NEWEST THINGS IN GHOSTS. SPECTRAL TRAINS, SHIPS, AND

Otago Witness, Issue 2358, 4 May 1899, Page 55

NEWEST THINGS IN GHOSTS. SPECTRAL TRAINS, SHIPS, AND

EVEN MOTOR CARS.

The time of the old-fashioned ghost is past. He has vanished for good, together with the clanking chains, bloodstains, and shrieks of woe and all the other apparatus, and it is time he went.

One of the most up-to-date of our modem ghosts is the spectre of an express engine, one of the latest kind. A year or two ago a brand new engine got derailed on the Midland line not far from Northampton, and was so much damaged that it had to be broken up. A month/-after the occurrence a dim and ghostly engine was seen tearing along the line near the scene of the accident. When it reached the fatal spot it gave a loud, shrill whistle and vanished.

This was witnessed by a signalman going home after hie day's work, and it shook him up aJ good deal. Next night the engine was seen again, and a little later the driver and stoker of an up express sawj with horror that an engine was travelling a little ahead of them, but not going 30 fast. The terrified driver shut off steam atonce, wondering what on earth had hap-, pened to the line, and at the same time the other engine slowed up, and the express dashed clean through the spectre without doing itself the least damage.

The driver and fireman discussed the occurrence in hushed undertones — at least, as hushed as one can indulge in on board of an express engine going at 60 milau hq

All Chemists.

liour. And the ghost of that engine is now tommon property among the employees of that line. Scores of them have seen it, and they all swear to it. It appears to be quite harmless, and patrols the line near the scene \)! its death at least once a month,- always jyrhisking by and vanishing at a critical - moment. - . ' ' One of the queerest of modern ghosts is She spook of a torpedo-boat destroyer, one fcf the very smartest and latest patterns, iJwith a" speed of 27 knots, torpedo tubes, -quick-firing guns, and all the rest of it. V 6he is to be seen rushing at full speed up ? and down the Channel between Beachy and ■Dungeness, 10 miles off the English shore. i This craft was a German boat called tne 'Regenpheifer, and she was sunk in a collision with a French screw steamer two bears ago. She went down with all hands, and now the, pilots say that whenever the moon is high the ghostly destroyer gets up " 'steam and tears up ana down the seaway . 'manned by a phantom crew, blowing super- • natural blasts on her siren every now and '*hen They say the helmsman shines like - % man daubed with luminous paint, and -Iwhen the boat passes close to any cratt Ithose on board can hear the hoarse orders •fchouted to the quartermaster— m German, l'° One or two vessels, notably a trading . -ketch belonging to Guernsey, have -passed Wn through the phantom, but, of course, doing themselves or the ghost any !• This ghost is one of the most firmly established institutions of the English Channel, fend you might as well tell the pilots you believe in the moon as to cast 'doubt on the authenticity of the destroyer s tspook. Whole crews and shipfuls of paseengers have seen the spectre; and in Bad ■weather the swift craft rushes along head to Wind, slashing through the heaviest seas like a razor. Above the loudest gale one may hear the hoot of the ghostly siren. It seems as if the destroyer meant to go on bruising till the end of time. She is supposed to burn the ghost of Cardiff coal, and is stoked by the ghosts of Lascar stokers. < The most modern oi all is the spirit ot a motor-car, but it is not such common property as the foregoing. A well-known inhabitant of Manchester had a motor-car '—one of the up-to-date electric kind— and % mysteriously disappeared from his stables ■f W night. The commonplace and sensibLe •^explanation is' that it was stolen; but to ''steal a motor-car is rather an undertaking. •SBesides, the stable was built of iron, and She sheet-iron door was locked and pad- ' •locked. Neither lock nor padlock had apparently been touched, and a couple ot locked steel bars that stretched across the '•[inside of the door were not displaced. Yel ijthe motor-car was gone. The owner was ; bo puzzled that he became nervous. I Bound the quiet streets near the stable the" inhabitants will tell you a phantom ■'motor-car glides swiftly and noiselessly on 'dark nights. The policemen on the beat all 'tonfirm the story, and the queerest part of ht is that there* is nobody guiding the car k at all, not even a ghostly driver. But it £iever collides with anything. Horses drawing other vehicles appear not. to notice it at [all; it is doubtful if they see. Perhaps it ps only visible to man. About once a week at appears, generally on a rainy night, and fit shines with a supernatural glow. All [feorts of theories have been brought fortfsvard to account for it, but nothing satisfacjSfcory has been discovered. The car usually ißeems to travel at about 10 miles an hour, ijand one or two adventurous cyclists have iittempted to ride it down. Then, however, it manages to slide round a corner before the riders catch it, and when the corner is turned the car is nowhere to be seen. It is ft weird business altogether. But how about the ghost of a red-brick villa, with patent fireplaces and all the most jmodern fittings? Three years ago such ar> one, by the name of Grasmere Villa, './as built on the outskirts of Cricklewood, London. It was a most unromantic-looking .house, with red-pine gables, and sham battlements over the bay windows. 1 In time Grasmere Villa waa completed, fell the new fittings moved in, and the ten- " ants gave a big house-warming. In the midst of the festivities a paraffin lamp vas ■knocked down in the brand-new pariour, ' and before one could say "knife," the chintz curtains were in flames. The alarm was given ; but there was no fire-engine handy. Everybody got ouf, no one was hurt ; but in an hour or so Grasmere Villa was a lieap of ashes. The queer part of it is that about once a month the villa suddenly reappears. louking a little pale and misty, but not showing any traces of the disastrous fire. Lights appear in the windows, sounds of talking and shrill laughter can be heard if you are close enough, and did not run away on the first alarm. About 1 p.m. flames suddenly burst out, lasting about 10 minutes, and then "Grasmere Villa " vanishes into nothingness again. It is a weird spectacle. One or two newspaper experts have tried to photograph the *ghostly fire, so it is said, Irat when the plates aye developed there is nothing on them. The whole affair is supposed by many to be an optical delusion, but it is a well-known apparition, anyway, as any of the neighbours will tell you. There was once a grand piano in a flat in Kensington, and this piano was soaked in paraffin and set fire to by a malicious enemy of the owner. By a lucky chance the house was not burned, but the piano wis ruined, and was conveyed away a worthless mass of wire and charred wood. Sometimes, however, sweet, sad strains ring gently from the place "where the piano used to stand, and the awe-struck family listen ..to the ghostly music from the departed piano. It is impossible that it should be any other piano for it is the only one in the building, which is detached. The piano-spook's favourite air is the "Turkish Patrol," and occasionally the ."Battle of Prague." The sounds are low, but quite distinct. The family is proud of .the phenomenon, which has not yet been . accounted for by any scientist, and is firmly

After a long ride or fatigue of any sort, nothing tones up the system so quickly as Lielug Company's Extract. Its effect is more lasting than aXcnhnU

believe 1 to lie a genuine and authentic piano-f;host.