Byways of Ghost-Land by Elliott O'Donnell

7/26/2019 Byways of Ghost-Land by Elliott O'Donnell

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Byways of Ghost-Land, by ElliottO'Donnell

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Title& Byways of Ghost-Land

uthor& Elliott O'onnell

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Language& English

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CHAPTER I

T:E ) B(3)>hether all that constitutes !an's s%iritualnature, that is to say, LL his !ind, isinse%arably a!alga!ated with the whitish!ass of soft !atter enclosed in his craniu!and called his brain, is a Juestion that !ust,one su%%oses, be e"er o%en to debate#

One knows that this whitish substance is thecentre of the ner"ous syste! and the seat ofconsciousness and "olition, and, fro! theconstant study of character by ty%e or by%hrenology, one !ay e"en go on to deducewith reason that in this %roto%las!ic

substance--in each of the nu!erous cells intowhich it is di"ided and subdi"ided--are locatedthe hu!an faculties# :ence, it would see!that one !ay rationally conclude, that all!an's "ital force, all that co!%rises his !ind--


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i.e.the %ower in hi! that concei"es,re!e!bers, reasons, wills--is so wra%%ed u%in the actual !atter of his cerebru! as to be

inca%able of eKisting a%art fro! itI and that asa natural seJuence thereto, on the dissolutionof the brain, the !ind and e"erything%ertaining to the !ind dies with it--there is nofuture life because there is nothing left tosur"i"e#

4uch a condition, if co!%lete annihilation canbe so na!ed, is the one and only conclusionto the doctrine that !ind--crude, undiagnosed!ind--is de%endent on !atter, a doctrineconr!ed by the a%%arent facts that injury tothe craniu! is acco!%anied byunconsciousness and %rotracted loss of!e!ory, and that the sanity of the indi"idual

is entirely contingent u%on the state of hiscerebral !atter--a clot of blood in one of thecerebral "eins, or the unhealthy condition of acell, being in itself sucient to bring about aco!%lete !ental !eta!or%hose, and, inco!!on %arlance, to %roduce !adness#

3n the dee%est of slee%s, too, when there isless blood in the cerebral "eins, and the!uscles are generally relaKed, and the %ulseis slower, and the res%iratory !o"e!ents arefewer in nu!ber, consciousness de%arts, and


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!an a%%arently la%ses into a state of absolutenothingness which !aterialists, notunreasonably, %resu!e !ust be akin to

death# 3t would a%%ear, then, that our !entalfaculties are entirely regulated by, andconseJuently, entirely de%endent on, the!aterial within our brain cells, and that,granted certain conditions of that !aterial,we ha"e consciousness, and that, withoutthose conditions, we ha"e no consciousness--

in other words, Dour !inds cease to eKist#D:ence, there is no such thing as se%arates%iritual eKistenceI !ind is !erely ane"entuality of !atter, and, when the latter%erishes, the for!er %erishes too# There isnothing, absolutely nothing, that can eKista%art fro! the %hysical#

This is an assertion--unJuestionablydog!atic--that eK%onents of !aterialis! holdto be logically unassailable# To dis%ro"e it !aynot be an easy task at %resentI but 3 a!,ne"ertheless, con"inced there is a world a%artfro! !atter--a su%er%hysical %lane with which%art of us, at least, is in so!e way connected,

and 3 discredit the !aterialist's dog!a, %artlybecause so!ething in !y nature co!%els !eto an o%%osite conclusion, and %artly becausecertain %heno!ena 3 ha"e eK%erienced,cannot, 3 a! certain, ha"e been %roduced by


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any %hysical agency#

3n su%%ort of !y theory that we are not solely!aterial, but %artly %hysical and %artlysu%er%hysical, 3 !aintain that consciousnessis ne"er wholly lostI that e"en in swoons anddrea!s, when all sensations would see! tobe swallowed u% in the blackness of darkness,there is 4O?E consciousness left--theconsciousness of eKistence, of i!%ression# >ereco"er fro! a faint, or awake fro! the !ost%rofound of slu!bers, and re!e!ber not thatwe ha"e drea!ed# $et, if we think withsucient concentration, our !e!orysuddenly returns to us, and we recollect that,during the swoon or slee%, LL thought wasnot obliterated, but, that we were consciousof being so!ewhere and of eK%eriencing

4O?ET:3)G#

3t is only in our lighter slee%s, when the s%irittra"erses su%er%hysical %lanes !ore closelyconnected with the !aterial, that were!e!ber LL that occurred# ?ost of us willagree that there are two distinct for!s of

!ental eKistence--the one in which we areconscious of the %urely su%er%hysical, and theone wherein we are only cognisant of the%hysical# 3n the rst-na!ed of these two!ental eKistences-- i.e.in swoons, slee%, and


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e"en death, consciousness is ne"er entirelylostI we still think--we think with our s%iritualor unknown brainI and when in the last-

na!ed state, i.e.in our %hysical wakefulnessand life, we think with our !aterial or knownbrain#


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of the unknown brain in constant acti"ity, i.e.the deniNens of the su%er%hysical world, whocon"ey to our organs of hearing, either by

suggestion or actual %resentation, thesensations of uncanny knocks, crashes,shrieks, etc#I and to our organs of sight, allkinds of uncanny, "isual %heno!ena#

ll the %heno!ena we see are not objecti"eIbut the agents who DwillD that we should seethe! are objecti"e--they are the unknownbrains# 3t is a !istake to think that theseunknown brains can only eKert their inMuenceon a few of us# >e are all subject to the!,though we do not all see their !anifestations#>ere it not for the lower order of s%irit brains,there would be co!%arati"ely few drunkards,ga!blers, adulterers, fornicators, !urderers,

and suicides# 3t is they who eKcite !an'sani!al senses, by conjuring u% alluring%ictures of drink, and gold, and seKualha%%iness# By the aid of the higher ty%e ofs%irit brains Awho, contending for e"er withthe lower for!s of s%irit brains, are indeed ourDguardian angelsDC 3 ha"e been enabled to

%ercei"e the at!os%here surroundingdrinking-dens and brothels full of all kinds ofbestial inMuences, fro! ele!entals, whoallure !en by %resenting to their !inds allkinds of attracti"e tableauK, to the earth-


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bound s%irits of drunkards and libertines,transfor!ed into horrors of the sub-hu!an,sub-ani!al order of %hantas!s--things with

bloated, nude bodies and %igs' faces, shaggybears with fulso!e, watery eyesI !angydogs, etc# 3 ha"e watched these things thatstill %ossess--and %ossess in a far greaterdegree--all the %assions of their life incarnate,sning the foul and "itiated at!os%here ofthe %ublic-houses and brothels, and chang in

the !ost hideous !anner at their inability togratify their lustful cra"ings in a !oresubstantial way# !an ad"ances along theroad at a swinging %ace, with no thought, asyet, of de"iating fro! his course and enteringa %ublic-house# :e co!es within the radius ofthe sinister inMuences, which 3 can see and

feel hanging around the saloon# Theirshadowy, silent brain %ower at once co!esinto %lay and gains ascendancy o"er hisweaker will# :e halts because he is DwilledD todo so# te!%ting tableau of drink rises beforehi! and he at once i!agines he is thirsty# 4oftand fascinating ele!ental hands close o"erhis and draw hi! gently aside# look ofbeastly satisfaction suuses his eyes# :es!acks his li%s, hastens his ste%s, the bar-roo! door closes behind hi!, and, for there!aining hours of the day, he wallows indrink#


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But the unknown brain does not conne itselfto the neighbourhood of a %ublic-house--it!ay be anywhere# 3 ha"e, intuiti"ely, felt its

%resence on the deserted !oors of 2ornwall,between 4t 3"es and the Land's EndI in thegrey 2ornish churches and cha%els A"ery!uch in the latterCI around the cold anddis!al !ouths of disused !ine-shaftsI allalong the rocky )orth 2ornish coastI on theseaI at "arious s%ots on dierent railway

lines, both in the


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DorothyD Ai.e.?rs de B----C, Lady ---- wenton to eK%lain, Dhad been all right till she tooku% s%iritualis!, but directly she began to

attend sances e"erything see!ed to gowrong with her# t last she Juarrelled with herhusband, the cli!aK being reached when shebeca!e "iolently infatuated with an ocer inthe Guards# The result was a decree nisiwithhea"y costs#D 3 eKhibited, %erha%s, !oresur%rise than 3 felt# But the fact of ?rs de B----

ha"ing attended sances eK%lainede"erything# 4he was ob"iously a wo!an witha naturally weak will, and had fallen under theinMuence of one of the lowest, and !ostdangerous ty%es of earth-bound s%irits, thety%e that so often attends sances# Thisoccult brain had attached itself to her, and,

acco!%anying her ho!e, had deliberatelywrecked her do!estic ha%%iness# 3t woulddoubtless re!ain with her now ad infnitum#3ndeed, it is neKt to i!%ossible to shake othese su%er%hysical cerebru!s# They cling toone with such leech-like tenacity, and canrarely be !ade to de%art till they ha"eacco!%lished their %ur%oses#

Burial-grounds a%%ear to ha"e greatattractions for this class of s%irit# !an,who! 3 once !et at Boulogne, told !e are!arkable story, the "eracity of which 3 ha"e


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no reason to doubt#

D3 ha"e,D he began, Dundergone an eK%eriencewhich, though, unfortunately, by no !eansuniJue, is one that is rarer nowadays thanfor!erly# 3 was once all but buried ali"e# 3tha%%ened at a little "illage, a !ost char!ings%ot, near ?aestel in the "alley of the (hone#3 had been sto%%ing at the only inn the %lace%ossessed, and, cycling out one !orning, !etwith an accident--!y !achine skidded"iolently as 3 was descending a stee% hill, withthe result that 3 was %itched head rst againsta brick wall# The latter being considerablyharder than !y skull, concussion followed#4o!e "illagers %icked !e u% insensible, 3 wastaken to the inn, and the nearest doctor--anuncerticated wretch--was su!!oned# :e

knew little of tre%anningI besides, 3 was aforeigner, a Ger!an, and it did not !atter# :ebled !e, it is true, and %erfor!ed other of theordinary !eans of reliefI but these %roducingno a%%arent eect, he %ronounced !e dead,and %re%arations were at once !ade for !yburial# s strangers ke%t co!ing to the inn

and the acco!!odation was strictly li!ited,the landlord was considerably incensed atha"ing to waste a roo! on a cor%se#ccordingly, he had !e screwed down in !ycon without delay, and %laced in the


