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&rsquo;s two sisters, Jennie
+and Esther Cox, also lived with them&mdash;Esther
+being the person around whom nearly all
+the phenomena centered. John Teed and William
+Cox also boarded at the house&mdash;brothers of
+Mr. and Mrs. Teed, respectively.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>The next night manifestations began in earnest.
+Esther began to swell; her body became
+puffed all over, and she thought she was going<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+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. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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. &ldquo;All looked at the wall whence the
+sound of writing came, when, to their great astonishment,
+there could be plainly read these
+words: &lsquo;Esther Cox, you are mine to kill.&rsquo;
+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!...</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;a bucket of cold water
+become agitated, and, to all appearances, boil
+while standing on the kitchen table.&rdquo; 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, &ldquo;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....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, things got so bad that Esther
+Cox had to leave home, and went to visit a friend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
+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 <em>see</em> the ghost; and described
+it to those about her. Among other terrifying
+phenomena, which took place at Mr.
+Whites&rsquo; house, the following should be mentioned&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;... 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....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Some person tried the experiment of placing
+three or four large iron spikes on Esther&rsquo;s lap
+while she was seated in the dining-saloon. To<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>
+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&mdash;a distance of
+twenty feet. This fact was fully corroborated.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;&ldquo;The Great Amherst Mystery.&rdquo; 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. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The next day, Mr. Hubbell records the following
+facts, among others: &ldquo;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,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
+passing over Esther&rsquo;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&mdash;having
+come from behind her out of the pantry.
+I naturally went to the door and looked in, but
+no person was there.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+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&rsquo;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 &lsquo;Journal,&rsquo; from which my experience is copied,
+I am almost speechless with wonder that I
+ever lived to behold such sights....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On this same day, Esther&rsquo;s face was slapped
+by the ghosts, so that the marks of fingers could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+be plainly seen&mdash;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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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 <em>not</em> 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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A trumpet was heard in the house all day.
+The sound came from within the atmosphere&mdash;I
+can give no other description of its effect on
+our sense of hearing.... I wish to state, most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+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&rsquo;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....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;where she was interviewed by
+the present writer in 1907.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A very similar case occurred in Tennessee, in
+1818, and is recorded in full by M.&nbsp;V. Ingram,
+in his book, &ldquo;The Bell Witch.&rdquo; Many other
+cases of a like nature are to be found in the
+&ldquo;History of the Supernatural.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="centered"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">For ghosts of the dead<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through Infinite ages<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Have wandered and lurked<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In earth&rsquo;s atmosphere;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Watchful and eager<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For victims to torture<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To follow and kill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or make tremble with fear.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yes, ghosts of the dead<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Revengeful and evil,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still come in hordes<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From the Stygian shore;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Entering houses<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To torment our maidens<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Burning and wrecking<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our homes evermore.<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+
+<h3><a name="BROOK_HOUSE" id="BROOK_HOUSE"></a>BROOK HOUSE</h3>
+
+<p>The following case is given in full by Mr.
+W.&nbsp;T. Stead in his <cite>Real Ghost Stories</cite>, and I
+extract from his narrative some of the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+striking and interesting passages. It is a truly
+remarkable narrative, well worthy of careful
+perusal.</p>
+
+<p>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:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was spending some months of the summer
+of &rsquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My curiosity was now fully aroused, and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
+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&mdash;it being very hot&mdash;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&rsquo;s time. The window was <em>shut</em>.... 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&mdash;its
+fearful eyes were gazing at me without
+movement and totally expressionless. What,
+then, caused the arresting of the heart&rsquo;s pulsation
+(as it felt) and blood&mdash;that the moment before
+had burnt as it coursed madly through the
+veins&mdash;to be chilled to ice? This&mdash;one was face
+to face with a spirit, and withered by the contact.
+Those eyes&mdash;I can see them&mdash;I can feel
+them&mdash;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 &lsquo;Wedding
+Guest&rsquo; I was held by the spirit&rsquo;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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+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.&rsquo;s elder sister, who had been dead some
+twelve years.... We looked again, and saw
+the backs of two hands on the <em>outside</em> of the
+window, but they did not move it.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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, &lsquo;The Headless Woman&rsquo;; it came
+in front of the window and then began walking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
+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 &lsquo;It&rsquo; a letter to this effect: &lsquo;Miss
+B. and Mr. H. present their compliments to the
+&ldquo;Lady Headless&rdquo; 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.&rsquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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, <abbr lang="la" xml:lang="la" title="id est">i.e.</abbr>, 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.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;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&mdash;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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+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....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The next day we went into the room, and
+discovered an impression in the bed, as though
+some &lsquo;thing&rsquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It disappeared and after a moment or two
+the hand also; but there must have been a <em>something</em>
+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 <em>nothing</em> and about to
+leave, something was sure to happen....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This ends my personal experiences. My
+health became impaired, and for upwards of
+two years I was invalided, but as time wore on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
+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.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This fluttering noise, as of a bird, is very often met
+with in the literature of the occult, and is typical of
+&lsquo;haunted houses.&rsquo; 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.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="GHOST_STORIES_OF_A_MORE_DRAMATIC_NATURE" id="GHOST_STORIES_OF_A_MORE_DRAMATIC_NATURE"></a>GHOST STORIES OF A MORE DRAMATIC NATURE</h3>
+
+<p>In the cases which are adduced in the present
+chapter, the standard of evidence cannot be considered
+so high; many of them have been recorded
+in good faith as actual experiences, but
+they will probably fail to carry conviction to
+the same extent as those which have gone before.
+Still, many of these narratives are singularly
+striking and interesting; and for this reason deserve
+to be included in this volume. The reader
+may therefore place any construction he may
+choose upon these cases; as they are presented
+not as evidence but as entertainment. I shall
+begin with some personal experiences of a Scotch
+seer, who, according to his own accounts, has
+experienced some of the most dramatic and remarkable
+manifestations conceivable.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="DISEASE_PHANTOMS" id="DISEASE_PHANTOMS"></a>DISEASE-PHANTOMS</h3>
+
+<p>Mr. Elliott O&rsquo;Donnell&mdash;a man about whom it
+has been said that &ldquo;the gates of his soul are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+open on the Hell side,&rdquo; has had many strange
+experiences with spirits, mostly evil and horrible,
+and has recorded these in his books &ldquo;Ghostly
+Phenomena,&rdquo; &ldquo;Byways of Ghostland,&rdquo; etc.
+From his voluminous writings on his own personal
+experiences, I cite a few cases, to show
+the character of the phenomena:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have, from time to time, witnessed many
+manifestations which I believe to be super-physical,
+both from the peculiarity of their properties,
+and from the effect their presence invariably
+produce on me&mdash;an effect I cannot associate
+with anything physical. One of the first
+occult phenomena I remember, appeared to me
+when I was about five years of age. I was then
+living in a town in the West of England, and
+had, according to the usual custom, been put to
+bed at six o&rsquo;clock. I had spent a very happy
+day, playing with my favorite toys&mdash;soldiers&mdash;and,
+not being in the least degree tired, was
+amusing myself with planning a fresh campaign
+for the following morning, when I noticed suddenly
+that the bedroom door (which I distinctly
+remember my nurse carefully latching) was
+slowly opening. Thinking this was very curious,
+but without the slightest suspicion of
+&lsquo;ghosts,&rsquo; I sat up in bed and watched.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The door continued to open, and at last I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+caught sight of something so extraordinary that
+my guilty conscience at once associated it with
+the Devil&mdash;with regard to whom I distinctly recollected
+to have spoken that afternoon in a
+sceptical, and I frankly admit, very disrespectful
+manner. But far from feeling the proximity
+of that heat which all those who profess authority
+on Satanic matters ascribe to Satan, I felt
+decidedly cold&mdash;so cold, indeed, that my hands
+grew numb and my teeth chattered. At first I
+only saw two light glittering eyes that fixed
+themselves upon me with an expression of diabolical
+glee, but I was soon able to perceive that
+they were set in a huge, flat face, covered with
+fulsome-looking yellow spots about the size of
+a threepenny bit. I do not remember noticing
+any of the other features, save the mouth, which
+was large and gaping. The body to which the
+head was attached was quite nude, and covered
+all over with spots similar to those on the face.
+I cannot recall any arms, though I have vivid
+recollections of two thick and, to all appearances,
+jointless legs, by the use of which it left
+the doorway, and gliding noiselessly over the
+carpet, approached the empty bed, placed in a
+parallel position to my own. There it halted,
+and thrusting its mis-shapen head forward, it
+fixed its malevolent eyes on me with a penetrating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+stare. On this occasion, I was far less frightened
+than on any of my subsequent experiences with
+the occult. Why, I cannot say, as the manifestation
+was certainly one of the most hideous I
+have ever seen. My curiosity, however, was far
+greater than my fear, and I kept asking myself
+what the thing was, and why it was there?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It did not seem to be composed of ordinary
+flesh and blood, but rather of some luminous
+matter that resembles the light emanating from
+a glow-worm.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After remaining in the same attitude for
+what seemed to me an incalculably long time, it
+gradually receded, and assuming all of a sudden
+a horizontal attitude, passed head first through
+the wall opposite to where I sat. Next day, I
+made a sketch of the apparition, and showed it
+to my relatives, who, of course, told me I had
+been dreaming. About two weeks later I was
+ill in bed with a painful, if not actually dangerous,
+disease. I was giving an account of this
+manifestation at a lecture I delivered two or
+three years ago in B., and when I had finished
+speaking, I was called aside by one of the audience
+who very shyly told me that he too had
+had a similar experience. Prior to being attacked
+by diphtheria, he had seen a queer-looking
+apparition which had approached his bedside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+and leaned over him. He assured me that he
+had been fully awake at the time, and had applied
+tests to prove that the phantom was entirely
+objective.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A number of other cases, too, have been reported
+to me, in which various species of phantasms
+have been seen before various illnesses.
+Hence I believe that certain spirits are symbolical
+of certain diseases, if not the actual creators
+of the bacilli from which these diseases arise.
+To these phantasms I have given the name of
+<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Morbas</i>....&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_TALE_OF_THE_MUMMY" id="THE_TALE_OF_THE_MUMMY"></a>THE TALE OF THE MUMMY</h3>
+
+<p>&ldquo;During one of my sojourns in Paris,&rdquo; says
+Mr. Elliott O&rsquo;Donnell, in his &ldquo;Byways of Ghost
+Land,&rdquo; &ldquo;I met a Frenchman who, he informed
+me, had just returned from the East. I asked
+him if he had brought back any curios such as
+vases, funeral urns, weapons or amulets. &lsquo;Yes,
+lots,&rsquo; he replied, &lsquo;two cases full. But no mummies!
+Mon Dieu! No mummies. You ask me
+why? Ah! Thereby hangs a tale. If you will
+have patience, I will tell it you.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The following is the gist of his narrative:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Some seasons ago I traveled up the Nile as
+far as Assiut, and when there, managed to pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
+a visit to the grand ruins of Thebes. Among the
+various treasures I brought away with me was a
+mummy. I found it lying in an enormous lidless
+sarcophagus, close to a mutilated statue of
+Anubis. On my return to Assiut, I had the
+mummy placed in my tent, and thought no more
+of it till something awoke me with startling suddenness
+in the night. Then, obeying a peculiar
+impulse, I turned over on my side and looked in
+the direction of my treasure.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The nights in the Soudan at this time of
+year are brilliant, one can even see to read, and
+every object in the desert is almost as clearly
+visible as by day. But I was quite startled by
+the whiteness of the glow which rested on the
+mummy, the face of which was immediately opposite
+mine. The remains&mdash;those of Met-Om-Karema,
+lady of the College of the god Amen-ra&mdash;were
+swathed in bandages, some of which had
+worn away in parts or become loose; and the
+figure, plainly discernible, was that of a shapely
+woman with elegant bust, well-formed limbs,
+rounded arms and small hands. The thumbs
+were slender, and the fingers, each of which was
+separately bandaged, long and tapering. The
+neck was full, the cranium rather long, the nose
+aquiline, the chin firm. Imitation eyes, brows,
+and lips were painted on the wrappings, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+effect thus produced and in the phosphorescent
+glare of the moonbeams, was very weird. I was
+quite alone in the tent, the only European who
+accompanied me to Assiut, having stayed in the
+town by preference, and my servants being encamped
+at one hundred or so yards from me on
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Sound travels far in the desert, but the silence
+now was absolute, and, though I listened
+attentively, I could not detect the slightest noise&mdash;man,
+beast and insect were abnormally still.
+There was something in the air, too, which
+struck me as unusual; an odd, clammy coldness
+that reminded me at once of the catacombs in
+Paris. I had hardly, however, conceived the resemblance,
+when a sob&mdash;low, gentle, but very
+distinct&mdash;sent a thrill of horror through me.
+It was ridiculous, absurd. It could not be, and
+I fought against the idea as to whence the sound
+had proceeded, as something too utterly fantastic,
+too utterly impossible. I tried to occupy
+my mind with other thoughts&mdash;the frivolities of
+Cairo, the casinos of Nice; but all to no purpose;
+and soon, on my eager, throbbing ear there
+again fell that sound, that low and gentle sob.
+My hair stood on end; this time there was no
+doubt, no possible manner of doubt&mdash;the mummy
+lived! I looked at it aghast. I strained my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+vision to detect any movement in its limbs, but
+none was perceptible. Yet the noise had come
+from it, it had breathed&mdash;breathed&mdash;and even as
+I hissed the word unconsciously through my
+clenched lips, the bosom of the mummy rose and
+fell.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;A frightful terror seized me. I tried to
+shriek to my servants; I could not ejaculate a
+syllable. I tried to close my eye-lids, but they
+were held open as in a vice. Again there came
+a sob that was immediately succeeded by a sigh;
+and a tremor ran through the figure from head
+to foot. One of its hands then began to move,
+the fingers clutched the air convulsively, then
+grew rigid, then curled slowly into the palms,
+then suddenly straightened. The bandages concealing
+them from view then fell off, and to my
+agonized sight were disclosed objects that struck
+me as strangely familiar. There is something
+about fingers, a marked individuality, I never
+forget. No two persons&rsquo; hands are alike. And
+in these fingers, in their excessive whiteness,
+round knuckles, and blue veins, I read a likeness
+whose prototype, struggle how I would, I
+could not recall. Gradually the hand moved upwards,
+and, reaching the throat, the fingers set
+to work at once to remove the wrappings. My
+terror was now sublime. I dare not imagine, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
+dare not for one instant think, what I should
+see. And there was no getting away from it; I
+could not stir an inch, and the ghastly revelation
+would take place within a yard of my face!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;One by one the bandages came off. A glimmer
+of skin, pale as marble; the beginning of the
+nose, the whole nose; the upper lip, exquisitely,
+delicately cut; the teeth, white and even on the
+whole, but here and there a shining gold filling;
+the under lip, soft and gentle; a mouth I knew,
+but&mdash;God, where? In my dreams, in the wild
+fantasies that had oft-times visited by pillow at
+night&mdash;in delirium, in reality, where? Mon
+Dieu! WHERE?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The uncasing continued. The chin next, a
+chin that was purely feminine, purely classical;
+then the upper part of the head&mdash;the hair long,
+black, luxuriant&mdash;the forehead low and white&mdash;the
+brows black, firmly pencilled; and last of
+all, the eyes!&mdash;and as they met my frenzied gaze,
+smiled, smiled right down into the depths of my
+living soul, I recognized them&mdash;they were the
+eyes of my mother, my mother who had died in
+my boyhood! Seized with a madness that knew
+no bounds, I sprang to my feet. The figure rose
+and confronted me. I flung open my arms to
+embrace her, the woman of all women in the
+world I loved best, the only woman I had ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+loved. Shrinking from my touch, she cowered
+against the side of the tent. I fell on my knees
+before her and kissed&mdash;what? Not the feet of
+my mother, but those of the long-buried dead.
+Sick with repulsion and fear I looked up, and
+there bending over and peering into my eyes
+was the face, the fleshless, mouldering face of
+the foul and barely recognizable corpse! With
+a shriek of horror I rolled backwards, and,
+springing to my feet, prepared to fly. I glanced
+at the mummy. It was lying on the ground,
+stiff and still, every bandage in its place; whilst
+standing over it, a look of fiendish glee in its
+light, doglike eyes, was the figure of Anubis, lurid
+and menacing.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The voices of my servants, assuring me they
+were coming, broke the silence, and in an instant
+the apparition vanished.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I had had enough of the tent, however, at
+least for that night, and, seeking refuge in the
+town, I whiled away the hours till morning with
+a fragrant cigar and a novel. Directly I had
+breakfasted, I took the mummy back to Thebes,
+and left it there. No thank you, Mr. O&rsquo;Donnell,
+I collect many kinds of curios, but&mdash;no more
+mummies!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="FACE_SLAPPED_BY_A_GHOST" id="FACE_SLAPPED_BY_A_GHOST"></a>FACE SLAPPED BY A GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>The following remarkable event occurred to
+a friend of mine&mdash;an elderly, married lady,
+whom I have known for some time. She is now
+making her home in Brooklyn, but at the time
+of her gruesome experience was residing in England.
+It is some years since this occurred, but
+the incident, she assured me, lives just as vividly
+in her mind as though it all happened yesterday.
+This is her story, just as she told it to me:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I was staying with some friends in the country.
+They had an old, rambling house, with
+long, draughty halls and corridors all over it.
+As the house was already full of guests, I had
+to sleep in a large room, at the end of the long
+passage, on the ground floor. The room in itself
+was comfortable enough&mdash;large and warm.
+Yet there was an atmosphere about that apartment
+which I did not quite like; in fact, the
+whole house made me feel &lsquo;creepy,&rsquo; for no reason
+that I can give.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Bed-time came all too soon; and I took my
+candle and was shown my room. My hostess
+saw that I had everything I needed; and then,
+saying good-night, went upstairs to bed.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had half undressed when I saw the door of
+my room gently and quietly opened, as though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
+a stealthy hand were softly pressing it open. I
+gazed transfixed, until, when wide open, I could
+see that no one was, in reality, on the other side
+of the door. At that I drew a breath of relief.
+&lsquo;A draught,&rsquo; I thought, &lsquo;coming down the hallway.
+It is nothing.&rsquo; And I chided myself on
+my fears; shut the door, and proceeded to undress.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had not gone far, however, when to my
+amazement the door opened again; just as
+quietly and stealthily as before. Again I closed
+the door, and proceeded with my undressing. I
+had by this time finished, and had donned my
+night-gown preparatory to getting into bed.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;At that moment I was horrified to see my
+door open for the <em>third</em> time, just as it did before&mdash;slowly,
+slowly, until it rested on its
+hinges, wide open to the hall. I now determined
+to investigate; so, taking my candle in my
+hand, I stepped out into the hall and proceeded
+down towards the front door.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had not taken more than three or four
+steps, however, when the candle in my hands
+was extinguished&mdash;as though a breath of wind,
+coming from nowhere, had blown it out. I did
+not much relish this, as the matches were in my
+room. But I determined to keep on, in the dark,
+and see what the cause of this could be. So I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
+kept on and on, down the dark hall&mdash;my left
+hand holding the extinguished candle; my right
+extended so that I could feel the solid masonry
+all the way down the corridor.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I had proceeded, perhaps, half way, when a
+strange thing occurred. I suddenly felt myself
+slapped on the left cheek by something cold and
+moist and clammy. I put my hand up to my
+face, and felt it was wet. For an instant I hesitated;
+then I proceeded, down the hall, until I
+came to the front door. That I found closed and
+locked. Having thus explored the whole length
+of the hall and found nothing, I turned back to
+regain my room. Still holding the candle in my
+left hand, and still feeling the wall with my outstretched
+right hand, I crept cautiously along,
+not knowing what to expect.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Again, I had proceeded about half way down
+the hall when I felt the same cold, quick slap
+in the face (this time on the right cheek) and
+again I found it was wet.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Thoroughly frightened now, I fled to my
+room as fast as my legs could carry me. Once
+within, I closed and secured the door by placing
+a chair against it. Next, finding my box of
+matches, I relighted my candle. Then I surveyed
+myself in the mirror, to see what could be
+upon my face.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Imagine my horror when, on looking in the
+glass, I discovered two long streaks of blood, one
+upon either cheek! I was so terror-struck that
+I gazed at myself for a few moments unable to
+move or speak. Then I screamed, and after that
+I have no very clear recollection of what happened.
+I have a hazy recollection of anxious
+faces bending over me; of a low hum of voices;
+then oblivion.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It took me many weeks to recover from the
+shock of that night.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="ALONE_WITH_A_GHOST_IN_A_CHURCH" id="ALONE_WITH_A_GHOST_IN_A_CHURCH"></a>ALONE WITH A GHOST IN A CHURCH</h3>
+
+<p>The following case is sent me by a correspondent:</p>
+
+<p>I once knew a young man by the name of
+Charles D. Bradlaugh, who took a delight in
+ridiculing ghost stories and, whenever possible,
+in proving them to be due to fraud, trickery or
+hallucination. He stated he was &ldquo;afraid of
+nothing.&rdquo; I said to him one day in conversation:
+&ldquo;If you are as fearless as you say, would
+you be willing to spend a night alone, locked up
+in a Church with a corpse freshly placed in its
+coffin?&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>He replied that he would do it any time; so
+the test was shortly arranged. One of the parishioners
+had just died, and had been placed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
+the crypt of the church, with the lid of the coffin
+removed. The lights were all extinguished;
+we locked the door after us, and went away,
+leaving Bradlaugh and the spirits to fight it out
+between them.</p>
+
+<p>What occurred during the night must be told
+in Bradlaugh&rsquo;s own words, as nearly as I can
+recall them:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When I heard the key turn in the door, that
+night, I confess that a strange feeling came over
+me for the first time in my life. I wanted to
+get out; but of course I knew it was useless;
+and in the next place my pride forbade my leaving.
+Shaking off the superstitious fear that had
+settled upon me, I turned away; and proceeded
+to explore, as best I could, the whole of the
+church.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A bright moonlight fell in through the windows,
+casting queer shadows in various directions;
+and across the long rows of pews and
+the altar at the far end of the church. I walked
+about, looking at everything curiously, as it had
+been long since I found myself inside a church.
+Then I proceeded to the crypt, and, walking
+boldly up to the coffin, I gazed long and earnestly
+at the corpse lying within it, as though to
+familiarize myself with it. I went on the principle
+that &lsquo;familiarity breeds contempt.&rsquo; When I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
+had done this, I went back to the nave of the
+church, and, finding a comfortable place, I lay
+down, and was soon in a state bordering on
+sleep. I should have been asleep, probably, very
+soon; but, just as I was dropping off, I heard a
+faint sound coming from the direction of the
+crypt. It was like a deep sigh, and this was
+followed by other sounds which I find it hard to
+describe. All I know is that, in the quiet and
+stillness of that awful place, those sounds, slight
+as they were, were truly appalling, and chilled
+the very blood in my veins. Their very indistinctness
+added to their terror. I could not conceive
+what could make such uncanny noises. I
+sat up, and strained my eyes in the darkness,
+trying to penetrate the gloom. Then I heard
+the first faint footsteps coming up the stairs
+from the crypt! At first, these were faint, but
+they became louder and louder; until finally I
+could hear them plainly. Undoubtedly they
+were foot-falls, as though a human being were
+mounting the steps from the crypt where the
+corpse had been laid!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I rose from my seat, my hair standing on
+end, while queer, cold shivers ran up and down
+my back. I advanced one or two paces toward
+the door, hardly knowing what to expect. Then,
+as I looked, I saw step into the bright moonlight,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+the corpse that a few moments before I had
+seen lying in the coffin downstairs!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Frantic with fear, I rushed at the corpse,
+still shrouded, as it was, in the white wrappings
+which, torn and dishevelled, still enveloped the
+body. I raised one hand as though to strike the
+ghost, and thrust the hateful thing from me;
+when I felt a stunning blow on the point of my
+jaw, and a moment later I had lost sensibility.
+When I awoke, you were all round me. You
+know the rest.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>To make a long story short, it turned out that
+the supposed &ldquo;corpse&rdquo; was not really dead at
+all, but in a sort of trance; and had been buried
+prematurely. He had revived in the night; and
+was advancing into the church when he encountered
+Bradlaugh in the doorway. Thinking him
+a robber or an assassin, he had struck first;
+and, being a powerful man and a good boxer,
+he had knocked out Bradlaugh by a blow on the
+jaw. When we arrived in the morning, we
+found Bradlaugh senseless, and the &ldquo;corpse,&rdquo;
+now stripped of his grave clothes, bending over
+him, dashing cold water in his face!</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_FRANCE" id="A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_FRANCE"></a>A HAUNTED HOUSE IN FRANCE</h3>
+
+<p>The following case, said to be authentic, is
+quoted here because of the incident of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+&ldquo;shouts and laughter&rdquo; which were heard, and
+which serve to throw an interesting sidelight on
+the case which follows it.</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. F.&nbsp;G. Lee, in his book, <cite>Sights and
+Shadows</cite>, gives the following account, sent to
+him, of a haunted house in France:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the spring of the year 1891, great excitement
+was occasioned by a disembodied spirit in
+a haunted house in LePort, at Nice. This is
+situated in a terrace close to the quarries,
+where, after the reports concerning it, as many
+as two thousand persons were often gathered
+round it. The spirits haunting it&mdash;never visible,
+however&mdash;would beat the inmates so unmercifully
+that the blows would leave bruises. Hundreds
+of persons saw the result, and testified to
+the undoubted facts. The local police, on being
+appealed to, and having heard the evidence of
+numerous eye-witnesses, and of those persons
+who were inconvenienced, formed a body of organized
+inquirers, who, shrewd enough in mundane
+matters, utterly failed to discover anything
+or anybody.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On one occasion, thirteen men sat up in three
+rooms which had been well lighted, and some
+of them played cards for several hours to while
+away the time. During the whole of this occurrence,
+the strangest noises were heard in various<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+parts of the building. It seemed, at one time,
+as if a whole regiment of soldiers were tramping
+up the chief staircase. Pictures swung to and
+fro upon the walls, without any visible motive
+effect.<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Then heavy blows were heard on the
+walls, and it appeared that the closed doors and
+the shutters were being violently struck and
+thumped, as if with a large hammer wrapped in
+cloth.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On two occasions, a room on the ground floor
+was found to be in the densest darkness, though
+outside the house the sun was shining. On another
+occasion, just before midnight, when certain
+persons were specially present to note any
+supernatural occurrences, all the lamps in the
+house were suddenly put out; while shouts and
+laughter were heard in every part of the place,
+more particularly from the empty rooms. At
+the same time, heavy blows were experienced by
+those present, who were very severely bruised,
+and a large bottle of ink was thrown by invisible
+hands from the top of the staircase.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Every attempt was made to discover the
+source of these extraordinary disorders, but
+without avail. They were reported to have
+ceased for several months, but to have commenced
+again at a later period. A local communication<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
+says that they still &lsquo;occur at intervals.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_GEORGIA" id="A_HAUNTED_HOUSE_IN_GEORGIA"></a>A HAUNTED HOUSE IN GEORGIA</h3>
+
+<p>The following account is taken from the report
+of the San Francisco <cite>Examiner</cite>, and is certainly
+one of the most striking cases of the character
+on record. It is not put forward as
+strictly &ldquo;evidential,&rdquo; but its interesting nature
+certainly warrants its insertion in this volume.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Soon after the Walsinghams took up their
+abode in their new home, they began to be disturbed
+by strange sounds and odd phenomena.
+These disturbances generally took the form of
+noises in the house after the family had retired
+and the lights had been extinguished&mdash;continual
+banging of the doors, things overturned, the
+doorbell rang, and the annoying of the house
+dog, a large and intelligent mastiff.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One day Don Cęsar, the mastiff, was found
+in the hallway barking furiously and bristling
+with rage, while his eyes seemed directed to the
+wall just before him. At last he made a spring
+forward with a hoarse yelp of ungovernable
+fury, only to fall back as if flung down by some
+powerful and cruel hand. Upon examination it
+was found that his neck had been broken.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The house cat, on the contrary, seemed rather
+to enjoy the favor of the ghost, and would often
+enter a door as if escorting some visitor, whose
+hand was stroking her back. She would also
+climb about a chair, rubbing herself and purring
+as if well pleased at the presence of some one in
+the seat. She and Don Cęsar invariably manifested
+this eccentric conduct at the same time,
+as though the mysterious being were visible to
+both of them.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The annoying visitant finally took to arousing
+the family at all hours of the night by making
+such a row as to render any rest impossible.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This noise, which consisted of shouts, groans,
+hideous laughter, and a peculiar, most distressing
+wail, would sometimes proceed, apparently,
+from under the house, sometimes from the ceiling
+and at other times in the very room in which
+the family was seated. One night Miss Amelia
+Walsingham, the young lady daughter, was engaged
+at her toilet, when she felt a hand softly
+laid on her shoulder. Thinking it her mother or
+sister, she glanced at the glass before her, only
+to be thunderstruck at seeing the mirror reflect
+no form but her own, though she could plainly
+see a man&rsquo;s broad hand lying on her arm.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;She brought the family to her by her screams,
+but when they reached her all sign of the mysterious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+hand had gone. Mr. Walsingham himself
+saw footsteps form beside his own while
+walking through the garden after a light rain.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The marks were those of a man&rsquo;s naked feet,
+and fell beside his own, as if the person walked
+at his side.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Matters grew so serious that the Walsinghams
+became frightened, and talked of leaving
+the house, when an event took place which confirmed
+them in this determination. The family
+was seated at the supper table with several
+guests who were spending the evening when a
+loud groan was heard in the room overhead.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This was, however, nothing unusual, and
+very little notice was taken of it until one of the
+visitors pointed out a stain of what looked like
+blood on the white table cloth, and it was seen
+that some liquid was slowly dripping on the
+table from the ceiling overhead. This liquid was
+so much like freshly-shed blood that it horrified
+those who watched its slow dropping. Mr. Walsingham,
+with several of his guests, ran hastily
+upstairs and into the room directly over the one
+in which the blood was dripping.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A carpet covered the floor, and nothing appeared
+to explain the source of the ghastly rain;
+but, anxious to satisfy themselves thoroughly,
+the carpet was immediately ripped up, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+boarding found to be perfectly dry, and even
+covered with a thin layer of dust, and all the
+while the floor was being examined the persons
+below could swear the blood never ceased to
+drop. A stain the size of a dinner-plate was
+formed before the drops ceased to fall. This
+stain was examined the next day under the microscope,
+and was pronounced by competent
+chemists to be human blood.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The Walsinghams left the house next day,
+and since then the place has been apparently
+given over to spooks and evil spirits, which make
+the night hideous with the noise of revel, shouts
+and furious yells. Hundreds from all over this
+county and adjacent ones have visited the place,
+but few have had the courage to pass the night
+in the haunted house. One daring spirit, however,
+Horace Gunn, of Savannah, accepted a
+wager that he could not spend twenty-four hours
+in it, and did so, though he declares that there
+is not enough money in the country to make him
+pass another night there. He was found the
+morning after by his friends with whom he made
+the wager, in a swoon. He has never recovered
+from the shock of his horrible experience, and is
+still confined to his bed suffering from nervous
+prostration.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;His story is that shortly after nightfall he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+endeavored to kindle a fire in one of the rooms,
+and to light the lamp with which he had provided
+himself, but to his surprise and consternation,
+found it impossible to do either. An icy
+breath, which seemed to proceed from some invisible
+person at his side, extinguished each
+match as he lighted it. At this peculiarly terrifying
+turn of affairs Mr. Gunn would have left
+the house and forfeited the amount of his wager,
+a considerable one, but he was restrained by the
+fear of ridicule. He steadied himself in the dark
+with what calmness he could, and waited developments.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;For some time nothing occurred, and the
+young man was half-dozing, when, after an hour
+or two, he was brought to his feet by a sudden
+yell of pain or rage that seemed to come from
+under the house. This appeared to be the signal
+for an outbreak of hideous noises all over
+the house. The sound of running feet could be
+heard scurrying up and down the stairs, hastening
+from one room to another, as if one person
+fled from the pursuit of a second. This kept up
+for nearly an hour, but at last ceased altogether,
+and for some time Mr. Gunn sat in darkness and
+quiet, and had about concluded that the performance
+was over for the night. At last, however,
+his attention was attracted by a white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+spot that gradually appeared on the opposite
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The spot continued to brighten, until it
+seemed a disc of white fire, when the horrified
+spectator saw that the light emanated from and
+surrounded a human head, which, without a
+body, or any visible means of support, was moving
+slowly along the wall, about the height of a
+man from the floor. This ghastly head appeared
+to be that of an aged person, though whether
+male or female it was difficult to determine.
+The hair was long and gray, and matted together
+with dark clots of blood, which also issued
+from a deep jagged wound in one temple.
+The cheeks were fallen in and the whole face
+indicated suffering and unspeakable misery.
+The eyes were wide open, and gleamed with an
+unearthly fire, while the glassy eyes seemed to
+follow the terror-stricken Gunn, who was too
+thoroughly paralyzed by what he saw to move
+or cry out. Finally, the head disappeared and
+the room was once more left in darkness, but
+the young man could hear what seemed to be
+half a dozen persons moving about him, while
+the whole house shook as if rocked by some violent
+earthquake.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The groaning and the wailing that broke
+forth from every direction was something terrific,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+and an unearthly rattle and banging as of
+china or tin pans being flung to the ground floor
+from the upper story added to the deafening
+noise. Gunn at last roused himself sufficiently
+to try and leave the haunted house. Feeling his
+way along the wall, in order to avoid the beings,
+whatever they were, that filled the room,
+the young man had nearly succeeded in reaching
+the door when he found himself seized by
+the ankle and was violently thrown to the floor.
+He was grasped by icy hands, which sought to
+grip him about the throat. He struggled with
+his unseen foe, but was soon overpowered and
+choked into insensibility. When found by his
+friends, his throat was black with the marks of
+long, thin fingers, armed with cruel, curved
+nails.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The only explanation which, can be found for
+these mysterious manifestations is that about
+three months before, a number of bones were
+discovered on the Walsingham place, which
+some declared even then to be those of a human
+being. Mr. Walsingham pronounced them, however,
+to be an animal&rsquo;s, and they were hastily
+thrown into an adjacent limekiln. It is supposed
+to be the outraged spirit of a person to
+whom they belonged in life which is now creating
+such consternation.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="SHAKEN_BY_A_GHOST" id="SHAKEN_BY_A_GHOST"></a>SHAKEN BY A GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>The following narrative is vouched for by
+Mrs. H.&nbsp;S. Iredell, of Tunbridge Wells, England,
+a relative of the Rev. Dr. Lee, who gives the case
+in his <cite>Sights and Shadows</cite>:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The haunted house in question is near
+Wandsworth common. The late occupants of it
+were a man, his wife and their child. They had
+to leave it, for they could get no rest in it at
+night for the fearful noises which went on incessantly,
+like sounds as of a sledge-hammer
+wrapped in flannel struck against the walls.
+The sister-in-law of the late occupants, who told
+me of it, had spent some days at the house, so I
+heard all the story first-hand. One night she
+likewise felt as if someone had taken her by the
+shoulders and she was being roughly shaken
+from side to side. Her husband, who was with
+her, saw her at the time she was being shaken
+by an invisible power, stretched out his hand to
+take hold of her; but he felt right up his arm to
+his shoulder a <em>shock</em>, as it were of electricity,
+which made him instantly draw back and cry
+out. Nothing was ever seen, but in the special
+sleeping-room which seemed to be haunted, the
+clothes used to be pulled off the bed at night
+and thrown on the floor, and then they used to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
+raise or rear themselves up again on the bed....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Since the above was written, it is reported,
+that no less than five families have respectively
+occupied the house as tenants, who one and all
+have left it as soon as possible. It is now said
+to be permanently untenanted.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<hr class="l4" />
+
+<p>This case is given because of the incident of
+the &ldquo;electric shock&rdquo; which the percipient received,
+when attempting to interfere with the
+&ldquo;spirit&rdquo;; and serves as an interesting modern
+and apparently well-authenticated instance of
+what occurred in Lytton&rsquo;s story, which follows.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_HOUSE_AND_THE_BRAIN" id="THE_HOUSE_AND_THE_BRAIN"></a>THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN</h3>
+
+<p>Bulwer Lytton&rsquo;s story, &ldquo;The House and the
+Brain,&rdquo; is, perhaps, the most remarkable ghost
+story of this character on record, and is considered,
+by many, the best ever written. The phenomena
+occur in a house which is reputed to
+be haunted; no one will live in it. At last one
+brave soul determines to pass the night within
+its walls; he and his servant take up their abode
+in it, and, after various startling adventures of a
+minor character, the &ldquo;grand climax&rdquo; of the night
+is reached. As the author sat reading by the
+fire, the following occurred, which is told in his
+own words:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I now became aware that something interposed
+between the page and the light&mdash;the page
+was over-shadowed; I looked up, and I saw what
+I shall find it very difficult, perhaps impossible,
+to describe.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It was a Darkness shaping itself forth from
+the air in very undefined outline. I cannot say
+it was a human form, and yet it had more resemblance
+to a human form, or rather shadow,
+than to anything else. As it stood, wholly apart
+and distinct from the air and light around it,
+its dimensions seemed gigantic, the summit
+nearly touching the ceiling. While I gazed, a
+feeling of intense cold seized me. An iceberg
+could not more have chilled me; nor could the
+cold of an iceberg have been more purely physical.
