1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:07,519 Grand Dame's Ghost Story by C. D. I don't know whether you ever 2 00:00:07,559 --> 00:00:12,199 tell your children ghost stories or not. Some mothers don't. But our mother, 3 00:00:12,519 --> 00:00:16,359 though of German descent, was strong minded on the ghost subject, and 4 00:00:16,519 --> 00:00:20,559 early taught all of her children to be fearless mentally as well as physically. 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,399 And though dearly fond of hearing ghost stories, especially if they were real, 6 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,239 true ghosts, we were sadly skeptical as to there being anything of the kind 7 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:35,840 that could harm. We were quite learned in ghostly lore, knew all about 8 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:40,119 doppelgangers, will of the wisp, blue lights, et cetera. And we 9 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,119 could not have a greater treat for good behavior than for our mother to draw 10 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:50,240 on her store of supernatural tales for our entertainment. The story I'm about to 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,880 relate she told us one stormy night, when gathered round her chair in her 12 00:00:54,920 --> 00:01:00,719 own cozy sanctum before a cheerful fire, we ate nuts and apples and listened 13 00:01:00,759 --> 00:01:06,599 while she recited an o'er true tale told her by her grandmother, who herself 14 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,400 witnessed the vision. It was a fearful night. The wind sobbed and wailed 15 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:18,719 round the house like lost spirits mourning their doom. The rain beat upon the 16 00:01:18,799 --> 00:01:22,920 casements, and the trees, writhing in the torture of the fierce blast, 17 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:30,640 groaned and swayed until their tops almost swept the earth. Bright flashes of lightning 18 00:01:30,799 --> 00:01:36,159 pierced even through the closed shutters and heavy curtains, and the thunder had a 19 00:01:36,239 --> 00:01:42,159 sullen, threatening roar that made your blood creep. It was a night to 20 00:01:42,239 --> 00:01:47,400 make one seek to shut out all sound, draw the curtains close, stir 21 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,799 the fire, and nestle deep in the armchair before it, with feet upon 22 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,480 the fender, and have something cheerful to think or talk about. But I 23 00:01:56,599 --> 00:02:00,599 was all alone, none in the house with me but the servants, and 24 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,159 the servant's wing was detached from the main part of the building, for I 25 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,879 do not care to have menials near me, and I had no loved ones 26 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,879 near. It was just such a night that Nancy Black died. What a 27 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:16,719 fearful night for the soul to leave its earthly home and go out into the 28 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:22,639 vast unknown future. I spoke aloud, as rousing from a train of thought. 29 00:02:23,159 --> 00:02:27,520 I drew my heavy mantle closer round me, wheeled my arm chair nearer 30 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,319 the fire, and cuddled down in it, burying my feet in the foot 31 00:02:31,319 --> 00:02:37,159 cushion to warm them, for I felt strangely cold. I was in the 32 00:02:37,199 --> 00:02:40,439 library. It was my usual sitting room, for I seldom used the parlors. 33 00:02:40,879 --> 00:02:46,080 What was the use. My books were my friends, and I loved 34 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:51,000 best to be with them. My children dead or married and away. The 35 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:57,759 cold grand parlors always seemed gloomy and sad. The ghosts of departed pleasures haunted 36 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,439 them, and I cared not to enter them. It was a long, 37 00:03:01,719 --> 00:03:06,599 wide room across the hall from the parlors, running the whole length of the 38 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,879 house, and was lined with shelves from floor to ceiling. My husband's father 39 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,680 had been a bibliomaniac, and my husband had leaning that way also, and 40 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:21,039 the shelves held many an old, rare work that was worth its weight in 41 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,719 gold. The fire, though burning brightly, did not illumine one half the 42 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,159 room, of which, sitting in the chimney corner, I commanded a full 43 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,680 view, and had been looking at the shadows playing on the furniture and shelves 44 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,199 as the flame shot up, and after a flickering moment, would die out, 45 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,439 leaving a gloom which would break away into fantastic shadows as the firelight would 46 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:50,319 again shoot up. While watching the gleams of light and darkling shades unconsciously, 47 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,599 the wailing of the storm outside attracted my attention. There seemed to be odd 48 00:03:55,719 --> 00:04:02,000 noises of tapping on the windows, and saw and sighs, as though some 49 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:09,240 one was entreating entrance from the fierce tumult. And as I sat there again, 50 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,439 I thought of Nancy Black, the old schoolgirl friend who had loved me 51 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,000 so dearly, and the night when she went forth to meet the doom appointed 52 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:24,959 her. Resting my head upon my hand, I sat gazing in the fire, 53 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:30,480 thinking over her strange life and still stranger death, and wondering what could 54 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,360 have become of the money and jewels that I knew she had once possessed. 