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ce!etery a!ong the to!bs, till the %ublicgra"edigger could con"eniently s%are a few!inutes to inter !e# The shaking 3 recei"ed

during !y transit Afor the yokels wereeKceedingly rough and clu!syC, together withthe cold night air which, luckily for !e, foundan easy !eans of access through theinnu!erable chinks and cracks in the ill-ttingcon-lid, acting like a restorati"e tonic, 3gradually re"i"ed, and the horror 3 felt in

realising !y %osition is better, %erha%s,i!agined than described# >henconsciousness rst began to reassert itself, 3si!%ly fancied 3 was awakening fro! a%articularly dee% slee%# 3 then struggled hardto re!e!ber where 3 was and what had taken%lace# t rst nothing ca!e back to !e, all

was blank and "oidI but as 3 continued to%erse"ere, gradually, "ery gradually, arecollection of !y accident and of thesubseJuent e"ents returned to !e# 3re!e!bered with the ut!ost distinctnessstriking !y head against the wall, and of4EE3)G !yself carried, head rst, by tworustics--the one with a shock head of red hair,the other swarthy as a ago--to the inn# 3recollected seeing the al!ost hu!orous lookof horror in the cha!ber!aid's face, as sherushed to infor! the landlord, and theconsternation of one and all during the


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discussion as to what ought to be done# Thelandlady suggested one thing, her husbandanother, the cha!ber!aid anotherI and they

all united in ransacking !y %ockets--!uch to!y dis!ay--to see if they could disco"er acard-case or letter that !ight gi"e the! aclue as to !y ho!e address# 3 saw the! do allthisI and it see!ed as if 3 were standingbeside by own body, looking down at it, andthat on all sides of !e, and a%%arently

in"isible to the rest of the co!%any, werestrange, inscrutable %ale eyes, set in the!idst of grey, sha%eless, shadowysubstances#

DThen the doctor--a little sli!, narrow-chested!an, with a %ointed beard and big ears--ca!eand held a !irror to !y !outh, and o%ened

one of !y "eins, and talked a great deal ofgibberish, whilst he !ade countless co"ertshee%'s eyes at the %retty cha!ber!aid, whohad taken ad"antage of his arri"al to o"erhaul!y kna%sack and hel% herself fro! !y %urse#3 distinctly heard the arrange!ents !ade for!y funeral, and the "oice of the landlord

saying& '$es, of course, doctor, that is onlyfairI you ha"e taken no end of trouble withhi!# 3 will kee% his watch' Athe watch was ofsolid gold, and cost !e Q+6C 'and clothes todefray the eK%enses of the funeral and %ay


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for his recent board' A3 had only settled !yaccount with hi! that !orningC# nd the shrill"oice of the landlady echoed& '$es, that is only

fair, only rightR' Then they all left the roo!,and 3 re!ained alone with !y body# >hatfollowed was !ore or less blurred# Theinnu!erable and e"er-watchful grey eyesi!%ressed !e !ost# 3 recollected, howe"er,the ad"ent of the !en--the sa!e two who hadbrought !e to the inn--to take !e away in !y

con, and 3 had "i"id recollections oftra!%ing along the dark and silent roadbeside the!, and wishing 3 could liberate !ybody# Then we halted at the iron gate leadinginto the ce!etery, the con was dro%%ed onthe ground with a bang, and--the rest was ablank# )othing, nothing ca!e back to !e# t

rst 3 was inclined to attribute !y !e!ory toa drea!# 'bsurdR' 3 said to !yself# '4uchthings cannot ha"e occurred# 3 a! in bedI 3know 3 a!R' Then 3 endea"oured to !o"e !yar!s to feel the counter%aneI 3 could notI !yar!s were bound, tightly bound to !y side# cold sweat burst out all o"er !e# Good GodRwas it trueS 3 tried againI and the sa!e thingha%%ened--3 could not stir# gain and again 3tried, straining and tugging at !y sides till the!uscles on !y ar!s were on the "erge ofbursting, and 3 had to desist through uttereKhaustion# 3 lay still and listened to the


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beating of !y heart# Then, 3 clenched !y toesand tried to kick# 3 could notI !y feet wereruthlessly fastened together#

Death gar!entsR winding-sheetR 3 couldfeel it clinging to !e all o"er# 3t co!%ressedthe air in !y lungs, it retarded the circulation,and ga"e !e the !ost eKcruciating cra!%,and %ins and needles# ?y suerings were soacute that 3 groaned, and, on atte!%ting tostretch !y jaws, found that they wereencased in tight, cla!!y bandages# By%rodigious eorts 3 e"entually !anaged togain a certain a!ount of liberty for !y head,and this ga"e !e the consolation that if 3could do nothing else 3 could at least howl--howlR :ow utterly futile, for who, in God'sna!e, would hear !eS The thought of all

there was abo"e !e, of all the %iles of earthand grass--for the idea that 3 was not actuallyburied ne"er entered !y !ind--lled !e withthe !ost abject sorrow and des%air# The utterhel%lessness of !y %osition ca!e ho!e to !ewith da!ning force# (escue was absolutelyout of the Juestion, because the only %ersons,

who knew where 3 was, belie"ed !e dead# To!y friends and relations, !y fate would e"erre!ain a !ystery# The knowledge that theywould, at once, ha"e co!e to !y assistance,had 3 only been able to co!!unicate with


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the!, was cruel in the eKtre!eI and tears of!ortication %oured down !y cheeks when 3realised how blissfully unconscious they were

of !y fate# The !ost "i"id and alluring "isionsof ho!e, of !y %arents, and brothers, andsisters, Mitted tantalisingly before !e# 3 sawthe! all sitting on their accusto!ary seats, inthe %arlour, !y father s!oking his!eerschau!, !y !other knitting, !y eldestsister describing an o%era she had been to

that afternoon, !y youngest sister listening toher with !outh half o%en and absorbinginterest in her blue eyes, !y brothereKa!ining the works of a clockwork enginewhich he had just taken to %iecesI whilst fro!the roo! o"erhead, inhabited by a 2ount, a"eteran who had won distinction in the

ca!%aigns of '0 and ', ca!e strains of'The >atch on the (hine#' E"ery now and then!y !other would lean back in her chair andclose her eyes, and 3 knew intuiti"ely she wasthinking of !e# ?ein GottR 3f she had onlyknown the truth# These tableauK faded away,and the grueso!e awfulness of !ysurroundings thrust the!sel"es u%on !e# da!%, foetid s!ell, suggesti"e of therottenness of decay, assailed !y nostrils and!ade !e sneeNe# 3 chokedI the sali"astrea!ed in torrents down !y chin andthroatR ?y recu!bent %osition and liga!ents


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!ade it dicult for !e to reco"er !y breathI 3grew black in the faceI 3 i!agined 3 was dying#3 abru%tly, !iraculously reco"ered, and all

was silent as before# 4ilentR Good hea"ensRThere is no silence co!%ared with that of thegra"e#

D3 longed for a sound, for any sound, thecreaking of a board, the sna%%ing of a twig,the ticking of an insect--there was none--thesilence was the silence of stone# 3 thought ofwor!sI 3 i!agined countless legions of the!!aking their way to !e fro! the surrounding!ouldering cons# E"ery now and then 3uttered a shriek as so!ething cold and sli!ytouched !y skin, and !y sto!ach hea"edwithin !e as a whi of so!ething %articularlyoensi"e fanned !y face#

D4uddenly 3 saw eyes--the sa!e grey,inscrutable eyes that 3 had seen before--i!!ediately abo"e !y own# 3 tried to fatho!the!, to disco"er so!e trace of eK%ression# 3could not--they were insoluble# 3 instincti"elyfelt there was a subtle brain behind the!, a

brain that was stealthily analysing !e, and 3tried to assure !yself its intentions were nothostile# bo"e, and on either side of the eyes,3 saw the shadow of so!ething white, soft,and s%ongy, in which 3 fancied 3 could detect a


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distinct likeness to a hu!an brain, only on alarge scale# There were the cerebral lobes, orlargest %art of the forebrain, enor!ously

de"elo%ed and o"erhanging the cerebellu!,or great lobe of the hindbrain, and co!%letelyco"ering the lobes of the !idbrain# On thecerebru! 3 e"en thought 3 could detect--for 3ha"e a s!attering of anato!y--the usualcon"olutions, and the groo"es di"iding thecerebru! into two he!is%heres# But there

was so!ething 3 had ne"er seen before, andwhich 3 could not account for--two things likeantenn, one on either side of the cerebru!#s 3 gaNed at the!, they lengthened andshortened in such Juick succession that 3grew giddy and had to re!o"e !y eyes# >hatthey were 3 cannot thinkI but then, of course

the brain, being occult, doubtless %ossessed%ro%erties of a nature wholly unsus%ected by!e# The !o!ent 3 a"erted !y glance, 3eK%erienced--this ti!e on !y forehead--thesa!e cold, sli!y sensation 3 had felt before,and 3 at once associated it with the cerebraltentacles# 4oon after this 3 was touched in asi!ilar !anner on !y right thigh, then on !yleft, and si!ultaneously on both legsI then ina half a doNen %laces at the sa!e ti!e# 3looked out of the corner of !y eyes, rst onone side of !e and then the other, andencountered the shadowy se!blance to


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brains in each direction# 3 was thereforeforced to conclude that the at!os%here in thecon was literally i!%regnated with %sychic

cerebru!s, and that e"ery internal organ 3%ossessed was being subjected to the !ost!inute ins%ection# ?y !ind ra%idly beca!elled with e"ery "ile and lustful desire, and 3cried aloud to be %er!itted "e !inutes'freedo! to %ut into o%eration the basest andlthiest of actions# ?y thoughts were thus

occu%ied when, to !y a!aNe!ent, 3 suddenlyheard the sound of "oices--hu!an "oices# trst 3 listened with incredulity, thinking that it!ust be !erely a trick of !y i!agination orso!e further ingenious, de"ilish de"ice, onthe %art of the ghostly brains, to torture !e#But the "oices continued, and drew nearer

and nearer, until 3 could at length distinguishwhat they were saying# The s%eakers weretwo !en, 9ranUois and ;acJues, and they werediscussing the task that brought the!thither--the task of burying !e# Burying !eR4o, then, 3 was not yet under the earthR There"ulsion of !y feelings on disco"ering thatthere was still a s%ark of ho%e isindescribableI the blood surged through !y"eins in wa"es of re, !y eyes danced, !yheart thu!%ed, and--3 laughedR LaughedRThere was no sto%%ing !e--%eal followed%eal, louder and louder, until cobblestones


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and to!bstones re"erberated and thunderedback the sound#

DThe eect on 9ranUois and ;acJues was there"erse of what 3 wished# >hen rst theyheard !e, they beca!e suddenly and deathlysilent# Then their %ent-u% feelings of horrorcould stand it no longer, and with the wildestof yells they dro%%ed their %ick and sho"el,and Med# ?y laughter ceased, and, halfdrowned in tears of anguish, 3 listened to theirsabots %ounding along the gra"el walk and onto the hard highroad, till the noises ceasedand there was, once again, uni"ersal andawe-ins%iring silence# gain the eyes andtentacles, again the yearnings for base andsha!eful deeds, and again--oh, blissfulinterru%tionR the sound of hu!an "oices--