+I feel convinced that it was not the cold
+caused by fear. As I continued to gaze, I
+thought&mdash;but this I cannot say with precision&mdash;that
+I distinguished two eyes looking on me
+from the height. One moment I fancied that I
+distinguished them clearly; the next they seemed
+gone; but still two rays of pale blue light frequently
+shot through the darkness, as from the
+height on which, I half believed, half doubted,
+that I had encountered the eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I strove to speak&mdash;my voice utterly failed
+me; I could only think to myself, Is this fear?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+It is <em>not</em> fear! I strove to rise; in vain; I felt
+weighed down by an irresistible force. Indeed,
+my impression was that of an immense and overwhelming
+Power opposed to my volition; that
+sense of utter inadequacy to cope with a force
+beyond man&rsquo;s, which one may feel <em>physically</em> in
+a storm at sea, in a conflagration, or when confronting
+some terrible wild beast&mdash;or rather,
+perhaps, the shark of the ocean, I felt <em>morally</em>.
+Opposed to my will was another will, as far superior
+to its strength as storm, fire and shark
+are superior in material force to the force of
+man.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;And now&mdash;as this impression grew on me&mdash;now
+came, at last, horror&mdash;horror of a degree
+that no words can convey. Still I retained
+pride, if not courage; and in my own mind I
+said: &lsquo;This is horror, but it is not fear; unless I
+fear I cannot be harmed; my reason rejects this
+thing; it is an illusion&mdash;I do not fear.&rsquo; With a
+violent effort I succeeded at last in stretching
+out my hand towards the weapon on the table;
+as I did so, on the arm and shoulder I received a
+strange shock, and my arm fell to my side powerless.
+And now, to add to my horror, the light
+began slowly to wane from the candles&mdash;they
+were not, as it were, extinguished, but their
+flame seemed very gradually withdrawn&mdash;it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
+the same with the fire; the light was extinguished
+from the fuel; in a few minutes the
+room was in utter darkness. The dread that
+came over me, to be thus in the dark with that
+Thing, whose power was so intensely felt,
+brought on a reaction of nerve. In fact, terror
+had reached that climax, that either my senses
+must have deserted me, or I must have burst
+through the spell. I <em>did</em> burst through it. I
+found voice, though the voice was a shriek. I
+remember that I broke forth with words like
+these&mdash;&lsquo;I do not fear, my soul does not fear&rsquo;;
+and at the same time I found the strength to
+rise. Still in that profound gloom I rushed to
+one of the windows&mdash;tore aside the curtain&mdash;flung
+open the shutters; my first thought was&mdash;LIGHT.
+And when I saw the moon high, clear
+and calm, I felt a joy that almost compensated
+me for my previous terror. There was the
+moon; there also was the light from the gas
+lamps in the deserted, slumberous street. I
+turned to look back into the room; the moon
+penetrated its shadow very palely and partially&mdash;but
+still there was light. The dark Thing,
+whatever it might be, was gone&mdash;except that I
+could yet see a dim shadow, which seemed the
+shadow of that shade against the opposite wall.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My eye now rested on the table, and from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+under the table (which was without cloth or
+cover&mdash;an old mahogany round table) there rose
+a hand, visible as far as the wrist. It was a
+hand, seemingly, as much of flesh and blood as
+my own, but the hand of an aged person&mdash;lean,
+wrinkled, small too&mdash;a woman&rsquo;s hand. That
+hand very softly closed on the two letters that
+lay on the table; hand and letters both vanished.
+Then there came the same three loud, measured
+knocks I had heard on the bed-head before this
+extraordinary drama commenced.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As these sounds slowly ceased, I felt the
+whole room vibrate sensibly; and at the far end
+there rose, from the floor, sparks or globules,
+like globules of light, many colored&mdash;green, yellow,
+fire-red, azure. Up and down, to and fro,
+hither, thither, as tiny Will o&rsquo; the Wisps, the
+sparks moved, slow and swift, each at its own
+caprice. A chair (as in the drawing-room below)
+was now advanced from the wall without
+apparent agency, and placed at the opposite side
+of the table. Suddenly, as forth from the air,
+there grew a shape, a woman&rsquo;s shape. It was
+distinct as a shape of life&mdash;ghastly as the shape
+of death. The face was that of youth, with a
+strange, mournful beauty; the throat and shoulders
+were bare; the rest of the form in a loose
+robe of cloudy white. It began sleeking its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+long, yellow hair, which fell over its shoulders;
+its eyes were not turned towards me, but to the
+floor; it seemed listening, watching, waiting.
+The shadow of the shade in the background grew
+darker; and again I thought I saw the eyes
+gleaming out from the summit of the shadow&mdash;eyes
+fixed upon that shape.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As if from the door, though it did not open,
+there grew out another shape, equally distinct,
+equally ghastly&mdash;a man&rsquo;s shape&mdash;a young man&rsquo;s.
+It was in the dress of the last century, or rather
+the likeness to such dress (for both the male and
+the female, though defined, were evidently unsubstantial,
+impalpable, simulacra, phantasms),
+and there was something incongruous, grotesque,
+yet fearful in the contrast between the elaborate
+finery, the courtly precision of that old-fashioned
+garb, with its ruffles and lace and
+buckles, and the corpse-like aspect and ghost-like
+stillness of the flitting wearer. Just as the
+male shape approached the female, the dark
+shadow started from the wall, and all three for
+a moment were wrapped in darkness. When the
+pale light returned, the two phantasms were as
+if in the grasp of the shadow, that towered between
+them, and there was a blood stain on the
+breast of the female; and the phantom male was
+leaning on its phantom sword, and blood seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+trickling fast from the ruffles, from the lace;
+and the darkness of the intermediate Shadow
+swallowed them up&mdash;they were gone. And
+again the bubbles of light shot, and sailed, and
+undulated, growing thicker and thicker and
+more wildly confused in their movements.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The closet door to the right of the fireplace
+now opened, and from the aperture there came
+the form of an aged woman. In her hand she
+held letters&mdash;the very letters over which I had
+seen the hand close; and behind her I heard a
+footstep. She turned round as if to listen, and
+then she opened her letters and seemed to read;
+and over her shoulder I saw a livid face, the
+face of a man long drowned&mdash;bloated, bleached&mdash;seaweed
+tangled in its dripping hair, and at
+her feet lay a form as of a corpse, and beside
+the corpse there towered a child, a miserable,
+squalid child, with famine in its cheeks and fear
+in its eyes. And as I looked in the old woman&rsquo;s
+face, the wrinkles and lines vanished; and it became
+the face of youth&mdash;hard-eyed, stony, but
+still youth; and the Shadow darted forth and
+darkened over these phantoms as it had darkened
+over the last.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing now was left but the Shadow, and
+on that my eyes were intently fixed, till again
+eyes grew out of the Shadow&mdash;malignant, serpent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
+eyes. And the bubbles of light again rose
+and fell, and in their disordered, irregular, turbulent
+maze, mingled with the wan moonlight.
+And now from these globules themselves, as
+from the shell of an egg, monstrous things burst
+out; the air grew filled with them; larvę so
+bloodless and so hideous that I can in no way
+describe them except to remind the reader of
+the swarming life which the solar microscope
+brings before the eyes in a drop of water&mdash;things
+transparent, supple, agile, chasing each
+other, devouring each other&mdash;forms like nought
+ever beheld by the naked eye. As the shapes
+were without symmetry, so their movements
+were without order. In their very vagrancies
+there was no sport; they came round me and
+round; thicker and faster and swifter, swarming
+over my head, crawling over my right arm,
+which was outstretched in involuntary command
+against all evil things. Sometimes I felt
+myself touched, but not by them; invisible hands
+touched me. Once I felt the clutch of cold, soft
+fingers at my throat, I was still equally conscious
+that if I gave way to fear I should be in
+bodily peril; and I concentrated all my faculties
+in the single focus of resisting, stubborn will.
+And I turned my sight from the Shadow&mdash;above
+all, from those strange serpent eyes&mdash;eyes that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+had now become distinctly visible. For there,
+though in nought else round me, I was aware
+that there was a WILL, and a will of intense,
+creative, working evil, which might crush down
+my own.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The pale atmosphere in the room began now
+to redden as if in the air of some near conflagration.
+The larvę grew lurid as things that
+live on fire. Again the room vibrated; again I
+heard the three measured knocks; and again all
+things were swallowed up in the darkness of the
+dark shadow&mdash;as if out of that darkness all had
+come, into that darkness all had returned.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As the gloom receded, the Shadow was
+wholly gone. Slowly, as it had been withdrawn,
+the flame grew again into the candles on the
+table, again into the fuel in the grate....</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The room came once more calmly, healthfully
+into sight.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing more chanced for the rest of the
+night. Nor, indeed, had I long to wait before
+the dawn broke....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This is a common feature of haunted houses.&mdash;H.C.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_A" id="APPENDIX_A"></a>APPENDIX A</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="HISTORICAL_GHOSTS" id="HISTORICAL_GHOSTS"></a>HISTORICAL GHOSTS</h3>
+
+<p>Royalty and well-known personages have seen
+ghosts in all ages of the world&rsquo;s history; certainly
+they are not exempt from the common run
+of humanity so far as ghostly visitations are concerned!
+Mr. Stead has compiled a number of
+notable cases of this character, of which the following
+are probably the most noteworthy:</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="ROYAL" id="ROYAL"></a>ROYAL</h3>
+
+<p><i>Henry IV.</i> of France told D&rsquo;Aubigne that,
+in the presence of himself, the Archbishop of
+Lyons, and three ladies of the Court, the Queen
+(Margaret of Valois) saw the apparition of a
+certain Cardinal afterwards found to have died
+at the moment.</p>
+
+<p><i>Abel the Fratricide</i>, King of Denmark, still
+haunts the woods of Poole, near the city of
+Sleswig.</p>
+
+<p><i>Valdemar IV.</i> haunts Gurre Wood, near Elsinore.</p>
+
+<p><i>Charles XI.</i>, of Sweden, accompanied by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
+chamberlain and state physician, witnessed the
+trial of the assassin of Gartavus&nbsp;III., which occurred
+nearly a century later.</p>
+
+<p><i>James IV.</i>, of Scotland, was warned by an apparition
+against his intended expedition into
+England. He, however, proceeded and fell at
+Flodden Field.</p>
+
+<p><i>Charles I.</i>, of England, was also warned by
+an apparition, but paying no heed, was disastrously
+defeated at Naseby.</p>
+
+<p><i>Queen Elizabeth</i> is said to have been warned
+of her death by the apparition of her own
+double.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="EMPERORS" id="EMPERORS"></a>EMPERORS</h3>
+
+<p><i>Trajan</i> and <i>Caracalla</i> both saw apparitions,
+which they recorded.</p>
+
+<p><i>Theodosius</i> and <i>Julian the Apostate</i> both beheld
+apparitions, at important crises in their
+lives.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="FAMOUS_MEN" id="FAMOUS_MEN"></a>FAMOUS MEN</h3>
+
+<p><i>Sir Robert Peel</i> and his brother both saw Lord
+Byron in London when he was in reality lying
+dangerously ill of a fever in Patras. During the
+same fever, he also appeared to others.</p>
+
+<p><i>Julius Caesar</i>, <i>Xerxes</i>, <i>Drusus</i>, <i>Pausanius</i>, <i>Dio</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+(General of Syracuse), <i>Admiral Coligni</i> all saw
+apparitions, which made a deep impression on
+them in every case.</p>
+
+<p><i>Napoleon</i>, at St. Helena, saw and conversed
+with the apparition of Josephine, who warned
+him of his approaching death. <i>Blucher</i>, on the
+day of his death, was also told of it by an apparition.
+<i>General Garfield</i> saw and conversed with
+his father, latterly deceased. <i>Lincoln</i> had a certain
+premonitory dream which occurred three
+times in relation to important battles, and the
+fourth on the eve of his assassination.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dante</i>, son of the poet, was visited in a dream
+by his father, who conversed with him and told
+him (correctly) where to find the missing thirteen
+cantos of the &ldquo;Commedia.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><i>Goethe</i> saw his own double riding by his side
+under conditions which really occurred years
+later.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tasso</i> saw and conversed with beings invisible
+to those about him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cellini</i> was dissuaded from suicide by the apparition
+of a young man who frequently visited
+and encouraged him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mozart</i> was visited by a mysterious person
+who ordered him to compose a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">requiem</i>, and
+came frequently to inquire after its progress,
+but disappeared on its completion, which occurred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+just in time for its performance at his
+own funeral.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ben Johnson</i> was visited by the apparition of
+his eldest son with the mark of a bloody cross
+upon his forehead at the moment of his death by
+the plague.</p>
+
+<p><i>Thackery</i> wrote: &ldquo;It is all very well for you
+who have probably never seen spirit manifestations
+to talk as you do, but had you seen what I
+have witnessed you would hold a different opinion.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><i>Hugh Miller</i>, <i>Maria Edgeworth</i>, <i>Captain Marryat</i>,
+<i>Madame de Stael</i>, <i>Sir Humphrey Davy</i>,
+<i>William Harvey</i>, <i>Francis Bacon</i>, <i>Martin Luther</i>,
+<i>George Fox</i>, <i>Cardinal Newman</i>, <i>Bishop Wilberforce</i>,
+and many others have seen apparitions, or
+held converse with the unseen world in one form
+or another, as recorded by themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Among the famous historical hauntings, we
+must not forget to mention the famous <cite>Cock
+Lane Ghost</cite> which occurred about 1760. According
+to a brief paragraph printed in the <cite>London
+Ledger</cite>, 1762, we read that:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;For some time a great knocking having been
+heard in the night, at the officiating parish
+clerk&rsquo;s of St. Sepulchre&rsquo;s, in Cock Lane near
+Smithfield, to the great terror of the family, and
+all means used to discover the meaning of it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+having failed, four gentlemen sat up there last
+Friday night, among whom was a clergyman
+standing withinside the door, who asked various
+questions. On his asking whether anyone had
+been murdered, no answer was made; but on his
+asking whether anyone had been poisoned, it
+knocked one and thirty times. The report current
+in the neighborhood is that a woman was
+some time ago poisoned, and buried in St. John&rsquo;s
+Clerkenwell, by her brother-in-law.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>These knockings and phenomena occurred for
+a considerable time, until the whole community
+became interested in the manifestations. While
+various theories were advanced at the time&mdash;and
+since&mdash;to explain this ghost, no definite conclusion
+has ever been arrived at.</p>
+
+<p>The <cite>Drummer of Tedworth</cite> is a still older and
+equally famous ghost, who flourished about a
+hundred years before the Cock Lane Ghost, and
+was investigated (and the results carefully recorded)
+by Sir Joseph Glanvil, F.R.S., who
+wrote a book about the case: &ldquo;<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Sadducismus Triumphatus</cite>,&rdquo;
+which was also devoted to the general
+phenomena of witchcraft. Here, also, we
+find records of unaccountable &ldquo;knockings&rdquo; and
+similar phenomena, which lasted for a considerable
+time, and which have never yet been explained.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The ghost which invaded <em>John Wesley&rsquo;s</em> house
+stayed with them for several years, and manifested
+his presence in a variety of elaborate and
+ingenious ways. Those who are interested in
+this ghost and his doings should read Wesley&rsquo;s
+<cite>Journal</cite>; also the various discussions, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pro</i> and
+<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">con.</i>, which have appeared in the <cite>Proceedings</cite> of
+the Society for Psychical Research, from time to
+time. It is a most curious and suggestive record.</p>
+
+<p>The <cite>Devils of Loudon</cite> might also be cited as
+an interesting case of psychic phenomena; and
+here trance, automatic speech, etc., were observed&mdash;as
+well as the usual physical phenomena.
+This is perhaps one of the earliest cases
+which was closely observed, and in which skeptical
+criticism was applied. This case will be
+found recorded in Mr. H. Addington Bruce&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;<cite>Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters</cite>.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_B" id="APPENDIX_B"></a>APPENDIX B</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="THE_PHANTOM_ARMIES_SEEN_IN_FRANCE" id="THE_PHANTOM_ARMIES_SEEN_IN_FRANCE"></a>THE PHANTOM ARMIES SEEN IN
+FRANCE</h3>
+
+<p>History abounds in cases showing the apparent
+intrusion of spiritual help in time of trouble,
+and in the annals of military history, these
+accounts are not lacking. On several occasions,
+the Crusaders thought that they saw angelic
+hosts fighting for them&mdash;phantom horsemen
+charging the enemy, when their own utter destruction
+seemed imminent. In the wars between
+the English and the Scotch, several such
+cases were cited, and the Napoleonic wars also
+furnished examples. But the most striking evidence
+of this character&mdash;because the newest&mdash;and
+supported, apparently, by a good deal of
+first-hand and sincere testimony, is that afforded
+by the Phantom Armies seen in France during
+the retreat of the British army from Mons&mdash;the
+field of Agincourt. Cut off by overwhelming
+numbers, and all but annihilated, the British
+army fought desperately, but the 80,000 were
+opposed by 300,000 Germans, backed by a terrific<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>
+fire of artillery, and were indeed in a critical
+position. They were only saved, as we
+know, by the heroism of a small force of men&mdash;a
+rearguard&mdash;who were practically wiped out
+in consequence. At the most critical moment
+came what appeared to be angelic assistance.
+The tide of battle seemed to be stemmed by supernatural
+means. In a letter written by a soldier
+who actually witnessed these startling
+events, quoted by the Hon. Mrs. St. John Mildmay
+(<cite>North American Review</cite>, August, 1915),
+the following graphic account is given. Our soldier
+writes&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The men joked at the shells and found many
+funny names for them, and had bets about them,
+and greeted them with music-hall songs, as they
+screamed in this terrific cannonade.... The
+climax seemed to have been reached, but &lsquo;a seven-times
+heated hell&rsquo; of the enemy&rsquo;s onslaught
+fell upon them, rending brother from brother.
+At that very moment, they saw from their
+trenches a tremendous host moving against their
+lines. Five hundred of the thousand (who had
+been detailed to fight the rear-guard action) remained,
+and as far as they could see the German
+infantry was pressing on against them, column
+by column, a grey world of men&mdash;10,000 of them,
+as it appeared afterwards. There was no hope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
+at all. Some of them shook hands. One man
+improvised a new version of the battle song Tipperary,
+ending &lsquo;and we shan&rsquo;t get there!&rsquo; And
+all went on firing steadily.... The enemy
+dropped line after line, while the few machine
+guns did their best. Everyone knew it was of
+no use. The dead grey bodies lay in companies
+and battalions, but others came on and on,
+swarming and advancing from beyond and beyond.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;World without end, Amen,&rsquo; said one of the
+British soldiers, with some irreverence, as he
+took aim and fired. Then he remembered a vegetarian
+restaurant in London, where he had
+once or twice eaten queer dishes of cutlets made
+of lentils and nuts that pretended to be steaks.
+On all the plates in this restaurant a figure of
+St. George was printed in blue with the motto,
+<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Adsit Anglis Sanctus Georgius</i> (May St. George
+be a present help to England!) The soldier
+happened to know &lsquo;Latin and other useless
+things,&rsquo; so now, as he fired at the grey advancing
+mass, 300 yards away, he uttered the pious
+vegetarian motto. He went on firing to the end,
+till at last Bill on his right had to clout him
+cheerfully on the head to make him stop, pointing
+out as he did so that the King&rsquo;s ammunition
+cost money and was not lightly to be wasted....<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
+For, as the Latin scholar uttered his invocation,
+he felt something between a shudder and an electric
+shock pass through his body. The roar of
+the battle died down in his ears to a gentle
+murmur, and instead of it, he says, he heard a
+great voice louder than a thunder peal, crying
+&lsquo;Array! Array!&rsquo; His heart grew hot as a burning
+coal, then it grew cold as ice within him, for
+it seemed to him a tumult of voices answered to
+the summons. He heard or seemed to hear
+thousands shouting:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<i>St. George! St. George!</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<i>Ha! Messire, Ha! Sweet Saint,
+grant us good deliverance!</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<i>St. George for Merrie England!</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<i>Harow! Harow! Monseigneur St.
+George, succour us, Ha! St. George!
+A low bow, and a strong bow, Knight
+of Heaven, aid us!</i>&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As the soldier heard these voices, he saw before
+him, beyond the trench, a long line of
+shapes with a shining about them. They were
+like men who drew the bow, and with another
+shout their cloud of arrows flew singing through
+the air toward the German host. The other men
+in the trenches were firing all the while. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+had no hope, but they aimed just as if they had
+been shooting at Bisley.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Suddenly one of these lifted up his voice in
+plain English. &lsquo;Gawd help us,&rsquo; he bellowed to
+the man next him, &lsquo;but we&rsquo;re bloomin&rsquo; marvels!
+Look at those grey gentlemen! Look at them!
+They&rsquo;re not going down in dozens or hundreds&mdash;its
+<em>thousands</em> it is! Look, look! There&rsquo;s a
+regiment gone while I&rsquo;m talking to ye!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Shut it,&rsquo; the other soldier bellowed, taking
+aim. &lsquo;What are ye talkin&rsquo; about?&rsquo; But he
+gulped with astonishment even as he spoke, for
+indeed the grey men were falling by the thousands.
+The English could hear the guttural
+scream of their revolvers as they shot, and line
+after line crashed to the earth. All the while
+the Latin-bred soldier heard the cry &lsquo;Harow, Harow!
+Monseigneur! Dear Saint! Quick to our
+aid! St. George help us!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The singing arrows darkened the air, the
+hordes melted before them. &lsquo;More machine
+guns,&rsquo; Bill yelled to Tom. &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t hear them,&rsquo;
+Tom yelled back, &lsquo;but thank God, anyway, that
+they have got it in the neck!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In fact, there were ten thousand dead German
+soldiers left before that salient of the English
+army, and consequently&mdash;<em>no Sedan</em>. In
+Germany the General Staff decided that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
+English must have employed turpenite shells, as
+no wounds were discernible on the bodies of the
+dead soldiers. But the man who knew what
+nuts tasted like when they called themselves
+steak, knew also that St. George had brought his
+Agincourt Bowmen to help the English.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Such accounts have been confirmed by others.
+Thus, Miss Phyllis Campbell, writing in &ldquo;<cite>The
+Occult Review</cite>&rdquo; (October, 1915), says:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I tremble, now that it is safely past, to look
+back on the terrible week that brought the Allies
+to Vitry-le-Francois. We had not had our
+clothes off for the whole of that week, because
+no sooner had we reached home, too weary to
+undress, or to eat, and fallen on our beds, than
+the &lsquo;chug-chug&rsquo; of the commandant&rsquo;s car would
+sound into the silence of the deserted street, and
+the horn would imperatively summon us back
+to duty&mdash;because, in addition to our duties as
+<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ambulancier auxiliare</i>, we were interpreters to
+the post, now at this moment diminished to half-a-dozen.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Returning at 4.30 in the morning, we stood
+on the end of the platform, watching the train
+crawl through the blue-green mist of the forest,
+into the clearing, and draw up with the first
+wounded from Vitry-le-Francois. It was
+packed with dead and dying and badly wounded.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+For a time we forgot our weariness in a race
+against time&mdash;removing the dead and dying, and
+attending to those in need. I was bandaging a
+man&rsquo;s shattered arm with the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">majeur</i> instructing
+me, while he stitched a horrible gap in his head,
+when Madame de A&mdash;&mdash;, the heroic president
+of the post, came and replaced me. &lsquo;There is an
+English in the fifth wagon,&rsquo; she said. &lsquo;He wants
+something&mdash;I think a holy picture!&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The idea of an English soldier wanting a
+holy picture struck me, even in that atmosphere
+of blood and misery, as something to smile at&mdash;but
+I hurried away. &lsquo;The English&rsquo; was a Lancashire
+Fusilier. He was propped in a corner,
+his left arm tied-up in a peasant woman&rsquo;s handkerchief,
+and his head newly bandaged. He
+should have been in a state of collapse from loss
+of blood, for his tattered uniform was soaked
+and caked in blood, and his face paper-white under
+the dirt of conflict. He looked at me with
+bright, courageous eyes and asked for a picture
+or a medal (he didn&rsquo;t care which) of St. George.
+I asked him if he was a Catholic. &lsquo;No,&rsquo; he was
+Wesleyan Methodist, ... and he wanted a
+picture or a medal of St. George, <em>because he had
+seen him on a white horse</em>, leading the British at
+Vitry-le-Francois, when the Allies turned.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;There was an F.R.A. man, wounded in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
+leg, sitting beside him on the floor; he saw my
+look of amazement, and hastened in: &lsquo;It&rsquo;s true,
+sister,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;We all saw it. First there was
+a sort of yellow-mist like, sort of risin&rsquo; before
+the Germans as they came on the top of the hill&mdash;come
+on like a solid wall, they did&mdash;springing
+out of the earth just solid&mdash;no end to &rsquo;em!
+I just give up. No use fighting the whole German
+race, thinks I; it&rsquo;s all up with <em>us</em>. The
+next minute comes this funny cloud of light, and
+when it clears off, there&rsquo;s a tall man with yellow
+hair in golden armour, on a white horse, holding
+his sword up, and his mouth open as if he was
+saying: &ldquo;Come on, boys! I&rsquo;ll put the kybosh on
+the devils!&rdquo; Sort of &ldquo;This is my picnic&rdquo; expression.
+Then, before you could say &ldquo;knife,&rdquo;
+the Germans had turned, and we were after
+them, fighting like ninety....&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Where was this?&rsquo; I asked. But neither of
+them could tell. They had marched, fighting a
+rearguard action, from Mons, till St. George had
+appeared through the haze of light, and turned
+the enemy. They both <em>knew</em> it was St. George.
+Hadn&rsquo;t they seen him with a sword on every
+&lsquo;quid&rsquo; they&rsquo;d ever seen? The Frenchies had seen
+him too&mdash;ask them; but they said it was St.
+Michęl....&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Much additional testimony of a like nature<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
+might be given&mdash;and has been collected by students
+of psychical research. If the spiritual
+world ever intervenes in matters mundane, it
+assuredly did so on this occasion. And it could
+hardly have chosen a more opportune time.
+Could the aspiring thoughts of the dead and dying,
+and those still living and fighting for their
+country, have drawn &ldquo;St. George&rdquo; to earth, to
+aid in again redeeming his country from a foreign
+foe? Could a simple &ldquo;hallucination&rdquo; have
+been so widespread and so prevalent? Or might
+there not have been some spiritual energy behind
+the visions thus seen&mdash;stimulating them, and inspiring
+and encouraging the stricken soldiers?
+We cannot say. We only know what the soldiers
+themselves say; and we also know the undoubted
+effects upon the enemy. For on both
+occasions were the Germans repulsed with terrible
+slaughter. Perhaps the vision of St. George
+led our soldiers into closer touch and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rapport</i>
+with the consciousness of some high intelligence&mdash;or
+the veil was rent, separating the two worlds&mdash;as
+so often appears to be the case in apparitions
+and visions of this character.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_C" id="APPENDIX_C"></a>APPENDIX C</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h3>
+
+<ul class="lsoff">
+<li>Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. M.&nbsp;R. James.</li>
+
+<li>Wandering Ghosts. F. Marion Crawford.</li>
+
+<li>John Silence. A. Blackwood.</li>
+
+<li>Modern Ghosts. DeMaupassant, (and others).</li>
+
+<li>Twenty-five Ghost Stories. W. Bob Holland.</li>
+
+<li>A Book of Ghosts. Baring Gould.</li>
+
+<li>The Shape of Fear. Peattie.</li>
+
+<li>Book of Dreams and Ghosts. Andrew Lang.</li>
+
+<li>Cock Lane and Common Sense. A. Lang.</li>
+
+<li>Real Ghost Stories. W.&nbsp;T. Stead.</li>
+
+<li>More Ghost Stories. W.&nbsp;T. Stead.</li>
+
+<li>The Great Amherst Mystery. Walter Hubbell.</li>
+
+<li>The Bell Witch. M.&nbsp;V. Ingram.</li>
+
+<li>The Alleged Haunting of B&mdash;&mdash; House. Miss
+X.</li>
+
+<li>Haunted Houses and Haunted Men. Hon.
+John Harris.</li>
+
+<li>Ghostly Phenomena. Elliott O&rsquo;Donnell.</li>
+
+<li>Byways of Ghost Land. Elliott O&rsquo;Donnell.</li>
+
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters. H.&nbsp;A.
+Bruce.</li>
+
+<li>Posthumous Humanity: a Study of Phantoms.
+D&rsquo;Assier.</li>
+
+<li>Apparitions and Thought-Transference. Frank
+Podmore.</li>
+
+<li>The New View of Ghosts. F. Podmore.</li>
+
+<li><cite>Proceedings</cite> and <cite>Journals</cite> of the S.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;R.</li>
+
+<li>Borderland (Magazine). <i>Ed. by</i> W.&nbsp;T. Stead.</li>
+
+<li>Haunted Houses of Great Britain. Ingraham.</li>
+
+<li>The Night Side of Nature. Catherine Crowe.</li>
+
+<li>The House and the Brain. Bulwer Lytton.</li>
+
+<li>Nightmare Tales. H.&nbsp;P. Blavatsky.</li>
+
+<li>Apparitions: a Narrative of Facts. B.&nbsp;W.
+Saville.</li>
+
+<li>Startling Ghost Stories. Anon.</li>
+
+<li>Sights and Shadows. F.&nbsp;G. Lee.</li>
+
+<li>Dracula. Bram Stoker.</li>
+
+<li>The Phantom of the Opera. Gaston Leroux.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<p>[<span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;The above list does not pretend to be
+in any way exhaustive nor are the books quoted
+in any way equal in evidential value. They are
+merely types or examples of Ghost Stories, from
+various points of view; which, if the reader is
+interested, he may read with both pleasure and
+profit.]</p>
+
+
+<div class="tnote">
+<p class="tn">Transcriber&rsquo;s note</p>
+
+<p>The following 3 missing section headers were added to the
+table of contents: The Ghosts of Animals p.&nbsp;53, Proofs of
+Immateriality p.&nbsp;168, and Conduct of Animals in the House
+p.&nbsp;169; but minor differences between the section headers
+in the table of contents and in the text were not
+corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Errors in punctuation were corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Several badly printed words were guessed from the context and filled
+in.</p>
+
+<p>Otherwise the original was preserved, including unusual and
+inconsistent spelling and hyphenation and unmatched double
+quotation marks.</p>
+
+<p>The following corrections were made, on page<br />
+
+7 &ldquo;Par&rsquo;s&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;Paris&rdquo; (in London, Paris, Rome,
+Venice)<br />
+
+11 &ldquo;occuping&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;occupying&rdquo; (space-occupying
+entities)<br />
+
+14 &ldquo;wierd&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;weird&rdquo; (in the still, weird hours of
+the night)<br />
+
+63 &ldquo;polteregists&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;poltergeists&rdquo; (technically
+known as &ldquo;poltergeists,&rdquo;)<br />
+
+79 &ldquo;Boundry&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;Boundary&rdquo; (Footfalls on the
+Boundary of Another World)<br />
+
+106 &ldquo;occurence&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;occurrence&rdquo; (mention the
+occurrence of the night)<br />
+
+110 &ldquo;mutally&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;mutually&rdquo; (We were mutually sorry
+to part)<br />
+
+131 &ldquo;trysing&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;trysting&rdquo; (distance to the
+trysting place)<br />
+
+146 &ldquo;exterminalization&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;externalization&rdquo;
+(what I saw and felt was an externalization of impressions)<br />
+
+182 &ldquo;lynig&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;lying&rdquo; (While lying there a large
+glass paper-weight)<br />
+
+183 &ldquo;gneuine&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;genuine&rdquo; (they never lived
+in a genuine one)<br />
+
+186 extra blank line removed within poem (To follow and kill,/Or make
+tremble with fear.)<br />
+
+191 &ldquo;possesed&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;possessed&rdquo; (The whimsical idea
+now possessed me to arrange the room)<br />
+
+194 &ldquo;etxent&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;extent&rdquo; (conviction to the same
+extent as those)<br />
+
+196 &ldquo;slink&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;slunk&rdquo; (but suddenly slunk
+away with its tail between its legs)<br />
+
+196 &ldquo;has&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;had&rdquo; (the impression that it had
+seen)<br />
+
+197 &ldquo;fright-than&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;frightened than&rdquo; (far less
+frightened than on any of my subsequent experiences)<br />
+
+198 &ldquo;pantasms&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;phantasms&rdquo; (To these phantasms I
+have given the name)<br />
+
+208 &ldquo;familiary&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;familiarity&rdquo; (familiarity
+breeds contempt)<br />
+
+231 &ldquo;assasin&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;assassin&rdquo; (the trial of the
+assassin of Gartavus III.)<br />
+
+238 &ldquo;batallions&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;battalions&rdquo; (companies and
+battalions)<br />
+
+240 &ldquo;gutteral&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;guttural&rdquo; (could hear the
+guttural scream of their revolvers)<br />
+
+241 &ldquo;Vitry-le-Francoise&rdquo; changed to &ldquo;Vitry-le-Francois&rdquo;
+(draw up with the first wounded from Vitry-le-Francois).</p>
+
+<p>Otherwise the original was preserved, including unusual and inconsistent
+spelling and hyphenation.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 44625-h.txt or 44625-h.zip *******</p>
+<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br />
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, True Ghost Stories, by Hereward Carrington
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: True Ghost Stories
+
+
+Author: Hereward Carrington
+
+
+
+Release Date: January 8, 2014  [eBook #44625]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***
+
+
+E-text prepared by eagkw, Robert Cicconetti, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made
+available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
+(https://archive.org/details/americana)
+
+
+
+Note: Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      https://archive.org/details/trueghoststories00carr
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+TRUE GHOST STORIES
+
+by
+
+HEREWARD CARRINGTON
+
+Author of "The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism," "The Coming
+Science," "Death: its Causes and Phenomena,"
+"Death Deferred," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+New York
+The J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company
+57 Rose Street
+
+Copyright, 1915, by
+J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company
+
+
+
+
+  _To_
+  MY DEAR FRIENDS
+  THE MARSHALLS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH                      7
+  PREFACE                                  9
+
+  CHAPTER I
+  What is a Ghost?                         13
+  The Terror of the Dark                   14
+  What is a Ghost?                         18
+  Historic Investigations                  20
+  Death Coincidences                       21
+  Are They Due to Chance?                  24
+  The Explanation                          26
+  Experimental Apparitions                 27
+  Telepathic Hallucinations                32
+  Ghosts Which Move Material Objects       37
+  Photographs of Ghosts                    38
+  The "Double" and the Spiritual Body      40
+  What Happens at the Moment of Death      43
+  How the Soul May Leave the Body          47
+  Theories of Haunted Houses               51
+  The Ghosts of Animals                    53
+  The Clothes of Ghosts                    55
+  Telepathy from the Dead                  57
+  The Psychic Atmosphere                   59
+  Forms Created by Will                    60
+  Physical Manifestations                  62
+  Can Haunted Houses be "Cured"?           63
+
+  CHAPTER II
+  Phantasms of the Dead--I                 65
+  A Russian Ghost                          65
+  Grasped by a Spirit Hand                 71
+  "I Am Shot!"                             74
+  "Heave the Lead!"                        75
+  The Rescue at Sea                        78
+  How Ghosts Influence Us                  86
+  How a Ghost Warned the King              90
+  The Stains of Blood                      93
+  Face to Face                             96
+  "Julia, Darling!"                        98
+  The Cut Across the Cheek                 99
+  The Invisible Hand                      100
+  The Apparition of the Radiant Boy       104
+  Fisher's Ghost                          106
+  Harriet Hosmer's Vision                 109
+  The Apparition of the Murdered Boy      112
+  The Ghost in Yellow Calico              116
+
+  CHAPTER III
+  More Phantasms of the Dead--II          120
+  Compacts to Appear after Death          120
+  Lord Brougham's Vision                  122
+  The Tyrone Ghost                        125
+  Dead or Alive!                          128
+  The Scratch on the Cheek                135
+  A Ghost in Hampton Court                139
+  Half-Past One O'clock                   147
+  My Own True Ghost Story                 155
+
+  CHAPTER IV
+  Haunted Houses                          163
+  The Record of a Haunted House           165
+  Proofs of Immateriality                 168
+  Conduct of Animals in the House         169
+  B---- House                             170
+  Willington Mill                         174
+  The Great Amherst Mystery               176
+  Brook House                             186
+
+  CHAPTER V
+  Ghost Stories of a More Dramatic Nature 194
+  Disease-Phantoms                        194
+  The Tale of a Mummy                     198
+  Face Slapped by a Ghost                 204
+  Alone with a Ghost in Church            207
+  A Haunted House in France               210
+  A Haunted House in Georgia              213
+  Shaken by a Ghost                       220
+  The House and the Brain                 221
+
+  APPENDIX A
+  Historical Ghosts                       230
+
+  APPENDIX B
+  The Phantom Armies Seen in France       236
+
+  APPENDIX C
+  Bibliography                            245
+
+
+
+
+PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
+
+
+HEREWARD CARRINGTON, author of "True Ghost Stories," is well known
+in this country, and in Europe, as a prominent scientific writer on
+psychical and occult subjects. He has been a member of both the English
+and American Societies of Psychical Research for more than 15 years;
+has written over a dozen books on the subject--a number of which has
+been translated into foreign languages (such as Japanese and Arabic),
+and he has lectured in London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Milan, Genoa,
+Turin, etc.--before scientific organizations. His writings are well
+known, and have earned him a high place in psychical circles. He's a
+late member of the Council of the American Scientific Society, of the
+American Geographical Society, and of the American Health League. He
+collaborated in the "American Encyclopaedia," "The Standard Dictionary,"
+etc. His experience in the investigation of psychical mysteries is
+unrivalled. He has travelled all over the country investigating
+"cases," spending nights in "haunted houses," and accounts of his
+investigations have appeared in the Reports of the various Psychical
+Societies, and also in his own publications.
