The Night-Side of Nature; Or, Ghosts and Ghost-SeersCrowe, Catherine
Religion
The Night-Side of Nature; Or, Ghosts and Ghost-Seers
Crowe, Catherine
Ghosts; Parapsychology
“William Brigs said, that he was forty-three years of age; that Thomas
Harris died in September, in the year 1790. In the March following he
was riding near the place where Thomas Harris was buried, on a horse
formerly belonging to Thomas Harris. After crossing a small branch, his
horse began to walk on very fast. It was between the hours of eight and
nine o’clock in the morning. He was alone: it was a clear day. He
entered a lane adjoining to the field where Thomas Harris was buried.
His horse suddenly wheeled in a panel of the fence, looked over the
fence into the field where Thomas Harris was buried, and neighed very
loud. Witness then saw Thomas Harris coming toward him, in the same
apparel he had last seen him in in his lifetime; he had on a sky-blue
coat. Just before he came to the fence, he varied to the right and
vanished; his horse immediately took the road. Thomas Harris came within
two panels of the fence to him; he did not see his features, nor speak
to him. He was acquainted with Thomas Harris when a boy, and there had
always been a great intimacy between them. He thinks the horse knew
Thomas Harris, because of his neighing, pricking up his ears, and
looking over the fence.
“About the first of June following, he was ploughing in his own field,
about three miles from where Thomas Harris was buried. About dusk Thomas
Harris came alongside of him, and walked with him about two hundred
yards. He was dressed as when first seen. He made a halt about two steps
from him. J. Bailey who was ploughing along with him, came driving up,
and he lost sight of the ghost. He was much alarmed: not a word was
spoken. The young man Bailey did not see him; he did not tell Bailey of
it. There was no motion of any particular part: he vanished. It preyed
upon his mind so as to affect his health. He was with Thomas Harris when
he died, but had no particular conversation with him. Some time after,
he was lying in bed, about eleven and twelve o’clock at night, when he
heard Thomas Harris groan; it was like the groan he gave a few minutes
before he expired: Mrs. Brigs, his wife, heard the groan. She got up and
searched the house: he did not, because he knew the groan to be from
Thomas Harris. Some time after, when in bed, and a great fire-light in
the room, he saw a shadow on the wall, and at the same time he felt a
great weight upon him. Some time after, when in bed and asleep, he felt
a stroke between his eyes, which blackened them both: his wife was in
bed with him, and two young men were in the room. The blow awaked him,
and all in the room were asleep; is certain no one in the room struck
him: the blow swelled his nose. About the middle of August he was alone,
coming from Hickey Collins’s, after dark, about one hour in the night,
when Thomas Harris appeared, dressed as he had seen him when going down
to the meeting-house branch, three miles and a half from the graveyard
of Thomas Harris. It was starlight. He extended his arms over his
shoulders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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