Newspaper Clipping of the Day

Via Newspapers.com

This creepy little account of a malevolent spirit appeared in the “Sandusky Register,” February 15, 1895:

A Hancock street woman is suffering from a strange hallucination. She imagines that her deceased husband makes daily and nightly visits to her. Her departed spouse, who died a year or so ago, was not one of the kindest men to his wife during his earthly career, and as may be expected is not a spirit every one would care to have as a visitor, even at midday. 

The woman, who is nigh onto three score years and ten of age, showed great joy on the death of her husband, but her happiness was of short duration, as the third night after his death he paid the wife of his bosom a midnight visit. His wife was not at all pleased to see him, and as the visits became of nightly occurrence she became greatly worried and asked advice of her neighbors. They did all in their power to rid her of her strange imaginations but she continues to fret and worry over the spiritual visitations and great fear is felt for her reason, as she already shows signs of mental derangement. 

She says that at first the spirit of her too devoted spouse would awaken her nights by stroking her forehead, as one who was troubled with headache would do. He also talks to her, upbraiding her for feeling so relieved when he died and promises that he will not leave her as she wished but would visit her nightly.

The spirit comes to the home every afternoon at 4 o'clock. He enters the house through a pantry window and then through a door into a side room. Now, every afternoon, iust before 4 o'clock, the room is darkened in expectation of the arrival of the eternal husband. He immediately goes to that room and remains there until night. It is a curious fact but the woman affirms that in the past few months the spirit has taken the form of a large serpent and nights when she goes to bed she has to draw the covers over her head to prevent her serpentine other half from putting his fangs in her face. 

Just before the spirit's departure every night it breaks up dishes, making noises plainly audible to the only occupant of the house. Mornings this poor deluded woman finds broken dishes scattered about. Cans of fruit have been thrown to the floor, the contents being spilled about everywhere. Chairs are moved about from one place to another and eatables are taken. One peculiar trait shown by the spirit is that it is very fond of coffee, as the coffee pot is always emptied of its contents. The deceased, to whom this article alludes, was a veritable coffee fiend during his existence on earth and was always doing everything in his power to make life miserable for his wife, and he is evidently following the same course since his death. 

Some of the neighbors who have visited the house say that they have felt the presence of the spirit. One woman affirms that some fancy work at which she was engaged was torn from her hands and destroyed before her eyes by some invisible power, and that she has heard the spirit cursing and jumping around in an adjoining room, as the master of the house was wont to do. The neighborhood is and has been really worried over the affair and the house is already becoming known as the “haunted" house.

I couldn't find any further reports, but I'm guessing this is one of those ghost stories which did not end well.