+
+In "True Ghost Stories," Mr. Carrington presents a number of startling
+cases of this character; but they are not the ordinary "ghost
+stories"--based on pure fiction, and having no foundation in reality.
+Here we have a well-arranged collection of incidents, all thoroughly
+investigated and vouched for, and the testimony obtained first-hand and
+corroborated by others. The chapter on "Haunted Houses" is particularly
+striking. The first chapter deals with the interesting question, "What
+is a Ghost?" and attempts to answer this question in the light of the
+latest scientific theories which have been advanced to explain these
+supernatural happenings and visitants. It is a book of absorbing
+interest, and cannot fail to grip and hold the attention of every
+reader--no matter whether he be a student of these questions, or one
+merely in search of hair-raising anecdotes and stories. He will find
+them here a-plenty!
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The following little book endeavors to bring together a number of
+"ghost stories" of the more startling and dramatic type,--but stories,
+nevertheless, which seem to be well authenticated; and which have
+been obtained, in most instances, at first hand, from the original
+witnesses; and often contain corroborative testimony from others who
+also experienced the ghostly phenomena. Some of these incidents,
+indeed, rise to the dignity of scientific evidence; others are less
+well authenticated cases,--but interesting for all that. These have
+been grouped in various Chapters, according to their evidential value.
+Chapters II. and III. contain well-evidenced cases, some of which have
+been taken from the _Proceedings_ and _Journals_ of the Society for
+Psychical Research (S. P. R.), or from _Phantasms of the Living_, or
+from other scientific books, in which narratives of this character
+receive serious consideration. Chapter V., on the contrary, contains a
+number of incidents which,--striking and dramatic as they are,--cannot
+be included in the two earlier Chapters, as presenting real evidence
+of Ghosts; but are published rather as startling and interesting ghost
+_stories_. Chapter IV., devoted to "Haunted Houses," contains brief
+accounts of the most famous Haunted Houses, and of the phenomena which
+have been witnessed within them. Appendix A gives a list of a few of
+the important "Historical Ghosts," Appendix B describes the "Phantom
+Armies" lately seen by the Allied troops in France--while Appendix C
+lists a number of books of Ghost Stories which the interested reader
+may care to peruse. A short Glossary, at the beginning of the book,
+explains the meaning of certain terms used,--which are not, perhaps,
+ordinarily met with in books of this character.
+
+In the Introductory Chapter, I have endeavored to explain, very
+briefly, the nature and character of Ghosts; what they _are_; and the
+various scientific theories which have been brought forward, of late
+years, to explain Ghosts. I hope that this may prove of interest to the
+reader; in case it does not do so, he is invited to "skip" directly to
+Chapter II., which begins our account of "True Ghost Stories."
+
+I wish to express my thanks in this place to the Council of the English
+S. P. R. for special permission to quote and to summarize several
+striking cases here reproduced; also to Miss Estelle Stead, for
+permission to utilize several cases previously printed at length in Mr.
+Wm. T. Stead's collections of Ghost Stories.
+
+  H. C.
+
+
+
+
+GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
+
+
+AGENT--The person who, in thought-transference experiments, endeavors
+to impress his thoughts upon the "percipient" or "receiver."
+
+DEATH-COINCIDENCE--A case in which an apparition or other ghostly
+phenomenon has taken place, at the moment of the death of the person
+represented by the phantom.
+
+GHOST--An apparition, a phantom. Some contend that all ghosts are
+"subjective" or purely mental (hallucinations); others that some
+ghosts are "objective"--that is, space-occupying entities, which exist
+apart from the seer, who sees them. These points will be found fully
+discussed in this book.
+
+HALLUCINATION--A mental experience, in which a phantom is seen, a voice
+heard, etc., when there is no real external cause for this seeing or
+hearing. Hallucinations are more complete than mere "illusions."
+
+PACT--An agreement, entered into before death, between two persons,
+that, whichever one dies first, shall appear to the other one. These
+are here called "Pact Cases." [A Pact may also mean an agreement
+between a necromancer of some spirit-intelligence, as in Magic; but
+the word is not used in that sense in this book.]
+
+PERCIPIENT--The receiver of the telepathic or other message. The one
+who experiences the phenomenon.
+
+PHANTASM--A phantom; an apparition; a "ghost." The word is more
+inclusive than any of the words suggested; and is used by preference,
+by most psychic students.
+
+TELEPATHY--Mind-reading; thought-transference.
+
+
+
+
+TRUE GHOST STORIES
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+WHAT IS A GHOST?
+
+Ghosts have been believed in by every nation, at every time and at
+every stage of the world's evolution. No matter where we may go, we
+find them stalking through the pages of history;[1] and even in our own
+cynical and materialistic age, we not only find "ghosts" still; but
+the evidence for their existence is stronger than ever! It is nonsense
+to say that "no sensible person believes in ghosts," because many
+thousands of them _do_. Why do they believe? Would they believe if they
+had no cause to do so?
+
+      [1] See Appendix A.
+
+The "terror of the dark," which we all have more or less, from which
+every child suffers (how intensely!) during its early years--a terror
+which is, to a certain extent, shared by animals and even insects--does
+all this signify nothing? Those who have looked into this question
+thoroughly, believe that there is, in every truth, a terrible reality
+justifying this instinctive fear; that evil and horrible things lurk
+about us in the still, weird hours of the night; that there are truly
+"powers and principalities" with which we often toy, without knowing or
+realizing the frightful dangers which result from this tampering with
+the unseen world. Yes; there is a true "tyranny of the dark." Phenomena
+and ghostly manifestations take place in darkness which would never
+occur in light; and which cease when a light is struck. All ghostly
+phenomena are associated with darkness, and the "wee small hours of the
+night."
+
+All this is exemplified in the following interesting narrative, which I
+may entitle:
+
+
+THE TERROR OF THE DARK
+
+"All my life I have been afraid of the dark," said an acquaintance to
+me the other day, when we were discussing psychical matters. "I know
+that it is childish," he continued, "and I ought to have outgrown it
+years ago; but, as a matter of fact, I haven't. After all, isn't there
+some reason for the fears that we all feel, more or less, at that time?
+Doesn't the Bible speak of 'the terrors of the Dark;' and are not all
+animals, and even insects, afraid of the dark--so much so that you
+cannot induce them to enter a dark place if they can help it? Light not
+only enables you to see what is around you; but it acts in a certain
+positive manner over 'the powers of darkness,' whatever they are,
+and prevents their operation. All spirit mediums will tell you that
+materialization and manifestations of that character cannot take place
+in the light; it prevents their occurrence. So, after all, as I said,
+isn't there some reasonable ground for one's fear at such times?"
+
+I said nothing; but gazed into the fire. After all, were not his
+arguments somewhat impressive?
+
+"But," continued my friend, "it is not altogether because of these
+speculative reasons that I fear the dark; it is because of a terrible
+experience I once had, and which has left me terror-struck, ever since,
+whenever I am left without light even for an instant. I will tell you
+the story, and let you judge for yourself.
+
+"It was several years ago; in an old house we rented at that time, and
+from which we removed soon after the event I am about to relate. I was
+afraid of the dark, even then, and always left a night-light burning by
+the side of my bed when I went to sleep. One night I woke up, feeling
+the springs of the bed on which I was lying vibrate in a peculiar
+manner, impossible to describe.
+
+"Looking up, I saw, standing by the side of my bed, a young man,
+dressed in rags, having a face ghastly white, and showing every
+indication of dissipation. He was regarding me intently.
+
+"I shall never forget the shock I received on beholding that figure;
+not only because of the unexpected appearance; but because of the fact
+that I could perceive the opposite wall and furniture _through_ the
+body. I knew at once that I beheld a spirit; and my blood ran cold at
+the thought. What I had dreaded all my life was at last fulfilled!
+
+"My next thought was 'I am so glad the night-light is burning. What
+should I do if I were in darkness?' As though the form read my
+thoughts, and was intent on torturing me to the limit of endurance, it
+leaned over, and the next instant had snuffed the candle! The phantom
+and I were alone in the black darkness!
+
+"Words cannot describe my feelings at that instant. The blood froze
+in my veins, and the tongue clave to the roof of my mouth. I tried to
+speak, but could not. I only held out one hand as if to ward off the
+awful presence by pressing it away.
+
+"The next instant I felt the bed-clothes gently turned down on the
+further side of the bed, and partly pulled off me. The springs of the
+bed were depressed, and I knew that the fearsome visitor was crawling
+into bed! It would lie down by my side; perhaps touch me; perhaps--who
+could tell? The agony of mind I experienced in those few moments I
+shall never forget! My only wonder is that my reason did not give way!
+
+"Then a curious thing happened. Even in the state of mind, as I was
+then, I could perceive that the bed was gradually rising up again into
+its normal position. The weight upon it was growing less and less.
+Finally, it was again level, and I felt the bed clothes carefully
+replaced over me. The phantom had withdrawn!
+
+"For hours I lay awake, not daring to move. After what seemed a
+century, the first faint shafts of light fell across the room,
+betokening the welcome morn. Finally glorious day broke. Glorious
+light! Hateful darkness! Cannot you see why I hate it so?"
+
+But, fortunately, this evil and horrible side of ghost-land is not
+universal.
+
+Ghosts do not always present themselves as so formidable and gruesome!
+Some of them prove helpful; others seem to wish to right a wrong; some
+even seem to have a sense of humor! So there are all sorts of ghosts,
+just as there are all sorts of people; and the variety is just as great
+in the one case as in the other.
+
+
+WHAT IS A GHOST?
+
+But, after all, what _is_ a ghost? What do we mean by this? Where do
+ghosts live, and how? What do they do with themselves? How do they
+manifest? Why do they return? These are some of the questions which the
+average man asks himself--unless he totally disbelieves in them.
+
+Most men, it is true, disbelieve in ghosts--unless they have had some
+experience to convince them to the contrary. Yet, after all, why should
+they? As Mr. W. T. Stead once remarked:
+
+"Real Ghost Stories! How can there be real ghost stories when there are
+no real ghosts?
+
+"But are there no real ghosts? You may not have seen one, but it does
+not follow that therefore they do not exist. How many of us have seen
+the microbe that kills? There are at least as many persons who testify
+that they have seen apparitions as there are men of science who have
+examined the microbe. You and I, who have seen neither, must perforce
+take the testimony of others. The evidence for the microbe may be
+conclusive, the evidence as to apparitions may be worthless; but in
+both cases it is a case of testimony, not of personal experience."
+
+The average conception of a Ghost is probably somewhat as follows:
+That it is a thin, tall figure, wrapped in a sheet, walking about the
+house, clanking chains behind it, and scaring out of his wits anyone
+who sees it. According to this view, a ghost would be as material
+and substantial a thing as a buzz-saw or a lap-dog, and exists just
+as fully "in space." Such, however, is not the conception of the
+ghost which modern science entertains. Many investigators who have
+examined this question closely have come to the conclusion that
+ghosts _do_ actually exist; but when we come to the more troublesome
+question: _What are they?_ we are met at once with difficulties and
+disagreements. The recent scientific theories and explanations of the
+subject are complex and subtle; and necessitate a certain preliminary
+knowledge on the part of the student in order for him to understand
+them. I shall explain as briefly and clearly as possible exactly what
+these theories are. For the moment, I wish to speak, first of all, of
+the history of psychic investigation; and particularly that portion of
+it which deals with apparitions or "ghost hunting."
+
+
+HISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS
+
+Here and there, serious investigators have always existed. In the
+sixteenth century Dr. Glanvil pursued this study with great genius
+and patience; Dr. Johnson also was a firm believer in the reality of
+"ghosts"; Sir Walter Scott and others of his time were investigators,
+the famous Dr. Perrier wrote a treatise on apparitions, and similar
+investigations have been continued up to the present day. The first
+organized and systematic attempt to solve the problem, and to find
+out exactly _what ghosts are_, however, was made by the Society
+for Psychical Research (S. P. R.) in 1882. Practically all the
+investigations which have been carried on since then have led to
+important results.
+
+Soon after the above mentioned Society was founded, and material began
+to be collected, it was found that many cases had to do with haunted
+houses, many with apparitions, but the greater number of them hinged
+around the one point--the coincidence of apparitions with the death
+of the persons represented. An apparition of a certain person would
+be seen in London, let us say; and some hours later a telegram would
+arrive, conveying the news that this person had just been killed. When
+the time was compared, it was found to agree exactly; the hour of the
+death and that of the apparition tallying to the minute.
+
+Chance, you say? Perhaps so. _One_ case of this character might be
+explained in such manner; but could _fifty_? Could a _hundred_? It
+became a question of statistics--of figures; these alone can answer our
+question.
+
+Before considering these, however, let us give a few examples of cases
+of "death-coincidences," so that the reader may see the character of
+the evidence presented. He may then appreciate the value of a great
+mass of such evidence, when published _in extenso_.
+
+
+DEATH-COINCIDENCES
+
+The first case we take is from M. Flammarion's book, _The Unknown_ (p.
+108), and is as follows:
+
+"My mother ... who lived in Burgundy, heard one Tuesday, between nine
+and ten o'clock, the door of the bedroom open and close violently. At
+the same time, she heard herself called twice--'Lucie, Lucie!' The
+following Tuesday, she heard that her uncle Clementin, who had always
+had a great affection for her, had died that Tuesday morning, precisely
+between nine and ten o'clock...."
+
+In the following instance, the notification is in visual, instead of
+auditory form, and is taken from the _Proceedings_, S. P. R., Vol. X.,
+pp. 213-14:
+
+"About the 14th of September, 1882, my sister and I felt worried
+and distressed by hearing the 'death watch'; it lasted a whole day
+and night. We got up earlier than usual the next morning, about six
+o'clock, to finish some birthday presents for our mother. As my sister
+and I were working and talking together, I looked up, and saw our young
+acquaintance standing in front of me and looking at us. I turned to
+my sister; she saw nothing. I looked again to where he stood; he had
+vanished. We agreed not to tell any one....
+
+"Some time afterwards we heard that our young acquaintance had either
+committed suicide or had been killed; he was found dead in the woods,
+twenty-four hours after landing. On looking back to my diary, I found
+that the marks I made in it corresponded to the date of his death."
+
+The following case is reported in Podmore's _Apparitions and Thought
+Transference_, p. 265:
+
+"The first Thursday of April, 1881, while sitting at tea with my back
+to the window, and talking with my wife in the usual way, I plainly
+heard a rap at the window, and, looking round, I said to my wife,
+'Why, there's my grandmother,' and went to the door, but could not see
+anyone; and still feeling sure it was my grandmother, and, knowing
+that, though eighty-three years of age, she was very active and fond of
+a joke, I went round the house, but could not see anyone. My wife did
+not hear it. On the following Saturday, I had news that my grandmother
+died in Yorkshire about half an hour before the time I heard the
+rapping. The last time I saw her alive I promised, if well, I would
+attend her funeral; that was some two years before. I was in good
+health and had no trouble; age, twenty-six years. I did not know that
+my grandmother was ill.
+
+  "REV. MATTHEW FROST."
+
+
+Mrs. Frost writes:
+
+"I beg to certify that I perfectly remember all the circumstances my
+husband has named, but I heard and saw nothing myself."
+
+The following case is from _Phantasms of the Living_, Vol. II., p. 50:
+
+"On February 26th, 1850, I was awake, for I was to go to my
+sister-in-law, and visiting was then an event for me. About two o'clock
+in the morning my brother walked into our room (my sister's) and
+stood beside my bed. I called to her, 'Here is ----.' He was at the
+time quartered at Paisley, and a mail-car from Belfast passed about
+that hour not more than a mile from our village.... He looked down on
+us most lovingly, and kindly, and waved his hand, and he was gone! I
+recollect it all as if it were only last night it occurred, and my
+feeling of astonishment, not at his coming into the room at all, but
+where he could have gone. At that very hour he died."
+
+Mr. Gurney writes:
+
+"We have confirmed the date of death in the Army List, and find from a
+newspaper notice that the death took place in the early morning, and
+was extremely sudden."
+
+Cases such as the above could be multiplied into the hundreds; but it
+is not necessary. For our present purposes, the above samples will at
+least serve to show the character of these "death-coincidences," and
+how accurate and how numerous they often are.
+
+
+ARE THEY DUE TO CHANCE?
+
+The cases of "death-coincidences" came in so thick and so fast that,
+some time after its foundation, the Society for Psychical Research
+published an enormous book in two volumes, called "Phantasms of
+the Living," which contained some 702 cases of this character. The
+possibility of "chance coincidence" was very carefully worked out; and
+it was ascertained that the number of collected cases was many thousand
+times more numerous than chance alone could be supposed to account for.
+A "connection" of some sort was thought to be proved.
+
+But objections at once began to be heard! "In order to prove your point
+you must collect a greater number of cases than this; you must get more
+facts before we can consider your point proved!"
+
+So the investigators again set to work, and carried on a far more
+extensive investigation, in several countries, covering a period of
+several years. The results were the same. After collecting some 30,000
+cases, and calculating the number of death-coincidences contained in
+this number, it was again proved, and most conclusively, that the
+number of coincidences was far more numerous than could be accounted
+for by any theory of chance. Professor Sidgwick's Committee, therefore,
+signed the following joint statement, at the conclusion of their
+lengthy Report:
+
+"_Between deaths and apparitions of the dying person a connection
+exists which is not due to chance alone. This we hold as a proved
+fact...._"
+
+These are weighty words. They represent an important forward step in
+our investigation of these involved and complex questions. _Something_
+takes place at death, which serves to unite, in some sort of spiritual
+bond, the dying and the still living relatives or friends. _What is_
+this connection? In what may it be supposed to consist?
+
+
+THE EXPLANATION
+
+For an explanation, we must begin by going back to experimental
+thought-transference. We know that it is possible, under certain
+conditions, for one person to affect another, otherwise than through
+the regular avenues of the five senses. This "telepathic" action
+between mind and mind is now pretty well known, and operates more or
+less throughout life. By means of this, it is occasionally possible for
+one person to impress a scene or a picture upon the mind of another,
+so that the other shall see before him, as it were, in space, a vivid
+mental picture of the scene in the other's mind.
+
+This being so, it seems plausible to suppose that it might be possible
+to convey the impression or picture of _one's self_ to another--since
+this may be supposed to be the most precise and best-known picture we
+have. Would it not be possible to think of one's own appearance so
+intensely as to cause a mental representation of it to appear before
+another person, distant some miles away?
+
+Apparently this _has_ been done, many times. "Experimental apparitions"
+of this character have frequently been _induced_; accounts of a few of
+which will be found in this volume. The picture is mental, in such a
+case; it is an imaginative creation; it is a hallucination,--although
+it was caused or created by another, distant mind. It was, it is true,
+a hallucination; but as it was induced by telepathy, we have for such
+apparitions the name of "telepathic hallucinations." It is this theory
+of "telepathic hallucinations" which is invoked to explain many of
+these cases of death-coincidences, or apparitions of the dying.
+
+
+EXPERIMENTAL APPARITIONS
+
+The following types of "experimental apparitions" are good examples of
+the ability to induce a phantasmal form at a distance by "willing" to
+do so. As to the nature of this figure: there is as yet no unanimity
+of opinion--some authorities preferring to believe that such cases
+represent merely an extension of the power of thought-transference,
+known to us; others, on the contrary, contending that such cases prove
+the existence and travelling powers of the "astral" or "spiritual
+body." Of this, however, more later.
+
+Here is a case of this nature, experienced by the English investigator,
+the Rev. William Stainton Moses, who corroborates the following
+account, which is furnished by the agent:--
+
+"One evening I resolved to appear to Z., at some miles' distance. I did
+not inform him beforehand of the intended experiment, but retired to
+rest shortly before midnight, my thoughts intently fixed on Z., with
+whose rooms and surroundings I was quite unacquainted. I soon fell
+asleep, and woke next morning unconscious of anything having taken
+place. On seeing Z. a few days afterwards, I inquired: 'Did anything
+happen at your rooms on Saturday night?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'a great
+deal happened. I had been sitting over the fire with M., smoking and
+chatting. About 12:30 he rose to leave, and I let him out myself. I
+returned to the fire to finish my pipe, when I saw you sitting in the
+chair just vacated by him. I looked intently at you, and then took up
+a newspaper to assure myself that I was not dreaming; but on laying it
+down I saw you still there. While I gazed, without speaking, you faded
+away.'"
+
+In the case which follows, the initials only are used; but the writer
+of the account was known to the officers of the S. P. R., who vouched
+for the general trustworthiness of the writer:
+
+"On a certain Sunday evening in November, 1881, having been reading
+of the great power which the human will is capable of exercising, I
+determined, with the whole force of my being, that I would be present
+in spirit in the front bedroom of the second floor of a house situated
+at 22 Hogarth Road, Kensington, in which room slept two young ladies
+of my acquaintance,--namely, Miss L. S. V. and Miss E. C. V., aged
+respectively twenty-five and eleven years. I was living at the time at
+23 Kildare Gardens, at a distance of about three miles from Hogarth
+Road, and I had not mentioned in any way my intention of trying this
+experiment to either of the above ladies, for the simple reason that
+it was only on retiring to rest upon this Sunday night that I made
+up my mind to do so. The time at which I determined to be there was
+one o'clock in the morning; and I had a strong intention of making
+my presence perceptible. On the following Thursday I went to see the
+ladies in question, and, in the course of my conversation (without any
+allusion to the subject on my part), the elder one told me that on
+the previous Saturday night she had been much terrified by perceiving
+me standing by her bedside, and that she screamed when the apparition
+advanced towards her, and awoke her little sister, who also saw me.
+
+"I asked her if she was awake at the time, and she replied most
+decidedly in the affirmative; and, upon my inquiring the time of the
+occurrence, she replied, 'About one o'clock in the morning.'
+
+"This lady at my request wrote down a statement of the event, and
+signed it...."
+
+Mr. Gurney (one of the authors of _Phantasms of the Living_) became
+deeply interested in these experiments, and requested Mr. B. to notify
+him in advance on the next occasion when he proposed to make his
+presence known in this strange manner. Accordingly, March 22d, 1884, he
+received the following letter:
+
+  "Dear Mr. Gurney:--I am going to try the experiment to-night of
+  making my presence perceptible at 44 Morland Square, at 12 P. M.
+  I will let you know the result in a few days.
+
+  Yours very sincerely,      "S. H. B."
+
+The next letter, which was written on April 3, contained the following
+statement, prepared by the recipient, Miss L. S. Verity:
+
+"On Saturday night, March 22, 1884, at about midnight, I had a distinct
+impression that Mr. S. H. B. was present in my room, and I distinctly
+saw him, being quite awake. He came toward me and stroked my hair.
+I voluntarily gave him this information when he called to see me on
+Wednesday, April 2, telling him the time and the circumstances of the
+apparition without any suggestion on his part. The appearance in my
+room was most vivid and quite unmistakable."
+
+Miss A. S. Verity also furnishes this corroborative statement:
+
+"I remember my sister telling me that she had seen S. H. B. and that he
+touched her hair, before he came to see us on April 2."
+
+The agent's statement of the affair is as follows:
+
+"On Saturday, March 22, I determined to make my presence perceptible
+to Miss V. at 44 Morland Square, Notting Hill, at twelve midnight; and
+as I had previously arranged with Mr. Gurney that I should post him a
+letter of the evening on which I tried my next experiment (stating the
+time and other particulars) I sent him a note to acquaint him with the
+above facts. About ten days afterwards I called upon Miss V., and she
+voluntarily told me that on March 22, at twelve o'clock, midnight, she
+had seen me so vividly in her room (whilst wide awake) that her nerves
+had been much shaken, and she had been obliged to send for a doctor in
+the morning."
+
+These cases will at least prove the possibility of such a thing as
+"experimental apparitions," and, explain them as we may, they are, at
+all events, most interesting and significant. They prove the reality of
+"telepathic phantasms"--of apparitions produced in another by the power
+of mind. This is, at least, the modern conception of the facts.
+
+
+TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATIONS
+
+How may the theory be said to work? How can a telepathic impulse from a
+distant mind cause a picture to appear in space, as it were, before the
+recipient? Here is the last word of modern science in this direction;
+here is the theory which has been advanced to explain puzzling cases of
+this character.
+
+When we look at and see an object, the sight-centers of the brain are
+roused into activity; unless they are so aroused, we see nothing, and
+whenever they are so aroused, _no matter from what cause_, we have the
+sensation of sight. We _see_.
+
+But we get no further than this; we do not reason about the thing seen,
+or analyze; or think to ourselves, "this is a red apple; I like red
+apples," etc. No, we only see or perceive the object. All the reasoning
+_about_ the object takes place in the higher thought-centres of the
+brain. A diagram will, perhaps, help to make all this clear.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When light-waves coming from the eye, A, travel along the optic nerves,
+and excite into activity the sight-centers--at B--we have the sensation
+of sight, as before said. Nerve currents then travel _up_ the nerves,
+going from B to C, and in these higher centers, they are associated and
+analyzed, and we then "reflect" upon the thing seen, etc. This is the
+normal process of sight.
+
+Now, if the eye, or the optic nerves, or the sight-centers themselves
+become diseased, we still have the sensation of seeing, though there
+is no material object there; we have ordinary hallucinations of all
+kinds--delirium tremens, etc. If the sight-centers are stimulated _as
+much_ as they would be by the incoming nerve stimuli from the eye, we
+have "full-blown hallucinations."
+
+Now, it is obvious that one method of stimulating the sight-centers
+into activity is for a nervous current to come _downwards_, along the
+nerves running from C to B. It is probable that something of this sort
+takes place when we experience "memory pictures." If you shut your eyes
+and picture the face of some dear friend, you will be able to see it
+before you more or less clearly. The higher psychical centers of the
+brain have excited the sight-centers into a certain activity; and these
+have given us the sensation of dim, inward sight. If the stimulus were
+stronger, we should have cases of intense "visualization"; such as the
+figures which occur in the crystal ball, etc.--they being doubtless
+produced in this manner.
+
+Although the "sluice-gates," so to speak, running from C to B are,
+therefore, always open _slightly_; they are never open wide; it
+is not natural for them to be so. But if, under any great stress,
+thought or emotion, the downward nervous current were as strong as
+that ordinarily running from A to B; then we should appear to see as
+clearly; the object would appear just as solid and real and outstanding
+to us as any other entity. We should experience a "full-blown
+hallucination."
+
+All this being so, it is almost natural to suppose that _one_ method
+by which these psychical sluice-gates could be more widely opened
+would be under the impact of _a telepathic impulse_. If we assume that
+this in some manner arouses into instantaneous and great activity the
+higher psychical centers (C), these would very probably communicate
+this impulse to B--downwards, along the nerve-tracts connecting the
+two (or to the hearing centers, when we should experience an auditory
+hallucination, and hear our name spoken, etc.). In this way we could
+account for a telepathic hallucination, originating in this manner; and
+it is surely to be supposed that, at the moment of death, some peculiar
+quickening of the mental and spiritual life takes place--the peculiar
+flashes of memory by those drowning, etc., seeming to show this.
+
+So, then, we arrive at a sort of explanation of many of these cases
+of apparitions, occurring at the moment of death; for we have shown
+them to be "telepathic hallucinations." This is also the correct
+explanation, doubtless, for many cases in which apparitions of the
+living have been seen--in which a phantasm of a living person has
+appeared to another, during sleep, or in hypnotic trance, etc.
+
+But how about those ghosts which appear some time after death? They, at
+least, cannot be explained by any such theory. What has been said by
+way of explanation of these cases?
+
+It will be remembered that telepathy is the basis of the explanation
+thus far. Let us extend this. We have only to suppose that the spirit
+of man survives the shock of death, and that it can continue to exert
+its powers and capacities also. For, if a living mind can influence the
+living by telepathy; why not a "dead" one? Why should not the surviving
+spirit of man continue to influence us, by telepathy? If they could,
+we should still have cases of telepathic hallucinations--induced from
+the mind of a discarnate, not an incarnate, spirit. The "ghost" might
+still be a telepathic hallucination. And if several persons saw the
+figure at once, we should, on this theory, have a case of collective
+hallucination--in which one mind affected all the rest equally and
+simultaneously.
+
+
+GHOSTS WHICH MOVE MATERIAL OBJECTS
+
+Such is the theory--rather far-fetched, it is true; but certainly the
+most rational and common-sense so far advanced to explain many of the
+facts. It is probable, however, that this explanation will not serve
+to explain _all_ of them. Thus, in those cases where the apparition
+moved a material object, opened a door, etc., such a theory would
+have to be abandoned, for the simple reason that a mental concept,
+an hallucination, cannot open doors and move objects! There must be
+an outstanding, material entity to effect this. There must be a real
+ghost. And in those cases where the apparition has been seen by several
+persons at once, or even photographed, it seems more reasonable to
+suppose that a material, space-occupying body was present rather than
+to assume that the various witnesses or the camera were hallucinated.
+
+In the following cases, for example, the apparition performs a definite
+physical action--snuffs a candle with its fingers, an action which a
+pure hallucination could hardly be supposed to perform. The account
+is by the Rev. D. W. G. Gwynne, M.I., and is printed in _Phantasms
+of the Living_, Vol. II., pp. 202-3. After telling of certain minor
+phenomena, he proceeds:
+
+"I now come to the mutual experience of something that is as fresh in
+its impression as if it were the occurrence of yesterday. During the
+night I became aware of a draped figure passing across the foot of
+the bed towards the fireplace. I had the impression that the arm was
+raised, pointing with the hand towards the mantlepiece, on which a
+night-light was burning. Mrs. Gwynne at this moment seized my arm, and
+the light _was extinguished_. Notwithstanding, I distinctly saw the
+figure returning towards the door, and being under the impression that
+one of our servants had found her way into the room, I leaped out of
+bed to intercept the intruder, but found, and saw, nothing...."
+
+[Mrs. Gwynne confirms the story, adding, "I distinctly saw the
+hand of the phantom placed over the night-light, which was at once
+extinguished."]
+
+
+PHOTOGRAPHS OF GHOSTS
+
+Again, it is claimed that ghosts have sometimes been photographed,
+though very rarely. In a number of cases, attempts have been made to
+photograph ghosts seen in haunted-houses; but, though the figures
+have been seen by all present, the photographic plate has failed to
+record any impression of the phantom. In other cases, on the contrary,
+definite impressions _have_ been obtained; and, though there is
+doubtless much fraud among professional mediums, who claim to produce
+"spirit photographs," there are many cases on record in which no
+professional medium was employed, and in which faces were certainly
+seen upon the developed plate. Experiments have also been made in
+photographing the body at the moment of death; to see if any impression
+could be made upon the plate--by the soul, in its passage from the
+body; and, though many of these have proved negative, Dr. Baraduc,
+of Paris, has obtained a number of photographs which have never been
+explained. Again, numerous researches in the region of so-called
+"thought photography" have given some basis for the belief that thought
+may be, under certain conditions, photographed--as for example, in the
+experiments of Dr. Ochorowicz and others. It may be said, therefore,
+that some progress is being made in this direction by psychic
+investigators (particularly by the French observers, who are far ahead
+of the rest of the world in these branches of psychic investigation),
+and that, with increased sensitiveness of film and plate, and greater
+perfection of lens and camera, it is to be hoped that the time is not
+far distant when it will be possible to photograph the unseen just as
+we photograph living persons.
+
+There are "ghosts," therefore, which are hallucinations; and there are
+ghosts which are genuine phantasms--the "real article." It becomes a
+question, in each instance, of sifting the evidence; finding out _which
+they are_. Yet, if there are real, objective, outstanding ghosts, how
+can we explain them? In what do they consist? In short, we are back to
+our original question: What are ghosts?
+
+
+THE "DOUBLE," AND THE SPIRITUAL BODY
+
+Before we can answer this question satisfactorily, we must consider
+one or two preliminary questions. First of all, we must speak of the
+"double"--the astral or spiritual or ethic body, which resides in man,
+as well as his physical body.[2]
+
+      [2] Theosophists distinguish between all these various bodies;
+      psychic students strive, for the most part, only to prove the
+      objective existence of any one of them.
+
+St. Paul constantly emphasized the fact that man has a material body
+and a "spiritual body." This inner body is the exact shape of the
+physical body--its counterpart, its double. In life, under ordinary
+conditions, the two are inseparable; but at death, the severance takes
+place and man continues to live on in this etheric envelope. This
+inner body has been studied very carefully by students of the occult;
+and a good deal is now known about it--its comings and goings, its
+composition, and the method of its departure at death. For our present
+purposes, however, it is enough to say that such a body exists, and
+that it is the vehicle man continues to use and manipulate, after his
+death and his departure from this plane.
+
+It so happens that, under certain peculiar conditions, the inner body
+of man is capable of being detached or separated from the physical
+body. This usually occurs in trance, sleep, hypnotic and mesmeric
+states, etc.; or may be performed "experimentally," by some who have
+cultivated this power in themselves. When this body goes on such
+"excursions"--leaving the physical body practically dead, to all
+appearances--it may be seen by those in its immediate vicinity, just
+as a material body would be--if they are sufficiently sensitive or
+receptive.
+
+The following interesting case, (recorded in _Phantasms of the Living_,
+Vol. I, pp. 225-26) is a good example of the apparent traveling of the
+body to another place, and the perception of that body by a second
+person, who happens to be there. Two individuals, at all events, shared
+in the experience, which is otherwise hard to account for. The case is
+recorded by the Rev. P. H. Newnham, and is as follows:
+
+"In March, 1854, I was up at Oxford, keeping my last term, in lodgings.
