STORIES OF GHOSTS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 31 December 1927, Page 9

STORIES OF GHOSTS.

THIE cheerful white walls and pleasantly material atmosphere of the Lyceum 'Club in London took on .an eerie appearance one night a few weeks ago, when an authentic “ghost story” dinner-was'held. Some-of the falfrs'that wore told were amazing; even to the sceptic they made excellent hearing. Mrs. Violet Tweedale told of her uncanny experience in a haunted house in the Torquay district. A party of seven, including, a medium, one Captain McCormack, four professional “ghost-hunters,” and herself, went to this house in broad daylight to attempt to plumb its mysteries.

The medium, almost as soon as Mrs. Tweedale entered a certain room of the house, was possessed by an entity, well known in 'Torquay as "The 'Serpent.” This entity took possession of the woman’s body, made her stagger about as though she were drunk, and blaspheme terribly. This entity in turn was expelled by that of " The'Doctor, ” who had at one time owned the haunted house. Under his domination the woman began to roar and flung herself upon the ghost-hunters, who fled from the- house. Then, still under the spell of "The Doctor,” she attacked 'Captain McCormack, and tore his face until the blood ran down. "Then began a eombat,” said Mrs. Tweedale, "more terrible than anything I have ever seen. It was a struggele between this woman, possessed by ‘The Doctor.’ and another entity, which we could not see. Wo could hear ‘The Doctor’s curses, added to a tigerish growling. 'Between the two ad-

QUEER TALES AT A DINNER

versaries we saw the medium’s hat torn •off, her hair pulled down, and. her clothes torn from her body. I flung myself before her and her unseen opponent. I could feel blows..raining..down upon me; vet I felt secure and safe, as though I were encased in a steel coating-

"Finally I realised that Captain McCormack was exorcising the spirits, and all wa s quiet. We carried the medium downstairs, broken and bleeding and apparently dead. After a while we brought her round; but she never rc-ally recovered from this terrible contest and died within a year. The house is still haunted by ‘The Doctor,’ who can drive anyone out of it. You can do nothing; you can see nothing. Only man can interpret the mystery in the course of time, and 'God will be the source of the interpretation.” Mr. Elliott O’Donnell told of experiences, less tangible, but equally eerie, in another haunted house in the West of England. lie saiu that on stormy nights psychic phenomena were more free than on calm nights, also that he was usually accompanied by a dog, as a dog was more responsive to strange and unnatural happenings than human beings. The Countess of Tankerviile described a vision which she said had •gome to her in her home, the famous Chillingham Castle, in which she had seen ancestors of her husband’s family, in their habit as they lived, four hundred years ago. The face of the chief actor, though lie wa s dressed in the garb of tlie time of Hoary VTTT., was that of her own husband.