Newspaper Clipping of the Day

via Newspapers.com

This colorful "haunted house" story appeared in the "Saint Paul Globe," November 16, 1880:

Last week it became known that Mr. Morford's former residence had been more or less haunted for the past nine months, during which time it has been occupied by Mr. Diment and family, consisting of Mrs. Diment, their young son, Mrs. Diment's sister, and a hired girl. The noises have increased of late until they have become almost unbearable.

On one occasion the door bell was rung, but on going to it nobody was found. The knobs of the doors connecting the dining room and hall and the dining room parlor frequently turn in broad daylight and the doors swing open but on going to the same nobody is found. When a man goes through the house all is still as death, but if a women goes through various noises will be heard, in some cases, as if a bundle of pans were thrown at a door, or allowed to roll down stairs, sometimes the noise is as if a croquet ball was started and rolled down. At other times thumping blows will appear to strike the floor from below, and invariably on any women going down cellar, they can feel the thumps on the bottom of the steps of the stair leading down cellar. Indeed, these noises have so continued that when the family has occasion to move from room to room they all go together. If the windows are raised and the springs pushed in, the springs will be pulled out by unseen agencies while you are looking at them and the sash fall with a crash. These springs are frequently pulled out and the windows raised by unseen agencies.

On Tuesday of last week Mr. Diment came home and was surprised to hear of the wonderful increasing noises; and, on account of the fears of his family, determined to remain home Wednesday night. After searching every nook and corner of the house to see if there was anything which could make a noise in the house, they found nothing. After the search was completed, Mrs. D. said, "If you will stay at the foot of this stair and I go up, you will hear a noise." Mr. D. stayed, and at Mrs. D. was passing through the hall above she saw a light on the wall and heard a report similar to that of a cannon and then fell insensible from fright. Her husband rushed up and carried his wife down in his arms. It is almost impossible to carry a lighted lamp through the house at night, and though you may shade it as well as you can with books it will nearly always be blown out by an unseen agency. They then took a lamp to go to investigate, but it was blown out on the third step. They, however, went up, and when they got upstairs they lighted the lamp, and found a narrow stripe two feet long burned on the wall and a large pile of common glass broken on the floor. No windows were open, and the family are unable to account for these wonderful phenomena. Parties who have been temporarily staying with the family, have heard the noises, and have been frequently startled by what seemed to be visitations from the spirit world.

This is the first I've heard of a ghost that haunts only women. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find any other stories about this misogynistic spook.