+I was subject to violent neuralgic headaches, which always culminated
+in sleep. One evening, about 8 p.m., I had an unusually violent one;
+when it became unendurable, about 9 p.m., I went into my bedroom, and
+flung myself, without undressing, on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
+
+"I then had a singularly clear and vivid dream, all the incidents of
+which are as clear in my memory as ever. I dreamed that I was stopping
+with the family of a lady who subsequently became my wife. All the
+younger ones had gone to bed, and I stopped chatting to the father and
+mother, standing up by the fireplace. Presently I bade them good-night,
+took my candle, and went off to bed. On arriving in the hall, I
+perceived that my fiancee had been detained downstairs, and was only
+then near the top of the staircase. I rushed upstairs, overtook her on
+the top step, and passed my two arms around her waist, under her arms,
+from behind. Although I was carrying my candle in the left hand, when
+I ran upstairs, this did not, in my dream, interfere with this gesture.
+
+"On this I woke, and the clock in the house struck ten almost
+immediately afterwards.
+
+"So strong was the impression of the dream that I wrote a detailed
+account of it the next morning to my fiancee.
+
+"_Crossing_ my letter, _not_ in answer to it, I received a letter from
+the lady in question: 'Were you thinking about me very specially last
+night, just about ten o'clock? For, as I was going upstairs to bed, I
+distinctly heard your footsteps on the stairs, and felt you put your
+arms round my waist.'"
+
+[Mrs. Newnham wrote a confirmation of this account, which was also
+published.]
+
+
+WHAT HAPPENS AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH
+
+In all these cases, of course, the psychic body of the subject returns
+and re-animates the physical body; for if it did not do so, death would
+take place. When death does actually take place, this is what occurs;
+and psychics and clairvoyants assert that they are able to see and
+follow this process perfectly; and many of them have described exactly
+what takes place at the moment of death. The following description,
+for example, given by Andrew Jackson Davis, is taken from his _Death,
+and the After Life_, pp. 15-16, and is as follows:
+
+"Suppose the person is now dying. It is to be a rapid death. The feet
+first grow cold. The clairvoyant sees over the head what may be called
+a magnetic halo--an etherial emanation, in appearance golden, and
+throbbing as though conscious. The body is now cold up to the knees
+and elbows, and the emanation has ascended higher in the air. The legs
+are cold to the hips and the arms to the shoulders; and the emanation,
+though it has not risen higher in the room, is more expanded. The
+death-coldness steals over the breast and round on either side, and
+the emanation has attained a higher position nearer the ceiling. The
+person has ceased to breathe, the pulse is still, and the emanation
+is elongated and fashioned in the outline of a human form. Beneath,
+it is connected with the brain. The head of the person is internally
+throbbing--a slow, deep throb--not painful but like the beat of the
+sea. Hence the thinking faculties are rational, while nearly every part
+of the person is dead. Owing to the brain's momentum, I have seen a
+dying person, even at the last feeble pulsebeat, rouse impulsively and
+rise up in bed to converse with a friend, but the next instant he was
+gone--his brain being the last to yield up the life principle.
+
+"The golden emanation, which extends up midway to the ceiling, is
+connected to the brain by a very fine life-thread. Now the body of the
+emanation ascends. Then appears something white and shining, like a
+human head; next, in a very few moments, a faint outline of the face
+divine, then the fair neck and beautiful shoulders; then, in rapid
+succession, come all parts of the new body down to the feet--a bright,
+shining image, a little smaller than its physical body, but a perfect
+prototype or reproduction in all except its disfigurements. The fine
+life-thread continues attached to the old brain. The next thing is
+the withdrawal of the electric principle. When this thread snaps the
+spiritual body is free, and prepared to accompany its guardians to the
+Summer-Land. Yes, there is a spiritual body; it is sown in dishonor and
+raised in brightness."
+
+It is doubtless this spiritual body which is the true cause of many
+apparitions--of many ghost stories. It is this body which is seen by
+the seer or percipient in many a ghost story; it is this body which
+moves objects and touches the individual who sees the ghost. This body
+is detached at death, as we have seen, and afterwards is free to rove
+at its own free will. Apparitions of the dead might thus be accounted
+for; while all those cases of apparitions of the dying which are with
+difficulty explained as due to pure telepathy might also thus find
+their explanation. The spiritual body, freed at that moment, would
+manifest its presence to the distant percipient as it did after death.
+So far so good, but how about apparitions of the living? How explain
+those cases in which the apparition of a living person has been seen,
+when the spiritual body is supposedly safely attached to the physical
+body?
+
+Many of them are doubtless cases of telepathy; but in those cases
+which seem to demand the presence of a body of some sort, we may
+suppose that the spiritual body may become detached, at times, under
+certain peculiar conditions, from the material body which it inhabits
+and animates, and can then manifest independently at a distance. The
+following cases are illustrative, apparently, of this fact; showing us
+that the "etheric body" can manifest on occasion at will at a distance
+from the physical body.
+
+
+HOW THE SOUL MAY LEAVE THE BODY
+
+"... I put out the light and returned, but no sooner had I done this
+than ... I could feel a creeping sensation moving up my legs. I got up
+and lit the gas and went back to bed; with pillows arranged in such
+a way as to make me comfortable. In a comparatively short time, all
+circulation ceased in my legs, and they were as cold as those of the
+dead. The creeping sensation began in the lower part of the body, and
+that also became cold.... There was no sensation of pain or even of
+physical discomfort. I would pinch my legs with my thumb and finger,
+and there was no feeling or no indication of blood whatever. I might as
+well have pinched a piece of rubber so far as the sensation produced
+was concerned. As the movement continued upward, all at once there
+came a flashing of lights in my eyes and a ringing in my ears, and
+it seemed for an instant as though I had become unconscious. When I
+came out of this state, I seemed to be walking in the air. No words
+can describe the exhilaration and freedom that I experienced. At no
+time in my life had my mind been so clear and so free. Just then I
+thought of a friend who was more than a thousand miles distant. Then
+I seemed to be traveling with great rapidity through the atmosphere
+about me. Everything was light and yet it was not the light of the
+day or the sun, but, I might say, a peculiar light of its own, such
+as I have never known. It could not have been a minute after that I
+thought of my friends, before I was conscious of standing in a room
+where the gas-jets were turned up, and my friend was standing with his
+back toward me, but, suddenly turning and seeing me, said: 'What in
+the world are you doing here? I thought you were in Florida'--and he
+started to come toward me. While I heard the words distinctly, I was
+unable to answer. An instant later I was gone; and the consciousness
+of the memorable things that transpired that memorable night has never
+been forgotten. I seemed to leave the earth, and everything pertaining
+to it, and enter a condition of life of which it is absolutely
+impossible to give here any thought I had concerning it, because there
+was no correspondence to anything I had ever seen or heard or known of
+in any way. The wonder and the joy of it was unspeakable; and I can
+readily understand now what Paul meant when he said 'I knew a man,
+whether in the body or out of it I know not, who was caught up to the
+third heaven, and saw things which it is not possible (lawful) to
+utter.'
+
+"In this latter experience there was neither consciousness of time
+nor of space; in fact, it can be described more as a consciousness of
+elastic feeling than anything else. It came to me after a time that I
+could _stay_ there if I so desired, but with that thought came also the
+consciousness of the friends on earth and the duties there required of
+me. The desire to stay was intense, but in my mind I clearly reasoned
+over it--whether I should gratify my desire or return to my work on
+earth. Four times my thought and reason told me that my duties required
+me to return, but I was so dissatisfied with each conclusion that
+I finally said: 'Now I will think and reason this matter out once
+more, and whatever conclusion I reach I will abide by.' I reached the
+same conclusion, and had not much more than reached it when I became
+conscious of being in a room and looking down on a body propped up in
+bed, which I recognized as my own! I cannot tell what strange feelings
+came over me. This body, to all intents and purposes, looked to be
+dead. There was no indication of life about it, and yet here I was
+apart from the body, with my mind perfectly clear and alert, and the
+consciousness of another body to which matter of any kind offered no
+resistance.
+
+"After what might have been a minute or two, looking at the body, I
+began to try and control it, and in a very short time all sense of
+separation from the physical body ceased, and I was only conscious of
+a directed effort toward its use. After what seemed to be quite a long
+time, I was able to move, got up from the bed, dressed myself, and went
+down to breakfast....
+
+"I may add that the friend referred to as having been seen by me
+that night was also distinctly conscious of my presence and made
+the exclamation mentioned. We both wrote the next day, relating the
+experience of the night, and the letters corroborating the incident
+crossed in the post."
+
+Such strange doings certainly tend to prove that the human spirit can
+leave its body and rove abroad, at times; and if this is the case, it
+shows us that our body is far more detachable than we usually suppose;
+and hence that it can probably continue to exist after the death of the
+physical body, when it is detached altogether. Once this is proved, all
+objection to the reality and existence of "objective" ghosts will have
+been done away with.
+
+
+THEORIES OF HAUNTED HOUSES
+
+If we grant that certain houses may be "haunted," in the sense that
+they may be the centers of influences and forces as yet unseen and
+unknown, the question is: How explain such cases? What hypotheses can
+we advance to explain cases of haunted houses, which will recognize the
+reality of the phantom witnessed therein, and attempt to explain them
+as rationally as possible? Four main theories have been advanced by way
+of explanation, which I shall briefly outline.
+
+(1). There is the theory that the figures seen in houses of this nature
+are genuine, outstanding entities--real beings, which are just as real,
+though less solid and tangible, as any of the living inhabitants of the
+house. This is, of course, the popular conception of the ghosts seen in
+haunted houses, and it must be admitted that such a theory covers and
+explains the facts more completely and fully than any other. There are
+also many facts telling in its favor. For instance, when two persons
+see a figure from different angles or viewpoints; and one describes
+it in profile, while the other describes it as presenting a full face
+likeness; and if this is the angle in each case from which a real
+figure would naturally be seen, this surely seems to indicate that a
+solid form of some sort was present.
+
+Again, when three or four or more people see a figure at the same time,
+it is surely a strain upon our credulity to believe that a number of
+persons were similarly "hallucinated" at precisely the same time and in
+the same manner; and easier to believe that they all saw a figure at
+the same time, though in differing degrees of vividness and detail.
+
+Thirdly, we have the evidence from photography. In some instances,
+these figures have been photographed; and though there is doubtless
+much fraud in this connection, there is evidence that, in certain
+cases, genuine photographs of this nature have been taken. This is
+discussed elsewhere in this volume, however.
+
+Fourthly, we have the behavior of animals, in haunted houses. They
+often appear to see figures visible or invisible to others present at
+the time--bark at them, rub against them, stare at them, act as though
+terrified at what they see, etc. This will be noticed in many of the
+stories; and can be explained only with difficulty if we are to believe
+that the figures seen are merely hallucinations.
+
+
+THE GHOSTS OF ANIMALS, ETC.
+
+I have elsewhere spoken of the apparent ability of animals to see
+phantasmal forms and figures. The reverse of this is also true. Ghosts
+of animals have been seen--spectral dogs, cats, horses as well as human
+beings. These apparitions are very perplexing, and raise the question
+of the immortality of animals--a very vexed question, which has given
+rise to much discussion. Mr. H. Rider Haggard records the case of his
+own dog, whose apparition he saw at the very moment that the dog was
+killed by an express train some miles away. Did the animal succeed
+in affecting his master by telepathy? If not, why the coincidence? I
+myself have recorded a case in which a (real) cat spat at a phantom
+dog, seen independently by a clairvoyant, who had described it a
+few moments before to a group of spectators. Such cases are very
+interesting. They tend to prove that dogs, cats, horses and other
+animals also survive death--a conclusion which is certainly the most
+humane and logical to many minds.
+
+In addition to these animal apparitions, there are also grotesque,
+horrible, monstrous and undefinable ghosts. One or two cases of this
+character are described in this book. Sometimes the "seer" sees
+something awful, but cannot describe in words what it is. Many of the
+phantoms of the imaginative type are of this character. Again, there
+are grave-yard ghosts; banshees, gnomes, elementals, pixies, fairies,
+brownies, nature-spirits, hobgoblins, sylphs, salamanders, dragons,
+vampires, wraiths, corpse-candles, and many other awful beings which
+have been described from time to time in the past. We need not consider
+these in a book of this character, however. But, to return to our
+argument for the objective reality of "ghosts."
+
+Fifthly, we have those cases in which the apparition has produced
+a physical effect in the material world--snuffed a light, opened a
+door, pulled back the bed-curtains, etc. A hallucinatory figure could
+not do this. It has been suggested that all this is only a part of
+the hallucination, but when the thing is found to have been moved in
+reality, we must explain this somehow; for otherwise how did it change
+its place?
+
+Sixthly, we have cases in which the same apparition has been seen by
+several separate and independent persons in the same room or house,
+and afterwards they have recognized the features of this person in
+a photograph shown them--the photograph of the person supposed to
+haunt that particular house. If we were to believe that a simple
+hallucination caused the figure, how account for this identification?
+Surely the theory is far-fetched!
+
+For all these reasons, therefore, and others it would be possible
+to mention, there is much to be said in favor of this theory of
+haunted houses; the theory which says that the figures seen are real,
+semi-material entities.
+
+
+THE CLOTHES OF GHOSTS
+
+(2). The second view, opposed to that mentioned above, is this: Someone
+living in a house has experienced a hallucination, and then seen the
+same thing over and over again, by reason of auto-suggestion; or, if he
+moves away, and another tenant takes the house in turn, the thoughts
+of this second tenant are influenced, through thought-transference,
+by the first tenant, who broods and thinks over his experiences in
+the "haunted house," wonders whether the people now living in it
+are experiencing phenomena, etc. In this way, the minds of those
+living in the house are constantly influenced by thought-transference
+by living minds; and hallucinatory figures are produced in them,
+just as the picture of a playing card is induced in experimental
+thought-transference.
+
+There are two things to be said in favor of such a theory. In the first
+place, we have the analogy which telepathic experiments give us, in
+which certain visual images are undoubtedly transmitted from one mind
+to another; and it is natural to assume that an extension of this same
+process might account for many of the phantasmal forms seen in haunted
+houses, as explained elsewhere.
+
+In the second place, we immediately surmount the difficulty presented
+by the ghost's _clothes_. This is a stumbling-block to many
+investigators. However much we might believe that an etheric or astral
+or spiritual body might continue to persist after death, it is hard to
+believe that the clothes of the person who died also had "spiritual
+counterparts," and returned with him, to visit the earth and the scenes
+of former joys and miseries! We seldom read of a ghost without clothes;
+nude ghosts are not the fashion! Yet if we cannot believe this, how are
+we to explain this difficulty--and the fact that ghosts wear ghostly
+garments?
+
+If the ghost were a hallucination, we could understand all this easily
+enough. The clothes were imaginary, just as the figure was; they formed
+part of the mental image, just like the figures seen in dreams, etc.
+This, therefore, is one very strong point in favor of this hypothesis;
+but if the ghost is a real, outstanding entity, how account for his
+clothes?
+
+Several tentative explanations have been forthcoming. In the first
+place, it has been suggested that all ghosts are in reality partial
+"materializations" and that it is possible for a spirit to materialize
+and form drapery as well as solid flesh and bone. Both are a sort of
+condensation of matter, in varying degrees.
+
+Again, it has been suggested that a spirit has the power to create
+objects by the power of will; by merely thinking and willing to do so.
+In this way, man would be a real creator, in a miniature scale, and
+certain analogies could be found for this in the material world. The
+returning spirit would desire to return clothed; and this very desire
+would create the fitting garb. Other theories have been advanced, but
+the above are the simplest and most intelligible, and are all we need
+consider at present.
+
+All these difficulties, however, tell against the substantiality of
+ghosts; and in favor of this second theory of haunted houses.
+
+
+TELEPATHY FROM THE DEAD
+
+(3). The third theory which has been advanced, is an extension of the
+second. Thought-transference is still the agency invoked to explain
+the facts--but from the minds of dead, and not living persons. That
+is, assuming telepathy to be true, and possible between living minds;
+and assuming that individual consciousness survives the change called
+death; we can readily imagine that those who have "passed over" might
+affect and influence the living by thought-transference also, just as
+they did in life. On this theory, therefore, the ghost would still
+represent a hallucination; a mental or imaginary figure, and it would
+still be induced by telepathy from a distant mind; but that mind would
+be that of a so-called dead person. After death, we might suppose, this
+person would be thinking or dreaming over the past events; the scenes
+of his joys and sorrows; and these dreams would tend to influence the
+minds of those still living, and cause them to see the figures seen.
+The figures, on this theory, would be hallucinatory, but they would
+have a real, objective basis and starting-point for all that; and, as
+such, would represent the continued existence and activity on the part
+of the dead.
+
+Against this ingenious theory may be urged all those arguments which
+have been cited in favor of the materiality of apparitions.
+
+
+THE PSYCHIC ATMOSPHERE
+
+(4). A fourth theory is that which says that some _subtle psychic
+atmosphere_ is present in certain houses; and that this "atmosphere"
+affects and influences all who live within them, just as their physical
+atmosphere would, only in a different manner and degree. Everyone has
+doubtless experienced this atmosphere in certain houses, if they are
+at all sensitive. They either "like" a house or "dislike" it--for no
+apparent reason. Some houses rest and refresh you; others irritate you,
+etc. This theory contends that every living human being is constantly
+giving off a peculiar vital emanation or aura or effluence; and that
+this charges-up or impregnates the material objects in his immediate
+neighborhood, which soak it up like a sponge, and retain it after being
+removed from its presence. It is because of this fact that articles
+presented to trance mediums often recall the person to whom they
+belonged; it is because of this that "psychometry" is possible--that
+is, the ability of some persons to give the past history of an object
+by merely handling it; and it is because of this that certain houses
+become so charged with this magnetic aura, or whatever it may be, that
+they remain "charged" for some time; and, in discharging, create
+psychic disturbances and impressions which are seen or experienced as
+phantasmal appearances.
+
+The chief objection to this theory is that it is difficult to see how
+this general and impersonal "charging" process can create definite and
+clear-cut forms, possessing all the appearances of reality. Doubtless
+each theory contains much truth; and haunted houses represent, in
+many cases, a combination of _all_ these causes, working together and
+combining into one complex and unfortunately ill-understood whole. It
+is the duty of the future to disentangle this maze, as best it can; and
+explain the various factors which go to make up a haunted house of this
+character.
+
+
+FORMS CREATED BY WILL
+
+(5). Besides these theories, another might be suggested, which
+has never so far been advanced, so far as I am aware. It is that
+the phantasmal forms seen in haunted houses are real substantial
+_creations_, manufactured by the thoughts or will of the discarnate
+spirit, who fashions it out of "such stuff as dreams are made of." It
+has been said that "thoughts are things," and many believe that this
+is literally true. Certain it is that a limited number of peculiarly
+constructed persons can produce phenomena which seem to be solid
+creations of the will. So, if thought could ever be proved to be
+really creative; if it could not only _formulate_ but _objectify_ and
+_project into space_ images and forms, we should have here a rational
+explanation of many ghosts, as well as of their behavior. And just here
+a few words as to this latter may not be out of place.
+
+It has often been objected that ghosts cannot be realities; they cannot
+be real spirits, for the reason that they act in such a senseless
+manner. They seldom speak or reply, when spoken to. They seldom have
+any definite purpose. In short, they betray no intelligence. This being
+so, they must be hallucinations and not the realities they claim to be!
+
+The answer to this objection is found in the following consideration.
+Even granting all this to be true, many believing in ghosts do not for
+an instant contend that such ghosts represent the actual person the
+figure symbolises. It is a mere projection; a shell; a form created
+by the discarnate spirit, a resemblance, a phantasm. The central
+consciousness which animated and still animates that person is not _in_
+the ghostly form, but elsewhere. The phantasm represents, merely, a
+sort of impersonal wraith, and, as such, cannot be expected to possess
+intelligence or human characteristics. None are present within it.
+It is a very different thing from the real person it represents. The
+insipid and unintelligent behavior of ghosts, therefore, is only what
+we should expect. This fact is no argument against their reality, when
+rightly understood and interpreted.
+
+
+PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS
+
+In addition to haunted houses of this type, there are others, which
+must be referred to very briefly. Thus, in some cases, no figures have
+been seen, but remarkable sounds have been heard--sounds which have
+never been accounted for. Bangs, knocks, monotonous reading aloud,
+whispering, footsteps, etc., are some of the noises and sounds which
+have been heard in this way, and their origin often remains a mystery.
+It would take too long to discuss the various explanatory theories
+which have been advanced by psychic students to account for these
+sounds.
+
+In other types of haunted houses, physical manifestations take place,
+though nothing unusual is either seen or heard. Thus, in one case
+recorded by Lombroso (_After Death: What?_) numbers of bottles
+were broken one after the other, for no apparent cause, when he was
+actually looking at them. In still other cases, furniture has been
+upset, crockery broken, doorbells rung, etc., by no visible agency.
+John Wesley was persecuted in this manner for several years; and the
+reason was never discovered. Such cases are technically known as
+"poltergeists," and may be found in abundance in the "history of the
+supernatural."
+
+
+CAN HAUNTED HOUSES BE "CURED"?
+
+One question of considerable interest remains. It is this: Can
+so-called Haunted Houses be _cured_? Many of those who live in houses
+of this character would like to have these influences removed; but are
+unable to rid themselves of them. Can this be done?
+
+In some cases, this has doubtless been accomplished; while in others it
+has failed. We know too little as yet to lay down any arbitrary laws
+or rules which may be followed with safety in cases of this character.
+Sometimes one method succeeds, while another fails. I have known of
+cases where "exorcism" worked a complete cure; of others in which it
+failed miserably. I have known of cases in which suggestion, rightly
+applied, rid the house of its ghost; in other instances, no result was
+produced by similar methods! In a few instances mediums and psychics
+have been able to assist; in others their presence only seemed to
+make matters worse. We can but experiment and learn. Those who may be
+more interested in this aspect of the question will find it treated
+in Chapter XV. of my book "_The Coming Science_," which is devoted to
+"Haunted Houses and their Cure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD--I.
+
+In the following Chapter, I shall give a number of cases in which
+"Ghosts," or "Phantasms of the Dead," as they are called, have appeared
+to one or more persons at one time; sometimes telling them something
+they did not know; sometimes moving material objects in the room;
+sometimes pulling the bed-clothes off, etc. Nearly all these cases are
+well authenticated, and have been narrated at first-hand. Many of them
+have the corroborative testimony of several other persons, who also saw
+the phantasmal figure, or in some way shared in the experience. I shall
+begin with--
+
+
+A RUSSIAN GHOST
+
+The following story is vouched for by Mr. W. D. Addison, of Riga, and
+sent by him to Mr. W. T. Stead, who published it in _Borderland_:
+
+"It was in February, 1884, that the incidents I am about to relate
+occurred to me, and the story is well-known to my immediate friends.
+
+"Five weeks previously my wife had presented me with our first baby,
+and our house being a small one, I had to sleep on a bed made up in
+the drawing room--a spacious but cozy apartment, and the last place in
+which one would expect ghosts to select for their wanderings.
+
+"On the night in question I retired to my couch soon after ten, and
+fell asleep almost the moment I was between the sheets.
+
+"Instead of sleeping as, I am thankful to say, is my habit, straight
+through till morning, I woke up after a short dreamless sleep with
+the dim consciousness upon me that some one had called me by name. I
+was just turning the idea over in my mind when all doubts were solved
+by my hearing my name pronounced in a faint whisper, 'Willy.' Now the
+nurse who was in attendance on the baby, and who slept in the dressing
+room adjoining our bedroom, had been ill for the past few days, and on
+the previous evening my wife had come and asked me to assist her with
+the baby. As soon, therefore, as I heard this whisper, I turned round
+thinking, 'Ah, it is the baby again.'
+
+"The room had three windows in it, the night was moonless but starlit;
+there was snow on the ground, and therefore, 'snowlight,' and the
+blinds being up the room was by no means dark.
+
+"The first thing I noticed on turning round was the figure of a
+woman close to the foot of the bed, and whom (following the bent of
+my thoughts) I supposed to be my wife. 'What is up?' I asked, but
+the figure remained silent and motionless, and my eyes being more
+accustomed to the dimness, I noticed that it had a gray looking shawl
+over its head and shoulders, and that it was too short in stature to be
+my wife. I gazed at it silently, wondering who it could be; apparitions
+and ghosts were far from my thoughts, and the mistiness of the outlines
+of this silent figure did not strike me at the moment as it did
+afterwards.
+
+"I again addressed it, this time in the language of the country, 'What
+do you want?' Again no answer. And now it occurred to me that our
+servant girl sometimes walked in her sleep, and that this was she.
+Behind the head of my bed stood a small table, and I reached round for
+the match-box which was on it, never removing my eyes from the supposed
+somnambulist. The match-box was now in my hands, but just as I was
+taking out a match, the figure, to my astonishment, seemed to rise up
+from the floor, and move backwards toward the end window; at the same
+time it faded rapidly and became blurred with the gray light streaming
+in at the window, and 'ere I could strike the match it was gone. I lit
+the candle, jumped out of bed and ran to the door: it was fastened! To
+the left of the drawing room there was a boudoir, separated only by a
+curtain, this room was empty too, and the door likewise fastened.
+
+"I rubbed my eyes. I was puzzled. It struck me now for the first time
+that the figure was hazy looking, also that my wife was the only person
+who called me 'Willy,' and certainly the only person who could give the
+word its English pronunciation. I first searched both drawing room and
+boudoir, and then, opening the door, stepped into the passage, and went
+to my wife's door and listened. The baby was crying and my wife was up,
+so I knocked and was admitted. Knowing her to be strong minded and not
+nervous, I quietly related my experience. She expressed astonishment,
+and asked if I was not afraid to return to my bed in the drawing room.
+However, I was not, and after chatting for a few moments went back
+to my quarters, fastened the door, and getting into bed, thought the
+whole matter over very quietly. I could think of no explanation of the
+occurrence, and, feeling sleepy, blew out the light and was soon sound
+asleep again.
+
+"After a short but sound and dreamless slumber, I was again awakened,
+this time with my face towards the middle window; and there, close up
+against it, was the figure again, and owing to its propinquity to the
+light, it appeared to be a very dark object.
+
+"I at once reached out for the matches, but in doing so upset the
+table, and down it went with my candlestick, my watch, keys, etc.,
+making a terrific crash. As before, I had kept my eyes fixed on the
+figure, and I now observed that, whatever it was, it was advancing
+straight towards me, and in another moment retreat to the door would be
+cut off. It was not a comfortable idea to cope with the unknown in the
+dark, and in an instant I had seized the bed-clothes, and grasping a
+corner of them in each hand, and holding them up before me, I charged
+straight at the figure. (I suppose I thought that, by smothering the
+head of my supposed assailant, I could best repel the coming attack.)
+
+"The next moment I had landed on my knees on a sofa by the window with
+my arms on the window-sill, and with the consciousness that 'it' was
+now behind me--I having passed through it. With a bound I faced round,
+and was immediately immersed in a darkness impalpable to the touch,
+but so dense that it seemed to be weighing me down and squeezing me
+from all sides. I could not stir; the bed-clothes which I had seized
+as described hung over my left arm, the other was free, but seemed
+pressed down by a benumbing weight. I essayed to cry for help, but
+realized for the first time in my life what it means for the 'tongue
+to cleave to the roof of the mouth'; my tongue seemed to have become
+dry and to have swelled to a thickness of some inches; it stuck to
+the roof of my mouth, and I could not ejaculate a syllable. At last,
+after an appalling struggle, I succeeded in uttering, and I know that
+disjointed words, half prayer, half execrations of fear, left my lips,
+then my mind seemed to make one frantic effort, there seemed to come a
+wrench like an electric shock and my limbs were free; it was as tho' I
+tore myself out of something. In a few seconds I had reached and opened
+the door and was in the passage, listening to the hammerings of my
+heart-beats. All fear was gone from me, but I felt as though I had run
+miles for my life and that another ten yards of it would have killed me.
+
+"I again went to the door of my wife's room, and, hearing that she was
+up with the baby, I knocked and she opened. She is a witness to the
+state I was in: the drops rolling down my face, my hair was damp, and
+the beatings of my heart were audible some paces off. I can offer no
+explanations of what I saw, but as soon as my story became known, the
+people who had occupied the house previously told me that they had once
+put a visitor in that same drawing room, who had declared the room to
+be haunted and had refused to stay in it...."
+
+
+GRASPED BY A SPIRIT HAND
+
+The following account is vouched for by Major C. G. MacGregor, Ireland,
+who writes as follows:
+
+"In the end of the year 1871 I went over from Scotland to pay a short
+visit to a relative living in a square on the north side of Dublin.
+
+"In January, 1872, the husband of my relative, then in his
+eighty-fourth year, was seized with paralysis, and, having no trained
+nurse, the footman and I sat up with him for sixteen nights during his
+recovery. On the seventeenth night, at about 11:30 p.m., I said to the
+footman: 'The master seems so well, and sleeping soundly, I shall go
+to bed; and if he awakes worse, or you require me, call me.' I then
+retired to my room, which was over the one occupied by the invalid.
+
+"I went to bed and was soon asleep, when some time afterwards I was
+awakened by a slight push on the left shoulder. I was at the time
+lying on my right side facing the door (which was on the right side of
+my bed, and the fireplace on the left). I started up and said: 'Edward,
+is there anything wrong?' I received no answer, but immediately
+received another push. I got annoyed and said, 'Can you not speak, man,
+and tell me if anything is wrong?' Still no answer; and I had a feeling
+that I was going to get another push when I suddenly turned around
+and caught (what I then thought) a human hand, warm, soft and plump.
+I said: 'Who are you?' but I got no answer. I then tried to pull the
+person towards me, to endeavor to find out who it was, but although I
+am nearly thirteen stone, I could not move whoever it was, but felt
+that I myself was likely to be drawn from the bed. I then said, 'I will
+know who you are,' and having the hand tight in my hand, with my left I
+felt the wrist and arm--enclosed, as it seemed to me, in a tight sleeve
+of some winter material with a linen cuff; but when I got to the elbow
+all trace of the arm ceased! I was so astonished that I let the hand
+go, and just then the house clock struck 2 a.m. I then thought no one
+could possibly get to the door without my catching them; but lo! the
+door was fast shut as when I came to bed, and another thought struck
+me--the fact that, when I pulled the hand, I heard no one breathing,
+though I myself was 'puffed' from the strength I used!
+
+"Including the mistress of the house, there were in all five females,
+and I am assured that the hand belonged to no one of them. When I
+related the adventure, the servants exclaimed, 'Oh, it must be the
+master's old aunt Betty,'--an old lady who had lived for many years
+in the upper part of the house, occupying two rooms, and had died
+over fifty years ago, at a great age. I afterwards learned that the
+_room_ in which I felt the hand had been considered 'haunted,' and many
+curious noises and peculiar incidents had occurred there, such as the
+bed-clothes being torn off. One lady got a slap in the face from some
+invisible hand, and, when she lighted her candle, she saw something
+opaque fall, or jump off the bed. A general officer, a brother of the
+lady, slept there two nights, but preferred going to an hotel rather
+than remaining a third! He never would say what he heard or saw, but
+always asserted the room was 'uncanny.' I slept for months in that room
+afterwards and was never in the least disturbed. I never knew what
+nervousness was in my life, and only regret that my astonishment caused
+me to let go the hand before finding out the purpose of the visit.
+Whether it was meant for a warning or not, I may add that the old
+gentleman lived three years and six months afterwards...."
+
+
+"I AM SHOT!"
+
+The next case is well authenticated, and appeared in the _Proceedings_
+of the Society for Psychical Research (S. P. R.):
+
+After some preliminary remarks, the writer proceeds:
+
+"I awoke and saw standing by my bed, between me and the chest of
+drawers, a figure, which, in spite of the unwonted dress--unwonted, at
+least, to me--and of a full, black beard, I at once recognized as that
+of my old brother officer. He had on the usual khaki coat, worn by the
+officers on service in eastern climates.... His face was pale, but his
+bright black eyes shone as keenly as when, a year and a half before,
+they had looked upon me as he stood with one foot on the hansom,
+bidding me _adieu_.
+
+"Fully impressed for the moment that we were stationed together in
+Ireland or somewhere, and thinking I was in my barrack-room, I said,
+'Hello, P., am I late for parade?' P. looked at me steadily, and
+replied, 'I'm shot!'
+
+"'Shot!' I exclaimed, 'Good God, how and where?'
+
+"'Through the lungs,' replied P.; and as he spoke his right hand moved
+slowly up to his breast, until the fingers rested over the right lung.
+
+"'What were you doing?' I asked.
+
+"'The General sent me forward,' he answered; and the right hand left
+the breast to move slowly to the front, pointing over my head to the
+window, and at the same moment the figure melted away. I rubbed my
+eyes, to make sure I was not dreaming, and sprang out of bed. It was
+then 4.10 a.m. by the clock on my mantelpiece.
+
+"Two days later news was received that he had been killed at Lang's
+Neck between 11 and 12 o'clock on the night in question."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The following is a nautical story:
+
+
+HEAVE THE LEAD!
+
+In the year 1664, Captain Thomas Rogers, commander of a ship called the
+_Society_, was bound on a voyage from London to Virginia. The vessel
+being sent light to Virginia, for a loading of tobacco, carried little
+freight in her outward hold.
+
+"One day when they made an observation, the mates and officers brought
+their books and cast up their reckonings with the captain, to see how
+near they were to the coast of America. They all agreed that they were
+a _hundred leagues_ from the capes of Virginia. Upon these customary
+reckonings, and heaving the lead, and finding no ground at a hundred
+fathoms, they set the watch, and the captain turned in.
+
+"The weather was fine; a moderate gale of wind blew from the coast; so
+that the ship might have run about twelve or thirteen leagues in the
+night, after the captain was in his cabin.
+
+"He fell asleep, and slept very soundly for about three hours, when he
+woke again, and lay still till he heard his second mate turn out and
+relieve the watch. He then called his first mate, as he was going off
+watch, and asked him how all things fared? The mate answered that all
+was well, though the gale had freshened, and they were running at a
+great rate; but it was a fair wind, and a fair, clear night.
+
+"The captain then went to sleep again.
+
+"About an hour after, he dreamed that some one had pulled him, and bade
+him turn out and look abroad. He, however, lay still and went to sleep
+again; but was suddenly re-awakened. This occurred several times; and,
+though he knew not what was the reason, yet he found it impossible to
+go to sleep any more. Still he heard the vision say: 'Turn out and look
+abroad.'
+
+"The captain lay in this state of uneasiness nearly two hours, until
+finally he felt compelled to don his great coat and go on deck. All was
+well; it was a fine, clear night.
+
+"The men saluted him; and the captain called out: 'How's she heading?'
+
+"'Southwest by south, sir,' answered the mate; 'fair for the coast, and
+the wind east by north.'
+
+"'Very good,' said the captain, and as he was about to return to his
+cabin, _something_ stood by him, and said: 'Heave the lead.'
+
+"Upon hearing this the captain said to the second mate: 'When did you
+heave the lead? What water had you?'
+
+"'About an hour ago, sir,' replied the mate; 'sixty fathom.'
+
+"'Heave again,' the captain commanded.
+
+"When the lead was cast they had ground at eleven fathoms. This
+surprised them all; but much more when, at the next cast, it came up
+_seven_ fathoms.
+
+"Upon this, the captain, in a fright, bid them put the helm alee, and
+about ship, all hands ordered to back the sails, as is usual in such
+cases.
+
+"The proper orders being observed, the ship 'stayed' and came about;
+but before the sails filled, she had but four-fathoms-and-a-half water
+under her stern. As soon as she filled and stood off, they had seven
+fathoms again, and at the next cast eleven fathoms, and so on to twenty
+fathoms. They then stood off to seaward all the rest of the watch, to
+get into deep water, till daybreak, when, being a clear morning, the
+capes of Virginia were in fair view under their stern, and but a few
+leagues distant. Had they stood-on but one cable-length further, as
+they were going, they would have been ashore, and certainly lost their
+ship, if not their lives--all through the erroneous reckonings of the
+previous day. _Who_ or _what_ was it that waked the captain and bade
+him save the ship? That he has never been able to tell!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The incident which follows is somewhat similar--though more
+dramatic--being also a nautical story:
+
+
+THE RESCUE AT SEA
+
+The following famous narrative is taken from Mr. Robert Dale Owen's
+collection, printed in his _Footfalls on the Boundary of Another
+World_, and _The Debatable Land Between this World and the Next_. It is
+quite a famous case, and is vouched for by Mr. Owen. It is as follows:
+
+"Mr. Robert Bruce, descended from some branch of the Scottish family of
+the same name, was born in humble circumstances about the close of the
+eighteenth century at Torbay, in the south of England, and there bred
+up to a seafaring life. When about thirty years of age (in the year
+1828), he was first mate on board a barque trading between Liverpool
+and St. John's, New Brunswick.