9ranUois and ;acJues returning with a crowdof %eo%le, all greatly eKcited, all talking atonce#

D'3 call God as !y witness 3 heard it, and;acJues too# 3sn't that so, ;acJuesS' a "oice,which 3 identied as that of 9ranUois, shrieked#

nd ;acJues, doubtless as eager to be heard--for it was not once in a lifeti!e anyone in his%osition had such an o%%ortunity fornotoriety--as he was to co!e to hisco!%anion's rescue, bawled outI 'yR There


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was no !istaking the sounds# ?ay 3 ne"er li"eto eat !y su%%er again if it was not laughter#ListenR' nd e"eryone, at once, grew Juiet#

D)ow was !y o%%ortunity--!y onlyo%%ortunity# single sound, howe"er slight,howe"er tri"ial, and 3 should be sa"edR cryrose in !y throatI another instant and itwould ha"e esca%ed !y li%s, when a doNententacles shot forward and 3 was silent#es%air, such as no soul eK%erienced !oreacutely, e"en when on the threshold of hell,now seiNed !e, and bid !e !ake !y last,con"ulsi"e eort# 2ollecting, nay, e"endragging together e"ery ato! of will-%owerthat still re!ained within !y enfeebled fra!e,3 swelled !y lungs to their ut!ost# kind ofrusty, "ibratory !o"e!ent ran through !y

%arched tongueI !y jaws creaked, creakedand strained on their hinges, !y li%s %uedand assu!ed the di!ensions of bladdersand--that was all# )o sound ca!e# weight,soft, sticky, %ungent, and o"erwhel!ing,cloaked !y brain, and s%reading weed-like,with nu!bing coldness, stiMed the cry ere it

left the %recincts of !y larynK# :o%e diedwithin !e--3 was irretrie"ably lost# babel of"oices now arose together# 9ranUois, ;acJues,the "illage cur, gendar!e, doctor,cha!ber!aid, !ine host and hostess, and


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others, whose tones 3 did not recognise,cla!oured to be heard# 4o!e, fore!osta!ongst who! were 9ranUois, ;acJues, and a

boy, were in fa"our of the con beingo%enedI whilst others, notably the doctor andcha!ber!aid Awho %ertly declared she hadseen Juite enough of !y ugly faceC, ridiculedthe notion and said the sooner 3 was buriedthe better it would be# The weather had been!ore than usually hot that day, and the

cor%se, which was "ery !uch swollen--for, likeall gour!ands, 3 had had chronic disease ofthe li"er--had, in their o%inion, alreadybeco!e insanitary# The boy then burst outcrying# 3t had always been the height of hisa!bition, he said, to see so!eone dead, andhe thought it a dastardly sha!e on the %art of

the doctor and cha!ber!aid to wish to denyhi! this o%%ortunity#

DThe gendar!e thinking, no doubt, he oughtto ha"e a say in the !atter, !utteredso!ething to the eect that children were agreat deal too forward nowadays, and that itwould be ti!e enough for the boy to see a

cor%se when he broke his !other's heart--which, following the %recedence of all s%oiltboys, he was certain to do sooner or laterIand this o%inion found ready endorse!ent#The boy su%%ressed, !y case began to look


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ho%eless, and the %oignancy of !y sus%ensebeca!e such that 3 thought 3 should ha"egone !ad# 9ranUois was already %ersuaded

into setting to work with his %ick, and, 3should !ost certainly ha"e been s%eedilyinterred, had it not been for the ti!ely arri"alof a "illage wag, who, %lanking hi!selfunobser"ed behind a to!bstone close to !ycon, burst out laughing in the !ostse%ulchral fashion# The eect on the co!%any

was electricalI the !ajority, including thewo!en, Med %reci%itately, and the rest,o"erco!ing the feeble %rotests of the doctor,wrenched o the lid of the con# The s%ell,cast o"er !e by the occult brains, was now bya !erciful Pro"idence broken, and 3 was ableto eK%lain !y condition to the Mabbergasted

faces around !e#D3 need only say, in conclusion, that thedisco!ture of the doctor was co!%lete, andthat 3 took good care to eK%ress !y o%inion ofhi! e"erywhere 3 went# oubtless, !any %oorwretches ha"e been less fortunate than 3,and, being %ronounced dead by unskilled

%hysicians, ha"e been %re!aturely interred#%art fro! all the agony conseJuent toas%hyKiation, they !ust ha"e suered hellishtortures through the agency of s%irit brains#D


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This is the anecdote as related to !e, and itser"es as an illustration of !y theory that theunknown brain is objecti"e, and that it can,

under gi"en circu!stances--i.e.when %hysicallife is, so to s%eak, in abeyance--be both seenand felt by the known brain# t birth, and!ore %articularly at death, the %resence ofthe unknown brain is !ost !arked# nd hereit !ay not be ina%%ro%riate to re!ark that, in!y eK%erience at least, the hour of !idnight

is by no !eans the ti!e !ost fa"ourable tooccult %heno!ena# 3 ha"e seen far !ore!anifestations at twilight, and between twoand four a#!#, than at any other %eriod of theday--ti!es, 3 think, according with those whenhu!an "itality is at its lowest and death !ostfreJuently takes %lace# 3t is, doubtless, the

ebb of hu!an "itality and the %ossibility ofdeath that attracts the earth-bound brainsand other "arying ty%es of ele!ental har%ies#They scent death with ten ti!es theacuteness of sharks and "ultures, and hie withall haste to the s%ot, so as to be there in goodti!e to get their nal suck, "a!%ire fashion,at the s%iritual brain of the dyingI substitutingin the %lace of what they eKtract, substance--in the sha%e of foul and lustful thoughts--forthe !aterial or known brain to feed u%on# Thefood they ha"e stolen, these "a!%ires "ainlyi!agine will enable the! to rise to a higher


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s%iritual %lane#

3n connection with this subject of the twobrains, the Juestion arises& >hat for!s theconnecting link between the !aterial orknown brain, and the s%iritual or unknownbrainS 3f the unknown brain has a se%arateeKistence, and can detach itself at ti!es Aasin D%rojectionDC, why !ust it wait for death toset it entirely freeS ?y answer to thatJuestion is& That the connecting link consistsof a !agnetic force, at %resent indenable,the sco%e, or %ale, of which "aries accordingto the relati"e di!ensions of the two brains#3n a case, for eKa!%le, where the %hysical orknown brain is far !ore de"elo%ed than thes%iritual or unknown brain, the radius ofattraction would be li!ited and the

connecting link strongI on the other hand, in acase where the s%iritual or unknown brain is!ore de"elo%ed than the %hysical or knownbrain, the !agnetic %ale is %ro%ortionatelywide, and the connecting link would be weak#

Thus, in the swoon or %rofound slee% of a

%erson %ossessing a greater %re%onderance of%hysical than s%iritual brain, the consciousself would still be concerned with %urely!aterial !atters, such as eating and drinking,%etty dis%utes, !oney, seKual desires, etc#,


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though, owing to the lack of concentration,which is a !arked feature of those who%ossess the grossly !aterial brain, little or

nothing of this conscious self would bere!e!bered# But in the swoon, or dee% slee%of a %erson %ossessing the s%iritual brain ineKcess, the unknown brain is %artially freedfro! the known brain, and the conscious selfis conseJuently far away fro! the !aterialbody, on the connes of an entirely s%iritual

%lane# Of course, the eK%eriences of thisconscious self !ay or !ay not bere!e!bered, but there is, in its case, alwaysthe %ossibility, owing to the ca%acity forconcentration which is in"ariably the %ro%ertyof all who ha"e de"elo%ed their s%iritual orunknown brain, of subseJuent recollection#

t death, and at death only, the !agnetic linkis actually broken# The unknown brain is thenentirely freed fro! the known brain, and thelatter, together with the rest of the !aterialbody, %erishes fro! natural decayI whilst thefor!er, no longer restricted within the li!itsof its earthly %ale, is at liberty to soar ad

infnitum#

CHAPTER II

T:E O224


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?any of the shadows, 3 ha"e seen, ha"e nothad !aterial counter%arts# They ha"ein"ariably %ro"ed the!sel"es to be

su%er%hysical danger signals, the sureindicators of the %resence of those grey,inscrutable, inhu!an cerebru!s to which 3ha"e alludedI of %hantas!s of the dead andof ele!entals of all kinds# There is anindescribable so!ething about the!, that atonce distinguishes the! fro! ordinary

shadows, and %uts !e on !y guard# 3 ha"eseen the! in houses that to all a%%earancesare the least likely to be haunted--houses fullof sunshine and the gladness of hu!an"oices# 3n the !idst of !erri!ent, they ha"edarkened the wall o%%osite !e like the !ysticwriting in )ebuchadneNNar's %alace# They

ha"e suddenly a%%eared by !y side, as 3 ha"ebeen standing on rich, new car%eting or sun-kissed swards# They ha"e Moated into !y%resence with both sunbea!s and!oonbea!s, through windows, doors, andcurtains, and their ad"ent has in"ariably beenfollowed by so!e for! or other of occultde!onstration# 3 s%ent so!e weeks thissu!!er at >orthing, and, walking oneafternoon to the owns, selected a bright andsecluded s%ot for a co!fortable snooNe# 3re"el in snatching na%s in the o%en sunshine,and this was a %lace that struck !e as being


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%erfectly ideal for that %ur%ose# 3t was on thebrow of a di!inuti"e hillock co"ered withfresh, lo"ely grass of a %articularly "i"id

green# 3n the rear and on either side of it, theground rose and fell in %leasing alternation foran al!ost inter!inable distance, whilst infront of it there was a gentle decli"ity Au%which 3 had cla!beredC ter!inating in thebroad, le"el road leading to >orthing# :ere,on this broad eK%anse of the owns, was a

fairyland of soft sea air, sunshine and rest--rest fro! !ankind, fro! the shrill, un!usical"oices of the crude and rude %roduct of the2ounty 2ouncil schools#

3 sat downI 3 ne"er for one !o!ent thought of%hantas!sI 3 fell aslee%# 3 awokeI the hotMoodgates of the cloudless hea"en were still

o%en, the air translucent o"er and around !e,when straight in front of !e, on a gloriouslygilded %atch of grass, there fell a shadow--ashadow fro! no a%%arent substance, for bothair and ground were "oid of obstacles, and,a%art fro! !yself, there was no li"ing objectin the near landsca%e# $et it was a shadowI a

shadow that 3 could not diagnoseI a wa"ing,Muctuating shadow, un%leasantly suggesti"eof so!ething subtle and horrid# 3t was, 3instincti"ely knew, the shadow of the occultI afew !o!ents !ore, and a de"elo%!ent


