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Speaker 1: In a Haunted House by Joseph B. Bowles. A New

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Yorker's experience with a strange old colonial mansion, a nerve

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racking night, some startling incidents which seemed impossible of rational

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explanation by T. D. Sullivan, Congressman elect from New York City.

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This is I think the strangest experience in a career

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that has not been monotonous. It is true, and at

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one time I had some trouble keeping it out of

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the papers. Now there's no more reason for keeping quiet

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about it, so I may as well tell the whole

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story for the first time. The reason why I need

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not keep the secret any longer is because a big,

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old fashioned red brick building was torn down this year.

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It was once a private residence, then an office building,

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and now its site is the site of a steel skyscraper.

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That is the way New York grow. But at the

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time this narrative deals with, the house was a residence,

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a big, rambling, roomy old residence at that remodeled from

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a colonial mansion. There was a young fellow whose father

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had been a dear friend of mine. He had recently

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married his bride had taken a fancy to the house,

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and her husband, being rich and eager to gratify any

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whim of hers, had brought it in at a sheriff's

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sale of uptown property. The purchaser is now a United

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States Congressman. I have not permission to use his name, sir,

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I will call him Clark. His chief opponent at the

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sale was a real estate dealer. Oh Gorman, is near

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enough to his real name to suit present purposes. This

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Oh Gorman was a shrewd, shifty, unscrupulous chap who had

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visions of the great future of the Upper west Side,

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visions that later came true. If you ever get dissatisfied

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with the old place, I'll take it off your hands

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at the figure of my best bid today, he said

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to Clark after the sale. Clark laughed at him, gave

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orders for the house's renovation, and sailed with his bride

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for Europe on a six month's trip. The trouble begins.

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I was sitting in my office one day about half

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a year later, when Clark sauntered in. I saw from

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his face he was bothered about something. After our first meeting,

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he came to the point, I've made a bad investment

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in that old Bartolf house. He said. The colonial builder's

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name had been Yan Bartolf, and the house was still

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referred to in the neighborhood by his name. Doesn't missus

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Clark like the place as much as she expected to,

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I asked him. She hasn't had a chance to judge

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of it, he said, and I don't mean that she shall.

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The house is haunted. Haunted, what nonsense. That's what I

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thought when I came home last week from Europe and

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found that on a single day's work had been done

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on the repairs I ordered, answered Clark. I went to

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the contractor and he calmly informed me he wouldn't touch

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the job, and then I could have my money back.

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He said that ghosts had frightened his workmen half to death,

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that he'd seen and heard things there that couldn't be explained,

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and that every man in his employ would strike if

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he ordered them to work there. And you believed all

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that rot, I laughed, No, replied Clark. Seriously, I didn't.

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I thought he was lying. I went over the house myself,

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and well, what he said was true. You can guide

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me if you like, old man, but the house is haunted,

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and I'm going to get rid of it. I suppose

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why monsters clattered their chains at you. I hazarded, and

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you ran a block before you identified the hideous specters

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as a pack of mice scampering in the loose plastering

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of the walls. If you take it that way, he said,

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offended at my guying, there's no use inviting any more

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of your jokes by telling you what really happened to

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me there. I'm going to hunt up O'Gorman, tell him

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the truth about the place, and see if his offer

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to buy it still holds good. He may be willing

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to pay something for it as a land speculation. He

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never could get a tenant to stay there. Now, Clark's

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absolute sincerity began to make an impression on me. I

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saw that he was terribly in earnest, that he believed

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he was telling the truth, and that he was really

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ready to sell the valuable property for a song. Look here, Clark,

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I said, I'm sorry I guide you, but it'll all

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seems so absurd. You know as well as I do

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that there are no such things as ghosts. Don't be

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foolish and give up the place till you've made sure.

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What are you going to do? This evening? Nothing a special.

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Why come and dine with me. Then we'll take a

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box of cigars, a bundle of candles, and a light

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lunch along and go together to this haunted house of

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yours for the night. I've always wanted to see a ghost.

