Monday, October 13, 2008

A Ghost Hanging around the Charles Baber Cemetery



Here is another Ghost story from the miners Journal in 1865. The cemetery is Charles Baber on Market St. Pottsville.
Pottsville Miners Journal
December 2, 1865

A Ghost

The upper section of Market St. has been somewhat excited lately, by the alleged appearance between the hours of 11 and 1 o’clock at night, of a white moving figure. Persons, who say they have seen it, assert most positively that it has followed them up the road which runs by the cemetery as far as the gate. To one who saw it in a hollow just west of the forks of the road, it bowed its head repeatedly with the stately dignity and solemnity of the shade of Hamlet’s father. Another attempt to grasp it, as it appeared at his side, and it disappeared. Pistol balls and stones it is said, have no effect on whatever upon it. Anxious to verify the fact of the existence of this perambulating, perturbed spirit, we visited the spot on Tuesday night at 12 o’clock. It might have been that the moon was shinning to brightly for the ghostly visitor, or that from skepticism we were deemed unworthy to hold communion with it, at any rate it did not walk that night. In the old coach shop on Market St., recently two workmen were employed with coal oil lamps. They. (the lamps) were full of oil and the wicks well primed. One of the workers was up the other down stairs. Suddenly without apparent cause, both lamps were extinguished precisely at the same moment. This we have from the lips of one of the workmen. As this is the same distance from the spot where the ghost is seen to walk, we can only attribute this mysterious cocushop business to the fact that there must be a nest of ghosts up Market Street. With interests, we await further developments in this grave matter.

1 comment:

joancampion said...

Hello, Mr. Richards. I am delighted to have just discovered your website--and a ghost story to boot! I take the supernatural seriously--several members of my family have had experiences with it. But the first time I had to deal with writing about it was when I was doing my Carbon County history, "Smokestacks and Black Diamonds." This had to do, as you might imagine, with the Mollies and the Hand on the Jailhouse Wall.
I have a blog on PA history and culture--not to mention the environment. (And ghosts...) It is http://welcometopennswoods.blogspot.com. If I can figure out how to do it, I'd like to link with you. Regards, Joan Campion