Animal Ghosts; Or, Animal Hauntings and the HereafterO'Donnell, Elliott
Religion
Animal Ghosts; Or, Animal Hauntings and the Hereafter
O'Donnell, Elliott
Animal ghosts; Extrasensory perception in animals
"The coach did not go as fast as my uncle expected, but moved with a
curious gliding motion, and the wheels made no noise whatever. This
added to my uncle's apprehensions, and he almost made up his mind to
open the carriage door and jump out. Something, however, which he could
not account for restrained him, and he maintained his seat. Outside, all
was still profoundly dark. The trees were scarcely distinguishable as
deeper masses of shadow, and were recognizable only by the resinous
odour, that, from time to time, sluggishly flowed in at the open window
as the coach rolled on.
"At length they overtook some other vehicle, and for the first time for
some hours my uncle heard the sound of solid wheels, which were as
welcome to him as any joy bells. Just as they were passing the
conveyance--a small wagonette drawn by a pair of horses, the latter took
fright; there were loud shouts and a great stampede, and my uncle, who
leaned out of the coach window, caught a glimpse of the vehicle dashing
along ahead of them at a frightful speed. The driver of the coach,
apparently totally unconcerned, continued his journey at the same
regular, mechanical pace.
"Presently my uncle heard the sound of rushing water, and knew they must
be nearing the Usk, a tributary of the Battle, which was only five miles
from his house.
"The forest now ceased, and they crossed the road over the bridge in a
brilliant burst of moonlight. About a mile or so further on the coach
halted, and, to my uncle's surprise, he found himself in front of a
house he had no recollection of seeing before. He got out, and to his
horror saw that instead of riding in a coach he had been riding in a
hearse, and that the horses had on their heads gigantic sable plumes.
"While he was standing gazing at the extraordinary equipage, the door of
the house slowly opened, and two figures came out carrying a small
coffin, which they placed inside the vehicle. He then heard loud peals
of mad, hilarious laughter, and coach and horses immediately vanished.
My uncle arrived home safely, but the shock of what he had experienced
kept him in bed for some days. He learned that a phantom coach similar
to the one he had ridden in had been seen in the forest twenty years
previously, and that it was supposed to be a prognostication of some
great misfortune, which supposition, in my uncle's case at least, proved
true, as his wife died of apoplexy a few days after this adventure."
Yet another case of haunting by the phantasms of a horse comes to me
from a gentleman in Marseilles, who told it me thus:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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