1899 Portage County: The Haunted House Mrs. Isa Wilson Kayner, who has startled large audiences by her new sensational fire test, told a number of ghost stories one day last week, among them this thrilling tale, which came under the observation of her father, the late E.V. Wilson, who was a noted spiritualist. The occurrence took place in Portage County, Ohio, and here is the story of the haunted house, as told by Mr. Wilson” “In the township of Deerfield, Portage County, Ohio, one-fourth of a mile from the center, stands a house with some good acres of ground attached, which within the last thirty-one years have been bought and sold many times. But no sooner would a buyer settle than he would be seized with a desire to sell. At length it was bought by a Mr. Carlton. His family consisted of a wife, two daughters, nearly grown, and a son then eight years old. The Carlton family were annoyed by strange, unaccountable noises which soon gave the place the notoriety of being haunted. These sounds were often heard in one chamber, as of doors being opened and being shut hard; also loud raps, sometimes singing, and voices in conversation, and often groans and shrieks. Twice members of the family saw the form of a woman walking in the garden. The winter after having taken possession of the house Mr. Carlton became so exasperated at the annoyance that he tried to drive his uncanny visitors away by force if possible. When the sounds were heard he commanded them as with authority to cease and leave the family alone. They took no heed of his orders. At this Mr. Carlton went into a passion, enforcing his commands with oaths and curses. The sounds were as defiant as ever. Then he threw stove wood at the point whence the sounds proceeded and yet they tantalized him. Soon after he was taken ill and died in a few hours.” Now the ordinary ghost story would end there, but in this case the spiritualists went in for an investigation, and this is the story of how they laid the ghost, or, rather, in the language of the cult, “liberated the spirit.” The Restless Spirit’s Story “After Mr. Carlton’s death,” continued the narrator, “the family remained in the haunted house and the terrible noises continued until Mrs. Carlton went to a neighboring town to visit friends. They advised her to get a medium living nearby to go to her house, and find out what the restless spirit wanted. The spiritualists at that time were holding neighborhood circles, and through the medium seven persons were appointed by her spirit control to visit the haunted house and, the medium said, to liberate the spirit of a woman who in a fit of insanity had taken her own life and had never been able to leave the locality in which the deed was done. That much was learned from the spirit control. At length the spirit of the unhappy ghost spoke through the medium and told the following story of herself (not exactly the story of Hamlet’s father’s ghost, but a good imitation): “’My name is Mary Coolie, I was born in Germany. I came to America with two brothers, who settled near Meadville, Pa., bringing their wealth with them. I fell in love with a young doctor, and he persuaded me to leave my home and go away with him. He brought me here. My child died soon after its birth, and the doctor buried it in the garden. My life was unhappy, and in my grief, loneliness and despair I became a raving maniac, and in my frenzy cut my throat. The doctor put my body in a rough box and left for parts unknown.’ “Then it was learned through the medium that the valuable papers she had hidden in the house and her child were the ties which bound her to that locality, and the unhappy earth-bound spirit had no power nor knowledge to detach herself from the place. In speaking of her child, the spirit said her ‘treasure was buried in the south side of the garden.’ Some who heard the word treasure went to the place designated and began digging for what they thought to be gold. But they had no sooner begun their work when they were startled by sounds which made them pause and listen. They went to work again, but were interrupted by such horrible shrieks and groans that they threw down their implements and fled in terror. Subsequently the earth was removed, but only a tiny lock of human hair was found. Thirty-two years had destroyed all other vestige of ‘the treasure.’ Through the help of the medium,” continued the narrator, “the spirit was soon able to free herself from the ties which bound her to the place and then went away and haunted the place no more.”
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:00:53 +0000
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