THE HAUNTED HOUSE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXV, Issue 11755, 19 August 1913, Page 2

THE HAUNTED HOUSE.

"A WEIRD MOAN."

DEMOLISHES ; S EXPEEIENCE,

A thousand people lined the footpath in George street, between King street and Martin place, early last week (says tho Sydney Sun). The huge sidewall of a building was tottering. Crash! It fell, and a blinding cloud of dust scattered the spectators. Domolishers were at work on premises which had. stood since 1831 — the old had to make way for the new. Nothing but :i few bricks now remain of what once must have appeared an imposing edifice. On that site once stood the homo of tho celebrated Mrs Mary Eeibey, who popularly, but quite erroneously, has been declared to be identical with the?, notorious Margaret Catchpole. Visions of Treasure. Mr Arthur Wainwright, of Newtowii, has had twenty years' experience us a demolition contractor, and he had the tusk of pulling down the George street relic. Naturally Mr Wainwright ii".. many stories to tell concerning tho buildings ho has razed, but people who conjure up visions of treasure iiuds in secret recesses of aucicnt houses would be disappointed if they listened to him. Once he did come across "something," but what it w;is he was not disposed to tell. "In that same house," said Mr Wainwright, "my men and myself had a weird experience. We were demolishing 'The Cedars,' at Parramattii, about four years ago. The building was Haiti to have been 100 years old, and it had an evil reputation. People would not walk near it at'night, and the tall trees which surrounded it added to the uncanny reputation which it held. Old inhabitants declared that many years before a young girl had been murdered in one of the rooms, and that her ghost haunted the place. I am sceptical regarding such things, but some of my employees were a trifle timid. Startled Workmen. "When working there we used to sleep in a room away from the house, and the very iirst night that w<; were established there something occurred which .almost caused the workmen to forsake the job. A low moan, as of somebody in agony, was heard from the room, and at intervals it was repeated. 1 can tell you it almost made my hair stand on end the iivst time the sound struck my ears! The next day we investigated the room whence the sounds had emanated, and found it to be peculiarly constructed. With the exception of that room, the -walls of every one in the building were of lath and plaster, but a second wall had been constructed round the apartment we were directly concerned with. What the reason was -we could not discover, but the suggestion has been advanced that when the murder took place the plaster was spattered with blood, and as the stains could not be removed evidences of the crime were hidden in another manner. That moaning went on until the room was [Rilled down. Maybe the anguishing sound was caused by some peculiarity in the construction of the building, and the wind in the trees might have helped it. For all that it was most uncomfortable, and, thank goodness, we have not had a similar experience. " Disturbed in Bed. Mr Wainwright then switched off to an amusing episode. "Out near Cook's river, a few years back," he said, "I made an early start on a job, and climbed on to a slate roof to begin operations. Pulling off three or four slates:, I dropped them through the opening on to the plaster underneath. Immediately there was an uproar. Au inf'uriateil man in an attenuated shirt shouting that ho and his wife were in bed, and strongly objected to lumps of plaster striking them on the head and waking them. Something of the same nature happened at Botany not long afterwards, and we had quite a different reception from the 'lady' who hau been disturbed. On the whole, however, we have gone through very quietly, and have had no trouble." Danger Elements. "Yes, I suppose there in an eieme.'ii of danger in the work of tearing buildings down," continued Mr Wainwright. ".But familiarity breeds contempt, 'and one gets as used to working under walls in danger of falling as a clerk does to sitting at his desk. When your men are straight and know their business, there, is no risk; but, of course, if an intoxicated man was to climb about the building he would soon be in trouble. Steady men are always safe, unless, naturally, something unforeseen occurs, hi niv twenty years at the business I have only had one of my men injured. A brick fell on his head as ho was passing through a doorway, and he was away for a couple of days."