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Maybe I can find some explanation for it all. My

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first idea on hearing his story, had been that O. Gorman,

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in order to gain possession of the property he coveted,

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had bribed the contractor to spring that ghost yarn. But

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when Clarke himself had apparently seen or heard something to

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verify the crazy belief, the affair began to take on

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a more serious aspect, a night investigation. I took a

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long nap that afternoon to obviate the chance of going

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to sleep during the vigil, and promptly at ten that

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evening I started with Clark for the Bartholf mansion. It was,

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as I said, a rambling old brick dwelling and built

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in colonial days by an eccentric Dutchman concerning whom some

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odd stories still survived. The neighbours, it seemed, had regarded

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him as a sort of wizard or magician. As we

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walked up the uneven path to the front porch. The

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old pile of brick looked in the moonlight like the

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regular dime novel haunted house, and as Clark led us

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in through the great blackened oak doors, the darkness of

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the huge hall seemed to rush forward to meet us.

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We set about our preparations in a businesslike way. We

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established our headquarters for the night in the big drawing

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room to the right of the hall. We lighted a

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half dozen candles, stuck them in the rusty iron sconces

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about the wall, and set about examining the room. The

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walls were lined with faded tapestry. One or two old,

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half defaced pictures hung here and there, notably one of

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old Yan Bartholf himself, which was directly above the mantle.

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Several pieces of furniture occupied the bare floor, whose hardwood

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boards were warped by dampness and neglect. We made sure

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that no hiding place for lurking mischief makers existed within

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the four walls of the apartment. Then, candle in hand,

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we made a systematic detour of the whole dusty, creaking house. Well,

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said Clarke, as we reached the top of the wide staircase.

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On our return toward the ground floor. If there'd been

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a man, or even a mouse concealed anywhere, we'd have

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found him. Let's go back to the drawing room. And

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why it's dark down there? We were half way downstairs,

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as he spoke. On our way up, the light of

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the candles in the drawing room sconces had cast a

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glow across the hall. Now, except where illuminated by the

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two candles in our hands, the whole lower floor was

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in dense blackness, ghostly mystery. What do you think, now,

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asked Clark. I made no reply, but ran down the

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remaining steps into the drawing room. The smell of extinguished

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candles filled the room. All was dark, save where a

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broad patch of moonlight from the one unshuttered window fell

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on the floor. In the very center of that patch

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was an old mahogany rocking chair. It was rocking with

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a quiet, regular motion, as if some invisible guest were

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taking his ease and swearing himself to sleep. Do you

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see that, whispered Clarke over my shoulder. That's what I

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saw when I came up here in broad daylight. It's

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a current of air, I explained. But even as I

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said it. I knew that no real draft could enter

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that closed room with force enough to blow out six

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candles and start a heavy chair into motion. Moreover, the

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air in the room was dead and motionless. I never

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used to believe in this sort of thing any more

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than you do, said Clark. But who can doubt it? Now?

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I can doubt it, I answered. Help me light these

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candles in the sconces and we'll make another inspection of

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the room. We lighted the candles. As we set foot

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in the room, the chair had ceased rocking. We once

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more made the rounds of the apartment, patting the tapestry

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against the walls with our hands, looking under each bit

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of furnish, sounding the bricked up fireplace, and in other ways,

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making sure no trick was played on us by human agency.

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If anybody is putting up this line of practical joking,

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I said, he can't do anything while we're in here

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if it's a ghost. The sound as if someone sobbing

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and panting for breath came to us while I was speaking.

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It seemed to be in the room within arm's length

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of us. That's easily explained, I said, as Clark grabbed

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my arm. The wind in the empty passages of the house,

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and the chimney makes it's growing dark, interrupted my companion.

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I looked up. Only two of the six candles were burning.

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Even as I looked, first one and then another of

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those remaining two lights went out. It was as though

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someone had passed along that side of the room and

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extinguished them. We were in total darkness, for I had

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closed that one open window shutter. In the dense blackness,

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as I groped for a match, I could hear that

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great rocking chair slowly begin to creak back and forth.

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I found a match at last, and struck it. We

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re lighted the candles. Then I turned to look at

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the rocker. It was standing motionless. We stared hopelessly into

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each other's faces. I hope mine wasn't as scared and

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white as Clark's. And this is the sort of house

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you advise me to bring my bride to. He still,

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at last we've seen enough. I'm going home. You're going

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to spend the night here, as you promised, I answered.