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would, in all %robability, take %lace# The bluesky, the golden sea, the tiny trails of s!okecree%ing u% laNily fro! the !yriads of

chi!ney-%ots, the white house-to%s, the redhouse-to%s, the church s%ire, the railway line,the %ung, hu!!ing, shuVing goods-train,the glistening white roads, the breathing,busy gures, and the bright and s!iling !ileu%on !ile of e!erald turf rose in rebellionagainst the likelihood of ghosts--yet, there

was the shadow# 3 looked away fro! it, and,as 3 did so, an icy touch fell on !y shoulder# 3dared not turnI 3 sat !otionless, %etried,froNen# The touch %assed to !y forehead andfro! thence to !y chin, !y head swunground forcibly, and 3 saw--nothing--only theshadowI but how dierent, for out of the

chaotic blotches there now a%%eared a well--are!arkably well--dened outline, the outlineof a head and hand, the head of a fantasticbeast, a re%ulsi"e beast, and the hand of a!an# Mock of swallows swirled o"erhead, agrassho%%er chir%ed, a linnet sang, and, withthis sudden awakening of nature, the touchand shadow "anished si!ultaneously# But thehillock had lost its attractions for !e, and,rising hastily, 3 dashed down the decline andhurried ho!ewards# 3 disco"ered no reasonother than solitude, and the %ossible burial-%lace of %rehistoric !an, for the %resence of


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the occultI but the neKt ti!e 3 "isited thes%ot, the sa!e thing ha%%ened# 3 ha"e beenthere twice since, and the sa!e, always the

sa!e thing--rst the shadow, then the touch,then the shadow, then the arri"al of so!efor! or other of joyous ani!al life, and theabru%t disa%%earance of the


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round to re%ly, and the shadow had "anished#3 ne"er saw it again, though 3 often had thecurious sensation that it was there# 3 did not

!ention !y eK%erience to !y friends, as theywere %ronounced disbelie"ers in thesu%er%hysical, but tactful inJuiry led to !ygleaning the infor!ation that on the identicals%ot, where 3 had felt the %heno!ena, hadonce stood a horse-chestnut tree, which hadbeen cut down owing to the strong a"ersion

the fa!ily had taken to it, %artly on accountof a strange growth on the trunk,un%leasantly suggesti"e of cancer, and %artlybecause a tra!% had hanged hi!self on oneof the branches#

ll sorts of eKtraordinary shadows ha"e co!eto !e in the Parks, the Two%enny Tube, and

along the Tha!es E!bank!ent# t teno'clock, on the !orning of 7st %ril 75**, 3entered :yde Park by one of the side gates ofthe ?arble rch, and crossing to the island,sat down on an e!%ty bench# The sky wasgrey, the weather o!inous, and occasionalhea"y dro%s of rain !ade !e rejoice in the

%ossession of an u!brella# On such a day, the%ark does not a%%ear at its best# The rcheKhibited a dull, dirty, yellowish-grey eKteriorIe"ery seat was bes%attered with !udI whilst,to render the general as%ect still !ore


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un%re%ossessing, the trees had not yetdonned their !antles of green, but stooddejectedly droo%ing their leaMess branches as

if o"erco!e with e!barrass!ent at theirnakedness# On the benches around !e sat, orlay, London's ho!eless--wretched-looking!en in long, tattered o"ercoats, baggy,buttonless trousers, cracked and lacelessboots, and sha%eless bowlers, too weak fro!want of food and rest e"en to think of work,

al!ost inca%able, indeed, of thought at all--breathing cor%ses, nothing !ore, with%re!ature signs of deco!%osition in theirlthy s!ell# nd the wo!en--the wo!enwere, if %ossible, ranker--feebly %ulsating,feebly throbbing, foully stinking, rotten, li"ingdeaths# )o a!ount of soa%, food, or war!th

could reclai! the! now# )ature's i!%lacablelaw--the sur"i"al of the ttest, the weakest tothe wall--was here eKhibited in all its brutalforce, and, as 3 gaNed at the weakest, !yheart turned sick within !e#

Ti!e ad"ancedI one by one the ar!y oftatterde!alions crawled away, God alone

knew how, God alone knew where# 3n all%robability God did not care# >hy should :eS:e created )ature and )ature's laws#

dierent ty%e of hu!anity re%laced this


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garbage& neat and da%%er girls on their wayto businessI black-bowlered, s%otless-leathered, a-guinea-a-week clerks, casting

longing glances at the %ale grass andcountless trees Atheir only re!iniscence of thecountryC, as they hastened their %ace, lestthey should be a !inute late for their hatefulser"itudeI a %olice!an with the characteristicstride and swinging ar!sI a brisk and short-ste%%ed %ost!anI an a%o%lectic-looking,

second-hand-clothes-!anI an e!aciatedwidowI a ty%ical charwo!anI two !echanicsIthe usual brutal-faced labourerI one of theidle rich in shiny hat, high collar, cutawaycoat, %rancing %ast on a coal-black horseI anda be"y of nurse!aids#

To show !y !ind was not centred on the

occult,--bootlaces, collar-studs, the twobuttons on the back of ladies' coats, dyedhair, ser"ants' feet, and a doNen and oneother subjects, Juite other than thesu%er%hysical, successi"ely occu%ied !ythoughts# 3!agine, then, !y sur%rise and theshock 3 recei"ed, when, on glancing at the

gra"el in front of !e, 3 saw two shadows--twoenig!atical shadows# dog ca!e sha!blingalong the %ath, showed its teeth, snarled,s%rang on one side, and, with bristling hair,Med for its life# 3 eKa!ined the %lot of ground


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behind !eI there was nothing that could inany way account for the shadows, nothing likethe!# 4o!ething rubbed against !y leg# 3

in"oluntarily %ut down !y handI it was afoot--a cla!!y lu!% of ice, but,un!istakably, a foot# $et of whatS 3 sawnothing, only the shadows# 3 did not want todisco"er !oreI !y "ery soul shrank within !eat the bare idea of what there !ight be, whatthere was# But, as is always the case, the

su%er%hysical ga"e !e no choiceI !y hand,!o"ing in"oluntarily forward, rested onso!ething Mat, round, grotesJue, horrid,so!ething 3 took for a face, but a face which 3knew could not be hu!an# Then 3 understoodthe shadows#


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OB4E443O), PO44E443O)

Clocks, Chests and Mummies

s 3 ha"e already re!arked, s%irit or unknownbrains are freJuently %resent at births# Thebrains of infants are "ery susce%tible toi!%ressions, and, in the!, the thought-ger!sof the occult brains nd snug billets# s ti!egoes on, these ger!s de"elo% and beco!egenerally known as Dtastes,D Dcranks,D and

D!anias#D

3t is an error to think that !en of genius arees%ecially %rone to !anias# On the contrary,the occult brains ha"e the greatest dicultyin selecting thought-ger!s suciently subtleto lodge in the brain-cells of a child of genius#

Practically, any ger! of carnal thought will besure of rece%tion in the %roto%las!ic brain-cells of a child, who is destined to beco!e adoctor, solicitor, soldier, sho%kee%er,labourer, or worker in any ordinaryoccu%ationI but the thought-ger! that willnd entrance to the brain-cells of a future

%ainter, writer, actor, or !usician, !ustre%resent so!e %ro%ensity of a !ore or lesseKtraordinary nature#

>e all harbour these occult !issiles, we areall to a certain eKtent !ad& the %roud !a!!a


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who %uts her only son into the 2hurch or!akes a lawyer of hi!, and %lacidly watcheshi! de"elo% a scarlet face, double chin, and

%rodigious %aunch, would Mounce out ahundred and one indignant denials if anyonesuggested he had a !ania, but it would betrueI gluttony would be his !ania, and onee"ery whit as %rohibiti"e to his chances ofreaching the s%iritual %lane, as drink, orseKual %assion# Lo"e of eating is, indeed,

Juite the co!!onest for! of obsession, andone that de"elo%s soonest# )ine out of tenchildren--%articularly %resent-day children,whose doting %arents encourage their e"erydesire--are fonder of cra!!ing their belliesthan of %laying cricket or ski%%ingI ga!essoon weary the!, but buns and chocolates

ne"er# The truth is, buns and chocolate ha"eobsessed the!# They think of the! all day,and drea! of the! all night# 3t is buns andchocolatesR where"er and whene"er they turnor look--buns and chocolatesR This greed soonde"elo%s, as the occult brain intended itshouldI enforced %hysical labour, or athletics,or e"en sedentary work !ay dwarf its growthfor a ti!e, but at !iddle and old age it co!eson again, and the buns and chocolates arebeco!e so !any coursed luncheons anddinners# Their world is one of !enus, nothingbut !enusI their only !ental eKertion the


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study of !enus, and 3 ha"e no doubt thatDtuckD sho%s and restaurants are besieged bythe e"er-hungry s%irit of the earth-bound

glutton# Though the drink-ger! is usuallyde"elo%ed later Aand its later growth isin"ariably accelerated with seas of alcoholC, itnot infreJuently feeds its initial growth withco%ious strea!s of ginger beer and le!onkali#

?anual labourers--i.e.na""ies, coal-hea"ers,!iners, etc#--are naturally !ore or less brutal#Their brain-cells at birth oered so littleresistance to the e"il occult inMuences thatthey recei"ed, in full, all the lower ger!s ofthought inoculated by the occult brains#rink, gluttony, cruelty, all ca!e to theirinfant cerebru!s cote!%oraneously# The

cruelty ger! de"elo%s rst, and cats, dogs,donkeys, s!aller brothers, and e"en babiesare !ade to feel the su%erior %hysicalstrength of the early wearer of hobnails# :e isobsessed with a !ania for hurting so!ething,and with his strongly innate instinct of self-%reser"ation, in"ariably chooses so!ething

that cannot har! hi!# aily he looks aroundfor fresh "icti!s, and nally decides that theweedy os%ring of the hated su%erior classesare the easiest %rey# 3n co!%any with othersof his s%ecies, he annihilates the boy in Etons


