Fryeburg Academy - Academy Bell Yearbook (Fryeburg, ME)

Page 15 text:

X S Q-Nest in POD Q hit u ln Maine. fd H Htne dreaming val ,Ss COHSQ- K 'IVant See if hg -I'-1', yes, lm wore Jas Very U1 went 'T of his ness 50 igry at mr. He ambled 's care- nd but by the 1 short s safe. iaving f that 1ns it Dpped h the in the o the was hill. vwed nung THE ACADEMY BELL 13 A WEIRD NIGHT Wfhether it was to my advantage or not I am quite uncer- tain, although I do know that I learned a great lesson during my visit to the haunted mansion in Norfork Woocls. Three of us had decided to investigate the old Appleton Mansion, to see the ghost travel up and down the corridors. VVe had heard of the weird tales told about the murder of Jane Appleton and of the escape of -Iohn Appleton. VX7e had heard of the return of the ghost and of its wanderings. Until the time that we visited the mansion I had not really believed the tales, but for a while the happenings led me to believe that all that had been said, and a great deal more, was true. Wfe picked Friday night for the exploration, and, as it happened, that Friday night was the darkest night in all the whole summer. ' The tale went that at twelve o'clock a light shone for some minutes from the tower on the mansion. It was also a known fact that an old negro slave of the Appletons lived in a hut close to the back of the mansion. This night I feared meeting the old negro much more than the ghosts. Wfith the aid of a flashlight we reached the ancient moss-covered gate and entered the once well kept grounds, now a scene of deso- lation. VVe succeeded in reaching the veranda of the beautiful romantic old mansion. Its kind was known only in Kentucky. Wife tried all the windows on the terrace, but they were all tightly fastened. At last, after much pushing, one window opened and we crawled in. 'Using the Hashlight we found our- selves in a large parlor, once beautiful, but now showing lack of care. The furniture was covered with sheeting which looked ghostly under the rays of the flashlight. VVe walkecf on into the reception hall which was very serene and quiet. I was about to laugh at the thought of this peaceful house being haunted when down the staircase flashed a light. My com- panions seemed to fade into the darkness. I was alone in the hall, a door slammed and all was silent. I reached for the flashlight, but it was gone. Turning toward the door through which I had entered, to my astonishment it had gone and only a blank wall met my glance. just then something black passed by me. Ye Gods! I tore down the hall, grasped the stair rail, and fairly flew up the stairs. I paused, for there on the landing was a white figure. A ghost was my thought and I nearly fainted. The ghost turned and lied and I dropped to my knees, my heart pounding so that I could hear nothing

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THE ACADEMY BELL 12 - - ' ' his fastidious uest ' t d in vain to interest gu 111 Old Eentgliguisy gecattle, horses and pigs. At last he hit upon thi riliiiant Iidea-old Buttah was the only goat in Maingl Pefhaps Mr. Prim had never seen a goat. . . I O, andpa made his way to the shed a little Jginjrgqedlitigrlplgvhere the goat was tied. Never-dreaming vviiligf would be the outcome of this tour, Mr. Percival Prim strolled Slgwly ElftC1'. Qld Hguftglit' had been tied up for several days, conse- quently hg was feeling rather frisky. That animal will eat tin cans, said grandpa. VVant to see him do it? Mr. Prim blinked his eyes, looked at his host to see if he were suffering from a sunstroke, then hnally said, Er-r-r, yes, that would be rather interestingf' By the vvay, did I forget to mention that Mr. Prim wore a gold watch chain? He did, anyvvay, and Piuttah was very much interested in it. VVhile Grandpa Twiddle-Dum went to fetch a tin can, the goat slowly approached the door of his pen, keeping his eye on that shiny gold chain. Mr. Prim became annoyed at the animal's friendliness so he backed away. Wheretipon Buttah, becoming angry at losing his prize, crashed head first through the door. He started for Mr. Prim who ran across the yard and scrambled over a nearby fence very nimbly for one who was alwavs care- ful to walk correctly. The goat followed close behind but came to a halt when he reached the fence. On the other side was a muddy pool of water made by the overfiow f f ' . o water rom the trough at the top of the hill a short distance from the shed. Having jumped the f M ence, r. Prim thought he was safe. Of course he was distressingly damp and muddy from having fallen iiito thetpond. Never mind that, though, if only that horrid tin-eating monster has gone. If it ate tin cans it might also eat men. in thrglligggai itOOgD6d to pick up his hat, which had dropped b d f is eet, lust as Buttah slammed through the boar ence. The goat s forehead struck him squarely in the road expanse of mudd mud out of Sight- y white flannel and drove him into the When G Q1 ' - just in time tgaSeeP2BTZV1Cid,le-Dum came rushing up, he was A u ta disappear over the top of the hill. byvaeaifoggfagg 5355 slowly rising from the mud followed Hmply from the Hgureyglalslgdgclotlies. VVhat was a hat hung RUTH SH.-xw, '26.

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THE ACADEMY BELL I4 ' tg ra . Taking courage I stum- else altholilghegtvoffistligslfaiirrs triyinig to overtake the ghost. A bled up t egd in my face and upon grasping the knob I found door s anigigked Turning, I hurried down the stairway intent thefidodih the front door and escaping into the night. Unable ii? asicertiin my direction, I soon found myself ill 21 large kitchen. That is, I looked in and saw a large kitchen, but I didn't pass the threshold for there in the center of the room stood two white Hgures, ghosts! I closed the door as quickly as I had opencd it and crept down the hall. Gpening another door I found a room in which a lantern had been hidden. It was still lighted, standing behind a pile of rubbish. I grabbed the lantern and hurried into the kitchen. The ghosts had gone. Will I ever get out of this alive? I asked myself. and blowing out the lantern I opened the first door I came to. Smelling fresh paint, I realized that some one had recently been in the room. I sat down in a chair and wiped the cold perspiration from my brow. After some time I reached the front hall and hurried up the stairway. I was about to open a window and jump to safety when I heard a sound which made my blood run cold. Some one was coming! Down the hall came the two white figures that I had seen in the kitchen. followed by a third ghost. They passed by me and hurried up the next flight of stairs. evidently leading to the tower. Unconscious of what I was doing, I followed but upon mv 'ir rival at the head of the stairs all was quiet. ,Holy cats! 511 at olpcedthe whole hall seemed to light up. From somewhere in t e 1 t ' s ance a clock struck twelve. Gazing around to see where the light came from, I saw, standing just behind me, a skeleton. I whirled in great fright and to my utter amaze- ment the terrill th' l A J e ing was gone and only a mirror was in vie . . w bove .me was an open trap door through which a light was shinin anl ' G g, 1 Q coming down the ladder was a white Hgure carr in 1 ,Ygalghf-Itt d,h'O'l'ddt .Ce the horrible death which Seeiiiifii avmb CSCI 6 O eqmp t th , creeping toward me. I ran rlph e stairway and started down. I stubbed my toe and fell. ere Was 3 great clamor, the house seemed to sway and all was black. t Hegrgvvlgfgll E awpke I was in a dimly lighted room and an old b everything gifgilaglrigiver me. Soon I was all right again and Th Companiiotrg who h d f H . Were no other than my tw-W The-thing that passed 3 ein into a hogshead of whitewash. . ITIC 1'1 th l'1 ' 0' the old negro. The third Vlfhiteegha was a dog belonging to g ost that I had seen was the O ghOSts in the kitchen