Category: Old Newspaper Articles

Below is a clipping from the Pittsburgh Press newspaper from August 2, 1903 (page 23).

 

I admit that to me, one of life’s most simple pleasures, is having access to old newspapers thanks to newspapers.com.  I am not affiliated or sponsored by that website. I pay for my own yearly subscription out of my own pocket, just to be transparent.

Anyway, as I was saying, as someone with a fondness for old newspapers and the paranormal and supernatural, I sometimes stumble upon reports of haunted locations that pique my curiosity. A particularly intriguing account from 1865 caught my attention, detailing a supposedly haunted church in Jersey City, New Jersey.

According to the news report, this church was plagued by inexplicable occurrences, starting in roughly September of 1865 and lasting for a few weeks.   Police as well as various interested parties investigated and found no clue as to what was causing the ghostly commotion. After a period of time, the police finally found the answer; a small dog  with its chain still attached to its collar had found its way into the church as was making horrific noises in its distress.  Of course, to me, this doesn’t explain why the noises seemed to only occur at night, but, I digress.

A second explanation was that it was a stray cat had been imprisoned accidentally in the church by workers and was making the ghostly noises in protest of its treatment.

And thirdly, a more interesting and reasonable explanation suggested that a group of local boys had gotten into the building, hiding beneath the floorboards to create the eerie wailing sounds that unnerved the townspeople. Despite their suspected mischief, however, these pranksters remained at large.

Of the proposed explanations, as mentioned, the story of the mischievous boys seems the most plausible—yet it remains unverified, as no one was ever held accountable for the disturbances.  Is it likely that, in the absence of concrete evidence, the authorities and townsfolk simply needed a rational explanation for the unsettling events and settled on the most acceptable narrative of the time.  No more newspaper accounts of further haunting activity so one of those must have been the answer, right?   Or, could it be that the haunting still continued, but newspapers were prevented from printing any more stories?

Anyone have any additional information about this?  I do realize the newspaper articles are from over 100 years ago, but a story like that might be something that locals in the area like to keep alive as part of their local folklore or history.

Oh, and the one article that mentions Bob Acres-well, I admit I had to do some research on that and discovered he is a fictional character from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s classic 1775 comedy of manners, The Rivals.  The character was popular in 19th-century theatre, and was often described as being comic, naive and cowardly.

He was  played by American actor Joseph Jefferson (left), and there was a Louisiana train station after him — which eventually morphed into the  unincorporated community Bob Acres, Louisiana.

This story appeared in the Friday, December 9, 1898 edition of the Portsmouth Daily Chronicle in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  The clipping (which I saved as an image file) was difficult to read, so I had some help from a website that converted it from image to text which I share below.   I believe the article was reporting on an event that happened in Ohio.

An Old Phenomenon Whose Existence Was Explained by a Bride

The Licking River ghost has been out more during the summer of 1898 than for many years. While the terror it once caused has been largely explained away, yet there are many people who are still uncomfortable when it comes out, and newcomers here often spend anxious nights when the phenomenon makes itself manifest.

Away back in the sixties the part of Zanesville known as the Terrace, between the Muskingum and the Licking, was perturbed by ghostly occurrences. Unusual noises were heard. Latches rattled at the touch of unseen hands. Windows shook uncannily. The first and most natural theory was that a colony of ghosts had invaded Zanesville. But while this theory was acceptable to many, others doubted. For ghosts do not haunt in droves, and the Terrace had never done anything worthy of so general a visitation. supposed ghost flock came and went. It by no means confined itself to nocturnal visits. It also came by day. Servants declared they would not live in the haunted houses. Many actually left. Often there would be a period of immunity lasting for several months. Then the latches would rattle, the doors and windows shiver, and the general state of ghost activity would resume.

The people came from the other side of the river and spent nights in the afflicted houses. They always told the same story. They always heard a very persistent and creepy rattle which seemed to affect every loose window latch or ornament. The ghost colony began to affect the price of real estate. Houses which, could not be warranted against unearthly noises seemed about to enter on a career of vacancy.

It was all explained by the return of a bride and bridegroom from their honeymoon. Of course, they had been to Niagara Falls. The bridegroom took his bride to live in one of the haunted houses. A few nights later the house, in common with some twenty-five more, was visited by the ghost. The strange rattle began. It never seemed to stop. A window which shook as if it were in fear itself would be stilled by the pressure of a palm, but the noise began again when the pressure was removed.

“Why,” said the bride suddenly, her face lighting, “that window acts just like the one in our hotel at Niagara Falls.’

“What of that? There are no falls here, none to speak of,” said her husband.

“But if you’ll think the thing over, you’ll remember these ghosts appeared right after the Dillons put in their new dam,” she said.

Then he saw it, too. The theory was eagerly grasped. Investigation showed it to be the real explanation. A geologist confirmed it. The cause was known, and the phenomenon to this day is known as the Licking River ghost.

The dam in the Licking River is just at its confluence with the Muskingum. The famous old “Y” bridge which spans both rivers is located there. A dam had been built and the water fell upon a ledge of limestone which ran through the Terrace. When the water reaches a certain height it sets the ledge in vibration, which accounts for the ghosts.

This summer the Licking River ghost was often out, on account of the wet weather. But in spite of the excellent explanation many people still feel the gooseflesh rise when the windows and doors begin their uncanny rattle.