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on his way to and fro! school, and the afterrecollections of the weakling's bloody noseand teardro%s are as nectar to hi!# The

cruelty ger! de"elo%s a%ace# The bloodynoses of the well-dressed classes are his!ania now# :e sees the! at e"ery turn ande"en drea!s of the!# :e grows to !anhood,and either digs in the road or %lies the %ickand sho"el underground# The !echanical,!onotonous eKercise and the sordidness of

his ho!e surroundings foster the ger!, andhis leisure !o!ents are occu%ied with the!e!ory of those glorious ti!es when he washitting out at so!eone, and he feels he wouldgi"e anything just to ha"e one !ore blow#2urse the %oliceR 3f it were not for the! hecould indulge his hobby to the ut!ost# But the

stalwart, ocious !an in blue is e"er on thescene, and the thrashing of a %uny cleric orsawbones is scarcely co!%ensation for a!onth's hard labour# $et his !ania !ust besatised so!ehow--it worries hi! to %ieces#:e !ust either s!ash so!eone's nose or go!adI there is no alternati"e, and he choosesthe for!er# The 4ociety for the Pre"ention of2ruelty to ni!als %re"ents hi! skinning acatI the )ational 4ociety for the Pre"ention of2ruelty to 2hildren will be down on hi! atonce if he strikes a child, and so he has noother resource left but his wife--he can knock


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out all her teeth, bash in her ribs, and ju!%on her head to his heart's content# 4he willne"er dare %rosecute hi!, and, if she does,

so!e :u!anitarian 4ociety will be sure to seethat he is not legally %unished# :e thus ndssafe sco%e for the indulgence of his crank,and when there is nothing left of his own wife,he turns his unattracti"e and %usillani!ousattentions to so!eone else's#

But occult thought-ger!s of this ele!entaryty%e only thri"e where the infant's s%iritual orunknown brain is wholly unde"elo%ed# >herethe s%iritual or unknown brain of an infant is%artially de"elo%ed, the ger!-thought to belodged in it Aes%ecially if it be a ger!-thoughtof crueltyC !ust be of a !ore subtle andrened nature#

3 ha"e traced the growth of cruelty obsessionin children one would not sus%ect of any greattendency to ani!alis!# rened lo"e of!aking others suer has led the! to "entinJuisitionary tortures on insects, and the!ania for %ulling o the legs of Mies and

roasting beetles under s%yglasses has beengradually eKtended to drowning !ice in cagesand seeing %igs killed# Ti!e de"elo%s theger!I the cruel boy beco!es the callousdoctor or Dshar%-%ractisingD attorney, and the


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cruel girl beco!es the cruel !other and oftenthe frail di"orce# rink and cards are anobsession with so!eI cruelty is just as !uch a

!atter of obsession with others# But theingenuity of the occult brain rises to higherthingsI it rises to the subtlest for! ofin"ention when dealing with the artistic andliterary te!%era!ent# 3 ha"e been inti!atelyacJuainted with authors--well-known in the%o%ular sense of the word--who ha"e been

obsessed in the oddest and often !ost %ainfulways#

The constant going back to turn door-handles,the sitting in grotesJue and untoward%ositions, the fondness for ngering anys!ooth and shiny objects, such as !other-of-%earl, de"elo% into !anias for change--

change of scenery, of occu%ation, ofaections, of %eo%le--change that ine"itablynecessitates !iseryI for breaking--breaking%ro!ises, contracts, fa!ily ties, furniture--butbreaking, always breakingI for sensuality--sensuality so!eti!es "enial, but often of the!ost gross and un%ardonable nature#

3 knew a !usician who was obsessed in a%eculiarly loathso!e !anner# 9ew knew of his!isfortune, and none abo!inated it !orethan hi!self# :e sang di"inely, had the !ost


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char!ing %ersonality, was all that could bedesired as a husband and father, and yet was,in secret, a !ono!aniac of the !ost

degrading and unusual order# 3n the dayti!e,when all was bright and cheerful, his !aniawas forgottenI but the !o!ent twilight ca!e,and he saw the shadows of night stealingstealthily towards hi!, his craNe returned,and, if alone, he would steal surre%titiouslyout of the house and, with the ut!ost

%erse"erance, seek an o%%ortunity of carryinginto eect his bestial %ractices# 3 ha"e knownhi! tie hi!self to the table, surround hi!selfwith Bibles, and resort to e"ery i!aginablede"ice to di"ert his !ind fro! his %assion, butall to no %ur%oseI the knowledge that outsideall was darkness and shadows %ro"ed

irresistible# >ith a beating heart he %ut on hiscoat and hat, and, furti"ely o%ening the door,slunk out to gratify his hateful lust# :ea"enknowsR he went through hell#

3 once watched a wo!an obsessed with anunnatural and wholly !onstrous !ania for herdog# 4he took it with her where"er she went,

to the theatre, the sho%s, church, in railwaycarriages, on board shi%# 4he dressed it in therichest silks and furs, decorated it withbangles, %resented it with a watch, hugged,kissed, and fondled it, took it to bed with her,


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drea!ed of it# >hen it died, she went intohea"y !ourning for it, and in an incrediblyshort s%ace of ti!e %ined away# 3 saw her a

few days before her death, and 3 was shockedIher gestures, !anneris!s, and eK%ressionhad beco!e absolutely canine, and when shes!iled--s!iled in a forced and unnatural!anner--3 could ha"e sworn 3 saw Launcelot,her %etR

There was also a !an, a brilliant writer, whofro! a boy had been obsessed with a craNefor all sorts of glossy things, !ore es%eciallybuttons# The !ania grewI he s%ent all histi!e running after girls who were !anicured,or who wore shining buttons, and, when he!arried, he besought his wife to sew buttonson e"ery article of her a%%arel# 3n the end, he

is said to ha"e swallowed a button, !erely toenjoy the sensation of its s!ooth surface onthe coats of his sto!ach#

This so!ewhat eKaggerated instance ofobsession ser"es to show that, no !atter howeKtraordinary the thought-ger!, it !ay enter

one's !ind and nally beco!e a %assion#

That the !ajority of %eo%le are obsessed,though in a "arying degree, is a generallyacce%ted factI but that furniture can be


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%ossessed by occult brains, though not agenerally acce%ted fact, is, 3 belie"e, eJuallytrue#

3n a for!er work, entitled Some HauntedHouses o England and Wales, %ublished by?r E"eleigh )ash, 3 described how a bog-oakgrandfather's clock was %ossessed by a%eculiar ty%e of ele!ental, which 3subseJuently classied as a "agrarian, or kindof grotesJue s%irit that inhabits wild andlonely %laces, and, not infreJuently, s%otswhere there are the re!ains of %rehistoricAand e"en latter-dayC !an and beast# 3nanother "olu!e called The Haunted Houses oLondon, 3 narrated the haunting of a house inPort!an 4Juare by a grandfather's clock, thes%irit in %ossession causing it to foretell death

by striking certain ti!esI and 3 ha"e sinceheard of hauntings by %heno!ena of a !oreor less si!ilar nature#

The following is an eKa!%le# "ery dearfriend of !ine was taken ill shortly before2hrist!as# )o one at the ti!e sus%ected

there was anything serious the !atter withher, although her health of late had been farfro! good# 3 ha%%ened to be staying in thehouse just then, and found, that for so!ereason or other, 3 could not slee%# 3 do not


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often suer fro! inso!nia, so that theoccurrence struck !e as so!ewhateKtraordinary# ?y bedroo! o%ened on to a

large, dark landing# 3n one corner of it stood a"ery old grandfather's clock, the ticking ofwhich 3 could distinctly hear when the housewas Juiet# 9or the rst two or three nights of!y "isit the clock was as usual, but, the nightbefore !y friend was taken ill, its tickingbeca!e strangely irregular# t one !o!ent it

sounded faint, at the neKt !o!ent, there"erseI now it was slow, now JuickI until atlength, in a %aroKys! of curiosity and fear, 3cautiously o%ened !y door and %ee%ed out# 3twas a light night, and the glass face of theclock Mashed back the !oonbea!s withstartling brilliancy# gri! and subdued hush

hung o"er the staircases and landings# Theticking was now lowI but as 3 listened intently,it gradually grew louder and louder, until, to!y horror, the colossal fra!e swayed"iolently backwards and forwards#


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grew worse, and the irregularities of the clockbeca!e !ore and !ore %ronounced, !oreand !ore disturbing# Then there ca!e a

!orning, when, between two and threeo'clock, unable to lie in bed and listen to theticking any longer, 3 got u%# n irresistibleattraction dragged !e to the door# 3 %ee%edout, and there, with the !oonlightconcentrated on its face as before, swayedthe clock, backwards and forwards,

backwards and forwards, slowly and sole!nlyIand with each !o"e!ent there issued fro!within it a hollow, agonised "oice, thecounter%art of that of !y sick friend,eKclai!ing, DOh dearR Oh dearR 3t is co!ingR 3tis co!ingRD

3 was so fascinated, so frightened, that 3 could

not re!o"e !y gaNe, but was constrained tostand still and stare at itI and all the whilethere was a dull, !echanical re%etition of thewords& DOh dearR Oh dearR 3t is co!ing, it isco!ingRD :alf an hour %assed in this !anner,and the hands indicated "e !inutes to three,when a creak on the staircase !ade !e look

round# ?y heart turned to ice--there, half-waydown the stairs, was a tall, black gure, its%olished ebony skin shining in the!oonbea!s# 3 saw only its body at rst, for 3was far too sur%rised e"en to glance at its


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face# s it glided noiselessly towards !e,howe"er, obeying an uncontrollable i!%ulse, 3looked# There was no face at all, only two

eyes--two long, obliJue, half-o%en eyes--greyand sinister, ineK%ressibly, hellishly sinister--and, as they !et !y gaNe, they s!iledgleefully# They %assed on, the door of theclock swung o%en, and the gure ste%%edinside and "anishedR 3 was now able to !o"e,and re-entering !y roo!, 3 locked !yself in,

turned on the gas, and buried !yself underthe bedclothes#

3 left the house neKt day, and shortlyafterwards recei"ed the !elancholy tidings ofthe death of !y dear friend# 9or the ti!ebeing, at least, the clock had been %ossessedby an ele!ental s%irit of death#

3 know an instance, too, in which a long,%rotracted whine, like the whine of a dog,%roceeded fro! a grandfather's clock, %rior toany catastro%he in a certain fa!ilyI anotherinstance, in which loud thu!%s were heard ina grandfather's clock before a deathI and still

another instance in which a hooded face usedoccasionally to be seen in lieu of the clock'sface#

3n all these cases, the clocks were


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undoubtedly te!%orarily %ossessed by thesa!e ty%e of s%irit--the ty%e 3 ha"e classiedD2lanogrianD or 9a!ily Ghost--occult

%heno!ena that, ha"ing attached the!sel"esin bygone ages to certain fa!ilies, so!eti!escling to furniture Aoften not ina%%ro%riately toclocksC that belonged to those fa!iliesI and,still clinging, in its "arious re!o"als, to the%iece they ha"e D%ossessed,D continue to%erfor! their original griNNly function of

foretelling death#Of course, these charnel %ro%hets are not theonly %hantas!s that D%ossessD furniture# 9oreKa!%le, 3 once heard of a case ofD%ossessionD by a non-%ro%hetic %hantas! inconnection with a chest--an antiJue oak chestwhich, 3 belie"e, clai!ed to be a nati"e of

