A haunted castle
The following account of the fact was given to us by one of our correspondents in St. Petersburg.
“An old Hungarian general, well known for his bravery, received a great inheritance, then resigned and wrote to his servant to buy him a certain property that was for sale and that he indicated to him. The servant responded immediately, advising the general not to buy the said property, since it was haunted by the Spirits.
The brave old man insists, saying that this is one more reason for him to make this purchase, and urges him to secure the deal immediately.
The property is therefore purchased, and the new owner sets out to settle there. He arrives at eleven o'clock in the evening at the house of his servant, not far from the castle, to where he wants to go immediately. - Please, said his old servant to him, wait until tomorrow morning and do me the honor of spending the night with me. - No, said his master, I want to spend it in my castle. The servant is therefore forced to accompany him there, with several peasants carrying torches; but they do not want to enter and withdraw, leaving the new landlord alone.
He had with him an old soldier who had never left him, and a huge dog that would have strangled a man with one blow.
The old general takes a seat in the castle library, has the candles lit, puts a pair of pistols on the table, grabs a book and stretches out on a sofa, while waiting for the ghosts, for he is certain that if there are really some in the castle, they would not be dead, but living well; it was also for this reason that he had the pistols cocked and made his dog lie down under the couch; as for the old soldier, he was already snoring in a room next door to the library.
Soon after the general thinks he hears a noise in the drawing-room, listens attentively, and the noise redoubled. Full of himself, he takes a candle in one hand, a pistol in the other, and enters the room where he sees no one; he searches everywhere, he even lifts the draperies; there is nothing, absolutely nothing. He then goes back to the library, picks up his book, and he had hardly read a few lines when the noise is heard with much more intensity than the first time. He picks up a candle and a pistol, enters the living room again and sees that a chest of drawers had been opened. Convinced this time that he was dealing with thieves and yet seeing no one, he calls his dog and says: Seek! The dog starts to sniff all over and goes back to hide under the couch. The general begins to search himself, walks back to the library, lies down on the sofa, but cannot sleep all night. In recounting this fact to us, the general says: “I was only scared twice, at eighteen, when a bomb exploded at my feet, on the battlefield; the second time, when I saw my dog taken by fear."
We will refrain from any comment regarding the very authentic fact reported above and will content ourselves with asking the adversaries of Spiritism, how the dog's nervous system was shaken.
We will further ask how the nervous over-excitation of a medium, however strong it may be, cam produce direct writing, that is, can force a pencil to write on its own.
Another question: We believe that the nervous fluid retained and concentrated in a container, could equal, and even surpass the force of steam; but while the said fluid is free, could it lift and move heavy furniture, as it so often happens?
Ch. Péreyra.”
