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
“We were now within three days of the one fixed for our removal. I had
been taking a long ride, and, being tired, had fallen asleep the moment
I lay down; but, in the middle of the night, I was suddenly awakened—I
can not tell by what, for the steps over our heads we had become so used
to that it no longer disturbed us. Well, I awoke. I had been lying with
my face toward my mother, who was asleep beside me, and, as one usually
does on awaking, I turned to the other side, where, the weather being
warm, the curtain of the bed was undrawn, as it was, also, at the foot;
and I saw standing by a chest of drawers, which were betwixt me and the
window, a thin, tall figure, in a loose powdering gown, one arm resting
on the drawers, and the face turned toward me. I saw it quite distinctly
by the night-light, which burned clearly. It was a long, thin, pale,
young face, with, oh, such a melancholy expression as can never be
effaced from my memory! I was, certainly, very much frightened; but my
great horror was, lest my mother should awake and see the figure. I
turned my head gently toward her, and heard her breathing high in a
sound sleep. Just then the clock on the stairs struck four. I dare say
it was nearly an hour before I ventured to look again, and when I did
take courage to turn my eyes toward the drawers, there was nothing; yet
I had not heard the slightest sound, though I had been listening with
the greatest intensity.
“As you may suppose, I never closed my eyes again; and glad I was when
Creswell knocked at the door, as she did every morning, for we always
locked it, and it was my business to get out of bed and let her in; but
on this occasion, instead of doing so, I called out, ‘Come in; the door
is not fastened;’ upon which she answered that it was, and I was obliged
to get out of bed and admit her as usual.
“When I told my mother what had happened, she was very grateful to me
for not waking her, and commended me much for my resolution; but as she
was always my first object, that was not to be wondered at. She however
resolved not to risk another night in the house; and we got out of it
that very day, after instituting, with the aid of the servants, a
thorough search, with a view to ascertain if there was any possible
means of getting into the rooms except by the usual modes of ingress;
but our search was vain—none could be discovered.
“I think, from the errors in the names, &c., that the publisher of the
‘Accredited Ghost-Stories’ must have obtained his account from the
inhabitants of Lille.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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