+
+"On one of her voyages, bound westward, being then some five or six
+weeks out, and having neared the eastern portion of the Banks of
+Newfoundland, the captain and the mate had been on deck at noon, taking
+an observation of the sun; after which they both descended to calculate
+their day's work.
+
+"The cabin, a small one, was immediately at the stern of the vessel,
+and the short stairway, descending to it, ran athwart-ships.
+Immediately opposite to this stairway, just beyond a small, square
+landing, was the mate's state room; and from that landing there were
+two doors, close to each other--the one opening aft into the cabin,
+the other fronting the stairway into the stateroom. The desk in the
+stateroom was in the forward part of it, close to the door; so that
+anyone sitting at it, and looking over his shoulder, could see into the
+cabin.
+
+"The mate, absorbed in his calculation, which did not result as he
+expected, varying considerably from the 'dead reckoning,' had not
+noticed the captain's motions. When he had completed his calculations,
+he cried out, without looking round, 'I make our latitude and longitude
+so-and-so. Can that be right? How is yours, sir?'
+
+"Receiving no reply he repeated the question, glancing over his
+shoulder and perceiving, as he thought, the captain busy at his slate.
+Still no answer! Thereupon he rose, and, as he fronted the cabin
+door, the figure he had mistaken for the captain raised his head and
+disclosed to the astonished mate the features of an entire stranger.
+
+"Bruce was no coward, but as he met that fixed gaze, looking directly
+at him in grave silence, and became assured that it was no one whom he
+had ever seen before, it was too much for him; and, instead of stopping
+to question the seeming intruder, he rushed upon deck in such evident
+alarm that it instantly attracted the captain's attention.
+
+"'Why, Mr. Bruce,' said the latter, 'what in the world is the matter
+with you?'
+
+"'The matter, sir? Who is that at your desk?'
+
+"'No one that I know of.'
+
+"'But there _is_, sir, there's a stranger there.'
+
+"'A stranger? Why, man, you must be dreaming! You must have seen the
+steward there, or the second mate. Who else would venture down without
+orders?'
+
+"'But, sir, he was sitting in your arm chair, fronting the door,
+writing on your slate. Then he looked up full in my face; and if ever I
+saw a man plainly and distinctly in the world I saw him.'
+
+"'Him! Who?'
+
+"'Heaven knows, sir; I don't! I saw a man and a man I have never seen
+in my life before.'
+
+"'You must be going crazy, Mr. Bruce. A stranger, and we nearly six
+weeks out!'
+
+"The captain descended the stairs, and the mate followed him. Nobody in
+the cabin! They examined the staterooms. Not a soul could be found.
+
+"'Well, Mr. Bruce,' said the Captain, 'did not I tell you that you had
+been dreaming?'
+
+"'It's all very well to say so, sir; but if I didn't see that man
+writing on the slate may I never see home and family again!'
+
+"'Ah! Writing on the slate. Then it should be there still!' And the
+captain took it up. 'By heaven,' he exclaimed, 'here's something sure
+enough! Is that your writing, Mr. Bruce?'
+
+"The mate took the slate; and there, in plain, legible characters,
+stood the words: 'Steer to the Nor'-west.'
+
+"The captain sat down at his desk, the slate before him, in deep
+thought. At last turning the slate over, and pushing it toward Bruce,
+he said: 'Write down: "Steer to the nor'west."'
+
+"The mate complied; and the captain, comparing the two handwritings,
+said: 'Mr. Bruce, go and tell the second mate to come down here.'
+
+"He came, and at the captain's request, he also wrote the words. So did
+the steward. So in succession did every man of the crew who could write
+at all. But not one of the various hands resembled, in any degree, the
+mysterious writing.
+
+"When the crew retired, the captain sat deep in thought. 'Could anyone
+have been stowed away?' at last he said. 'The ship must be searched.
+Order up all hands.'
+
+"Every nook and corner of the vessel was thoroughly searched; not a
+living soul was found.
+
+"Accordingly, the captain decided to change the vessel's course
+according to the instructions received. A look-out was posted; who
+shortly reported an iceberg, and then, shortly after, a vessel close to
+it.
+
+"As they approached, the captain's glass disclosed the fact that it was
+a dismantled ship, apparently frozen to the ice.... It proved to be a
+vessel from Quebec, bound for Liverpool, with passengers on board. She
+had got entangled in the ice, and finally frozen fast; and had passed
+several weeks in a most critical situation. She was stove, her decks
+swept; in fact, a mere wreck; all her provisions and almost all her
+water gone. Her crew and passengers had lost all hope of being saved,
+and their gratitude at the unexpected rescue was proportionately great.
+
+"As one of the men who had been brought away in the third boat ascended
+the ship's side, the mate, catching a glimpse of his face, started back
+in consternation. It was the very face he had seen three or four hours
+before, looking up at him from the captain's desk! He communicated this
+fact to the captain.
+
+"After the comfort of the passengers had been seen to, the captain
+turned to the stranger, and said to him: 'I hope, sir, you will not
+think I am trifling with you, but I would be much obliged to you if you
+would write a few words on this slate.' And he handed him the slate,
+with that side up on which the mysterious writing was not.
+
+"'I will do anything you ask,' replied the passenger, 'but what shall I
+write?'
+
+"'A few words are all I want. Suppose you write: 'Steer to the
+nor'-west.'
+
+"The passenger, evidently puzzled to make out the motive of such a
+request, complied, however, with a smile. The captain took up the slate
+and examined it closely; then stepping aside so as to conceal the slate
+from the passenger, he turned it over and gave it to him the other side
+up.
+
+"'You say that this is your handwriting?' said he.
+
+"'I need not say so,' replied the other, looking at it, 'for you saw me
+write it.'
+
+"'And this?' said the captain, turning the slate over.
+
+"The man looked first at one writing, then at the other, quite
+confounded. At last: 'What is the meaning of this?' said he. 'I only
+wrote _one_ of these. Who wrote the _other_?'
+
+"'That's more than I can tell you, sir. My mate here says you wrote it,
+sitting at this desk, at noon to-day!'
+
+"The captain of the wreck and the passenger looked at each other,
+exchanging glances of intelligence and surprise; then the former asked
+the latter: 'Did you dream that you wrote on this slate?'
+
+"'No, sir, not that I remember.'
+
+"'You speak of dreaming,' said the captain of the barque. 'What was
+this gentleman about at noon to-day?'
+
+"'Captain,' rejoined the other, (the captain of the wreck), 'the
+whole thing is most mysterious and extraordinary; and I had intended
+to speak to you about it as soon as we got a little quiet. This
+gentleman--pointing to the passenger--being much exhausted, fell into
+a heavy sleep, or what seemed such, some time before noon. After an
+hour or more, he awoke, and said to me: 'Captain, we shall be relieved
+this very day.' When I asked him what reason he had for saying so, he
+replied that he had dreamed that he was on board a barque, and that
+she was coming to our rescue. He described her appearance and rig,
+and, to our utter astonishment, when your vessel hove in sight, she
+corresponded exactly to his description of her! We had not put much
+faith in what he said; yet still we hoped there might be something in
+it, for drowning men, as you know, catch at straws. As it turned out, I
+cannot doubt that it was all arranged by some overruling Providence.'
+
+"'There is not a doubt,' replied the captain of the barque, 'that the
+writing on the slate, let it come there as it may, saved all your
+lives. I was steering at the time considerably south of west, and I
+altered my course for the nor'-west, and had a look-out aloft, to
+see what would come of it. But you say,' he added, turning to the
+passenger, 'that you did not dream of writing on a slate?'
+
+"'No, sir. I have no recollection whatever of doing so. I got the
+impression that the barque I saw in my dream was coming to rescue us;
+but _how_ that impression came I cannot tell. There is another very
+strange thing about it,' he added. 'Everything here on board seems to
+be quite familiar; yet I am very sure that I was never in your vessel
+before. It is all a puzzle to me! What did your mate see?'
+
+"Thereupon Mr. Bruce related to them all the circumstances above
+detailed."
+
+
+HOW GHOSTS INFLUENCE US
+
+The following is a very interesting case, which brings vividly before
+us the fact that ghosts often draw power from those who witness their
+manifestations--just as they draw vitality from a materializing
+"medium," during a seance. As cases of this character are rare, the
+following is of considerable value:
+
+"It was an afternoon, last autumn, about six o'clock. I had returned
+from a stroll and was sitting in my own apartment on Central Park West,
+reading _Vanity Fair_. While turning over its pages I became suddenly
+aware of a novel and indescribable sensation. My chest and breathing
+became inwardly oppressed by some ponderous weight, while I became
+conscious of some 'presence' behind me, exerting a powerful influence
+on the forces within. On trying to turn my head to see what it could
+be, I was powerless to do so; neither could I lift a hand, or move in
+any way. I was not a little alarmed, and began immediately to reason.
+My mind was alive, though physically I was unable to move a muscle.
+It was as if the current of nerve force within seemed forcibly drawn
+together and focussed on a spot in front of me.
+
+"I gazed motionless, as though with something intenser than ordinary
+eyesight, on what was no longer vacant space. There an oval, misty
+light was forming--elongatory, widening, yes, actually developing
+into a human face and form. Was this hallucination, or some vision
+of the unseen, coming in so unexpected a fashion? Before me had
+arisen a remarkable figure, never seen before in a picture or
+life--dark-skinned, aged, with white beard, the expression intensely
+earnest, the features small, the bald head finely moulded, lofty over
+the forehead, the whole demeanor instinct with solemn grace.
+
+"He was speaking to me in deep tones, as if in urgent entreaty.
+What would I not give to hear words from such a figure! But no
+effort availed me to distinguish one articular sound. I tried to
+speak, but could not. With desperate effort I shook out the words,
+'Speak louder.' The face grew more intent, the voice louder and more
+emphatic. Was there something amiss with my own hearing, then, that
+I could distinguish no word amid these deeply emphasized tones?
+Slowly and deliberately the figure vanished--through the same stages
+of indistinctness, back to the globular lamplike whiteness, till it
+faded to nothingness. Before it had quite faded away, the face only
+of a woman arose, indistinct and dim. The same emphatic hum, though
+in a subdued note; the same paralysis of voice and muscle, the same
+strange force, as it was overshadowing me. With the disappearance of
+this second and far less interesting figure, I recovered my power of
+movement and arose.
+
+"My first impulse was to look around for the origin of this strange
+force; my second to rush to the looking-glass to make sure of myself.
+There could be no illusion. There I was, paler than usual, the forehead
+bathed in perspiration. I threw open the window. It was no dream. There
+were the passing trolley cars below, clanging up and down, while a
+crowd of noisy youngsters were playing in the park across the way. I
+sponged my face, and, greatly agitated, walked hurriedly to and fro.
+If this is real, I thought, it may recur. I would sit in the same
+position, try to be calm, read a book, remain as still and passive as I
+could, and see the result.
+
+"To my intense interest, and almost at once, the strange sense of some
+power operating on the nerve-forces within, followed by the same loss
+of muscular power, the same wide-awakeness of the reason, the same
+drawing out and concentrating of the energies on that spot in front,
+repeated itself--this time more deliberately, leaving me freer to take
+mental notes of what was happening. Again arose the noble, earnest
+figure, gazing at me, the hands moving in solemn accompaniment to the
+deep tones of voice. The same effort, painful on my part, to hear, with
+no result. The vision passed. Again the woman's face, insignificant and
+meaningless, succeeded it as before. She spoke, but in less emphatic
+tones. It flashed upon me that I _would_ hear. After a frantic effort,
+I caught two words--'Land,' 'America'--with positively no clue to their
+meaning.
+
+"I was wide awake when the first apparition appeared, and in a highly
+excited state of mind on its re-appearance."
+
+
+HOW A GHOST WARNED THE KING
+
+Kings and queens are not exempt from visitations of the supernatural;
+indeed, a large number of royal dignitaries have seen "ghosts," and
+have been haunted by specters in as unpleasant a manner as any ordinary
+mortal. Were we to hunt through the pages of history, we should find
+many of these--some of which it will doubtless be of interest to give
+at some future time. The following account is taken from the _Annals
+of the Kingdom of Scotland_, and is told in queer old English, with
+long 's's,' and so on, making it very hard to read in the original! I
+interpret it into modern English as best I can, maintaining its form:
+
+"While James IV. stayed at Linlithgow, to gather up the scattered
+remains of his army, which had been defeated by the Earl of Surrey, at
+Flodden-field, he went into the Church of St. Michael there to hear
+evening prayer. While he was at his devotion, a remarkable figure
+of an ancient man, with flowing amber-colored hair hanging over his
+shoulders, his forehead high, and inclining to baldness, his garments
+of a fine blue color, somewhat long and girded together, with a fine
+white cloth, of comely and very reverent aspect, was seen inquiring
+for the king; when his majesty being pointed out to him he made his
+way through the crowd till he came to him, and then, with a clown's
+simplicity, leaning over the cannon's feet, he addressed him in the
+following words: 'Sir, I am sent hither to entreat you to delay your
+intended expedition for this time, and proceed no further; for if you
+do, you will be unfortunate, and not prosper in your enterprise, nor
+any of your followers. I am further charged to warn you, not to follow
+the acquaintance, company or counsel of women, as you value your life,
+honour and estate.'
+
+"After giving him this admonition, he withdrew himself back through the
+crowd and disappeared.
+
+"When service was ended, the king enquired earnestly after him, but
+he could not be found or heard of anywhere, neither could any of the
+bystanders (of whom many narrowly watched him, resolving afterwards
+to have discoursed with him) feel or perceive how, when or where he
+passed from them, having in a manner vanished from their sight.
+
+"This caused the king to feel some uneasiness; 'for,' said he, 'if he
+were mortal man, how did he go so quickly hence, and how did he give me
+such advice, which I, of all men, know at this time to be of value?'
+The king was sorely puzzled; and called the warden of the church to
+him, and questioned him as to the man whom he had seen.
+
+"And when the warden had heard the tale from the king, he questioned
+him in turn, as to the man's appearance--whether he was this and that;
+and of the man's manner of speech. And when the king had answered to
+his satisfaction, he turned pale; and said: 'Oh, king, the personage
+whom you saw to-day was not mortal man; but one dead long ago; one
+who lived and died close here; and known to many of us well. He has
+been known to come before in times of great stress; and his advice has
+always been good. Truly, my lord, you have this day seen an apparition
+of a dead man.'
+
+"And the king marvelled at what he had seen."
+
+Thus ends the curious old narrative. It will be seen that several
+others saw the ghost besides the king. These are called "collective
+cases" by those engaged in psychical studies; for the reason that
+several persons saw the figure at the same time, or "collectively."
+Such cases have never been satisfactorily explained. For, if the
+phantom were a mere hallucination, as many claim, how did several see
+it at once?
+
+
+THE STAINS OF BLOOD
+
+The following narrative was personally related to Robert Dale Owen, by
+a clergyman of the Church of England, who was Chaplain, at the time, to
+the British Legation in Florence. It is as follows:
+
+"In the year 1856, I was staying with my wife and children, at a
+favorite watering place. In order to attend to some affairs of my
+own, I determined to leave my family there for three or four days.
+Accordingly, on the 8th of August, I took the railway, and arrived that
+evening an unexpected guest at the Hall--the residence of a gentleman
+whose acquaintance I had recently made, and with whom my sister was
+then staying.
+
+"I arrived late, soon afterwards went to bed, and before long fell
+asleep. Awaking after three or four hours, I was not surprised to find
+that I could sleep no more--for I never rest well in a strange bed.
+After trying, therefore, in vain to induce sleep, I began to arrange
+my plans for the day. I had been engaged some little time in this way,
+when I became suddenly sensitive to the fact that there was a light in
+the room. Turning round, I distinctly perceived a female figure; and
+what attracted my special attention was that the light by which I saw
+it emanated from itself. I watched the figure attentively. The features
+were not perceptible. After moving a little distance, it disappeared as
+suddenly as it had appeared.
+
+"My first thoughts were that there was some trick. I immediately got
+out of bed, struck a light, and found my bedroom door still locked. I
+then carefully examined the walls, to ascertain if there was any other
+concealed means of entrance or exit, but none could I find. I drew the
+curtains and opened the shutters, but all outside was silent and dark,
+there being no moonlight. After examining the room in every part, I
+went back to bed, and began thinking calmly over the whole matter. What
+had I seen? And why did _It appear_?
+
+"In the morning, as soon as I was up and dressed, I told my sister what
+I had seen. She then informed me that the house had the reputation of
+being 'haunted'; and that a murder had been committed in it; but not
+in the room in which I had slept. Later in the day I left--after making
+my sister promise to do all she could to unravel the mystery.
+
+"On the following Wednesday morning, I received a letter from my
+sister, in which she informed me that, since I left, she had made
+inquiries and had ascertained that the murder _was_ committed in the
+very room in which I slept! She added that she proposed visiting us the
+next day, and that she would like me to write out an account of what I
+had seen--together with a plan of the room, and that on that plan she
+wished me to mark the place of the appearance and disappearance of the
+figure.
+
+"This I immediately did; and the next day when my sister arrived, she
+asked me if I had complied with her request? I replied, pointing to the
+drawing room table: 'Yes, there is the account and the plan.'
+
+"As she rose to examine it, I prevented her, saying: 'Do not look
+at it until you have told me all you have to say, because you might
+unintentionally color your story by what you may read there.'
+
+"Thereupon she informed me that she had had the carpet taken up in the
+room I had occupied, and that the marks of blood from the murdered
+person were there, plainly visible, on a particular part of the floor.
+At my request she also then drew a plan of the room, and marked upon it
+the spots which still bore traces of blood. The two plans--my sister's
+and mine--were now compared; and we verified the most remarkable fact
+that _the place she had marked as the beginning and ending of the
+traces of blood coincided exactly with the spots marked on my plan as
+those on which the female figure had appeared and disappeared_!"
+
+
+FACE TO FACE!
+
+The following case is recorded by the wife of Colonel Lewin, and is
+reported in the _Proceedings_ of the S. P. R.:
+
+"In January, 1868, I took a house close to Hastings.... One night
+there was a heavy storm, the weather was bitterly cold, and a fire was
+burning in my bedroom when I went to bed at 10.30. I tried to go to
+sleep, but it was no use; the noise of the wind and the rain kept me
+awake. I must have been lying like this for a couple of hours when I
+became conscious of what seemed like a light in the room.... I thought
+the fire must have re-kindled itself, and crawled along on my knees
+on the bed to look at the fire over the high wooden foot, to see how
+this might be. I had no thought of anything but the fire, and was not
+nervous in the slightest degree. As I raised myself on my knees and
+looked over the foot of the bed, I found myself face to face, at a
+distance of about three feet, with the semblance of a man. I never for
+a moment thought he was a man, but was struck with the feeling that
+this was one from the dead.
+
+"The light seemed to emanate from round this figure, but the only
+portions which I saw clearly were the head and shoulders. The face I
+shall never forget; it was pale, emaciated, with a thin, high-bridged
+nose, and eyes deeply sunk and glowing in the sockets with a sort of
+glare. A long beard was seemingly rolled in under a white comforter,
+and on the head was a slouched felt hat. I had a nervous shock, and
+felt a dead person was looking upon _me_--a living one, but had no
+sensation of being actually frightened, until the figure moved slowly
+as if interposing between me and the door, then horror overcame me and
+I fell back in a dead faint. How long I remained unconscious I know
+not, but I came to myself cold and cramped; the room was quite dark and
+nothing was visible. Thoroughly tired out, I got into bed, and slept
+soundly until morning."
+
+
+JULIA, DARLING!
+
+The next example is from the _Proceedings_ of the S. P. R. (Vol. V.,
+pp. 440-41), and Mr. Myers states that the writer was well known to
+him. The account reads in part:
+
+"My mother died on the 24th of June, 1874, at Slima, Malta, where we
+were then residing for her health. Seven nights later she appeared
+to me.... I seemed to have been sleeping some time when I woke, and,
+turning over on the other side towards the window, saw my mother
+standing by my bedside, crying and wringing her hands. I had not
+been awake long enough to remember that she was dead, and exclaimed
+quite naturally, 'Why, dear, what's the matter?' and then suddenly
+remembering, I screamed. The nurse sprang up from the next room, but
+on the top step flung herself on her knees and began to tell her beads
+and cry. My father at the same moment arrived at the opposite door, and
+I heard his sudden exclamation of 'Julia, darling.' My mother turned
+towards him, and then to me, and, wringing her hands again, retreated
+towards the nursery and was lost. The nurse afterwards stated that she
+distinctly felt something pass her.... My father ordered her out of the
+room, and telling me that I had only been dreaming, stayed until I
+fell asleep. The next day, however, he told me that he, too, had seen
+the vision, and that he hoped to do so again, and that if ever she came
+to see me ... I was not to be frightened ... but she never appeared
+again."
+
+
+THE CUT ACROSS THE CHEEK
+
+In the narrative which follows, the apparition conveyed--by its very
+appearance--information which the percipient could not possibly have
+known. It is from Mr. H. Walton, of Dent, Sedburgh, England, and was
+sent to Mr. Stead, who published it:
+
+"In the month of April, 1881, I was located in Norfolk, and my duties
+took me once a fortnight to a fishing village on the coast--so I can
+guarantee the following facts: It is customary for the fishing smacks
+to go to Grimsby 'line fishing' in the spring. The vessels started one
+afternoon on their journey north. In the evening, a heavy north-east
+wind blew, and one of the boats mistook the white surf on the rocks
+for the reflection of a lighthouse. In consequence the boat got into
+shallow water, a heavy sea came, and swept two men from the deck. One
+man grasped a rope and was saved; the other, a younger man, failed to
+save himself, though an expert swimmer. It was said that he was heard
+to shout about 11 o'clock.
+
+"Towards one o'clock, the young man's mother, lying awake, saw his
+apparition come to the foot of the bed, clad in white, and she screamed
+with fright, and told her husband what she had seen, and that J. was
+drowned. He sought in vain to calm her by saying that she must have
+been dreaming. She asserted the contrary. Next day, when her daughter
+came in with the telegram of the sad event, before her daughter had
+time to speak, she cried out: 'J. is drowned,' and became unconscious;
+she remained in this state for many hours. When she regained
+consciousness, she told them particularly and distinctly what she had
+seen; and what is to the point is this remarkable thing: she said: 'If
+ever the body is found, it has a cut across the cheek,'--specifying
+which cheek. The body was found some days after, and exactly as mother
+had seen it, was the cut on the cheek."
+
+
+THE INVISIBLE HAND
+
+The following account was sent to the S. P. R. Ghosts are usually
+_seen_; they are sometimes heard; they are very rarely _felt_. The
+account which follows is an example of the latter class, in which the
+ghost was not only seen but touched.
+
+After stating that she was visiting a friend of hers in the country,
+when the event occurred, the narrator proceeds:
+
+"We went upstairs together, I being perhaps a couple of steps behind my
+friend, when, on reaching the topmost step, I felt something suddenly
+slip behind me from an unoccupied room on the left of the stairs.
+Thinking it must be imagination, no one being in the house except the
+widow and servant, who occupied rooms on another landing, I did not
+speak to my friend, who turned off to a room on the right, but walked
+quickly into my room, which faced the staircase, still feeling as
+though a tall figure was bending over me. I turned on the gas, struck a
+light, and was in the act of applying it, when I felt a heavy grasp on
+my arm of a hand, minus the middle finger. Upon this I uttered a loud
+cry, which brought my friend, the widow lady, and the servant girl,
+into the room to inquire the cause of my alarm. The two latter turned
+very pale on hearing the story. The house was thoroughly searched, but
+nothing was discovered.
+
+"Some weeks passed, and I had ceased to be alarmed at the occurrence,
+when I chanced to mention it whilst spending the afternoon with some
+friends. A gentleman asked me if I had ever heard a description or
+seen a 'carte' of the lady's late husband. On receiving a reply in the
+negative, he said, singularly enough, he was tall, had a slight stoop,
+and has lost the middle finger on his hand! On my return, I inquired of
+the servant, who had been in the family from childhood, if such were
+the case, and learned that it was quite correct, and that she (the
+girl) had once, when sleeping in the same room, awakened on feeling
+some one pressing down her knees, and on opening her eyes saw her late
+master by the bed side--on which she fainted, and had never dared to
+enter the room after dark since. She is not an imaginative girl; nor am
+I. When I was grasped, however, _I_ did not _see_ anything.
+
+"But worse was to follow! It so chanced that I had to sleep in that
+room once again, as the house was full of company, and there was
+nowhere else for me to go. I had by this time got over my fears, and
+hardly minded the idea of sleeping in the room at all. I left the room
+door open, turned out the light and was soon sound asleep.
+
+"Some time in the early hours of the morning I awoke with an
+indescribable feeling. I was _suddenly_ wide awake--without the
+slightest traces of sleep; yet I did not know _how_ I awoke; and had
+not any recollection of waking. But there I was wide awake, and staring
+up at the ceiling with wide-open eyes. My right hand was hanging over
+the side of the bed; so that it fell outwards, into the room. Imagine
+my horror, then, in feeling a hand suddenly grasp my hand, and I felt
+distinctly that it was _minus the middle finger_. The hand was icy
+cold, and of a peculiar hardness. I hung on to the hand, however,
+determined to go to the bottom of the affair. I gripped tightly; and
+still retained the hand in my grip. Bending over, I stretched out my
+left hand, and, with the fingers of that hand, felt over the hand and
+wrist I was holding. I then commenced to trace it up the arm. I had
+about reached the elbow--or a little below--when the arm suddenly
+ended--came to nothing; was no more! Yet the hand in mine was as
+solid as ever. This gave me such a shock that I let go the hand I was
+holding, and sank back onto my pillows. Then terror took possession of
+me; and I do not know what happened later. I only know that I had brain
+fever, which laid me low for several weeks. The occurrence has never
+been explained."
+
+
+THE APPARITION OF THE RADIANT BOY
+
+The following is a famous case, well-known as the "Apparition of the
+Radiant Boy." It was seen by the Marquis of Londonderry, and frequently
+spoken of by him afterwards.
+
+At the time of the appearance, Lord Londonderry was on a visit to a
+friend in the North of Ireland. The apartment assigned to him was one
+calculated to foster the belief in ghosts, because of its richly carved
+paneling--its huge fireplace, looking like the open entrance into a
+tomb--and the vast, ponderous draperies that hung in thick folds around
+the room.
+
+Lord Londonderry examined his chamber; he made himself acquainted with
+the forms and faces of the ancient possessors of the mansion, whose
+portraits hung around the room. Then, after dismissing his valet, he
+retired to bed.
+
+His candles had not long been extinguished when he perceived a light
+gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopies over his head.
+Conscious that there was no fire in the grate--that the curtains were
+closed--that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few minutes
+before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally entered
+his apartment; and, turning hastily around to the side from which the
+light proceeded, saw, to his infinite astonishment, not the form of a
+human visitor, but the figure of a fair boy, who seemed to be garmented
+in rays of mild and tempered glory, which beamed palely from his
+slender form, like the faint light of the declining moon and rendered
+the objects nearest to him dimly and indistinctly visible. The spirit
+stood but a short distance from the side of the bed.
+
+Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving him, Lord Londonderry
+got up and moved towards the figure. It retreated before him; as he
+slowly advanced, and with equal pace, slowly retired. It entered the
+gloomy arch of the capacious chimney, and then sank into the earth.
+Lord Londonderry returned to his bed, but not to rest; his mind was
+harassed by the consideration of the extraordinary event which had
+occurred to him. Was it real? Was it the work of imagination? Was it
+the result of imposture? It was all incomprehensible.
+
+He resolved in the morning not to mention the appearance till he should
+have well observed the manners and countenances of the family; he was
+conscious that, if any deception had been practised, its authors would
+be too delighted with their success to conceal the vanity of their
+triumph.
+
+When the guests assembled at the breakfast table, the eye of Lord
+Londonderry searched in vain for latent smiles--those conscious
+looks--that silent communication between the parties, by which
+the authors of such domestic conspiracies are generally betrayed.
+Everything, apparently, proceeded in its ordinary course. At last the
+hero of the tale felt bound to mention the occurrence of the night.
+
+At its conclusion, his host said: "The circumstances which you have
+just recounted appear very extraordinary to those who have not long
+been inmates of my dwelling; and are not conversant with the legends
+of my family; and to those who are, the event which has happened will
+only serve as the corroboration of an old tradition that has long been
+related of the apartment in which you slept. You have seen the 'Radiant
+Boy'; be content--it is an omen of prosperous fortunes. I would rather
+that this subject should not be mentioned." And here the affair ended.
+
+
+FISHER'S GHOST
+
+The following incident comes from Australia, and is well-known in that
+part of the world. It is usually known as "Fisher's Ghost," and is to
+the following effect:
+
+"A number of years ago, a free settler, named John Fisher, who had
+long successfully cultivated a grant of land in a remote district, and
+who was known to be possessed of a considerable sum of money, had been
+missing for some time after having visited the nearest market town,
+whither he had been in the habit of repairing with cattle and produce
+for sale.
+
+"An inquiry was instituted by his acquaintances; but his head servant,
+or rather his assistant on the farm--an ex-convict, who had lived many
+years with him in that situation--declared that his master had left the
+colony for some time on business, and that he expected him to return in
+a few months. As this man was generally known as Fisher's confidential
+servant, his assertion was believed--though some expressed surprise
+at the settler's abrupt and clandestine departure; for his character
+was good in every way. The 'month's wonder' soon subsided, however,
+and Fisher was forgotten. His assistant, meanwhile, managed the farm,
+bought and sold, and spent money freely. If questioned, which was
+but rarely, he would express his surprise at his master's delay, and
+pretend to expect him daily.
+
+"A few months after he had been first missed, a neighbouring settler,
+who was returning late on Saturday night from the market town, had
+occasion to pass within half a mile of Fisher's house. As he was riding
+by the fence which separated the farm from the high road, he distinctly
+saw the figure of a man seated on the railing, and at once recognized
+the form and features of his lost neighbor.
+
+"He instantly stopped and called to him by name; but the figure
+descended from the railing, and pointing appealingly toward the house,
+walked slowly across the field in that direction. The settler, having
+lost sight of him in the gloom, proceeded on his journey, and informed
+his family and neighbors that he had seen Fisher and spoken to him.
+On inquiry, however, Fisher's assistant said that he had not arrived,
+and affected to laugh at the settler's story--insinuating that he had
+probably drunk too freely at the market.
+
+"The neighbors were, however, not satisfied. The strange appearance of
+Fisher, sitting on the rail and pointing, with so much meaning, toward
+his own house aroused their suspicions, and they insisted upon a strict
+and immediate investigation by the police.
+
+"The party of investigators took with them an old and clever native.
+They had not proceeded far in the underbrush when they discovered a
+log, on which was a dark brown stain. This the native examined, and
+at once declared it to be '_white man's blood_.' He then, without
+hesitation, set off at a full run, toward a pond not far from the house.
+
+"He ran backwards and forwards about the pond, like a dog on the scent;
+and finally, borrowing a ram-rod from one of the settlers, ran it into
+the earth. He did this in one or two places; and finally said: '_White
+man here._'
+
+"The spot was immediately dug up, and a corpse, identified as that of
+Fisher, was discovered, its skull fractured, and evidently many weeks
+buried.
+
+"The guilty assistant was immediately arrested, and tried at Sydney, on
+circumstantial evidence alone--strong enough, however, to convict him,
+in spite of his self-possession, and protestations of innocence. He
+was sentenced to death; and, previous to his execution, made an ample
+confession of his guilt."
+
+
+HARRIET HOSMER'S VISION
+
+Lydia Maria Child relates the following interesting narrative:
+
+"When Harriet Hosmer, the sculptor, visited her native country a few
+years ago, I had an interview with her, during which our conversation
+happened to turn on dreams and visions.
+
+"'I have had some experience in that way,' said she. 'Let me tell
+you a singular circumstance that happened to me in Rome. An Italian
+girl named Rosa was in my employ for a long time, but was finally
+obliged to return to her mother on account of confirmed ill-health. We
+were mutually sorry to part, for we liked each other. When I took my
+customary exercise on horseback, I frequently called to see her. On one
+of these occasions, I found her brighter than I had seen her for some
+time past. I had long relinquished hopes of her recovery, but there was
+nothing in her appearance that gave the appearance of immediate danger.
+I left her with the expectation of calling to see her again many times.
+During the remainder of the day, I was busy in my studio, and I do not
+recollect that Rosa was in my thoughts after I had parted from her. I
+retired to rest in good health, and in a quiet frame of mind. But I
+woke from a sound sleep with the oppressive feeling that someone was in
+the room. I wondered at the sensation, for it was entirely new to me;
+but in vain I tried to dispel it. I peered beyond the curtains of my
+bed but could distinguish no objects in the darkness. Trying to gather
+my thoughts I reflected that the door was locked, and that I had put
+the key under my bolster. I felt for it and found it where I had placed
+it. I said to myself that I had probably had some ugly dream, and had
+waked with a vague impression of it still on my mind. Reasoning thus, I
+arranged myself comfortably for another nap.
+
+"'I am habitually a good sleeper and a stranger to fear, but do what I
+would, the idea still haunted me that someone was in the room. Finding
+it impossible to sleep, I longed for daylight to dawn, that I might
+rise and pursue my customary avocation. It was not long before I was
+able dimly to distinguish the furniture in my room, and, soon after,
+to hear familiar noises of servants opening windows and doors. An old
+clock with ringing vibration, proclaimed the hour. I counted one,
+two, three, four, five, and resolved to rise immediately. My bed was
+partially screened by a long curtain looped up at one side. As I raised
+my head from the pillow, Rosa looked inside the curtain, and smiled at
+me. The idea of anything supernatural did not occur to me. I was simply
+surprised and exclaimed: "Why, Rosa! How came you here when you are so
+ill?"
+
+"'In the old familiar tone to which I was so much accustomed, a voice
+replied, "I am well now."
+
+"'With no other thought but that of greeting her joyfully, I sprang out
+of bed. There was no Rosa there! When I became convinced that there was
+no one in the room but myself, I recollected the fact that my door was
+locked, and thought I must have seen a vision.
+
+"'At the breakfast table, I said to the old lady with whom I boarded:
+"Rosa is dead." I then summoned a messenger and sent him to inquire how
+Rosa was. He returned with the answer that she died that morning at 5
+o'clock.'
+
+"I wrote the story as Miss Hosmer told it to me, and after I had shown
+it to her, I asked her if she had any objection to its being published
+without suppression of names. She replied: 'You have reported the story
+of Rosa correctly. Make what use you please of it. You cannot think it
+more interesting or unaccountable than I do myself.'"
+
+
+THE APPARITION OF THE MURDERED BOY
+
+At the commencement of the French Revolution, Lady Pennyman and her
+two daughters and her friend, Mrs. Atkins, retired to Lisle, where
+they had hired a large and handsome house. A few weeks after taking
+possession, the housekeeper, with many apologies for being obliged to
+mention anything that might appear so idle and absurd, came to the
+apartment in which her mistress was sitting, and said that two of
+the servants who had accompanied her ladyship from England had that
+morning given warning, and expressed a determination of quitting her
+ladyship's service, on account of the mysterious noises by which they
+had been night after night disturbed and terrified. The room from which
+the sounds were supposed to have proceeded was at a distance from Lady
+Pennyman's apartments, and immediately over those that were occupied by
+the servants. To quiet the alarm Lady Pennyman resolved on leaving her
+own chamber for a time and establishing herself in the one which had
+been lately occupied by the domestics.
+
+The room above was a long, spacious one, which appeared to have been
+for a long time deserted. In the center of the chamber was a large iron
+cage. It was said that the late proprietor of the house--a young man of
+enormous wealth--had in his minority been confined in this cage by his
+uncle and guardian and starved to death.
+
+On the first night or two of Lady Pennyman's being established in her
+new apartment, she met with no interruption. This quiet, however, was
+of very short duration. One night she was awakened from her sleep by a
+slow and heavy step pacing the chamber overhead. It continued to move
+backwards and forwards for nearly an hour. There were more complaints
+from the housekeeper, no servants would remain. Lady Pennyman began
+herself to be alarmed. She requested the advice of Mrs. Atkins--a woman
+devoid of every kind of superstitious fear, and of tried courage. Mrs.
+Atkins determined to make the Cage room itself her sleeping quarters.