55 00:04:35,519 --> 00:04:41,680 While sitting thus, a queer sensation crept over me. It was not fear, 56 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:46,399 but a feeling as though if I'd look up, I'd see something frightful. 57 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,480 A shiver not like that of cold, ran from my head to my 58 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:56,959 feet, and a sensation as though someone was breathing icye cold breath upon my 59 00:04:57,079 --> 00:05:00,360 forehead, the same feeling that you would cause by holding a piece of ice 60 00:05:00,439 --> 00:05:06,959 to your cheek. It fluttered over my face and finally settled round my lips, 61 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,800 as though the unseen one was caressing me, thrilling me with horror. 62 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:18,519 But I am not fearful, nervous, nor imaginative, and resolutely throwing off 63 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:23,759 the dread that fell upon me. I turned round and looked up, and 64 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:29,720 there so close by my side that my hand involuntarily thrown out, passed through 65 00:05:29,879 --> 00:05:36,120 her seeming form stood Nancy Black. It was Nancy Black, and yet not 66 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:43,680 Nancy Black. Her whole body had a semi transparent appearance, just as your 67 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,319 hand looks when you hold it between yourself and a strong light. Her clothing, 68 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:53,120 apparently the same as worn in life, had a wavy, seething, 69 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:59,720 flickering look like flames have, and yet did not seem to burn. In 70 00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:02,600 the name of God, Nancy Black, what brought you here? And whence 71 00:06:02,639 --> 00:06:09,399 came you? I exclaimed? A hollow whisper followed. Thank you, my 72 00:06:09,519 --> 00:06:15,720 old friend, for speaking to me, And oh how deeply I thank you 73 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:21,600 for thinking of me. To night I shall have rest rest, I heard 74 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:27,160 echoed, and a jeering laugh rang through the room that made her quiver at 75 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:32,040 its sound. I have been near you often, but always failed to find 76 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:36,319 you in a condition when you would be in rapport before to night. What 77 00:06:36,399 --> 00:06:42,399 I came for I will tell you whence I came. You need not now 78 00:06:43,639 --> 00:06:46,879 suffice it to say that were I happy, I would not be here on 79 00:06:46,959 --> 00:06:51,360 such an errand, nor on such a night. It is only when the 80 00:06:51,439 --> 00:06:57,800 elements are in a tumult, and the winds wail and moan, that we 81 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,040 come forth. When you hear these sounds, it is souls of the lost 82 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:10,240 you hear mourning their doom. Tis then they wander up and down to and 83 00:07:10,399 --> 00:07:16,920 fro their only release from their fearful home of torture and undying pain. I 84 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,800 have come to tell you that you must go over to the old house, 85 00:07:21,279 --> 00:07:27,040 and in the back room I always kept locked. Have the carpet taken up 86 00:07:27,279 --> 00:07:31,199 from toward the fireplace. You will see a plank with a knot hole in 87 00:07:31,279 --> 00:07:38,519 it. Remove that and you will find what caused me to lose my soul. 88 00:07:39,639 --> 00:07:43,480 Have prayers said for me? For tis well to pray for the dead. 89 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:49,759 The money and jewels given charity bury in holy ground. The others you 90 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:58,240 find, and pray for them and me. Ah, Jeanette, you thought 91 00:07:58,279 --> 00:08:03,720 your old friend though stray and odd, pure and innocent. It is a 92 00:08:03,839 --> 00:08:09,399 bitter part of my punishment that I must change your thought of me. Farewell, 93 00:08:11,519 --> 00:08:15,800 do not fail me, and I shall trouble you no more. But 94 00:08:15,959 --> 00:08:20,720 whenever you hear that wind howl and sweep round the house as it does to 95 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:28,600 night, know that the lost are near. It is their swift flight through 96 00:08:28,639 --> 00:08:35,840 space, fleeing before the scourge of memory and conscience that causes that sound. 97 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:41,039 That to morrow you may not think you are dreaming. Here is a token. 