Li!erick# fter eK%eriencing !any "icissitudesin its career, the chest fell into the hands of a?rs ?ac)eill, who bought it at a rathereKorbitant %rice fro! a second-hand dealer in2ork#

The chest, %laced in the dining-roo! of its

new ho!e, was the reci%ient of !uch%re!ature adulation# The awakening ca!eone afternoon soon after its arri"al, when ?rs?ac)eill was alone in the dining-roo! attwilight# 4he had s%ent a "ery tiring !orning


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sho%%ing in Tralee, her nearest !arket-town,and conseJuently fell aslee% in an ar!-chairin front of the re, directly after luncheon# 4he

awoke with a sensation of eKtre!e chilliness,and thinking the window could not ha"e beenshut %ro%erly, she got u% to close it, when herattention was attracted by so!ething white%rotruding fro! under the lid of the chest#4he went u% to ins%ect it, but she recoiled inhorror# 3t was a long nger, with a "ery

%rotuberant knuckle-bone, but no sign of anail# 4he was so shocked that for so!eseconds she could only stand staring at it,!ute and hel%lessI but the sound ofa%%roaching carriage-wheels breaking thes%ell, she rushed to the re%lace and %ulledthe bell "igorously# s she did so, there ca!e

a loud chuckle fro! the chest, and all thewalls of the roo! see!ed to shake withlaughter#

Of course e"eryone laughed when ?rs?ac)eill related what had ha%%ened# Thechest was !inutely eKa!ined, and as it wasfound to contain nothing but so!e !ats that

had been stored away in it the %re"ious day,the nger was forthwith declared to ha"ebeen an o%tical illusion, and ?rs ?ac)eill was,for the ti!e being, ridiculed into belie"ing itwas so herself# 9or the neKt two or three days


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nothing occurredI nothing, in fact, until onenight when ?rs ?ac)eill and her daughtersheard the Jueerest of noises downstairs,

%roceeding a%%arently fro! the dining-roo!--hea"y, Mo%%ing footste%s, bu!%s as if a bodywas being dragged backwards and forwardsacross the Moor, crashes as if all the crockeryin the house had been %iled in a !ass on theMoor, loud %eals of !ale"olent laughter, andthen--silence#

The following night, the disturbances beingre%eated, ?rs ?ac)eill su!!oned u%courage to go downstairs and %ee% into theroo!# The noises were still going on when shearri"ed at the door, but, the !o!ent sheo%ened it, they ceased and there was nothingto be seen# day or two afterwards, when she

was again alone in the dining-roo! and thee"ening shadows were beginning to !aketheir a%%earance, she glanced anKiously atthe chest, and--there was the nger# Losingher self-%ossession at once, and yielding to a%aroKys! of the wildest, the !ostungo"ernable terror, she o%ened her !outh

to shriek# )ot a sound ca!eI the cry that hadbeen generated in her lungs died away ere itreached her larynK, and she rela%sed into akind of catale%tic condition, in which all herfaculties were acutely alert but her li!bs and


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organs of s%eech %alsied#

4he eK%ected e"ery instant that the chest-lidwould My o%en and that the baleful thinglurking within would s%ring u%on her# Thetorture she suered fro! such antici%ationswas little short of hell, and was rendered allthe !ore !addening by occasional Jui"eringsof the lid, which brought all her eK%ectationsto a cli!aK# )ow, now at any rate, sheassured herself, the !o!ent had co!e whenthe ac!e of horrordo! would be bouncedu%on her and she would either die or go !ad#But noI her agonies were again and againborne anew, and her %rognosticationsunfullled# t last the creakings abru%tlyceased--nothing was to be heard sa"e theshaking of the trees, the distant yel%ing of a

dog, and the far-away footfall of one of theser"ants# :a"ing so!ewhat reco"ered fro!the shock, ?rs ?ac)eill was busy s%eculatingas to the a%%earance of the hidden horror,when she heard a breathing, the subtle,stealthy breathing of the secreted %ouncer#gain she was s%ellbound# The e"ening

ad"anced, and fro! e"ery nook and cranny ofthe roo!, fro! behind chairs, sofa, sideboard,and table, fro! window-sill and curtains, stolethe shadows, all sorts of curious shadows,that brought with the! an at!os%here of the


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barren, wind-swe%t clis and dark, deserted!ountains, an at!os%here that added freshterrors to ?rs ?ac)eill's already !ore than

distraught !ind#The roo! was now full of occult %ossibilities,drawn fro! all Juarters, and doubtlessattracted thither by the chest, which acted asa %hysical !agnet# 3t grew lateI still no oneca!e to her rescueI and still !ore shadows,and !ore, and !ore, and !ore, until theroo! was full of the!# 4he actually saw the!gliding towards the house, in shoals, acrossthe !oon-kissed lawn and carriage-dri"e#4hadows of all sorts--so!e, un!istakable%hantas!s of the dead, with skinless facesand glassy eyes, their bodies either wra%%edin shrouds co"ered with the black sli!e of

bogs or dri%%ing with waterI so!e, whole andlank and bonyI so!e with an ar! or leg!issingI so!e with no li!bs or body, onlyheads--shrunken, bloodless heads with wide-o%en, staring eyes--yellow, ichorous eyes--glea!ing, de"ilish eyes# Ele!entals of allsorts--so!e, tall and thin, with rotund heads

and !eaningless featuresI so!e, withrectangular, Meshy headsI so!e, with ani!alheads# On they ca!e in countless legions, on,on, and on, one after another, each "ying withthe other in ghastly horridness#


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The series of terric shocks ?rs ?ac)eilleK%erienced during the ad"ance of this longand see!ingly inter!inable %rocession of

e"ery concei"able ghoulish abortion, at lengthwore her out# The %ulsations of her naturallystrong heart te!%orarily failed, and, as her%ent-u% feelings found "ent in one gas%ingscrea! for hel%, she fell insensible to theground#

That "ery night the chest was ruthlesslycre!ated, and ?rs ?ac)eill's dining-roo!ceased to be a !eeting-%lace for s%ooks#

>hene"er 3 see an old chest now, 3 always"iew it with sus%icion--es%ecially if it shouldha%%en to be a bog-oak chest# The fact is, thelatter is !ore likely than not to be

D%ossessedD by ele!entals, which needscarcely be a !atter of sur%rise when onere!e!bers that bogs--%articularly 3rish bogs--ha"e been haunted, fro! ti!e i!!e!orial,by the !ost uncouth and fantastic ty%e ofs%irits#

But !u!!ies, !u!!ies e"en !ore oftenthan clocks and chests, are D%ossessedD bydeniNens of the occult world# Of course,e"eryone has heard of the DunluckyD !u!!y,the %ainted case of which, only, is in the


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Oriental de%art!ent of the British ?useu!,and the story connected with it is so wellknown that it would be su%erMuous to

eK%atiate on it here# 3 will therefore %ass on toinstances of other !u!!ies D%ossessedD in a!ore or less si!ilar !anner#

uring one of !y sojourns in Paris, 3 !et a9rench!an who, he infor!ed !e, had justreturned fro! the East# 3 asked hi! if he hadbrought back any curios, such as "ases,funeral urns, wea%ons, or a!ulets# D$es, lots,Dhe re%lied, Dtwo cases full# But no !u!!iesR?on ieuR )o !u!!iesR $ou ask !e whyShR Therein hangs a tale# 3f you will ha"e%atience, 3 will tell it you#D

The following is the gist of his narrati"e&--

D4o!e seasons ago 3 tra"elled u% the )ile asfar as ssiut, and when there, !anaged to%ay a brief "isit to the grand ruins of Thebes#!ong the "arious treasures 3 brought awaywith !e, of no great archological "alue, wasa !u!!y# 3 found it lying in an enor!ous

lidless sarco%hagus, close to a !utilatedstatue of nubis# On !y return to ssiut, 3 hadthe !u!!y %laced in !y tent, and thoughtno !ore of it till so!ething awoke !e with astartling suddenness in the night# Then,


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obeying a %eculiar i!%ulse, 3 turned o"er on!y side and looked in the direction of !ytreasure#

DThe nights in the 4oudan at this ti!e of yearare brilliantI one can e"en see to read, ande"ery object in the desert is al!ost as clearly"isible as by day# But 3 was Juite startled bythe whiteness of the glow that rested on the!u!!y, the face of which was i!!ediatelyo%%osite !ine# The re!ains--those of ?et-O!-=are!a, lady of the 2ollege of the god!en-ra--were swathed in bandages, so!e ofwhich had worn away in %arts or beco!elooseI and the gure, %lainly discernible, wasthat of a sha%ely wo!an with elegant bust,well-for!ed li!bs, rounded ar!s and s!allhands# The thu!bs were slender, and the

ngers, each of which were se%aratelybandaged, long and ta%ering# The neck wasfull, the craniu! rather long, the noseaJuiline, the chin r!# 3!itation eyes, brows,and li%s were %ainted on the wra%%ings, andthe eect thus %roduced, and in the%hos%horescent glare of the !oonbea!s, was

"ery weird# 3 was Juite alone in the tent, theonly other Euro%ean, who had acco!%anied!e to ssiut, ha"ing stayed in the town by%reference, and !y ser"ants being enca!%edat so!e hundred or so yards fro! !e on the


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ground#

D4ound tra"els far in the desert, but thesilence now was absolute, and although 3listened attenti"ely, 3 could not detect theslightest noise--!an, beast, and insect wereabnor!ally still# There was so!ething in theair, too, that struck !e as unusualI an odd,cla!!y coldness that re!inded !e at once ofthe cataco!bs in Paris# 3 had hardly, howe"er,concei"ed the rese!blance, when a sob--low,gentle, but "ery distinct--sent a thrill of terrorthrough !e# 3t was ridiculous, absurdR 3t couldnot be, and 3 fought against the idea as towhence the sound had %roceeded, asso!ething too utterly fantastic, too utterlyi!%ossibleR 3 tried to occu%y !y !ind withother thoughts--the fri"olities of 2airo, the

casinos of )iceI but all to no %ur%oseI andsoon on !y eager, throbbing ear there againfell that sound, that low and gentle sob# ?yhair stood on endI this ti!e there was nodoubt, no %ossible !anner of doubt--the!u!!y li"edR 3 looked at it aghast# 3 strained!y "ision to detect any !o"e!ent in its

li!bs, but none was %erce%tible# $et the noisehad co!e fro! it, it had breathed--breathed--and e"en as 3 hissed the word unconsciouslythrough !y clenched li%s, the boso! of the!u!!y rose and fell#