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This ghost seems to be a harmless sort of creature.

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As long as he contents himself with puffing out candles

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and making chairs rock, He can't bother us greatly. Let's

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have a smoke and talk it over. I sat down

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in the ghostly rocker and lighted a cigar. I kept

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a keen eye on the candles, resolved to get some

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clue if possible, to the way they were extinguished. Clark

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threw himself on a sofa at the other side of

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the room. It's no use, he said, I'll get rid

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of the house as soon as I can, and at

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any terms. I'm sorry because my wife had set her

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heart on living here. With a little repair, this would

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be an ideal home except for the ghost. What are

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you doing the ghost? I had risen to my feet

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and come to the middle of the room. The rocker

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in which I'd been sitting was in the shadow. The candles,

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as we had rearranged them, were all at the lower

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end of the room, near the big mantelpiece. As I

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had sat idly listening to Clark's complaint, my gaze had

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chanced to fall on Old Jan Bartholf's picture. I could

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have sworn that I saw the eyes in the tarnished

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face close and then open. I'm just strolling around for exercise,

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I said, carelessly. It makes one so nervous to sit

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still in here, And as I got to this point,

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my steps had carried me in a circuitous route to

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the mantle. With a sudden motion and exerting all my strength,

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I seized the big picture and wrenched it from its fastenings.

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It fell to the floor with a crash, and there,

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in a great hole in the wall which the canvas

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had covered, crouched a human body. With a second sweep

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of the arm, I seized it as it was about

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to vanish into the dark passage behind the opening, and

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pulled it into the room, where it tumbled headlong on

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the floor. There's your ghost, Clerk, I said, brushing the

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dust off my clothes and watching the figures gramble to

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its feet. You're a clever chap o Gorman, but you're

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not clever enough. That's all the trouble with you, now, Clark,

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If you'll keep your hands on this worthy house, haunter,

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I'm going on an exploring expedition. Clark had the struggling

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fellow by the throat, and I lighted an extra candle

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and clambered up into the hole above the mantle. I'll

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be back in a minute, I said. The aperture led

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to a passageway nearly three feet wide that ran the

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entire length of the house, being depressed to a height

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of about three feet at places where the windows intervened.

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This explained the unusually deep window seats I'd noticed. The

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inner walls of the passage. Those nearest the rooms were

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honeycombed with auger holes whose aspect showed them to have

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been bored many years before secret passages through these apertures.

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It had been a simple matter for O. Gorman to

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detect the whereabouts of the candles in the sconces, and

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by a sudden puff to blow them out. The threadbare

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tapestry did not obstruct the air, and one could see

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dimly through it. The passage ran clear around the house

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between outer and inner walls, connecting by ladders, with a

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similar secret passage on the floor above. A ladder descended

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from the ground floor passage to a space between the

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drawing room flooring and the cellar ceiling. This space was

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quite large enough to admit the body of a man.

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As I glanced into it, I could see the drawing

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room candlelight filtering through the cracks in the flooring. A

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slender bladed knife thrust through the cracks at the right

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place would readily account for the rocking of the chair.

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One light push of the knife point would set it

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in motion. Old Yan Bartholf must have had odd theories

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on the subject of building. What may have been the

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original object of these passages peep holes, etc. No one

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can tell whether he sought to spy on his family

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or guests, or whether he feared he might one day

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need shelter from justice or from Indians. I don't know,

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perhaps to foister the popular belief in his magic powers.

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But the secret chambers were there, and O'Gorman had made

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clever use of them. But for his folly in using

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the cutout eye holes in the portrait in order to

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watch us from a better point of view, he would

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assuredly have gained his point and bought the house of

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Clark for a song. O'Gorman confessed to us that while

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wandering over the house with a view to buying it

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just before Clark had outbid him, he had blundered on

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the secret passage behind Bartholf's picture. The idea of scaring

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Clark into selling cheap had occurred to him sooner on

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o' gorman giving us a written confession, Clarke greatly against

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my advice let the fellow go. He was so much

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relieved to find the house was not really haunted. He

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said that he hadn't the heart to drag the whole

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story into the public prints by prosecuting the swindler. End

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of in a haunted house