THE LADY IN BLACK
A ghost in a haunted house is seldom observed with anything like
scientific precision. The spectre in the following narrative could
not be photographed, attempts being usually made in a light which
required prolonged exposure. Efforts to touch it were failures, nor
did it speak. On the other hand, it did lend itself, perhaps
unconsciously, to one scientific experiment. The story is unromantic;
the names are fictitious. {198b}
Bognor House, an eligible family residence near a large town, was
built in 1860, and occupied, till his death in 1876, by Mr. S. He was
twice married, and was not of temperate ways. His second wife adopted
his habits, left him shortly before his death, and died at Clifton in
1878. The pair used to quarrel about some jewels which Mr. S.
concealed in the flooring of a room where the ghost was never seen.
A Mr L. now took the house, but died six months later. Bognor House
stood empty for four years, during which there was vague talk of
hauntings. In April, 1882, the house was taken by Captain Morton.
This was in April; in June Miss Rose Morton, a lady of nineteen
studying medicine (and wearing spectacles), saw the first appearance.
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