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D frightful terror seiNed !e# 3 tried to shriekto !y ser"antsI 3 could not ejaculate asyllable# 3 tried to close !y eyelids, but they

were held o%en as in a "ice# gain there ca!ea sob that was i!!ediately succeeded by asighI and a tre!or ran through the gure fro!head to foot# One of its hands then began to!o"e, the ngers clutched the aircon"ulsi"ely, then grew rigid, then curledslowly into the %al!s, then suddenly

straightened# The bandages concealing the!fro! "iew then fell o, and to !y agonisedsight were disclosed objects that struck !e asstrangely fa!iliar# There is so!ething aboutngers, a !arked indi"iduality, 3 ne"er forget#)o two %ersons' hands are alike# nd in thesengers, in their eKcessi"e whiteness, round

knuckles, and blue "eins, in their ta%eringfor!ation and %erfect lbert nails, 3 read alikeness whose %rototy%e, struggle how 3would, 3 could not recall# Gradually the hand!o"ed u%wards, and, reaching the throat, thengers set to work, at once, to re!o"e thewra%%ings# ?y terror was now subli!eR 3 darenot i!agine, 3 dare not for one instant think,what 3 should seeR nd there was no gettingaway fro! itI 3 could not stir an inch, not thefraction of an inch, and the ghastly re"elationwould take %lace within a yard of !y face#


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DOne by one the bandages ca!e o# gli!!er of skin, %allid as !arbleI thebeginning of the nose, the whole noseI the

u%%er li%, eKJuisitely, delicately cutI theteeth, white and e"en on the whole, but hereand there a shining gold llingI the under-li%,soft and gentleI a !outh 3 knew, but--GodR--whereS 3n !y drea!s, in the wild fantasiesthat had oft-ti!es "isited !y %illow at night--in deliriu!, in reality, whereS ?on ieuR

>:E(ESDThe uncasing continued# The chin ca!e neKt,a chin that was %urely fe!inine, %urelyclassicalI then the u%%er %art of the head--thehair long, black, luKuriant--the forehead lowand white--the brows black, nely %encilledIand, last of all, the eyesR--and as they !et !y

frenNied gaNe and s!iled, s!iled right downinto the de%ths of !y li"id soul, 3 recognisedthe!--they were the eyes of !y !other, !y!other who had died in !y boyhoodR 4eiNedwith a !adness that knew no bounds, 3s%rang to !y feet# The gure rose andconfronted !e# 3 Mung o%en !y ar!s to

e!brace her, the wo!an of all wo!en in theworld 3 lo"ed best, the only wo!an 3 hadlo"ed# 4hrinking fro! !y touch, she coweredagainst the side of the tent# 3 fell on !y kneesbefore her and kissed--whatS )ot the feet of


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!y !other, but that of the long unburieddead# 4ick with re%ulsion and fear 3 looked u%,and there, bending o"er and %eering into !y

eyes was the face, the Meshless, !oulderingface of a foul and barely recognisable cor%seR>ith a shriek of horror 3 rolled backwards,and, s%ringing to !y feet, %re%ared to My# 3glanced at the !u!!y# 3t was lying on theground, sti and still, e"ery bandage in its%laceI whilst standing o"er it, a look of

endish glee in its light, doglike eyes, was thegure of nubis, lurid and !enacing#

DThe "oices of !y ser"ants, assuring !e theywere co!ing, broke the silence, and in aninstant the a%%arition "anished#

D3 had had enough of the tent, howe"er, at

least for that night, and, seeking refuge in thetown, 3 whiled away the hours till !orningwith a fragrant cigar and no"el# irectly 3 hadbreakfasted, 3 took the !u!!y back toThebes and left it there# )o, thank you, ?rO'onnell, 3 collect !any kinds of curios, but--no !ore !u!!iesRD

CHAPTER I

O22


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eK%eriences, there eKists a distinct ty%e ofoccult %heno!enon whose sole occu%ation isin boisterous orgies and in !aking

!anifestations %urely for the sake of causingannoyance# To this %hantas! the Ger!ansha"e gi"en the na!e POLTE(GE34T, whilst infor!er of !y works 3 ha"e classied it as aagrarian Order of ELE?E)TL# 3t is this for!of the su%er%hysical, %erha%s, that u% to the%resent ti!e has gained the greatest

credence--it has been known in all ages and inall countries# >ho, for eKa!%le, has not heardof the fa!ous 4tockwell ghost that causedsuch a sensation in 7FF+, and of which ?rs2rowe gi"es a detailed account in her NightSide o NatureI or again, of DThe Black LionLane, Bayswater Ghost,D referred to !any

years ago in The Morning PostI or, of theDE%worth Ghost,D that so unceasinglytor!ented the >esley fa!ilyI or, of theDe!on of TedworthD that ga"e ;ohn?o!%esson and his fa!ily no %eace, and ofcountless other well-authenticated andrecorded instances of this sa!e ty%e of occult%heno!enonS The %oltergeists in the abo"e-!entioned cases were ne"er seen, only feltand heardI but in what a disagreeable andoften %ainful !annerR The e!on ofTedworth, for eKa!%le, awoke e"eryone atnight by thu!%ing on doors and i!itating the


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beatings of a dru!# 3t rattled bedsteads,scratched on the Moor and wall as if%ossessing iron talons, groaned, and uttered

loud cries of D witchR witchRD )or was itcontent with these auditory de!onstrations,for it resorted to far !ore energetic !ethodsof %hysical "iolence# 9urniture was !o"ed outof its %lace and u%setI the children's shoeswere taken o their feet and thrown o"er theirheadsI their hair was tweaked and their

clothes %ulledI one little boy was e"en hit ona sore %lace on his heelI the ser"ants werelifted bodily out of their beds and let fallIwhilst se"eral !e!bers of the householdwere stri%%ed of all they had on, forcibly helddown, and %elted with shoes# )or were the%roceedings at 4tockwell, Black Lion Lane,

and E%worth, though rather !ore biNarre, anyless "iolent#

To Juote another instance of this kind ofhaunting, Professor 4chu%%art at Gressen, in


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incessantly that he could get no slee%#

ccording to ?rs 2rowe, there was a case of asi!ilar nature at ?r 2ha"e's, in e"onshire, in7*7, where ada"its were !ade before the!agistrate attesting the facts, and largerewards oered for disco"eryI but in "ain, the%heno!ena continued, and the s%iritual agentwas freJuently seen in the for! of so!estrange ani!al#

There see!s to be little li!it, short ofgrie"ous bodily injury--and e"en that li!it hasoccasionally been o"erste%%ed--to %oltergeisthooliganis!# Last su!!er the (e"# :enry:acon, ?##, of 4early icarage, )orth =elsey?oor, "ery kindly sent !e an original!anuscri%t dealing with %oltergeist

disturbances of a "ery %eculiar nature, at theold 4yderstone Parsonage near 9akenha!# 3%ublished the account ad er!umin a work of!ine that a%%eared the ensuing autu!n,entitled "hostl# Phenomena, and the interestit created encourages !e to refer to othercases dealing with the sa!e kind of

%heno!ena#

There is a %arsonage in the 4outh of Englandwhere not only noises ha"e been heard, butarticles ha"e been !ysteriously whisked away


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and not returned# lady assures !e thatwhen a gentle!an, with who! she wasinti!ately acJuainted, was alone in one of the

rece%tion roo!s one day, he %laced so!ecoins to the "alue, 3 belie"e, of fteenshillings, on the table beside hi!, andchancing to ha"e his attention directed to there, which had burned low, was sur%rised onlooking again to disco"er the coins had goneInor did he e"er reco"er the!# Other things,

too, for the !ost %art tri"ial, were also takenin the sa!e inco!%rehensible !anner, anda%%arently by the sa!e !ischie"ous unseenagency# 3t is true that one of the for!erinhabitants of the house had, during the latter%ortion of his life, been hea"ily in debt, andthat his borrowing %ro%ensities !ay ha"e

acco!%anied hi! to the occult worldI butthough such an eK%lanation is Juite feasible, 3a! rather inclined to attribute thedisa%%earances to the %ranks of so!e!ischie"ous "agrarian#

3 ha"e !yself o"er and o"er againeK%erienced a si!ilar kind of thing# 9or

eKa!%le, in a certain house in )orwood, 3re!e!ber losing in ra%id succession twostylogra%h %ens, a knife, and a sash# 3re!e!bered, in each case, laying the articleon a table, then ha"ing !y attention called


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away by so!e rather unusual sound in a farcorner of the roo!, and then, on returning tothe table, nding the article had "anished#

There was no one else in the house, so thatordinary theft was out of the Juestion# $etwhere did these articles go, and of what usewould they be to a %oltergeistS On oneoccasion, only, 3 caught a gli!%se of the!iscreant# 3t was about eight o'clock on awar! e"ening in ;une, and 3 was sitting

reading in !y study# The roo! is slightlybelow the le"el of the road, and in su!!er,the trees outside, whilst acting as an eecti"escreen against the sun's rays, cast theirshadows so!ewhat too thickly on the Moorand walls, burying the angles in hea"y gloo!#3n the dayti!e one rather welco!es this

darknessI but in the afternoon it beco!es atriMe o%%ressi"e, and at twilight oneso!eti!es wishes it was not there# 3t is attwilight that the nature of the shadowsusually undergoes a change, and therea!alga!ates, with the!, that 4o!ething,that %eculiar, indenable 4o!ething that 3can only associate with the su%er%hysical#:ere, in !y library, 3 often watch it cree% inwith the fading of the sunlight, or, %ost%oningits ad"ent till later--steal in through thewindow with the !oonbea!s, and 3 feel its%resence just as assuredly and instincti"ely as


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3 can feel and detect the %resence of hostilityin an audience or indi"idual# 3 cannot describehowI 3 can only say 3 do, and that !y

discern!ent is seldo! !isleading# On thee"ening in Juestion 3 was alone in the house# 3had noticed, a!id the shadows that lay inclusters on the Moor and walls, thisenig!atical 4o!ething# 3t was there !ost!arkedlyI but 3 did not associate it withanything %articularly terrifying or

antagonistic# Perha%s that was because thebook 3 was reading interested !e !ost%rofoundly--it was a translation fro! :eine,and 3 a! de"oted to :eine# Let !e Juote aneKtract# 3t is fro! $lorentine Nights, and runs&DBut is it not folly to wish to sound the inner!eaning of any %heno!enon outside us,

when we cannot e"en sol"e the enig!a of ourown soulsS >e hardly know e"en whetheroutside %heno!ena really eKistR >e are oftenunable to distinguish reality fro! !eredrea!-faces# >as it a sha%e of !y fancy, orwas it horrible reality that 3 heard and saw onthat nightS 3 know not# 3 only re!e!ber that,as the wildest thoughts were Mowing through!y heart, a singular sound ca!e to !y ear#D 3had got so far, absorbingly, s%irituallyinterested, when 3 heard a laugh, a long, lowchuckle, that see!ed to co!e fro! thedarkest and !ost re!ote corner of the roo!#