98 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,919 And she touched the palm of my hand with her finger tips. And 99 00:08:46,039 --> 00:08:50,840 as you see, my child, to this day, there are three crimson 100 00:08:50,919 --> 00:08:56,039 spots in the palm of my hand that nothing will eradicate. Do not fail 101 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:01,440 me, and pray for us, Jeannette, pray, And with a longing, 102 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:09,200 wistful gaze and a deep, sobbing sigh, Nancy Black faded from my 103 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:16,080 sight. Am I dreaming? I exclaimed, as I rose from my chair 104 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,679 and rang the bell. When the servant entered, I bade him attend to 105 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,399 the fire and light the lamps, and I went through the room to see 106 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,799 if any unusual arrangement of the furniture could have caused the appearance. But nothing 107 00:09:28,879 --> 00:09:33,639 was apparent, and I bade him send my maid to attend me in my 108 00:09:33,759 --> 00:09:37,519 chamber, for I could not help feeling unwilling to remain in the library any 109 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:43,159 longer. That evening, while making my toilet for the night, my maid 110 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,559 said, have you burned your hand? Madam? Glancing hastily down, I 111 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:52,879 saw three dark crimson spots upon the palm of my left hand. They had 112 00:09:52,919 --> 00:09:58,279 an odd look, seared as though touched by a red hot iron. Yet 113 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,240 the flesh was soft, not burned, and not painful. Making some excuse 114 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:07,879 for it. I did not allude to it again, and dismissed her speedily, 115 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:13,440 that I might reflect undisturbed over the singular occurrence. There were the marks 116 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:18,320 upon my hand. I could not remove them, and they did not fade. 117 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,759 In fact, their deep red made the rest of the palm lose its 118 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:28,159 pinkish hue and look pale from the strong contrast. Could I have been asleep 119 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,039 and dreamed it all, and by any means have done this to myself? 120 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,039 I thought, but finally concluded that on the morrow I'd go over to Nancy 121 00:10:37,039 --> 00:10:43,080 Black's old residence and settle the question, And with that conclusion had to content 122 00:10:43,159 --> 00:10:48,879 myself until the morrow came. Nancy Black was an old friend from my girlhood 123 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,679 who had owned large property in the town and lived all alone in a spacious 124 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,759 stone house directly opposite my home, and who, when dying, had left 125 00:10:58,799 --> 00:11:03,720 me the sole legettee of her property. When morning came, I took the 126 00:11:03,799 --> 00:11:09,399 keys and with my maid went over to Nancy's house. It had never been 127 00:11:09,399 --> 00:11:15,879 disturbed since her death, which was sudden and somewhat singular, and the furniture 128 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,600 remained just as she left it. When taken to her last resting place, 129 00:11:20,039 --> 00:11:24,000 we went to the room Nancy had directed. I bade Sarah take up the 130 00:11:24,039 --> 00:11:28,799 carpet, and sure enough there was a plank with a knot hole in it. 131 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:33,240 So I sent her from the room and lifted the plank myself, and 132 00:11:33,279 --> 00:11:39,919 there between the two joints rested a long box, the lid not fastened. 133 00:11:39,799 --> 00:11:46,159 Opening it, I was horrified to see two skeletons, those of an infant 134 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:52,120 and of a woman, small in stature and delicate frame. In a moment, 135 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:58,200 it flashed before me that I saw all that remained of Nancy Black's young 136 00:11:58,399 --> 00:12:03,120 sister, a girl of seventeen, who had left home somewhat mysteriously years ago, 137 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:09,080 and had died while absent. At least that was the version Nancy had 138 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,639 given of her absence, and no one had dreamed of doubting it. Her 139 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:20,720 tale was so naturally told left orphans when Lucy was only two years and Nancy 140 00:12:20,799 --> 00:12:24,039 eighteen. She had devoted her life to the care of this young girl, 141 00:12:24,159 --> 00:12:28,600 and when she found her sister had fallen, she and her pride of name 142 00:12:28,799 --> 00:12:35,879 and position, had destroyed mother and child that her shame might not be known, 143 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:41,519 and had lived all those dreary years in that house with her fearful secret. 144 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:46,759 Round the box heaped up on every side were money and jewels, and 145 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:54,120 a parchment scroll among them had written on it Lucy's share of our father's estate. 146 00:12:54,639 --> 00:12:58,919 I carried out Nancy's wishes to the letter, for now I firmly believed 147 00:12:58,919 --> 00:13:03,480 that she had come to me herself. That night, To avoid scandal resting 148 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,759 on the dead, I took our clergyman into my confidence, and with his 149 00:13:07,879 --> 00:13:13,960 assistance, had the remains varied quietly in consecrated ground. The money and the 150 00:13:15,039 --> 00:13:18,120 jewels were given to the poor, and the old building I turned into a 151 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:24,320 home for destitute females, and morning and night. As I kneel in prayer, 152 00:13:26,279 --> 00:13:31,039 I pray forgiveness to rest upon Nancy Black and peace to her troubled soul, 153 00:13:33,879 --> 00:13:35,960 and of Granddame's ghost story.