+A bed was accordingly placed in the apartment, and Mrs. Atkins retired
+to rest attended by her favorite spaniel--saying, as she bade them all
+good-night, "I and my dog are able to compete with a myriad of ghosts."
+
+Mrs. Atkins examined the chamber in every imaginable direction; she
+sounded every panel of the wainscot to prove there was no hollowness
+that might argue a concealed passage; and having securely bolted the
+door of the room, retired to rest, confident that she was secure
+against every material visitor, and totally incredulous of the airy
+encroachments of spiritual beings. She had only been asleep a few
+minutes, when her dog, which lay by her bedside, leaped, howling and
+terrified, on the bed. The bolted door of the chamber slowly opened and
+a pale, thin, sickly youth came in, cast his eyes mildly toward her,
+walked up to the iron cage in the middle of the room, and then leaned
+in the melancholy attitude of one revolving in his mind the sorrows of
+a cheerless and unblest existence. After a while he again withdrew, and
+retired by the way he entered.
+
+Mrs. Atkins, on witnessing his departure, felt the return of her
+resolution. She persuaded herself to believe the figure the work of
+some skillful imposter, and she determined on following its footsteps.
+She took up her lamp and hastened to the door. To her infinite
+surprise, she discovered it to be fastened, as she had herself left it
+on retiring to bed. On withdrawing the bolt, and opening the door, she
+saw the back of the youth descending the staircase. She followed till,
+on reaching the foot of the stairs, the form seemed to sink into the
+earth.
+
+The event was related to Lady Pennyman. She determined to remain no
+longer in her present habitation. Another residence was offered in the
+vicinity of Lisle, and this she took under the pretext that it was
+better suited to the size of her family.
+
+
+THE GHOST IN YELLOW CALICO
+
+The Rev. Elwyn Thomas, 35, Park Village East, N. W., London, has
+published a very remarkable experience of his own. It is as follows:
+
+"Twelve years ago," says the doctor, "I was the second minister of
+the Bryn Mawr Welsh Wesleyan Circuit, in the South Wales District. It
+was a beautiful evening in June when, after conducting the service
+at Llanyndir, I told the gentlemen with whom I generally stayed when
+preaching there, that three young friends had come to meet me from
+Crickhowell, and that I meant to accompany them back for about half a
+mile on their return journey, so would not be home before nine o'clock.
+
+"When I wished good-night to my friends it was about twenty minutes
+to nine but still light enough to see a good distance. The subject
+of our conversation all the way from the chapel until we parted
+was of a certain eccentric old character who then belonged to the
+Crickhowell church. I walked a little further down the road than I
+intended in order to hear the end of a very amusing story about him.
+Our conversation had no reference whatever to ghosts. Personally I was
+a strong disbeliever in ghosts and invariably ridiculed anyone whom I
+thought superstitious enough to believe in them.
+
+"When I had walked about a hundred yards away from my friends, after
+parting from them, I saw on the bank of the canal, what I thought at
+the moment was an old beggar. I couldn't help asking myself where this
+old man had come from. I had not seen him in going down the road. I
+turned round quite unconcernedly to have another look at him, and had
+no sooner done so than I saw, within half a yard of me one of the
+most remarkable and startling sights I hope it will ever be my lot to
+see. Almost on a level with my own face, I saw that of an old man,
+over every feature of which the putty colored skin was drawn tightly,
+except the forehead which was lined with deep wrinkles. The lips were
+extremely thin and appeared perfectly bloodless. The toothless mouth
+stood half open. The cheeks were hollow and sunken like those of a
+corpse, and the eyes which seemed far back in the middle of the head,
+were unnaturally luminous and piercing. The terrible object was wrapped
+in two bands of old yellow calico, one of which was drawn under the
+chin, and over the cheeks and tied at the top of the head, the other
+was drawn round the top of the wrinkled forehead and fastened at the
+back of the head. So deep and indelible an impression it made on my
+mind, that, were I an artist, I could paint that face to-day.
+
+"What I have thus tried to describe in many words, I saw at a glance.
+Acting on the impulse of the moment, I turned my face toward the
+village and ran away from the horrible vision with all my might for
+about sixty yards. I then stopped and turned around to see how far I
+had distanced it, and to my unspeakable horror, there it was still face
+to face with me as if I had not moved an inch. I grasped my umbrella
+and raised it to strike him, and you can imagine my feelings when I
+could see nothing between the face and the ground, except an irregular
+column of intense darkness, through which my umbrella passed as a stick
+goes through water!
+
+"I am sorry to say that I took to my heels with increasing speed. A
+little further than the space of this second encounter, the road which
+led to my host's house branched off the main road. Having gone two or
+three yards down this branch road, I turned around again. He had not
+followed me after I left the main road, but I could see the horribly
+fascinating face quite as plainly as when it was close by. It stood
+for a few minutes looking intently at me from the center of the main
+road. I then realized fully that it was not a human being in flesh and
+blood; and, with every vestige of fear gone, I quickly walked toward
+it to put my questions. But I was disappointed, for, no sooner had I
+made toward it, than it began to move slowly down the road keeping the
+same distance above it until it reached the churchyard wall; it then
+crossed the road and disappeared near where the yew tree stood inside.
+The moment it disappeared, I became unconscious. Two hours later I came
+to myself and I made my way slowly to my home. I could not say a word
+to explain what had happened, though I tried several times. It was five
+o'clock in the morning when I regained my power of speech. The whole of
+the following week I was laid up with a nervous prostration.
+
+"My host, after questioning me closely, told me that fifteen years
+before that time an old recluse of eccentric character, answering
+in every detail to my description (yellow calicoes, bands, and all)
+lived in a house whose ruins still stand close by where I saw the face
+disappear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+MORE PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD--II.
+
+The cases included in this chapter are also very well
+authenticated--some of them being longer and more detailed than those
+included in the last chapter. I shall begin with a group of so-called
+"Pact" Cases--cases, that is, in which a Pact or Agreement was made
+before death--to appear after death, if possible; when that promise
+seems to have been kept. The first case of this character is short, and
+merely illustrative of the kind of ghostly phenomena to be expected
+in cases of this nature. The latter cases are better attested. I give
+first the case of the Marquis of Rambouillet.
+
+
+COMPACTS TO APPEAR AFTER DEATH
+
+The story of the Marquis of Rambouillet's appearing after his death
+to his cousin, the Marquis de Precy, is well authenticated. These two
+noblemen, talking one day concerning the affairs of the next world, in
+a manner which showed they did not believe much about it, entered into
+an agreement that the first who died should come and give intelligence
+to the other.
+
+Soon afterwards the Marquis of Rambouillet set out for Flanders, which
+was then the seat of war, and the Marquis de Precy remained in Paris,
+being ill of a violent fever. About six weeks after, early one morning,
+he heard someone draw the curtains of his bed, and turning to see who
+it was, discovered the Marquis of Rambouillet in a buff coat and boots.
+He instantly got out of bed, and attempted to shake hands with his
+friend, but Rambouillet drew back, and told him he had only come to
+perform the promise he had formerly made; that nothing was more certain
+than another life; and that he earnestly advised him to alter his mode
+of life, for in the first battle he would be engaged in, he would
+certainly fall.
+
+Precy made a fresh attempt to touch his friend, but he immediately
+withdrew. Precy lay upon his bed wondering upon the strangeness of the
+circumstances for some time, when he saw the same appearance re-enter
+the apartment. Rambouillet, finding that Precy still disbelieved what
+he was told, showed him the wound of which he had died, and from which
+the blood still seemed to flow.
+
+Soon after this, Precy received a confirmation of Rambouillet's death,
+and was killed himself, according to the prediction, in the civil wars,
+at the battle of Faubourg St. Antoine.
+
+
+LORD BROUGHAM'S VISION
+
+The promise to appear was given and kept in the case of the apparition
+seen by Lord Brougham.
+
+The story is given as follows in the first volume of "Lord Brougham's
+Memoirs":
+
+"A most remarkable thing happened to me, so remarkable that I must
+tell the story from the beginning. After I left the High School I went
+with G----, my most intimate friend, to attend the classes in the
+University. There was no divinity class, but we frequently in our walks
+discussed many grave subjects--among others the immortality of the soul
+and a future state. This question, and the possibility of the dead
+appearing to the living, were the subject of much speculation, and we
+actually committed the folly of drawing up an agreement, written with
+our blood, to the effect that whichever of us died the first should
+appear to the other, and thus solve any doubts we had entertained of
+the 'life after death.' After we had finished our classes at the
+College, G---- went to India, having got an appointment there in the
+Civil Service. He seldom wrote to me, and after a lapse of a few years
+I had nearly forgotten his existence.... One day I had taken, as I have
+said, a warm bath, and, while lying in it and enjoying the comfort of
+the heat, I turned my head round, looking towards the chair on which
+I had deposited my clothes, as I was about to get out of the bath. On
+the chair sat G----, looking calmly at me! How I got out of the bath
+I know not; but on recovering my senses, I found myself sprawling
+on the floor. The apparition, or whatever it was that had taken the
+likeness of G----, had disappeared. This vision had produced such a
+shock that I had no inclination to talk about it, or to speak about it
+even to Stewart, but the impression it made upon me was too vivid to
+be easily forgotten, and so strongly was I affected by it that I have
+here written down the whole history, with the date, December 19th, and
+all the particulars, as they are now fresh before me. No doubt I had
+fallen asleep, and that the apparition presented so distinctly before
+my eyes was a dream I cannot for a moment doubt; yet for years I had
+had no communication with G----, nor had there been anything to recall
+him to my recollection. Nothing had taken place concerning our Swedish
+travels connected with G----, or with India, or with anything relating
+to him, or to any member of his family. I recollected quickly enough
+our old discussion, and the bargain we had made. I could not discharge
+from my mind the impression that G---- must have died, and that his
+appearance to me was to be received by me as a proof of a future state.
+This was on December 19th, 1799."
+
+In October, 1862, Lord Brougham added as a Postscript:
+
+"I have just been copying out from my Journal the account of this
+strange dream. _Certissima mortis imago!_ And now to finish the story
+begun about sixty years ago: Soon after my return to Edinborough there
+arrived a letter from India announcing G----'s death, and stating that
+he died on December 19th."
+
+Lord Brougham attempts to account for this vision by stating that it
+was probably a dream. But this is negatived by the fact that he was so
+startled by it as to scramble out of the bath in a great hurry--which
+would not be at all likely had it been a dream--for, as we know,
+nothing surprises us in dreams, or seems unlikely. And even granting
+that it were a dream, we still have the _coincidence_ to account for.
+_Why_ should Lord Brougham have dreamed this particular dream at the
+very moment his friend died? That fact has yet to be accounted for.
+
+
+THE TYRONE GHOST
+
+This is also known as the Beresford Ghost, and is one of the most
+famous cases of its kind on record. The account, as herein given, is
+that supplied by the granddaughter of Lady Beresford, to whom the
+experience came; and hence may be considered as accurate as it can
+be made. It furnishes us with a definite example of a "ghost that
+touches," and leaves a permanent mark of its visit, ever afterwards.
+Here is the account:
+
+"In the month of October, 1693, Sir Tristram and Lady Beresford went
+on a visit to her sister, Lady Macgill, at Gill Hall, now the seat of
+Lord Clanwilliam.... One morning Sir Tristram arose early, leaving Lady
+Beresford asleep, and went out for a walk before breakfast. When his
+wife joined the table very late, her appearance and the embarrassment
+of her manner attracted general attention, especially that of her
+husband. He made anxious inquiries as to her health, and asked her
+apart what had happened to her wrist, which was tied up with black
+ribbon tightly bound round it. She earnestly entreated him not to
+inquire more then, or thereafter, as to the cause of her wearing or
+continuing afterwards to wear that ribbon; 'for,' she added, 'you will
+never see me without it.' He replied: 'Since you urge it so vehemently,
+I promise you not to inquire more about it.'
+
+"After completing her hurried breakfast, she made inquiries as to
+whether the post had yet arrived. It had not yet come in, and Sir
+Tristram asked: 'Why are you so particularly eager about letters
+to-day?' 'Because I expect to hear of Lord Tyrone's death, which took
+place on Tuesday.' 'Well,' remarked Sir Tristram, 'I never put you
+down for a superstitious person, but I suppose that some idle dream
+has disturbed you.' Shortly after, the servant brought in the letters;
+one was sealed with black wax. 'It is as I expected,' she cried, 'he
+is dead.' The letter was from Lord Tyrone's steward to inform them
+that his master had died in Dublin, on Tuesday, 14 October, at 4 p.m.
+Sir Tristram endeavored to console her, and begged her to restrain her
+grief, when she assured him that she felt relieved and easier, now
+that she knew the actual fact. She added, 'I can now give you a most
+satisfactory piece of intelligence, _viz._, that I am with child, and
+that it will be a boy.' A son was born the following July.
+
+"On her forty-seventh birthday, Lady Beresford summoned her children
+to her side, and said to them: 'I have something of deep importance
+to communicate to you, my dear children, before I die. You are no
+strangers to the intimacy and affection which subsisted in early life
+between Lord Tyrone and myself.... We had made a solemn promise to
+one another, that whichever died first should, if permitted, appear
+to the other.... One night, years after this interchange of promises,
+I was sleeping with your father at Gill Hall, when I suddenly awoke
+and discovered Lord Tyrone sitting visibly by the side of the bed. I
+screamed out and vainly tried to arouse Sir Tristram. "Tell me," I
+said, "Lord Tyrone, why and wherefore are you here at this time of the
+night?" "Have you then forgotten our promises to each other, pledged
+in early life? I died on Tuesday, at 4 o'clock. I have been permitted
+thus to appear.... I am also suffered to inform you that you are with
+child, and will produce a son, who will marry an heiress; that Sir
+Tristram will not live long, that you will marry again, and you will
+die in your forty-seventh year." I begged from him some convincing sign
+or proof so that when the morning came I might rely upon it, and that
+it was not the phantom of my imagination. He caused the hangings of
+the bed to be drawn in an unusual way and impossible manner through
+an iron hook. I still was not satisfied, when he wrote his signature
+in my pocketbook. I wanted, however, more substantial proof of his
+visit, when he laid his hand, which was cold as marble, on my wrist;
+the sinews shrunk up, the nerves withered at the touch. "Now," he said,
+"let no mortal eye while you live ever see that wrist," and vanished.
+While I was conversing with him my thoughts were calm, but as soon as
+he disappeared I felt chilled with horror and dismay, a cold sweat came
+over me, and I again endeavored, but vainly, to awaken Sir Tristram; a
+flood of tears came to my relief, and I fell asleep....'
+
+"That year Lady Beresford died. On her deathbed, Lady Riverson unbound
+the black ribbon and found the wrist exactly as Lady Beresford had
+described it--every nerve withered, every sinew shrunk...."
+
+
+"DEAD OR ALIVE"
+
+In the following case the ghost kept its promise to appear--doing
+so, to all appearances, in spite of great obstacles. The incident is
+reported in Mr. W. T. Stead's _Real Ghost Stories_, pp. 205-8:
+
+"The following incident occurred to me some years ago, and all the
+details can be substantiated. The date was August 26, 1867, at
+midnight. I was then residing in the neighborhood of Hull, and held an
+appointment under the crown which necessitated my repairing thither
+every day for a few hours duty. My berth was almost a sinecure; and I
+had for some time been engaged to a young north country heiress, it
+being understood that on our marriage I should take her name and 'stand
+for the county' or rather for one of its divisions.
+
+"For her sake I had to break off a love affair, not of the most
+reputable order, with a girl in Hull. I will call her Louise. She was
+young, beautiful, and devoted to me. On the night of the 26th of August
+we took our last walk together, and a few minutes before midnight
+paused on a wooden bridge running across a kind of canal, locally
+termed a 'drain.' We paused on the bridge, listening to the swirling
+of the current against the wooden piles, and waiting for the stroke
+of midnight to part forever. In the few minutes interval she repeated
+_sotto voce_, Longfellow's 'Bridge,' the words of which, 'I stood on
+the bridge at midnight,' seemed terribly appropriate. After nearly
+twenty-five years I can never hear that piece recited without feeling
+a deadly chill, and the whole scene of two souls in agony again rising
+before me. Well! Midnight struck and we parted; but Louise said: 'Grant
+me one favor, the only one that I shall ever ask you on this earth;
+promise to meet me here twelve months from to-night at this same hour.'
+I demurred at first, thinking it would be bad for both of us, and only
+re-open partially-healed wounds. At last, however, I consented, saying,
+'Well, I will come if I am alive.' But she said, 'Say alive or dead.' I
+said, 'Very well, then, we will meet, dead or alive.'
+
+"The next year I was on the spot a few minutes before the time; and,
+punctual to the stroke of midnight, Louise arrived. By this time I had
+begun to regret the arrangement I had made; but it was of too solemn a
+nature to put aside. I therefore kept the appointment; but said that
+I did not care to renew the compact. Louise, however, persuaded me to
+renew it for one more year; and I consented, much against my will; and
+we again left each other, repeating the same formula, 'Dead or Alive.'
+
+"The next year after passed rapidly until the first week in July,
+when I was shot dangerously in the thigh by a fisherman named Thomas
+Piles, of Hull, a reputed smuggler. A party of four of us had hired
+his ten-ton yawl to go yachting round the Yorkshire coast, and amuse
+ourselves by shooting sea-birds amongst the millions of them at
+Flamborough Head. The third or fourth day out I was shot in the right
+thigh by the skipper Piles; and the day after, one and a quarter ounce
+of number 2 shot were cut out therefrom by the coastguard surgeon at
+Bridlington Quay (whose name I forget for the moment), assisted by Dr.
+Alexander Mackey, at the Black Lion hotel. The affair was in all the
+papers at the time, about a column of it appearing in the _Eastern
+Morning News_, of Hull.
+
+"As soon as I was able to be removed (two or three weeks) I was taken
+home, where Dr. Melburne King, of Hull, attended me. The day--and the
+night--(the 26th of August) came. I was then unable to walk without
+crutches, and that for only a short distance, so had to be wheeled
+about in a Bath chair. The distance to the trysting place being rather
+long, and the time and the circumstances being very peculiar, I did
+not avail myself of the services of my usual attendant, but specially
+retained an old servant of the family, who frequently did confidential
+commissions for me, and who knew Miss Louise well. We set forth
+'without beat of drum' and arrived at the bridge about a few minutes
+to midnight. I remember that it was a brilliant starlight night, but I
+do not think that there was any moon--at all events, at that hour. 'Old
+Bob,' as he was always affectionately called, wheeled me to the bridge,
+helped me out of the Bath chair, and gave me my crutch. I walked on to
+the bridge, and leaned my back against the white painted rail top, then
+lighted my briar-root, and had a comfortable smoke.
+
+"I was very much annoyed that I had allowed myself to be persuaded to
+come a second time, and determined to tell Louise positively that this
+should be our last meeting. Besides, _now_, I did not consider it fair
+to Miss K., with whom I was again 'negotiating.' So, if anything, it
+was in rather a sulky frame of mind that I awaited Louise. Just as the
+quarters before the hour began to chime I distinctly heard the 'clink,
+clink' of the little brass heels, which she always wore, sounding on
+the long flagged causeway, leading for 200 yards up to the bridge.
+As she got nearer, I could see her pass lamp after lamp in rapid
+succession, while the strokes of the large clock at Hull resounded
+through the stilly night.
+
+"At last the patter, patter of the tiny feet sounded on the woodwork
+of the bridge, and I saw her distinctly pass under the lamp at my
+side. When she got close to me I saw that she had neither hat nor cape
+on, and concluded that she had taken a cab at the further end of the
+flagged causeway, and (it being a very warm night) had left her wraps
+in the cab, and, for purposes of effect, had come the short distance in
+evening dress.
+
+"'Clink, clink,' went the brass heels, and she seemed about passing me,
+when I suddenly, urged by an impulse of affection, stretched out my
+arms to receive her. She passed _through_ them, intangible, impalpable,
+and as she looked at me I distinctly saw her lips move, and form the
+words 'Dead or Alive.' I even heard the words, but not with my outward
+ears, with something else, some other sense--what, I know not. I felt
+startled, surprised, but not afraid, until a moment afterwards, when I
+_felt_, but could not see, some other presence following her. I could
+_feel_, though I could not _hear_, the heavy, clumsy thud of feet
+following her; and my blood seemed turned to ice. Recovering myself
+with an effort, I shouted out to Old Bob, who was safely ensconsed
+with the Bath chair in a nook out of sight round the corner: 'Bob, who
+passed you just now?' In an instant the old Yorkshire-man was by my
+side. 'Ne'er a one passed me, sir.' 'Nonsense, Bob,' I replied, 'I told
+you that I was coming to meet Miss Louise, and she just passed me on
+the bridge, and _must_ have passed you, because there is no where else
+she _could_ go. You don't mean to tell me you didn't see her?' The old
+man replied solemnly: 'Maister Rob, there's something uncanny about it.
+I heered her come on the bridge, and off it, and I knaw them clickety
+heels onywhere! but I'm domned, sir, if she passed me! I'm thinking
+we'd better gang.' And 'gang' we did; and it was the small hours of the
+morning (getting daylight) before we left off talking over the affair,
+and went to bed.
+
+"The next day I made inquiries from Louise's family about her, and
+ascertained that she had died in Liverpool three months previously,
+being apparently delirious for a few hours before her death, and, our
+parting compact evidently weighing on her mind, as she kept repeating,
+'Dead or Alive--shall I be there?'--to the utter bewilderment of her
+friends, who could not divine her meaning--being, of course, entirely
+unaware of our agreement."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This completes the examples of the so-called "Pact" cases. In the
+following example, the phantasmal form conveyed a piece of information
+to the percipient which he could not well have known by any normal
+means.
+
+
+THE SCRATCH ON THE CHEEK
+
+The case appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the Amer. S. P. R., and the
+high character of the witnesses was vouched for by Dr. Hodgson and
+Prof. Royce. It is to the following effect:
+
+  "_January 11, 1888._
+
+"Sir: Replying to your recently published request for actual
+occurrences of psychical phenomena, I respectively submit the following
+remarkable occurrence to the consideration of your distinguished
+Society, with the assurance that the event made a more powerful
+impression upon my mind than the combined incidents of my whole
+life.... I was never in better health or possessed a clearer head and
+mind than at the time the incident occurred.
+
+"In 1867, my only sister, a young lady of eighteen years, died suddenly
+of cholera, in St. Louis, Mo. My attachment for her was very strong,
+and the blow a severe one to me. A year or so after her death, I became
+a commercial traveller, and it was in 1876, while on one of my Western
+trips that the event occurred.
+
+"I had 'drummed' the city of St. Joseph, Mo., and had gone to my room
+at the Pacific House to send in my orders, which were unusually large
+ones, so that I was in a very happy frame of mind indeed. My thoughts,
+of course, were about these orders, knowing how pleased my house would
+be at my success. I had not been thinking of my late sister, or in
+any manner reflecting on the past. The hour was high noon, and the
+sun was shining cheerfully into my room. While busy smoking a cigar,
+and writing out my orders, I suddenly became conscious that some one
+was sitting on my left, with one arm resting on the table. Quick as a
+flash I turned, and distinctly saw the form of my dead sister, and for
+a brief second or two looked her squarely in the face; and so sure was
+I that it was she, that I sprang forward in delight, calling her by
+name, and, as I did so, the apparition instantly vanished. Naturally I
+was startled and dumbfounded, almost doubting my senses; but the cigar
+in my mouth, and pen in hand, with the ink still moist on my letter,
+I satisfied myself I had not been dreaming and was still awake. I was
+near enough to touch her, had it been a physical possibility, and noted
+her features, expression, and details of dress, etc. She appeared as
+if alive. Her eyes looked kindly and perfectly naturally into mine.
+Her skin was so perfectly life-like that I could see the glow or
+moisture in the surface, and, on the whole there was no change in her
+appearance, otherwise than when alive.
+
+"Now comes the most remarkable confirmation of my statement, which
+cannot be doubted by those who know what I state actually occurred.
+This visitation, or whatever you may call it, so impressed me that I
+took the next train home, and in the presence of my parents and others
+I related what had occurred. My father, a man of rare good sense and
+very practical, was inclined to ridicule me, as he saw how earnestly
+I believed what I stated; but he, too, was amazed when later on I
+told them of a bright red line or _scratch_ on the right-hand side of
+my sister's face, which I distinctly had seen. When I mentioned this
+my mother rose trembling to her feet and nearly fainted away, and
+as soon as she had sufficiently recovered her self-possession, with
+tears streaming down her face, she exclaimed that I had indeed seen
+my sister, as no living mortal but herself was aware of that scratch,
+which she had actually made while doing some little act of kindness
+after my sister's death. She said she well remembered how pained she
+was to think she should have, unintentionally, marred the features
+of her dead daughter, and that, unknown to all, she had carefully
+obliterated all traces of the slight scratch with the aid of powder,
+etc., and that she had never mentioned it to a human being, from that
+day to this.... Yet I saw the scratch as bright as if just made...."
+
+[Confirmatory statements were obtained from the narrator's father and
+brother; his mother having died in the interval.]
+
+
+A GHOST IN HAMPTON COURT
+
+Miss X. (Mrs. Hans Spoer) relates the following interesting case, as
+occurring to herself, on a visit to the well-known Hampton Court.
+(_Essays in Psychical Research_, pp. 31-34):
+
+"I recently found myself the guest of a lady occupying a pleasant suite
+of rooms in Hampton Court Palace. For obvious reasons I cannot specify
+the name of my hostess, the exact date of my visit, or the precise
+whereabouts of her apartment.
+
+"Of course I was familiar with the Hampton Court ghost legend.... I
+examined the scene of the occurrences, and was allowed to ask questions
+at will. The ghost, I was told, visited habitually in a dozen different
+rooms--not, however, in the bright, dainty drawing room in which we
+were chatting, and where it was difficult to believe that we were
+discussing recent history.
+
+"As a matter of fact, it was very recent, indeed. But a few nights
+earlier, in a certain small but cheerful bedroom, a little girl had
+been awakened out of her sleep by a visitant so dramatic that I
+wondered whether the child had possibly gone to sleep again, after her
+original fright, and dreamed the later and more sensational part of the
+story.
+
+"My room was quaintly pretty, but somewhat peculiar in arrangement, and
+lighted only from the roof. I have seen 'ghosts' before, have slept for
+months together in haunted houses; and, though I find such visitants
+somewhat exciting, I cannot say that my prospects for the night filled
+me with any degree of apprehension.
+
+"At dinner and during the evening ghostly topics were avoided; there
+were other guests, and music and chat occupied us till 11 o'clock,
+when my hostess accompanied me to my room. I asked various questions
+as to my neighbours above and below, and the exact position of other
+members of the household, with a view to knowing how to interpret any
+sounds which might occur. About a third of the ceiling of my room was
+skylight; the servant's bedroom being situated over the remainder. Two
+sides of the room were bounded by a corridor, into which it opened;
+a third of the wall by the state apartments, while the fourth opened
+by folding doors upon a room for the time unoccupied (except by a cat,
+asleep upon a chair) out of which there opened a door, leading by a
+secret passage to the bank of the river.
+
+"I ascertained that the folding doors were locked; moreover, a heavy
+table stood against them on the outer side, and a wardrobe on the
+inner. The bedstead was a small one, without curtains; indeed, the room
+contained no hangings whatever. The door into the room opened so nearly
+to the head of my bed that there was space only for a small table, upon
+which I took care to place two long candles, and a plentiful supply of
+matches, being somewhat addicted to late and early reading.
+
+"I was tired, but a sense of duty demanded that I should not sleep
+through the 'witching hours,' so I sat up in bed, and gave my best
+attention to Lord Farrer's problem, 'Shall We Degrade our Standard
+of Value?' in the current number of the _National Review_, and, on
+the principle of always trying to see both sides of a question,
+thought of several reasons why we should not, with the author, come
+to a negative conclusion. The matter did not, however, excite me to
+the pitch of wakefulness; and when I finished the article, as the
+clock struck half-past one, I considered myself absolved from further
+responsibility, put out my lights, and was asleep before the next
+quarter sounded.
+
+"Nearly three hours later I was suddenly awakened from dreamless
+slumber by the sound of the opening of a door against which some piece
+of furniture was standing, in, as it seemed, the empty room to my
+right. I remembered the cat, and tried to conceive by what kind of
+'rampaging' she could contrive to be so noisy. A minute later there
+followed a thud apparently on _this_ side of the folding doors, and too
+heavy for even the prize animals of my home circle, not to speak of a
+mongrel stray, newly adopted and not yet doing credit to her keep! 'A
+dress fallen in the wardrobe,' was my next thought, and I stretched out
+my hand for the match-box, as a preliminary to enquiry.
+
+"I did not reach the matches. It seemed to me that a restraining
+hand was laid upon mine; I withdrew it quickly, and gazed around me
+in the darkness. Some minutes passed in blackness and silence. I had
+the sensation of a presence in the room, and finally, mindful of the
+tradition that a ghost should be spoken to, I said gently: 'Is anyone
+there? Can I do anything for you?' I remembered that the last person
+who entertained the ghost had said: 'Go away, I don't want you!' and I
+hoped that my visitor would admire my better manners and be responsive.
+However, there was no answer--no sound of any kind; and returning to
+my theory of the cat and the fallen dress, though nevertheless so far
+influenced by the recollection of those detaining fingers as not to
+attempt to strike a light, I rose and walked round my bed, keeping
+the right hand on the edge of the bedstead, while, with my left arm
+extended, I swept the surrounding space. As the room is small, I thus
+fairly well satisfied myself that it contained nothing unusual.
+
+"I was, though somewhat perplexed, about to grant myself license to
+go to sleep again, when in the darkness before me there began to glow
+a soft light. I watched it increase in brightness and in extent. It
+seemed to radiate from a central point, which gradually took form
+and became a tall, slight woman, moving slowly across the room from
+the folding doors on my right. As she passed the foot of my bed I
+felt a slight vibration of the spring mattress. At the further corner
+she stopped, so that I had time to observe her profile and general
+appearance. Her face was insipidly pretty; that of a woman from thirty
+to thirty-five years of age, her figure slight, her dress of a soft
+dark material, having a full skirt and broad sash or soft waist-band
+tied high up, almost under her arms, a crossed or draped 'kerchief over
+the shoulders, sleeves which I noticed fitted very tight below the
+elbow, and hair which was dressed so as not to lie flat to the head,
+either in curls or bows, I could not tell which. As she appeared to
+stand between me and the light, I cannot speak with any certainty as
+to the color, but the dress, though dark, was, I think, not black. In
+spite of all this definiteness, I was, of course, conscious that the
+figure was unsubstantial, and I felt guilty of absurdity in asking once
+more: 'Will you let me help you? Can I be of use to you?'
+
+"My voice sounded preternaturally loud, but I felt no surprise at
+noticing that it produced no effect upon my visitor. She stood still
+for perhaps two minutes--though it is very difficult to estimate time
+on such occasions. She then raised her hands, which were long and
+white, and held them before her as she sank upon her knees and slowly
+buried the face in her palms, in the attitude of prayer--when, quite
+suddenly, the light went out, and I was alone in the darkness.
+
+"I felt that the scene was ended, the curtain down, and had no
+hesitation in lighting the candle at my side.
+
+"I tried to examine the impression the vision conveyed. I felt that it
+was definitely that of reproach, yet of gentle resignation. There was
+no force, no passion; I had seen a meek, sad woman who had succumbed. I
+began to turn over in my mind the illustrious names of former occupants
+of the chamber. I fixed on one--a bad man of the worst kind, a mad
+fool of that time of wickedness and folly, the Regency--I thought of
+the secret passage in the next room, and began to weave an elaborate
+romance.
+
+"'This will not do here and now,' I reflected, as the clock struck
+four; and, as an act of mental discipline, I returned to my _National
+Review_.... I turned to Mr. Myers' article on 'The Drift of Psychical
+Research,' which I had already seen. I read:
+
+"'... Where telepathy operates, many intelligences may affect our
+own. Some of these are the minds of living persons, but some appear
+to be discarnate, to be spirits like ourselves, but released from the
+body, although still retaining much of the personality of earth. These
+spirits appear still to have some knowledge of our world, and to be in
+certain ways able to affect it.'
+
+"Here was, so to speak, the text of my illustration. I had quite enough
+to think about--more than I needed for that occasion. I never heard the
+clock strike five!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Let us try to examine this, a type of many ghost stories.
+
+"Elsewhere I have classified visions of persons, whether seen in the
+crystal or otherwise, as:
+
+"1. Visions of the living, clairvoyant or telepathic, usually
+accompanied by their own background, or adapting themselves to mine.
+
+"2. Visions of the departed, having no obvious relations to time and
+space.
+
+"3. Visions which are more or less of the nature of pictures, such
+as those which I voluntarily produce in the crystal from memory or
+imagination, or which appear in the background of real persons as
+illustrative of their thoughts of history. This is very often the case
+when an impression reaches me in visual form from the mind of a friend
+who, it may be, imperfectly remembers or is imperfectly informed as to
+the form and color of the picture his mind conveys.
+
+"Again I emphasize the fact that I am speculating, not
+dogmatizing--that I am speaking from internal evidence, with no
+possibility of corroboration, and that I am perfectly aware that
+each reader must take this for what it seems to him worth. Such being
+the case, I venture to classify the vision under Class III. Again,
+to borrow from Mr. Myers, I believe that what I saw may have been
+a _telepathic impression of the dreams_ (or I should prefer to say
+'_thoughts_') _of the dead_. If what I saw were indeed veridical or
+truth-telling--if my readers will agree to admit that what I saw was
+no mere illusion, or morbid hallucination, or imagination (taking the
+word in its commonly-accepted sense)--then I believe that my visitor
+was not a departed spirit, such as it has before now, perhaps, been
+my privilege to meet, but rather an image as such--just as the figure
+which, it may be, sits at my dining table is not _really_ the friend
+whose visit a few hours later it announces, but only a representation
+of him, having no objective existence apart from the truth of the
+information it conveys--a thought which is personal to the brain which
+thinks it.
+
+"I have already said that, preconceived notions apart, I had no
+impression of reality. I recognized that what I saw and felt was an
+externalization of impressions unconsciously received, possibly from
+some discarnate mind...."
+
+
+HALF-PAST ONE O'CLOCK
+
+The following case is in many ways classical. Mrs. Claughton, to whom
+the experience came, was a widowed lady, living in good social circles.
+The full account of her experience is to be found in the _Proceedings_
+of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. XI., pp. 547-59), and
+contains statements and personal investigations by Dr. Ferrier, Andrew
+Lang, Mr. Myers and the Marquis of Bute as well as corroborative
+testimony from the Clerk at Meresby, Mrs. Claughton's governess, copies
+of letters, diaries, memoranda, etc. The whole case is very complicated
+and impressive; and embodies a combination of apparent spirit
+communication, clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, apparitions,
+and supernormal dreams. The chief and most interesting account is the
+statement made by Mrs. Claughton to the Marquis of Bute, and recorded
+by him as follows:
+
+"She was staying in 1893 with her two children at 6 Blake St., a house
+belonging to Mrs. Appleby, daughter of the late Mrs. Blackburn ...
+but let to Mrs. Buckley. She had heard the house was haunted, and may
+have heard that the ghost was Mrs. Blackburn's. She had been told also
+that water was spilt on the floors inexplicably. They arrived on
+October 4th. About 1.15 a.m., Monday, October 9th, Mrs. Claughton was
+in bed with one of her children, the other sleeping in the room. Mrs.
+Claughton had offered to be of any use she could to Miss Buckley, who
+had arrived from London on the Saturday, not feeling very well. She
+had been asleep, and was awakened by the footsteps of a person coming
+downstairs, whom she supposed to be a servant coming to call her. The
+steps stopped at the door. The sounds were repeated twice more at the
+interval of a few moments. Mrs. Claughton rose, lit the candle, and
+opened the door. There was no one there. She noticed the clock outside
+pointed to 1.20 a.m. She shut the door, got into bed, read, and,
+leaving the candle burning, went to sleep. Woke up, finding the candle
+spluttering out. Heard a sound like a sigh. Saw a woman standing by
+the bed. She had a soft white shawl round the shoulders, held by the
+right hand towards the left shoulder, bending slightly forwards. Mrs.