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cold %aroKys! froNe !y body, the book slidfro! !y hands, and 3 sat u%right in !y chair,e"ery faculty within !e acutely alert and

acti"e# The laugh was re%eated, this ti!efro! behind a writing-table in Juite another%art of the roo!# 4o!ething which soundedlike a shower of tintacks then fell into thegrateI after which there was a long %ause,and then a terric bu!%, as if so!e hea"ybody had fallen fro! a great height on to the

Moor i!!ediately in front of !e# 3 e"en heardthe hissing and whiNNing the body !ade in itsdescent as it cut its %assage through the air#gain there ca!e an inter"al of tranJuillitybroken only by the sounds of %eo%le in theroad, the hurrying footste%s of a girl, theclattering of a !an in hobnails, the Juick,

shar% tread of the la!%lighter, and thesca!%ering %atter of a be"y of children# Thenthere ca!e a series of knockings on theceiling, and then the sound of so!ethingfalling into a ga%ing abyss which 3 intuiti"elyfelt had surre%titiously o%ened at !y feet#

9or !any seconds 3 listened to the

re"erberations of the object as it dashedagainst the sides of the unknown chas!I atlength there was a s%lash, succeeded byhollow echoes# 4haking in e"ery li!b, 3 shrankback as far as 3 %ossibly could in !y chair and


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clutched the ar!s# draught, cold and dank,as if co!ing fro! an al!ost inter!inabledistance, blew u%wards and fanned !y

nostrils# Then there ca!e the !ost a%%alling,the !ost blood-curdling chuckle, and 3 saw ahand--a lurid grey hand with long, knottedngers and black, cur"ed nails--feeling its waytowards !e, through the subtle darkness, likeso!e enor!ous, unsa"oury insect# )earer,nearer, and nearer it drew, its ngers wa"ing

in the air, antenn fashion# 9or a !o!ent it%aused, and then, with lightning ra%idity,snatched the book fro! !y knees anddisa%%eared# irectly afterwards 3 heard thesound of a latchkey inserted in the front door,whilst the "oice of !y wife inJuiring why thehouse was in darkness broke the

su%er%hysical s%ell# Obeying her su!!ons, 3ascended the staircase, and the rst objectthat greeted !y "ision in the hall was the"olu!e of :eine that had been souncere!oniously taken fro! !eR ssuredlythis was the doings of a %oltergeistR %oltergeist that u% to the %resent hadconned its attentions to !e, no one else inthe house ha"ing either heard or seen it#

3n !y study there is a dee% recess concealedin the winter-ti!e by hea"y curtains drawnacross itI and often when 3 a! writing


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so!ething !akes !e look u%, and a coldhorror falls u%on !e as 3 %ercei"e the curtainsrustle, rustle as though they were laughing,

laughing in conjunction with so!e hiddenoccult !onstrosityI so!e grey--the bulk of the%hantas!s that co!e to !e are grey--andglittering !onstrosity who was enjoying a richjest at !y eK%ense# Occasionally, toe!%hasise its %resence, this %oltergeist hasscratched the wall, or thu!%ed, or thrown an

in"isible !issile o"er !y head, or sighed, orgroaned, or gurgled, and 3 ha"e beenfrightened, horribly, ghastly frightened# Thenso!ething has ha%%ened--!y wife has calledout, or so!eone has rung a bell, or the%ost!an has gi"en one of his whole-hearteds!ashes with the knocker, and the %oltergeist

has Dcleared o,D and 3 ha"e not beendisturbed by it again for the re!ainder of thee"ening#

3 a! not the only %erson who! %oltergeists"isit# ;udging fro! !y corres%ondence andthe accounts 3 see in the letters of "arious%sychical research !agaNines, they %atronise

!any %eo%le# Their modus o%erandi, co"eringa wide range, is always boisterous#


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lacking in disci%line# Or is it the re"erseS retheir crude de"ices and !ad, to!boyish%ranks !erely reactionary, and the only

!eans they ha"e of nding "ent for theirnaturally high s%iritsS 3f so, 3 de"outly wishthey would choose so!e locality other than!y study for their %layground# $et theyinterest !e, and although 3 Juake horriblywhen they are %resent, 3 deri"e endlessa!use!ent at other ti!es, in s%eculating on

their raison d&'tre, and curious--%erha%sco!%leK--constitutions# 3 do not belie"e theyha"e e"er inhabited any earthly body, eitherhu!an or ani!al# 3 think it likely that they!ay be sur"i"als of early eK%eri!ents inani!al and "egetable life in this %lanet, %riorto the selection of any denite ty%esI s%irits

that ha"e ne"er been anything else buts%irits, and which ha"e, no doubt, oftenen"ied !an his carnal body and the%ossibilities that ha"e been %er!itted hi! ofe"entually reaching a higher s%iritual %lane# 3tis en"y, %erha%s, that has !ade the!!ischie"ous, and generated in the! aninsatiable thirst to tor!ent and frighten !an#nother %robable eK%lanation of the! is, thatthey !ay be inhabitants of one of the other%lanets that ha"e the %ower granted, undercertain conditions at %resent unknown to us,of !aking the!sel"es seen and heard by


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certain dwellers on the earthI and it is, ofcourse, %ossible that they are but one of!any ty%es of s%irits inhabiting a

su%er%hysical s%here that encloses orinfringes on our own# They !ay be onlyanother for! of life, a for! that is neithercarnal nor i!!ortal, but which has to de%endfor its eKistence on a su%er%hysical food# They!ay be born in a fashion that, a%art fro! its%eculiarity and eKtra"agance, bears so!e

rese!blance to the generation of %hysicalani!al lifeI and they !ay die, too, as !andies, and their death !ay be but the %assingfro! one stage to another, or it !ay be foreternity#

But enough of %ossibilities, of %robable andi!%robable theories# 9or the %resent not only

%oltergeists but all other %hanto!s are seenas through a glass darkly, and, %ending thedisco"ery of so!e denite data, we do butMounder in a sea of wide, li!itless, andinnite s%eculation#

CHAPTER

4$L) :O((O(4

3 belie"e trees ha"e s%iritsI 3 belie"ee"erything that grows has a s%irit, and that


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such s%irits ne"er die, but %assing intoanother state, a state of l! and shadow, li"eon for e"er# The %hantas!s of "egetable life

are e"erywhere, though discernible only tothe few of us# Often as 3 ra!ble throughthoroughfares, crowded with %edestrians and"ehicles, and i!%regnated with stea! ands!oke and all the i!%urities arising fro!o"er-congested hu!anity, 3 ha"e suddenlys!elt a dierent at!os%here, the cold

at!os%here of su%er%hysical forest land# 3ha"e co!e to a halt, and leaning in so!edoorway, gaNed in awestruck wonder at thenodding foliage of a le"iathan le%idodendron,the %hantas! of one of those !a!!othlyco%ods that Mourished in the 2arboniferous%eriod# 3 ha"e watched it swaying its shadowy

ar!s backwards and forwards as if kee%ingti!e to so!e ghostly !usic, and the breeNe ithas thus created has rustled through !y hair,while the sweet scent of its resin has%leasantly tickled !y nostrils# 3 ha"e seen,too, suddenly o%en before !e, dark, gloo!yaisles, lined with stu%endous %ines andcar%eted with long, luKuriant grass, giganticferns, and other !onstrous %ri!e"al Mora, ofa no!enclature wholly unknown to !eI 3 ha"ewatched in chilled fascination the black trunkstwist and bend and contort, as if under theinMuence of an uncontrollable t of laughter,


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or at the bidding of so!e %sychic cyclone# 3ha"e at ti!es stayed !y ste%s when in thethroes of the city-%a"e!entsI sho%s and

%eo%le ha"e been obliterated, and their%laces taken by occult foliageI i!!ense fungiha"e blocked out the sun's rays, and underthe shelter of their sli!y, glistening heads, 3ha"e been thrilled to see the wriggling,gliding for!s of countless s!allersa%ro%hytes# 3 ha"e felt the cold touch of

loathso!e toadstools and snied the hot, drydust of the full, ri%e %u-ball# On the Tha!esE!bank!ent, u% 2helsea way, 3 ha"e attwilight beheld wonderful !eta!or%hoses# 3nco!%any with the shadows of natural objectsof the landsca%e, ha"e silently s%rung u%giant reeds and bullrushes# 3 ha"e felt their

icy coldness as, blowing hither and thither inthe deliriu! of their free, untra!!elledeKistence, they ha"e swished across !y face#isions, truly "isions, the eKJuisite fantasiesof a "i"id i!agination# 4o says the sage# 3 donot think soI 3 dis%ute hi! in toto# Theseobjects 3 ha"e seen ha"e not been illusionsIelse, why ha"e 3 not i!agined other thingsIwhy, for eKa!%le, ha"e 3 not seen rockswalking about and tables co!ing in at !ydoorS 3f these %hantas!s were but tricks ofthe i!agination, then i!agination would sto%at nothing# But they are not i!agination,


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neither are they the idle fancies of an o"er-acti"e brain# They are objecti"e--just as !uchobjecti"e as are the s!ells of recognised

%hysical objects, that those, with keenlysensiti"e olfactory organs, can detect, andthose, with a less sensiti"e sense of s!ell,cannot detectI those, with acute hearing, canhear, and those with less acute hearingcannot hear# nd yet, %eo%le are slow tobelie"e that the seeing of the occult is as

!uch a faculty as is the scenting of s!ells orthe hearing of noises#

3 ha"e heard it said that, dee% down in coal!ines, certain of the workers ha"e seenwondrous sightsI that when they ha"e beenalone in a drift, they ha"e heard the blowingof the wind and the rustling of lea"es, and

suddenly found the!sel"es %enned in on allsides by the naked trunks of enor!ous%ri!iti"e trees, le%idodendrons, sigillarias,ferns, and other %lants, that ha"e shone outwith %hos%horescent grandeur a!id the inkyblackness of the subterranean ether# roundthe feet of the s%ellbound watchers ha"e

s%rung u% rank blades of Brobdingnagiangrass and cree%ers, out of which ha"e cre%t,with lurid eyes, %rodigious !illi%edes,cockroaches, white ants, !yria%ods andscor%ions, whilst added to the !oaning and


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sighing of the trees has been the hu!!ing ofstone-Mies, dragon-Mies, and locusts# Galleriesand shafts ha"e echoed and re-echoed with

these noises of the old world, which yet li"es,and wi

Byways of Ghost-Land by Elliott O'Donnell

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