+Claughton thinks the hair was lightish brown, and the shawl partly
+over the head, but does not remember distinctly, and has no impression
+of the rest of the dress; it was not grave-clothes. She said: 'Follow
+me.' Mrs. Claughton rose, took the candle, and followed her out of
+the room, across the passage, and into the drawing-room. She had no
+recollection as to the opening of the doors. The house maid next day
+declared that the drawing-room door had been locked by her. On entering
+the drawing-room, Mrs. Claughton, finding the candle on the point of
+extinction, replaced it by a pink one from the chiffonier near the
+door. The figure nearly at the end of the room, turned three-quarters
+round, said 'to-morrow,' and disappeared. Mrs. Claughton returned to
+the bedroom, where she found her elder child (not the one in the bed)
+sitting up. It asked: 'Who is the lady in white?' Mrs. Claughton thinks
+she answered the child: 'It's only me--mother; go to sleep,' or the
+like words, and hushed her to sleep in her arms. The baby remained fast
+asleep. She lit the gas and remained awake for some two hours, then put
+out the lights and went to sleep. Had no fear while seeing the figure,
+but was upset after seeing it. Would not be prepared to swear that she
+might not have walked in her sleep. Pink candle, partly burned, in her
+room in morning. Does not know if she took it burnt or new.
+
+"In the morning she spoke to Mr. Buckley, on whose advice she went to
+ask Dr. Ferrier as to the figure about 3 p.m. He and his wife said
+the description was like that of Mrs. Blackburn, whom Mrs. Claughton
+already suspected it to be. Thinks Dr. Ferrier already told her that
+Miss Blackburn (Mrs. Appleby) had seen her mother in the same house.
+Mrs. Claughton cannot recognize the photograph of Mrs. Blackburn shown
+to her by Mr. Y. (who got it from Mrs. M.). She says the figure seemed
+smaller, and the features were more pinched and attenuated, like those
+of a person in the last stages of consumption, which was also the
+general appearance. By his advice, Mr. Buckley put an electric bell
+under Mrs. Claughton's pillow, communicating with Miss Buckley's room,
+as Mrs. Claughton determined to sit up that night and watch.
+
+"That night Mrs. Claughton sat up dressed, with the gas burning. About
+12 she partly undressed, put on a dressing gown, and lay down outside
+the bed, gas still burning, and fell asleep reading. Woke up and found
+the same woman as before, but the expression even more agitated. She
+bent over Mrs. Claughton and said: 'I have come, listen.' She then made
+a certain statement and asked Mrs. Claughton to do certain things.
+Mrs. Claughton said: 'Am I dreaming, or is it true?' The figure said
+something like: 'If you doubt me, you will find that the date of my
+marriage was * * *.' (This was the date of the marriage, which took
+place in India, of Mrs. Blackburn to Mr. Blackburn, who is alive and
+married again. Mrs. Claughton first learned the corroboration of the
+date from Dr. Ferrier on the following Thursday). After this Mrs.
+Claughton saw a man standing on Mrs. B.'s left hand--tall, dark, well
+made, healthy, sixty years old, or more, ordinary man's day clothes,
+kind, good expression. A conversation ensued between the three, in
+course of which man stated himself to be George Howard, buried in
+Meresby Churchyard (Mrs. Claughton had never heard of Meresby or of
+George Howard) and gave the date of his marriage * * * and death * * *.
+[Entries of these dates seen by me in Mrs. Claughton's pocketbook, as
+torn out and lent to me. F. W. H. Myers.] He desired Mrs. Claughton to
+go to Meresby and verify these dates in the registration, and, if found
+correct, to go to the church at the ensuing 1.15 a.m. and wait at the
+grave therein (S. W. corner of S. aisle) of Richard Hart, died * * *,
+aetat * * *. She was to verify this reference also in the registers.
+He said her railway ticket would not be taken, and she was to send it
+along with a white rose from his grave to Dr. Ferrier. Forbade her
+having any previous communication with the place, or going in her own
+name. Said Joseph Wright, a dark man, to whom she should describe him,
+would help her. That she would lodge with a woman who would tell her
+that she had a child (drowned) buried in the same churchyard. When Mrs.
+Claughton had done all this, she should hear the rest of the history.
+Towards the end of the conversation, Mrs. Claughton saw a third
+phantom, that of a man whose name she is not free to give, in great
+trouble, standing, with hands on face (which he afterwards lowered,
+showing face) behind Mrs. Blackburn's right. The three disappeared.
+Mrs. Claughton rose and went to the door to look out at the clock, but
+was seized with faintness, returned and rang the electric bell. Mr.
+Buckley found her on the ground. She was able to ask the time, which
+was about 1.20 a.m. Then fainted, and the Buckleys undressed her and
+put her to bed.
+
+"That morning, Tuesday, Mrs. Claughton sent for Dr. Ferrier, who
+corroborated certain matters so far as she asked him, and ascertained
+for her the date of Mrs. Blackburn's marriage (she received his note
+of the date on Thursday). She went to the Post Office, and found that
+Meresby existed. Returned, and ascertained that it was in Suffolk,
+and so wrote that evening to Dr. Ferrier, and went to London with her
+daughters that (Thursday) evening.
+
+"Friday night, Mrs. Claughton dreamt that she arrived at 5, after
+dusk, that a fair was going on, and that she had to go to place after
+place to get lodgings. Also, she and her eldest daughter dreamt that
+she would fail if she did not go alone. Went to Station for 12 noon
+train on Saturday. Went to refreshment room for luncheon, telling
+porter to call her in time. He went by mistake to waiting room, and
+she missed train and had to wait (going to the British Museum, where
+she wrote her name in Jewel room) until 3.5, as stated. House where
+she finally found lodgings was that of Joseph Wright, who turned out
+to be the parish clerk. She sent for the curate by porter, to ask as
+to consulting registers, but as he was dining out he did not come till
+after she had gone to bed. Sunday morning, Mrs. Wright spoke to her
+about the drowned child buried in the churchyard. Went to forenoon
+service, and immediately afterwards went into vestry and verified the
+registers; described George Howard to Joseph Wright, who had known him
+and recognized description; then was taken by Joseph Wright to the
+graves of Richard Hart and George Howard. On the latter there is no
+stone, but three mounds surrounded by a railing overgrown with white
+roses. She gathered rose for Dr. Ferrier, as had been directed. Walked
+and talked with curate, who was not sympathetic. After luncheon went
+with Mrs. Wright and walked round Howard's house (country house in
+park). Attended evening service, and afterwards, while, watching the
+lights put out and the church furniture covered up, wondered if she
+would have the nerve to go on. Back to supper; afterwards slept and had
+dream of a terrorizing character, whereof has full written description.
+Dark night, hardly any moon, a few stars. To church with Joseph Wright
+at 1 a.m., with whom searched interior and found it empty. At 1.20
+a.m. was locked in alone, having no light; had been told to take
+Bible, but had only church-service, which she had left in vestry in
+the morning. Waited near grave of Richard Hart; felt no fear. Received
+communication, but does not feel free to give any detail; no light.
+History begun at Blake street then completed. Was directed to take
+another white rose from George Howard's grave and gathered rose for
+Miss Howard, as had been directed. Home and bed, and slept well for the
+first time since first seeing Mrs. Blackburn.
+
+"Next day went and sketched church and identified grave of Mrs. Rose,
+on whose grave, she had been told in church, she would find a message
+for herself. The words engraved were * * *.
+
+"Then called on Miss Howard and recognized strong likeness to her
+father. Carried out all things desired by the dead to the full, as
+had been requested. Has had no communication from any of them since.
+Nothing since has appeared in Blake street. The wishes expressed to
+her were not illogical or unreasonable, as the ratiocination of dreams
+often appears, but perfectly rational, reasonable, and of natural
+importance."
+
+
+MY OWN TRUE GHOST STORY
+
+The following narrative was told to me by a very well-known artist; who
+maintains the strict accuracy of every word in his account, as given
+below:
+
+"I had been living in Paris for some months when I decided to change
+my quarters, and move into a studio more in keeping with my present
+allowance. After a brief search, I saw one which exactly suited me. It
+was a large room, at the end of a long, dark rambling passage, with
+doors leading into other studios on either side all the way down. As my
+neighbours turned out to be a very jolly, happy crew, I liked the life
+immensely, and everything promised well for the new abode.
+
+"I had been there for, perhaps, two weeks when I had my first 'ghostly'
+adventure. I had been out rather late, having had late supper, and
+perhaps a little too much wine for my best health. At the same time, I
+was absolutely sober, and in full possession of all my senses. I felt a
+little happy and convivial--that was all.
+
+"Walking along the passage, I was approaching my door when I distinctly
+heard the rustle of a silk skirt walking down the passage ahead of
+me. As the hallway was dark, I could not see whether or not the girl
+was just in front of me, or some distance away. It never for a moment
+struck me that it was not a flesh-and-blood visitant. My only thought
+was: One of the boys has been having a little supper, and this must
+be one of his visitors going home. I called aloud: 'Mayn't I strike
+a light and show you the way along this dark hall?' And, suiting the
+action to the word, I struck a match, and held it up over my head.
+Nothing was visible! I peered into vacancy; no female figure could
+I see. I listened for the sound of steps, or the swish of a silken
+petticoat; but not a sound could I hear. I walked along the passage;
+not a sign of life was anywhere manifest. Everything was dark, lonely
+and deserted.
+
+"I came to the conclusion that I must have been deceived; and thought
+no more about it. I went to bed and to sleep.
+
+"It was, perhaps, two nights later when the same thing occurred. Coming
+home, about 10 o'clock at night, I heard the same swish of the skirt;
+the same soft, feminine footsteps. This time the hall was light, and I
+could _see_ that no one was there. I recalled the incident of the other
+evening, and a cold chill began to creep up my backbone. I entered my
+room, however, lit the lamp, leaving my door open. 'Now,' thought I,
+'if anyone passes that door again, I shall surely see them.' I put on a
+dressing gown and a pair of slippers, and sat down to read--facing the
+door.
+
+"Perhaps five minutes had elapsed when I saw the door very slowly
+open still further on its hinges. A moment later I felt in the room a
+'Presence,' which I distinctly felt to be that of a young woman, about
+twenty years of age. So vivid was the mental picture I formed of this
+person that her very features and coloring were sensed by me--though,
+of course, I had no means of knowing whether or not I was right.
+
+"The Presence glided across the room, and sat itself upon the edge of
+my sofa, about three feet distant from where I sat. I looked at the
+spot intently, and felt that the eyes of my invisible visitor were
+upon me, regarding me intently, as though studying my character to the
+best of her ability. She had a comfortable sort of feeling about her,
+which made me seem at once at home with her; so that, without further
+ceremony, I said to the Presence: 'Pray make yourself at home. If I can
+do anything for you, let me know.'
+
+"I waited, but of course there was no response. Only I thought I caught
+again the faintest rustle of silk, as the figure seated itself in a
+more comfortable position. I put down my book, and began to paint. The
+feeling of loneliness, which I had experienced ever since my removal
+into the new studio, vanished immediately. I felt that a living,
+human--if invisible--being was with me, watching my work and keeping me
+company during the long hours of discouragement and unproductive effort.
+
+"Several times, during the course of the evening, I spoke to the
+Presence; but received no reply. Only I felt its proximity, and knew
+when the figure changed its position, as it did once or twice. Once it
+came over and stood by my side, as though looking at the canvas, and
+criticising it with me. Then it went back to its seat at the end of
+the sofa.
+
+"Bed time came. I felt almost abashed to go to bed with this feminine
+presence in the room! However, as there was nothing left for me to do,
+I undressed, got into bed, and blew out the light. The Presence came
+over and sat on the side of my bed. When I went to sleep, it was still
+sitting there.
+
+"The next morning it had gone. I felt inexpressibly lonely. I missed
+the Presence, whom I now began to call 'Her' instead of 'It,' and
+wished she would return and keep me company! It did not do so, however,
+until the following evening, when, about nine o'clock, I again felt her
+approach, felt her entrance through my studio door, and felt her seat
+herself in my easy chair, and turn her eyes upon me. I knew that she
+was regarding me intently--perhaps critically--and I felt almost angry
+that I, in turn, could not see her. I gazed at the chair _determined_
+to see her; but nothing save empty space met my gaze! With a gesture of
+impatience and irritation, I turned away, and went on with my painting.
+
+"Presently, I was aware that She was standing beside me, examining
+the painting upon the easel. 'Well, do you like it?' I said almost
+caustically. The Presence immediately returned and sat in the chair,
+and I knew that I had offended Her. I threw my brush and pallet aside
+and apologized. So she came and stood by me again; and again she
+remained with me until I closed my eyes in sleep.
+
+"This sort of thing went on for several weeks. Every evening the
+Presence visited me, kept me company, making the day seem long and
+dreary until she came. I waited for her appearance with growing
+impatience. I could never see or feel anything; my spoken words
+brought no response; yet there she was; and I felt just as assured of
+the presence, in my studio, of a feminine spiritual being as of my
+own existence. Every evening the Presence was with me when I went to
+sleep; every morning it had vanished. The sense of friendliness and
+companionship was complete and unmistakable.
+
+"One evening my visitor failed to appear! I could do no work; I
+paced the floor, I could do nothing, think of nothing! The sense of
+desolation and loneliness was absolute. I hardly realized, until then,
+how completely I had grown accustomed to the presence of my invisible
+visitor. I missed her more than I ever dreamed I could miss anyone in
+life. Forlorn and forsaken, I went to bed, and finally dropped into a
+fitful and broken sleep.
+
+"For about a week things went on in this way. I had grown gradually
+reconciled to my lonely life, and was painting hard for an exhibition
+which was near at hand. One evening I came into the studio, and I found
+the Presence waiting for me--seated in the easy chair, by the fire.
+
+"I felt my heart and whole being give a throb of joy and
+recognition--just as it would at the sight of an old and very dear
+friend. I knew how much I had missed her! I knew that She had risen,
+and was standing, facing me, as I entered. Before I had time to check
+myself, or think what I was doing, I had rushed forward, crying
+'Dearest,' with outstretched arms, and had embraced the spot where I
+knew her to be standing! I grasped the empty air, but I somehow felt
+two hands placed upon my shoulders, and the imprint of a delicate kiss
+upon my lips.
+
+"I no longer felt lonely. I whistled, I sang, I took off my coat,
+and, donning jacket and slippers, set to work with joy upon my
+picture. I painted hard, and all the while the Presence stood by me,
+criticising--approving or disapproving--and in every instance I felt
+Her criticism and judgment to be right.
+
+"A year went by. I had to give up my studio, and return to America, on
+my father's sudden death. The parting with the Presence I shall never
+forget. Had two lovers in the flesh parted from one another, it could
+not have been more real, more touching, more sincere. For my own part I
+was heartbroken. The Presence, too, I knew to be weeping. The parting
+was long and sorrowful. Finally, I tore myself away.
+
+"I have never seen or felt anything from that day to this. But of
+the reality and objective existence of that Presence I am as assured
+as I am of any event in my life. No one can tell me that it was a
+trick of the imagination--I know better! She was as real to me as any
+personality I have ever known. Yes, the Unreal is Real, of that I have
+no doubt whatever. My own experience with the Ghostly world has proved
+that to _my_ satisfaction!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+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."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+GHOST STORIES OF A MORE DRAMATIC NATURE
+
+In the cases which are adduced in the present chapter, the standard
+of evidence cannot be considered so high; many of them have been
+recorded in good faith as actual experiences, but they will probably
+fail to carry conviction to the same extent as those which have gone
+before. Still, many of these narratives are singularly striking and
+interesting; and for this reason deserve to be included in this
+volume. The reader may therefore place any construction he may choose
+upon these cases; as they are presented not as evidence but as
+entertainment. I shall begin with some personal experiences of a Scotch
+seer, who, according to his own accounts, has experienced some of the
+most dramatic and remarkable manifestations conceivable.
+
+
+DISEASE-PHANTOMS
+
+Mr. Elliott O'Donnell--a man about whom it has been said that "the
+gates of his soul are open on the Hell side," has had many strange
+experiences with spirits, mostly evil and horrible, and has recorded
+these in his books "Ghostly Phenomena," "Byways of Ghostland," etc.
+From his voluminous writings on his own personal experiences, I cite a
+few cases, to show the character of the phenomena:
+
+"I have, from time to time, witnessed many manifestations which I
+believe to be super-physical, both from the peculiarity of their
+properties, and from the effect their presence invariably produce
+on me--an effect I cannot associate with anything physical. One of
+the first occult phenomena I remember, appeared to me when I was
+about five years of age. I was then living in a town in the West of
+England, and had, according to the usual custom, been put to bed at
+six o'clock. I had spent a very happy day, playing with my favorite
+toys--soldiers--and, not being in the least degree tired, was amusing
+myself with planning a fresh campaign for the following morning, when
+I noticed suddenly that the bedroom door (which I distinctly remember
+my nurse carefully latching) was slowly opening. Thinking this was very
+curious, but without the slightest suspicion of 'ghosts,' I sat up in
+bed and watched.
+
+"The door continued to open, and at last I caught sight of something
+so extraordinary that my guilty conscience at once associated it with
+the Devil--with regard to whom I distinctly recollected to have spoken
+that afternoon in a sceptical, and I frankly admit, very disrespectful
+manner. But far from feeling the proximity of that heat which all those
+who profess authority on Satanic matters ascribe to Satan, I felt
+decidedly cold--so cold, indeed, that my hands grew numb and my teeth
+chattered. At first I only saw two light glittering eyes that fixed
+themselves upon me with an expression of diabolical glee, but I was
+soon able to perceive that they were set in a huge, flat face, covered
+with fulsome-looking yellow spots about the size of a threepenny bit.
+I do not remember noticing any of the other features, save the mouth,
+which was large and gaping. The body to which the head was attached
+was quite nude, and covered all over with spots similar to those on
+the face. I cannot recall any arms, though I have vivid recollections
+of two thick and, to all appearances, jointless legs, by the use of
+which it left the doorway, and gliding noiselessly over the carpet,
+approached the empty bed, placed in a parallel position to my own.
+There it halted, and thrusting its mis-shapen head forward, it fixed
+its malevolent eyes on me with a penetrating stare. On this occasion,
+I was far less frightened than on any of my subsequent experiences with
+the occult. Why, I cannot say, as the manifestation was certainly one
+of the most hideous I have ever seen. My curiosity, however, was far
+greater than my fear, and I kept asking myself what the thing was, and
+why it was there?
+
+"It did not seem to be composed of ordinary flesh and blood, but rather
+of some luminous matter that resembles the light emanating from a
+glow-worm.
+
+"After remaining in the same attitude for what seemed to me an
+incalculably long time, it gradually receded, and assuming all of
+a sudden a horizontal attitude, passed head first through the wall
+opposite to where I sat. Next day, I made a sketch of the apparition,
+and showed it to my relatives, who, of course, told me I had been
+dreaming. About two weeks later I was ill in bed with a painful, if
+not actually dangerous, disease. I was giving an account of this
+manifestation at a lecture I delivered two or three years ago in
+B., and when I had finished speaking, I was called aside by one of
+the audience who very shyly told me that he too had had a similar
+experience. Prior to being attacked by diphtheria, he had seen a
+queer-looking apparition which had approached his bedside and leaned
+over him. He assured me that he had been fully awake at the time, and
+had applied tests to prove that the phantom was entirely objective.
+
+"A number of other cases, too, have been reported to me, in which
+various species of phantasms have been seen before various illnesses.
+Hence I believe that certain spirits are symbolical of certain
+diseases, if not the actual creators of the bacilli from which
+these diseases arise. To these phantasms I have given the name of
+_Morbas_...."
+
+
+THE TALE OF THE MUMMY
+
+"During one of my sojourns in Paris," says Mr. Elliott O'Donnell, in
+his "Byways of Ghost Land," "I met a Frenchman who, he informed me, had
+just returned from the East. I asked him if he had brought back any
+curios such as vases, funeral urns, weapons or amulets. 'Yes, lots,'
+he replied, 'two cases full. But no mummies! Mon Dieu! No mummies. You
+ask me why? Ah! Thereby hangs a tale. If you will have patience, I will
+tell it you.'
+
+"The following is the gist of his narrative:
+
+"'Some seasons ago I traveled up the Nile as far as Assiut, and when
+there, managed to pay a visit to the grand ruins of Thebes. Among the
+various treasures I brought away with me was a mummy. I found it lying
+in an enormous lidless sarcophagus, close to a mutilated statue of
+Anubis. On my return to Assiut, I had the mummy placed in my tent, and
+thought no more of it till something awoke me with startling suddenness
+in the night. Then, obeying a peculiar impulse, I turned over on my
+side and looked in the direction of my treasure.
+
+"'The nights in the Soudan at this time of year are brilliant, one can
+even see to read, and every object in the desert is almost as clearly
+visible as by day. But I was quite startled by the whiteness of the
+glow which rested on the mummy, the face of which was immediately
+opposite mine. The remains--those of Met-Om-Karema, lady of the College
+of the god Amen-ra--were swathed in bandages, some of which had worn
+away in parts or become loose; and the figure, plainly discernible, was
+that of a shapely woman with elegant bust, well-formed limbs, rounded
+arms and small hands. The thumbs were slender, and the fingers, each of
+which was separately bandaged, long and tapering. The neck was full,
+the cranium rather long, the nose aquiline, the chin firm. Imitation
+eyes, brows, and lips were painted on the wrappings, and the effect
+thus produced and in the phosphorescent glare of the moonbeams, was
+very weird. I was quite alone in the tent, the only European who
+accompanied me to Assiut, having stayed in the town by preference, and
+my servants being encamped at one hundred or so yards from me on the
+ground.
+
+"'Sound travels far in the desert, but the silence now was absolute,
+and, though I listened attentively, I could not detect the slightest
+noise--man, beast and insect were abnormally still. There was something
+in the air, too, which struck me as unusual; an odd, clammy coldness
+that reminded me at once of the catacombs in Paris. I had hardly,
+however, conceived the resemblance, when a sob--low, gentle, but very
+distinct--sent a thrill of horror through me. It was ridiculous,
+absurd. It could not be, and I fought against the idea as to whence
+the sound had proceeded, as something too utterly fantastic, too
+utterly impossible. I tried to occupy my mind with other thoughts--the
+frivolities of Cairo, the casinos of Nice; but all to no purpose;
+and soon, on my eager, throbbing ear there again fell that sound,
+that low and gentle sob. My hair stood on end; this time there was no
+doubt, no possible manner of doubt--the mummy lived! I looked at it
+aghast. I strained my vision to detect any movement in its limbs,
+but none was perceptible. Yet the noise had come from it, it had
+breathed--breathed--and even as I hissed the word unconsciously through
+my clenched lips, the bosom of the mummy rose and fell.
+
+"'A frightful terror seized me. I tried to shriek to my servants; I
+could not ejaculate a syllable. I tried to close my eye-lids, but
+they were held open as in a vice. Again there came a sob that was
+immediately succeeded by a sigh; and a tremor ran through the figure
+from head to foot. One of its hands then began to move, the fingers
+clutched the air convulsively, then grew rigid, then curled slowly
+into the palms, then suddenly straightened. The bandages concealing
+them from view then fell off, and to my agonized sight were disclosed
+objects that struck me as strangely familiar. There is something about
+fingers, a marked individuality, I never forget. No two persons' hands
+are alike. And in these fingers, in their excessive whiteness, round
+knuckles, and blue veins, I read a likeness whose prototype, struggle
+how I would, I could not recall. Gradually the hand moved upwards, and,
+reaching the throat, the fingers set to work at once to remove the
+wrappings. My terror was now sublime. I dare not imagine, I dare not
+for one instant think, what I should see. And there was no getting away
+from it; I could not stir an inch, and the ghastly revelation would
+take place within a yard of my face!
+
+"'One by one the bandages came off. A glimmer of skin, pale as marble;
+the beginning of the nose, the whole nose; the upper lip, exquisitely,
+delicately cut; the teeth, white and even on the whole, but here and
+there a shining gold filling; the under lip, soft and gentle; a mouth
+I knew, but--God, where? In my dreams, in the wild fantasies that had
+oft-times visited by pillow at night--in delirium, in reality, where?
+Mon Dieu! WHERE?
+
+"'The uncasing continued. The chin next, a chin that was purely
+feminine, purely classical; then the upper part of the head--the hair
+long, black, luxuriant--the forehead low and white--the brows black,
+firmly pencilled; and last of all, the eyes!--and as they met my
+frenzied gaze, smiled, smiled right down into the depths of my living
+soul, I recognized them--they were the eyes of my mother, my mother
+who had died in my boyhood! Seized with a madness that knew no bounds,
+I sprang to my feet. The figure rose and confronted me. I flung open
+my arms to embrace her, the woman of all women in the world I loved
+best, the only woman I had ever loved. Shrinking from my touch, she
+cowered against the side of the tent. I fell on my knees before her and
+kissed--what? Not the feet of my mother, but those of the long-buried
+dead. Sick with repulsion and fear I looked up, and there bending over
+and peering into my eyes was the face, the fleshless, mouldering face
+of the foul and barely recognizable corpse! With a shriek of horror
+I rolled backwards, and, springing to my feet, prepared to fly. I
+glanced at the mummy. It was lying on the ground, stiff and still,
+every bandage in its place; whilst standing over it, a look of fiendish
+glee in its light, doglike eyes, was the figure of Anubis, lurid and
+menacing.
+
+"'The voices of my servants, assuring me they were coming, broke the
+silence, and in an instant the apparition vanished.
+
+"'I had had enough of the tent, however, at least for that night, and,
+seeking refuge in the town, I whiled away the hours till morning with
+a fragrant cigar and a novel. Directly I had breakfasted, I took the
+mummy back to Thebes, and left it there. No thank you, Mr. O'Donnell, I
+collect many kinds of curios, but--no more mummies!'"
+
+
+FACE SLAPPED BY A GHOST
+
+The following remarkable event occurred to a friend of mine--an
+elderly, married lady, whom I have known for some time. She is now
+making her home in Brooklyn, but at the time of her gruesome experience
+was residing in England. It is some years since this occurred, but the
+incident, she assured me, lives just as vividly in her mind as though
+it all happened yesterday. This is her story, just as she told it to me:
+
+"I was staying with some friends in the country. They had an old,
+rambling house, with long, draughty halls and corridors all over it. As
+the house was already full of guests, I had to sleep in a large room,
+at the end of the long passage, on the ground floor. The room in itself
+was comfortable enough--large and warm. Yet there was an atmosphere
+about that apartment which I did not quite like; in fact, the whole
+house made me feel 'creepy,' for no reason that I can give.
+
+"Bed-time came all too soon; and I took my candle and was shown my
+room. My hostess saw that I had everything I needed; and then, saying
+good-night, went upstairs to bed.
+
+"I had half undressed when I saw the door of my room gently and quietly
+opened, as though a stealthy hand were softly pressing it open. I
+gazed transfixed, until, when wide open, I could see that no one was,
+in reality, on the other side of the door. At that I drew a breath
+of relief. 'A draught,' I thought, 'coming down the hallway. It is
+nothing.' And I chided myself on my fears; shut the door, and proceeded
+to undress.
+
+"I had not gone far, however, when to my amazement the door opened
+again; just as quietly and stealthily as before. Again I closed the
+door, and proceeded with my undressing. I had by this time finished,
+and had donned my night-gown preparatory to getting into bed.
+
+"At that moment I was horrified to see my door open for the _third_
+time, just as it did before--slowly, slowly, until it rested on its
+hinges, wide open to the hall. I now determined to investigate; so,
+taking my candle in my hand, I stepped out into the hall and proceeded
+down towards the front door.
+
+"I had not taken more than three or four steps, however, when the
+candle in my hands was extinguished--as though a breath of wind, coming
+from nowhere, had blown it out. I did not much relish this, as the
+matches were in my room. But I determined to keep on, in the dark,
+and see what the cause of this could be. So I kept on and on, down
+the dark hall--my left hand holding the extinguished candle; my right
+extended so that I could feel the solid masonry all the way down the
+corridor.
+
+"I had proceeded, perhaps, half way, when a strange thing occurred. I
+suddenly felt myself slapped on the left cheek by something cold and
+moist and clammy. I put my hand up to my face, and felt it was wet. For
+an instant I hesitated; then I proceeded, down the hall, until I came
+to the front door. That I found closed and locked. Having thus explored
+the whole length of the hall and found nothing, I turned back to regain
+my room. Still holding the candle in my left hand, and still feeling
+the wall with my outstretched right hand, I crept cautiously along, not
+knowing what to expect.
+
+"Again, I had proceeded about half way down the hall when I felt the
+same cold, quick slap in the face (this time on the right cheek) and
+again I found it was wet.
+
+"Thoroughly frightened now, I fled to my room as fast as my legs could
+carry me. Once within, I closed and secured the door by placing a chair
+against it. Next, finding my box of matches, I relighted my candle.
+Then I surveyed myself in the mirror, to see what could be upon my
+face.
+
+"Imagine my horror when, on looking in the glass, I discovered two
+long streaks of blood, one upon either cheek! I was so terror-struck
+that I gazed at myself for a few moments unable to move or speak. Then
+I screamed, and after that I have no very clear recollection of what
+happened. I have a hazy recollection of anxious faces bending over me;
+of a low hum of voices; then oblivion.
+
+"It took me many weeks to recover from the shock of that night."
+
+
+ALONE WITH A GHOST IN A CHURCH
+
+The following case is sent me by a correspondent:
+
+I once knew a young man by the name of Charles D. Bradlaugh, who took a
+delight in ridiculing ghost stories and, whenever possible, in proving
+them to be due to fraud, trickery or hallucination. He stated he was
+"afraid of nothing." I said to him one day in conversation: "If you are
+as fearless as you say, would you be willing to spend a night alone,
+locked up in a Church with a corpse freshly placed in its coffin?"
+
+He replied that he would do it any time; so the test was shortly
+arranged. One of the parishioners had just died, and had been placed
+in the crypt of the church, with the lid of the coffin removed. The
+lights were all extinguished; we locked the door after us, and went
+away, leaving Bradlaugh and the spirits to fight it out between them.
+
+What occurred during the night must be told in Bradlaugh's own words,
+as nearly as I can recall them:
+
+"When I heard the key turn in the door, that night, I confess that a
+strange feeling came over me for the first time in my life. I wanted
+to get out; but of course I knew it was useless; and in the next place
+my pride forbade my leaving. Shaking off the superstitious fear that
+had settled upon me, I turned away; and proceeded to explore, as best I
+could, the whole of the church.
+
+"A bright moonlight fell in through the windows, casting queer shadows
+in various directions; and across the long rows of pews and the altar
+at the far end of the church. I walked about, looking at everything
+curiously, as it had been long since I found myself inside a church.
+Then I proceeded to the crypt, and, walking boldly up to the coffin, I
+gazed long and earnestly at the corpse lying within it, as though to
+familiarize myself with it. I went on the principle that 'familiarity
+breeds contempt.' When I had done this, I went back to the nave of the
+church, and, finding a comfortable place, I lay down, and was soon in
+a state bordering on sleep. I should have been asleep, probably, very
+soon; but, just as I was dropping off, I heard a faint sound coming
+from the direction of the crypt. It was like a deep sigh, and this
+was followed by other sounds which I find it hard to describe. All I
+know is that, in the quiet and stillness of that awful place, those
+sounds, slight as they were, were truly appalling, and chilled the very
+blood in my veins. Their very indistinctness added to their terror. I
+could not conceive what could make such uncanny noises. I sat up, and
+strained my eyes in the darkness, trying to penetrate the gloom. Then
+I heard the first faint footsteps coming up the stairs from the crypt!
+At first, these were faint, but they became louder and louder; until
+finally I could hear them plainly. Undoubtedly they were foot-falls, as
+though a human being were mounting the steps from the crypt where the
+corpse had been laid!
+
+"I rose from my seat, my hair standing on end, while queer, cold
+shivers ran up and down my back. I advanced one or two paces toward the
+door, hardly knowing what to expect. Then, as I looked, I saw step into
+the bright moonlight, the corpse that a few moments before I had seen
+lying in the coffin downstairs!
+
+"Frantic with fear, I rushed at the corpse, still shrouded, as it was,
+in the white wrappings which, torn and dishevelled, still enveloped the
+body. I raised one hand as though to strike the ghost, and thrust the
+hateful thing from me; when I felt a stunning blow on the point of my
+jaw, and a moment later I had lost sensibility. When I awoke, you were
+all round me. You know the rest."
+
+To make a long story short, it turned out that the supposed "corpse"
+was not really dead at all, but in a sort of trance; and had been
+buried prematurely. He had revived in the night; and was advancing into
+the church when he encountered Bradlaugh in the doorway. Thinking him a
+robber or an assassin, he had struck first; and, being a powerful man
+and a good boxer, he had knocked out Bradlaugh by a blow on the jaw.
+When we arrived in the morning, we found Bradlaugh senseless, and the
+"corpse," now stripped of his grave clothes, bending over him, dashing
+cold water in his face!
+
+
+A HAUNTED HOUSE IN FRANCE
+
+The following case, said to be authentic, is quoted here because of
+the incident of the "shouts and laughter" which were heard, and which
+serve to throw an interesting sidelight on the case which follows it.
+
+The Rev. F. G. Lee, in his book, _Sights and Shadows_, gives the
+following account, sent to him, of a haunted house in France:
+
+"In the spring of the year 1891, great excitement was occasioned by
+a disembodied spirit in a haunted house in LePort, at Nice. This is
+situated in a terrace close to the quarries, where, after the reports
+concerning it, as many as two thousand persons were often gathered
+round it. The spirits haunting it--never visible, however--would
+beat the inmates so unmercifully that the blows would leave bruises.
+Hundreds of persons saw the result, and testified to the undoubted
+facts. The local police, on being appealed to, and having heard the
+evidence of numerous eye-witnesses, and of those persons who were
+inconvenienced, formed a body of organized inquirers, who, shrewd
+enough in mundane matters, utterly failed to discover anything or
+anybody.
+
+"On one occasion, thirteen men sat up in three rooms which had been
+well lighted, and some of them played cards for several hours to while
+away the time. During the whole of this occurrence, the strangest
+noises were heard in various parts of the building. It seemed, at
+one time, as if a whole regiment of soldiers were tramping up the
+chief staircase. Pictures swung to and fro upon the walls, without any
+visible motive effect.[4] Then heavy blows were heard on the walls, and
+it appeared that the closed doors and the shutters were being violently
+struck and thumped, as if with a large hammer wrapped in cloth.
+
+      [4] This is a common feature of haunted houses.--H.C.
+
+"On two occasions, a room on the ground floor was found to be in the
+densest darkness, though outside the house the sun was shining. On
+another occasion, just before midnight, when certain persons were
+specially present to note any supernatural occurrences, all the lamps
+in the house were suddenly put out; while shouts and laughter were
+heard in every part of the place, more particularly from the empty
+rooms. At the same time, heavy blows were experienced by those present,
+who were very severely bruised, and a large bottle of ink was thrown by
+invisible hands from the top of the staircase.
+
+"Every attempt was made to discover the source of these extraordinary
+disorders, but without avail. They were reported to have ceased for
+several months, but to have commenced again at a later period. A local
+communication says that they still 'occur at intervals.'"
+
+
+A HAUNTED HOUSE IN GEORGIA
+
+The following account is taken from the report of the San Francisco
+_Examiner_, and is certainly one of the most striking cases of the
+character on record. It is not put forward as strictly "evidential,"
+but its interesting nature certainly warrants its insertion in this
+volume.
+
+"Soon after the Walsinghams took up their abode in their new home,
+they began to be disturbed by strange sounds and odd phenomena. These
+disturbances generally took the form of noises in the house after the
+family had retired and the lights had been extinguished--continual
+banging of the doors, things overturned, the doorbell rang, and the
+annoying of the house dog, a large and intelligent mastiff.
+
+"One day Don Caesar, the mastiff, was found in the hallway barking
+furiously and bristling with rage, while his eyes seemed directed to
+the wall just before him. At last he made a spring forward with a
+hoarse yelp of ungovernable fury, only to fall back as if flung down by
+some powerful and cruel hand. Upon examination it was found that his
+neck had been broken.
+
+"The house cat, on the contrary, seemed rather to enjoy the favor of
+the ghost, and would often enter a door as if escorting some visitor,
+whose hand was stroking her back. She would also climb about a chair,
+rubbing herself and purring as if well pleased at the presence of some
+one in the seat. She and Don Caesar invariably manifested this eccentric
+conduct at the same time, as though the mysterious being were visible
+to both of them.
+
+"The annoying visitant finally took to arousing the family at all hours
+of the night by making such a row as to render any rest impossible.
+
+"This noise, which consisted of shouts, groans, hideous laughter, and a
+peculiar, most distressing wail, would sometimes proceed, apparently,
+from under the house, sometimes from the ceiling and at other times in
+the very room in which the family was seated. One night Miss Amelia
+Walsingham, the young lady daughter, was engaged at her toilet, when
+she felt a hand softly laid on her shoulder. Thinking it her mother or
+sister, she glanced at the glass before her, only to be thunderstruck
+at seeing the mirror reflect no form but her own, though she could
+plainly see a man's broad hand lying on her arm.
+
+"She brought the family to her by her screams, but when they reached
+her all sign of the mysterious hand had gone. Mr. Walsingham himself
+saw footsteps form beside his own while walking through the garden
+after a light rain.
+
+"The marks were those of a man's naked feet, and fell beside his own,
+as if the person walked at his side.
+
+"Matters grew so serious that the Walsinghams became frightened, and
+talked of leaving the house, when an event took place which confirmed
+them in this determination. The family was seated at the supper table
+with several guests who were spending the evening when a loud groan was
+heard in the room overhead.
+
+"This was, however, nothing unusual, and very little notice was taken
+of it until one of the visitors pointed out a stain of what looked like
+blood on the white table cloth, and it was seen that some liquid was
+slowly dripping on the table from the ceiling overhead. This liquid was
+so much like freshly-shed blood that it horrified those who watched its
+slow dropping. Mr. Walsingham, with several of his guests, ran hastily
+upstairs and into the room directly over the one in which the blood was
+dripping.
+
+"A carpet covered the floor, and nothing appeared to explain the source
+of the ghastly rain; but, anxious to satisfy themselves thoroughly,
+the carpet was immediately ripped up, and the boarding found to be
+perfectly dry, and even covered with a thin layer of dust, and all the
+while the floor was being examined the persons below could swear the
+blood never ceased to drop. A stain the size of a dinner-plate was
+formed before the drops ceased to fall. This stain was examined the
+next day under the microscope, and was pronounced by competent chemists
+to be human blood.
+
+"The Walsinghams left the house next day, and since then the place
+has been apparently given over to spooks and evil spirits, which make
+the night hideous with the noise of revel, shouts and furious yells.
+Hundreds from all over this county and adjacent ones have visited the
+place, but few have had the courage to pass the night in the haunted
+house. One daring spirit, however, Horace Gunn, of Savannah, accepted
+a wager that he could not spend twenty-four hours in it, and did so,
+though he declares that there is not enough money in the country to
+make him pass another night there. He was found the morning after
+by his friends with whom he made the wager, in a swoon. He has never
+recovered from the shock of his horrible experience, and is still
+confined to his bed suffering from nervous prostration.
+
+"His story is that shortly after nightfall he endeavored to kindle
+a fire in one of the rooms, and to light the lamp with which he had
+provided himself, but to his surprise and consternation, found it
+impossible to do either. An icy breath, which seemed to proceed from
+some invisible person at his side, extinguished each match as he
+lighted it. At this peculiarly terrifying turn of affairs Mr. Gunn
+would have left the house and forfeited the amount of his wager, a
+considerable one, but he was restrained by the fear of ridicule. He
+steadied himself in the dark with what calmness he could, and waited
+developments.
+
+"For some time nothing occurred, and the young man was half-dozing,
+when, after an hour or two, he was brought to his feet by a sudden yell
+of pain or rage that seemed to come from under the house. This appeared
+to be the signal for an outbreak of hideous noises all over the house.
+The sound of running feet could be heard scurrying up and down the
+stairs, hastening from one room to another, as if one person fled from
+the pursuit of a second. This kept up for nearly an hour, but at last
+ceased altogether, and for some time Mr. Gunn sat in darkness and
+quiet, and had about concluded that the performance was over for the
+night. At last, however, his attention was attracted by a white spot
+that gradually appeared on the opposite wall.
+
+"The spot continued to brighten, until it seemed a disc of white
+fire, when the horrified spectator saw that the light emanated from
+and surrounded a human head, which, without a body, or any visible
+means of support, was moving slowly along the wall, about the height
+of a man from the floor. This ghastly head appeared to be that of
+an aged person, though whether male or female it was difficult to
+determine. The hair was long and gray, and matted together with
+dark clots of blood, which also issued from a deep jagged wound in
+one temple. The cheeks were fallen in and the whole face indicated
+suffering and unspeakable misery. The eyes were wide open, and gleamed
+with an unearthly fire, while the glassy eyes seemed to follow the
+terror-stricken Gunn, who was too thoroughly paralyzed by what he saw
+to move or cry out. Finally, the head disappeared and the room was once
+more left in darkness, but the young man could hear what seemed to be
+half a dozen persons moving about him, while the whole house shook as
+if rocked by some violent earthquake.
+
+"The groaning and the wailing that broke forth from every direction was
+something terrific, and an unearthly rattle and banging as of china
+or tin pans being flung to the ground floor from the upper story added
+to the deafening noise. Gunn at last roused himself sufficiently to
+try and leave the haunted house. Feeling his way along the wall, in
+order to avoid the beings, whatever they were, that filled the room,
+the young man had nearly succeeded in reaching the door when he found
+himself seized by the ankle and was violently thrown to the floor. He
+was grasped by icy hands, which sought to grip him about the throat. He
+struggled with his unseen foe, but was soon overpowered and choked into
+insensibility. When found by his friends, his throat was black with the
+marks of long, thin fingers, armed with cruel, curved nails.
+
+"The only explanation which, can be found for these mysterious
+manifestations is that about three months before, a number of bones
+were discovered on the Walsingham place, which some declared even then
+to be those of a human being. Mr. Walsingham pronounced them, however,
+to be an animal's, and they were hastily thrown into an adjacent
+limekiln. It is supposed to be the outraged spirit of a person to whom
+they belonged in life which is now creating such consternation."
+
+
+SHAKEN BY A GHOST
+
+The following narrative is vouched for by Mrs. H. S. Iredell, of
+Tunbridge Wells, England, a relative of the Rev. Dr. Lee, who gives the
+case in his _Sights and Shadows_:
+
+"The haunted house in question is near Wandsworth common. The late
+occupants of it were a man, his wife and their child. They had to
+leave it, for they could get no rest in it at night for the fearful
+noises which went on incessantly, like sounds as of a sledge-hammer
+wrapped in flannel struck against the walls. The sister-in-law of the
+late occupants, who told me of it, had spent some days at the house,
+so I heard all the story first-hand. One night she likewise felt as if
+someone had taken her by the shoulders and she was being roughly shaken
+from side to side. Her husband, who was with her, saw her at the time
+she was being shaken by an invisible power, stretched out his hand
+to take hold of her; but he felt right up his arm to his shoulder a
+_shock_, as it were of electricity, which made him instantly draw back
+and cry out. Nothing was ever seen, but in the special sleeping-room
+which seemed to be haunted, the clothes used to be pulled off the bed
+at night and thrown on the floor, and then they used to raise or rear
+themselves up again on the bed....
+
+"Since the above was written, it is reported, that no less than five
+families have respectively occupied the house as tenants, who one and
+all have left it as soon as possible. It is now said to be permanently
+untenanted."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This case is given because of the incident of the "electric shock"
+which the percipient received, when attempting to interfere with
+the "spirit"; and serves as an interesting modern and apparently
+well-authenticated instance of what occurred in Lytton's story, which
+follows.
+
+
+THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN
+
+Bulwer Lytton's story, "The House and the Brain," is, perhaps, the most
+remarkable ghost story of this character on record, and is considered,
+by many, the best ever written. The phenomena occur in a house which
+is reputed to be haunted; no one will live in it. At last one brave
+soul determines to pass the night within its walls; he and his servant
+take up their abode in it, and, after various startling adventures of
+a minor character, the "grand climax" of the night is reached. As the
+author sat reading by the fire, the following occurred, which is told
+in his own words:
+
+"I now became aware that something interposed between the page and the
+light--the page was over-shadowed; I looked up, and I saw what I shall
+find it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to describe.
+
+"It was a Darkness shaping itself forth from the air in very undefined
+outline. I cannot say it was a human form, and yet it had more
+resemblance to a human form, or rather shadow, than to anything else.
+As it stood, wholly apart and distinct from the air and light around
+it, its dimensions seemed gigantic, the summit nearly touching the
+ceiling. While I gazed, a feeling of intense cold seized me. An iceberg
+could not more have chilled me; nor could the cold of an iceberg have
+been more purely physical. I feel convinced that it was not the cold
+caused by fear. As I continued to gaze, I thought--but this I cannot
+say with precision--that I distinguished two eyes looking on me from
+the height. One moment I fancied that I distinguished them clearly; the
+next they seemed gone; but still two rays of pale blue light frequently
+shot through the darkness, as from the height on which, I half
+believed, half doubted, that I had encountered the eyes.
+
+"I strove to speak--my voice utterly failed me; I could only think to
+myself, Is this fear? It is _not_ fear! I strove to rise; in vain; I
+felt weighed down by an irresistible force. Indeed, my impression was
+that of an immense and overwhelming Power opposed to my volition; that
+sense of utter inadequacy to cope with a force beyond man's, which one
+may feel _physically_ in a storm at sea, in a conflagration, or when
+confronting some terrible wild beast--or rather, perhaps, the shark of
+the ocean, I felt _morally_. Opposed to my will was another will, as
+far superior to its strength as storm, fire and shark are superior in
+material force to the force of man.
+
+"And now--as this impression grew on me--now came, at last,
+horror--horror of a degree that no words can convey. Still I retained
+pride, if not courage; and in my own mind I said: 'This is horror, but
+it is not fear; unless I fear I cannot be harmed; my reason rejects
+this thing; it is an illusion--I do not fear.' With a violent effort I
+succeeded at last in stretching out my hand towards the weapon on the
+table; as I did so, on the arm and shoulder I received a strange shock,
+and my arm fell to my side powerless. And now, to add to my horror,
+the light began slowly to wane from the candles--they were not, as it
+were, extinguished, but their flame seemed very gradually withdrawn--it
+was the same with the fire; the light was extinguished from the fuel;
+in a few minutes the room was in utter darkness. The dread that came
+over me, to be thus in the dark with that Thing, whose power was so
+intensely felt, brought on a reaction of nerve. In fact, terror had
+reached that climax, that either my senses must have deserted me, or I
+must have burst through the spell. I _did_ burst through it. I found
+voice, though the voice was a shriek. I remember that I broke forth
+with words like these--'I do not fear, my soul does not fear'; and at
+the same time I found the strength to rise. Still in that profound
+gloom I rushed to one of the windows--tore aside the curtain--flung
+open the shutters; my first thought was--LIGHT. And when I saw the
+moon high, clear and calm, I felt a joy that almost compensated me for
+my previous terror. There was the moon; there also was the light from
+the gas lamps in the deserted, slumberous street. I turned to look
+back into the room; the moon penetrated its shadow very palely and
+partially--but still there was light. The dark Thing, whatever it might
+be, was gone--except that I could yet see a dim shadow, which seemed
+the shadow of that shade against the opposite wall.
+
+"My eye now rested on the table, and from under the table (which was
+without cloth or cover--an old mahogany round table) there rose a
+hand, visible as far as the wrist. It was a hand, seemingly, as much
+of flesh and blood as my own, but the hand of an aged person--lean,
+wrinkled, small too--a woman's hand. That hand very softly closed on
+the two letters that lay on the table; hand and letters both vanished.
+Then there came the same three loud, measured knocks I had heard on the
+bed-head before this extraordinary drama commenced.
+
+"As these sounds slowly ceased, I felt the whole room vibrate sensibly;
+and at the far end there rose, from the floor, sparks or globules, like
+globules of light, many colored--green, yellow, fire-red, azure. Up
+and down, to and fro, hither, thither, as tiny Will o' the Wisps, the
+sparks moved, slow and swift, each at its own caprice. A chair (as in
+the drawing-room below) was now advanced from the wall without apparent
+agency, and placed at the opposite side of the table. Suddenly, as
+forth from the air, there grew a shape, a woman's shape. It was
+distinct as a shape of life--ghastly as the shape of death. The face
+was that of youth, with a strange, mournful beauty; the throat and
+shoulders were bare; the rest of the form in a loose robe of cloudy
+white. It began sleeking its long, yellow hair, which fell over its
+shoulders; its eyes were not turned towards me, but to the floor; it
+seemed listening, watching, waiting. The shadow of the shade in the
+background grew darker; and again I thought I saw the eyes gleaming out
+from the summit of the shadow--eyes fixed upon that shape.
+
+"As if from the door, though it did not open, there grew out another
+shape, equally distinct, equally ghastly--a man's shape--a young man's.
+It was in the dress of the last century, or rather the likeness to such
+dress (for both the male and the female, though defined, were evidently
+unsubstantial, impalpable, simulacra, phantasms), and there was
+something incongruous, grotesque, yet fearful in the contrast between
+the elaborate finery, the courtly precision of that old-fashioned garb,
+with its ruffles and lace and buckles, and the corpse-like aspect and
+ghost-like stillness of the flitting wearer. Just as the male shape
+approached the female, the dark shadow started from the wall, and
+all three for a moment were wrapped in darkness. When the pale light
+returned, the two phantasms were as if in the grasp of the shadow, that
+towered between them, and there was a blood stain on the breast of the
+female; and the phantom male was leaning on its phantom sword, and
+blood seemed trickling fast from the ruffles, from the lace; and the
+darkness of the intermediate Shadow swallowed them up--they were gone.
+And again the bubbles of light shot, and sailed, and undulated, growing
+thicker and thicker and more wildly confused in their movements.
+
+"The closet door to the right of the fireplace now opened, and from
+the aperture there came the form of an aged woman. In her hand she
+held letters--the very letters over which I had seen the hand close;
+and behind her I heard a footstep. She turned round as if to listen,
+and then she opened her letters and seemed to read; and over her
+shoulder I saw a livid face, the face of a man long drowned--bloated,
+bleached--seaweed tangled in its dripping hair, and at her feet lay a
+form as of a corpse, and beside the corpse there towered a child, a
+miserable, squalid child, with famine in its cheeks and fear in its
+eyes. And as I looked in the old woman's face, the wrinkles and lines
+vanished; and it became the face of youth--hard-eyed, stony, but still
+youth; and the Shadow darted forth and darkened over these phantoms as
+it had darkened over the last.
+
+"Nothing now was left but the Shadow, and on that my eyes were intently
+fixed, till again eyes grew out of the Shadow--malignant, serpent
+eyes. And the bubbles of light again rose and fell, and in their
+disordered, irregular, turbulent maze, mingled with the wan moonlight.
+And now from these globules themselves, as from the shell of an egg,
+monstrous things burst out; the air grew filled with them; larvae so
+bloodless and so hideous that I can in no way describe them except
+to remind the reader of the swarming life which the solar microscope
+brings before the eyes in a drop of water--things transparent, supple,
+agile, chasing each other, devouring each other--forms like nought
+ever beheld by the naked eye. As the shapes were without symmetry, so
+their movements were without order. In their very vagrancies there
+was no sport; they came round me and round; thicker and faster and
+swifter, swarming over my head, crawling over my right arm, which was
+outstretched in involuntary command against all evil things. Sometimes
+I felt myself touched, but not by them; invisible hands touched me.
+Once I felt the clutch of cold, soft fingers at my throat, I was still
+equally conscious that if I gave way to fear I should be in bodily
+peril; and I concentrated all my faculties in the single focus of
+resisting, stubborn will. And I turned my sight from the Shadow--above
+all, from those strange serpent eyes--eyes that had now become
+distinctly visible. For there, though in nought else round me, I was
+aware that there was a WILL, and a will of intense, creative, working
+evil, which might crush down my own.
+
+"The pale atmosphere in the room began now to redden as if in the air
+of some near conflagration. The larvae grew lurid as things that live on
+fire. Again the room vibrated; again I heard the three measured knocks;
+and again all things were swallowed up in the darkness of the dark
+shadow--as if out of that darkness all had come, into that darkness all
+had returned.
+
+"As the gloom receded, the Shadow was wholly gone. Slowly, as it had
+been withdrawn, the flame grew again into the candles on the table,
+again into the fuel in the grate....
+
+"The room came once more calmly, healthfully into sight.
+
+"Nothing more chanced for the rest of the night. Nor, indeed, had I
+long to wait before the dawn broke...."
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+HISTORICAL GHOSTS
+
+
+Royalty and well-known personages have seen ghosts in all ages of the
+world's history; certainly they are not exempt from the common run of
+humanity so far as ghostly visitations are concerned! Mr. Stead has
+compiled a number of notable cases of this character, of which the
+following are probably the most noteworthy:
+
+
+ROYAL
+
+_Henry IV._ of France told D'Aubigne that, in the presence of
+himself, the Archbishop of Lyons, and three ladies of the Court, the
+Queen (Margaret of Valois) saw the apparition of a certain Cardinal
+afterwards found to have died at the moment.
+
+_Abel the Fratricide_, King of Denmark, still haunts the woods of
+Poole, near the city of Sleswig.
+
+_Valdemar IV._ haunts Gurre Wood, near Elsinore.
+
+_Charles XI._, of Sweden, accompanied by his chamberlain and state
+physician, witnessed the trial of the assassin of Gartavus III., which
+occurred nearly a century later.
+
+_James IV._, of Scotland, was warned by an apparition against his
+intended expedition into England. He, however, proceeded and fell at
+Flodden Field.
+
+_Charles I._, of England, was also warned by an apparition, but paying
+no heed, was disastrously defeated at Naseby.
+
+_Queen Elizabeth_ is said to have been warned of her death by the
+apparition of her own double.
+
+
+EMPERORS
+
+_Trajan_ and _Caracalla_ both saw apparitions, which they recorded.
+
+_Theodosius_ and _Julian the Apostate_ both beheld apparitions, at
+important crises in their lives.
+
+
+FAMOUS MEN
+
+_Sir Robert Peel_ and his brother both saw Lord Byron in London when he
+was in reality lying dangerously ill of a fever in Patras. During the
+same fever, he also appeared to others.
+
+_Julius Caesar_, _Xerxes_, _Drusus_, _Pausanius_, _Dio_ (General of
+Syracuse), _Admiral Coligni_ all saw apparitions, which made a deep
+impression on them in every case.
+
+_Napoleon_, at St. Helena, saw and conversed with the apparition of
+Josephine, who warned him of his approaching death. _Blucher_, on
+the day of his death, was also told of it by an apparition. _General
+Garfield_ saw and conversed with his father, latterly deceased.
+_Lincoln_ had a certain premonitory dream which occurred three times
+in relation to important battles, and the fourth on the eve of his
+assassination.
+
+_Dante_, son of the poet, was visited in a dream by his father, who
+conversed with him and told him (correctly) where to find the missing
+thirteen cantos of the "Commedia."
+
+_Goethe_ saw his own double riding by his side under conditions which
+really occurred years later.
+
+_Tasso_ saw and conversed with beings invisible to those about him.
+
+_Cellini_ was dissuaded from suicide by the apparition of a young man
+who frequently visited and encouraged him.
+
+_Mozart_ was visited by a mysterious person who ordered him to compose
+a _requiem_, and came frequently to inquire after its progress, but
+disappeared on its completion, which occurred just in time for its
+performance at his own funeral.
+
+_Ben Johnson_ was visited by the apparition of his eldest son with the
+mark of a bloody cross upon his forehead at the moment of his death by
+the plague.
+
+_Thackery_ wrote: "It is all very well for you who have probably never
+seen spirit manifestations to talk as you do, but had you seen what I
+have witnessed you would hold a different opinion."
+
+_Hugh Miller_, _Maria Edgeworth_, _Captain Marryat_, _Madame de Stael_,
+_Sir Humphrey Davy_, _William Harvey_, _Francis Bacon_, _Martin
+Luther_, _George Fox_, _Cardinal Newman_, _Bishop Wilberforce_, and
+many others have seen apparitions, or held converse with the unseen
+world in one form or another, as recorded by themselves.
+
+Among the famous historical hauntings, we must not forget to mention
+the famous _Cock Lane Ghost_ which occurred about 1760. According to a
+brief paragraph printed in the _London Ledger_, 1762, we read that:
+
+"For some time a great knocking having been heard in the night, at
+the officiating parish clerk's of St. Sepulchre's, in Cock Lane near
+Smithfield, to the great terror of the family, and all means used to
+discover the meaning of it having failed, four gentlemen sat up there
+last Friday night, among whom was a clergyman standing withinside the
+door, who asked various questions. On his asking whether anyone had
+been murdered, no answer was made; but on his asking whether anyone had
+been poisoned, it knocked one and thirty times. The report current in
+the neighborhood is that a woman was some time ago poisoned, and buried
+in St. John's Clerkenwell, by her brother-in-law."
+
+These knockings and phenomena occurred for a considerable time, until
+the whole community became interested in the manifestations. While
+various theories were advanced at the time--and since--to explain this
+ghost, no definite conclusion has ever been arrived at.
+
+The _Drummer of Tedworth_ is a still older and equally famous ghost,
+who flourished about a hundred years before the Cock Lane Ghost, and
+was investigated (and the results carefully recorded) by Sir Joseph
+Glanvil, F.R.S., who wrote a book about the case: "_Sadducismus
+Triumphatus_," which was also devoted to the general phenomena of
+witchcraft. Here, also, we find records of unaccountable "knockings"
+and similar phenomena, which lasted for a considerable time, and which
+have never yet been explained.
+
+The ghost which invaded _John Wesley's_ house stayed with them for
+several years, and manifested his presence in a variety of elaborate
+and ingenious ways. Those who are interested in this ghost and his
+doings should read Wesley's _Journal_; also the various discussions,
+_pro_ and _con._, which have appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the
+Society for Psychical Research, from time to time. It is a most curious
+and suggestive record.
+
+The _Devils of Loudon_ might also be cited as an interesting case
+of psychic phenomena; and here trance, automatic speech, etc., were
+observed--as well as the usual physical phenomena. This is perhaps
+one of the earliest cases which was closely observed, and in which
+skeptical criticism was applied. This case will be found recorded in
+Mr. H. Addington Bruce's "_Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters_."
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+THE PHANTOM ARMIES SEEN IN FRANCE
+
+
+History abounds in cases showing the apparent intrusion of spiritual
+help in time of trouble, and in the annals of military history, these
+accounts are not lacking. On several occasions, the Crusaders thought
+that they saw angelic hosts fighting for them--phantom horsemen
+charging the enemy, when their own utter destruction seemed imminent.
+In the wars between the English and the Scotch, several such cases were
+cited, and the Napoleonic wars also furnished examples. But the most
+striking evidence of this character--because the newest--and supported,
+apparently, by a good deal of first-hand and sincere testimony, is
+that afforded by the Phantom Armies seen in France during the retreat
+of the British army from Mons--the field of Agincourt. Cut off by
+overwhelming numbers, and all but annihilated, the British army fought
+desperately, but the 80,000 were opposed by 300,000 Germans, backed by
+a terrific fire of artillery, and were indeed in a critical position.
+They were only saved, as we know, by the heroism of a small force of
+men--a rearguard--who were practically wiped out in consequence. At the
+most critical moment came what appeared to be angelic assistance. The
+tide of battle seemed to be stemmed by supernatural means. In a letter
+written by a soldier who actually witnessed these startling events,
+quoted by the Hon. Mrs. St. John Mildmay (_North American Review_,
+August, 1915), the following graphic account is given. Our soldier
+writes--
+
+"The men joked at the shells and found many funny names for them, and
+had bets about them, and greeted them with music-hall songs, as they
+screamed in this terrific cannonade.... The climax seemed to have been
+reached, but 'a seven-times heated hell' of the enemy's onslaught fell
+upon them, rending brother from brother. At that very moment, they saw
+from their trenches a tremendous host moving against their lines. Five
+hundred of the thousand (who had been detailed to fight the rear-guard
+action) remained, and as far as they could see the German infantry was
+pressing on against them, column by column, a grey world of men--10,000
+of them, as it appeared afterwards. There was no hope at all. Some of
+them shook hands. One man improvised a new version of the battle song
+Tipperary, ending 'and we shan't get there!' And all went on firing
+steadily.... The enemy dropped line after line, while the few machine
+guns did their best. Everyone knew it was of no use. The dead grey
+bodies lay in companies and battalions, but others came on and on,
+swarming and advancing from beyond and beyond.
+
+"'World without end, Amen,' said one of the British soldiers, with some
+irreverence, as he took aim and fired. Then he remembered a vegetarian
+restaurant in London, where he had once or twice eaten queer dishes of
+cutlets made of lentils and nuts that pretended to be steaks. On all
+the plates in this restaurant a figure of St. George was printed in
+blue with the motto, _Adsit Anglis Sanctus Georgius_ (May St. George
+be a present help to England!) The soldier happened to know 'Latin
+and other useless things,' so now, as he fired at the grey advancing
+mass, 300 yards away, he uttered the pious vegetarian motto. He went
+on firing to the end, till at last Bill on his right had to clout him
+cheerfully on the head to make him stop, pointing out as he did so that
+the King's ammunition cost money and was not lightly to be wasted....
+For, as the Latin scholar uttered his invocation, he felt something
+between a shudder and an electric shock pass through his body. The roar
+of the battle died down in his ears to a gentle murmur, and instead of
+it, he says, he heard a great voice louder than a thunder peal, crying
+'Array! Array!' His heart grew hot as a burning coal, then it grew cold
+as ice within him, for it seemed to him a tumult of voices answered to
+the summons. He heard or seemed to hear thousands shouting:
+
+  "'_St. George! St. George!_
+
+  "'_Ha! Messire, Ha! Sweet Saint, grant us good deliverance!_
+
+  "'_St. George for Merrie England!_
+
+  "'_Harow! Harow! Monseigneur St. George, succour us, Ha! St.
+  George! A low bow, and a strong bow, Knight of Heaven, aid us!_'
+
+"As the soldier heard these voices, he saw before him, beyond the
+trench, a long line of shapes with a shining about them. They were like
+men who drew the bow, and with another shout their cloud of arrows flew
+singing through the air toward the German host. The other men in the
+trenches were firing all the while. They had no hope, but they aimed
+just as if they had been shooting at Bisley.
+
+"Suddenly one of these lifted up his voice in plain English. 'Gawd help
+us,' he bellowed to the man next him, 'but we're bloomin' marvels! Look
+at those grey gentlemen! Look at them! They're not going down in dozens
+or hundreds--its _thousands_ it is! Look, look! There's a regiment gone
+while I'm talking to ye!'
+
+"'Shut it,' the other soldier bellowed, taking aim. 'What are ye
+talkin' about?' But he gulped with astonishment even as he spoke, for
+indeed the grey men were falling by the thousands. The English could
+hear the guttural scream of their revolvers as they shot, and line
+after line crashed to the earth. All the while the Latin-bred soldier
+heard the cry 'Harow, Harow! Monseigneur! Dear Saint! Quick to our aid!
+St. George help us!'
+
+"The singing arrows darkened the air, the hordes melted before them.
+'More machine guns,' Bill yelled to Tom. 'Don't hear them,' Tom yelled
+back, 'but thank God, anyway, that they have got it in the neck!'
+
+"In fact, there were ten thousand dead German soldiers left before
+that salient of the English army, and consequently--_no Sedan_. In
+Germany the General Staff decided that the English must have employed
+turpenite shells, as no wounds were discernible on the bodies of the
+dead soldiers. But the man who knew what nuts tasted like when they
+called themselves steak, knew also that St. George had brought his
+Agincourt Bowmen to help the English."
+
+Such accounts have been confirmed by others. Thus, Miss Phyllis
+Campbell, writing in "_The Occult Review_" (October, 1915), says:
+
+"I tremble, now that it is safely past, to look back on the terrible
+week that brought the Allies to Vitry-le-Francois. We had not had
+our clothes off for the whole of that week, because no sooner had we
+reached home, too weary to undress, or to eat, and fallen on our beds,
+than the 'chug-chug' of the commandant's car would sound into the
+silence of the deserted street, and the horn would imperatively summon
+us back to duty--because, in addition to our duties as _ambulancier
+auxiliare_, we were interpreters to the post, now at this moment
+diminished to half-a-dozen.
+
+"Returning at 4.30 in the morning, we stood on the end of the
+platform, watching the train crawl through the blue-green mist of
+the forest, into the clearing, and draw up with the first wounded
+from Vitry-le-Francois. It was packed with dead and dying and badly
+wounded. For a time we forgot our weariness in a race against
+time--removing the dead and dying, and attending to those in need. I
+was bandaging a man's shattered arm with the _majeur_ instructing me,
+while he stitched a horrible gap in his head, when Madame de A----,
+the heroic president of the post, came and replaced me. 'There is an
+English in the fifth wagon,' she said. 'He wants something--I think a
+holy picture!'
+
+"The idea of an English soldier wanting a holy picture struck me, even
+in that atmosphere of blood and misery, as something to smile at--but I
+hurried away. 'The English' was a Lancashire Fusilier. He was propped
+in a corner, his left arm tied-up in a peasant woman's handkerchief,
+and his head newly bandaged. He should have been in a state of collapse
+from loss of blood, for his tattered uniform was soaked and caked in
+blood, and his face paper-white under the dirt of conflict. He looked
+at me with bright, courageous eyes and asked for a picture or a medal
+(he didn't care which) of St. George. I asked him if he was a Catholic.
+'No,' he was Wesleyan Methodist, ... and he wanted a picture or a medal
+of St. George, _because he had seen him on a white horse_, leading the
+British at Vitry-le-Francois, when the Allies turned.
+
+"There was an F.R.A. man, wounded in the leg, sitting beside him on
+the floor; he saw my look of amazement, and hastened in: 'It's true,
+sister,' he said. 'We all saw it. First there was a sort of yellow-mist
+like, sort of risin' before the Germans as they came on the top of the
+hill--come on like a solid wall, they did--springing out of the earth
+just solid--no end to 'em! I just give up. No use fighting the whole
+German race, thinks I; it's all up with _us_. The next minute comes
+this funny cloud of light, and when it clears off, there's a tall man
+with yellow hair in golden armour, on a white horse, holding his sword
+up, and his mouth open as if he was saying: "Come on, boys! I'll put
+the kybosh on the devils!" Sort of "This is my picnic" expression.
+Then, before you could say "knife," the Germans had turned, and we were
+after them, fighting like ninety....'
+
+"'Where was this?' I asked. But neither of them could tell. They had
+marched, fighting a rearguard action, from Mons, till St. George had
+appeared through the haze of light, and turned the enemy. They both
+_knew_ it was St. George. Hadn't they seen him with a sword on every
+'quid' they'd ever seen? The Frenchies had seen him too--ask them; but
+they said it was St. Michael...."
+
+Much additional testimony of a like nature might be given--and has
+been collected by students of psychical research. If the spiritual
+world ever intervenes in matters mundane, it assuredly did so on this
+occasion. And it could hardly have chosen a more opportune time. Could
+the aspiring thoughts of the dead and dying, and those still living
+and fighting for their country, have drawn "St. George" to earth, to
+aid in again redeeming his country from a foreign foe? Could a simple
+"hallucination" have been so widespread and so prevalent? Or might
+there not have been some spiritual energy behind the visions thus
+seen--stimulating them, and inspiring and encouraging the stricken
+soldiers? We cannot say. We only know what the soldiers themselves
+say; and we also know the undoubted effects upon the enemy. For on
+both occasions were the Germans repulsed with terrible slaughter.
+Perhaps the vision of St. George led our soldiers into closer touch and
+_rapport_ with the consciousness of some high intelligence--or the veil
+was rent, separating the two worlds--as so often appears to be the case
+in apparitions and visions of this character.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHY
+
+
+Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. M. R. James.
+
+Wandering Ghosts. F. Marion Crawford.
+
+John Silence. A. Blackwood.
+
+Modern Ghosts. DeMaupassant, (and others).
+
+Twenty-five Ghost Stories. W. Bob Holland.
+
+A Book of Ghosts. Baring Gould.
+
+The Shape of Fear. Peattie.
+
+Book of Dreams and Ghosts. Andrew Lang.
+
+Cock Lane and Common Sense. A. Lang.
+
+Real Ghost Stories. W. T. Stead.
+
+More Ghost Stories. W. T. Stead.
+
+The Great Amherst Mystery. Walter Hubbell.
+
+The Bell Witch. M. V. Ingram.
+
+The Alleged Haunting of B---- House. Miss X.
+
+Haunted Houses and Haunted Men. Hon. John Harris.
+
+Ghostly Phenomena. Elliott O'Donnell.
+
+Byways of Ghost Land. Elliott O'Donnell.
+
+Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters. H. A. Bruce.
+
+Posthumous Humanity: a Study of Phantoms. D'Assier.
+
+Apparitions and Thought-Transference. Frank Podmore.
+
+The New View of Ghosts. F. Podmore.
+
+_Proceedings_ and _Journals_ of the S. P. R.
+
+Borderland (Magazine). _Ed. by_ W. T. Stead.
+
+Haunted Houses of Great Britain. Ingraham.
+
+The Night Side of Nature. Catherine Crowe.
+
+The House and the Brain. Bulwer Lytton.
+
+Nightmare Tales. H. P. Blavatsky.
+
+Apparitions: a Narrative of Facts. B. W. Saville.
+
+Startling Ghost Stories. Anon.
+
+Sights and Shadows. F. G. Lee.
+
+Dracula. Bram Stoker.
+
+The Phantom of the Opera. Gaston Leroux.
+
+
+[NOTE.--The above list does not pretend to be in any way exhaustive nor
+are the books quoted in any way equal in evidential value. They are
+merely types or examples of Ghost Stories, from various points of view;
+which, if the reader is interested, he may read with both pleasure and
+profit.]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Small capitals were changed to all capitals.
+
+The following 3 missing section headers were added to the table of
+contents: The Ghosts of Animals p. 53, Proofs of Immateriality p. 168,
+and Conduct of Animals in the House p. 169; but minor differences
+between the section headers in the table of contents and in the text
+were not corrected.
+
+Errors in punctuation were corrected.
+
+Several badly printed words were guessed from the context and filled
+in.
+
+Otherwise the original was preserved, including unusual and
+inconsistent spelling and hyphenation and unmatched double
+quotation marks.
+
+The following corrections were made, on page
+
+    7 "Par's" changed to "Paris" (in London, Paris, Rome, Venice)
+   11 "occuping" changed to "occupying" (space-occupying entities)
+   14 "wierd" changed to "weird" (in the still, weird hours of the
+      night)
+   63 "polteregists" changed to "poltergeists" (technically known as
+      "poltergeists,")
+   79 "Boundry" changed to "Boundary" (Footfalls on the Boundary of
+      Another World)
+  106 "occurence" changed to "occurrence" (mention the occurrence of
+      the night)
+  110 "mutally" changed to "mutually" (We were mutually sorry to part)
+  131 "trysing" changed to "trysting" (distance to the trysting place)
+  146 "exterminalization" changed to "externalization" (what I saw and
+      felt was an externalization of impressions)
+  182 "lynig" changed to "lying" (While lying there a large glass
+      paper-weight)
+  183 "gneuine" changed to "genuine" (they never lived in a genuine
+      one)
+  186 extra blank line removed within poem (To follow and kill,/Or
+      make tremble with fear.)
+  191 "possesed" changed to "possessed" (The whimsical idea now
+      possessed me to arrange the room)
+  194 "etxent" changed to "extent" (conviction to the same extent as
+      those)
+  196 "slink" changed to "slunk" (but suddenly slunk away with its
+      tail between its legs)
+  196 "has" changed to "had" (the impression that it had seen)
+  197 "fright-than" changed to "frightened than" (far less frightened
+      than on any of my subsequent experiences)
+  198 "pantasms" changed to "phantasms" (To these phantasms I have
+      given the name)
+  208 "familiary" changed to "familiarity" (familiarity breeds
+      contempt)
+  231 "assasin" changed to "assassin" (the trial of the assassin of
+      Gartavus III.)
+  238 "batallions" changed to "battalions" (companies and battalions)
+  240 "gutteral" changed to "guttural" (could hear the guttural scream
+      of their revolvers)
+  241 "Vitry-le-Francoise" changed to "Vitry-le-Francois" (draw up with
+      the first wounded from Vitry-le-Francois).
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE GHOST STORIES***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 44625.txt or 44625.zip *******
+
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