While in high school I
discovered several short stories written by Saki. They always had elements of
surprise and humor. Saki is the pen name for a British writer, Hector Hugh
Munro (1870-1916) whose short stories present a satirical view of
Edwardian society. His stories are sometimes macabre, and sometimes
mischievous but always very entertaining. Saki wrote several ghost stories, one
of his most famous is The Open Window, which he wrote in 1914.
The Open Window is a brief story, only two pages in length, which is
set in a small village in the sitting room of a an upper-class family. The story
finds the main character a young man who has been sent to the country to calm
his nerves being entertained by the families’ fifteen-year old niece while
he waits for the appearance of the mistress of the house.
This very self-possessed
fifteen year-old proceeds to tell the high-strung guest an eerie family tale of
tragedy, which results in a very nasty shock. Saki tells this story in a fast
paced, smooth deadpan manner. His story ends with a very humorous twist. Munro
(Saki) is considered a master of the short story and The Open Window is
a good example of his writing style.
The following link has a
written version as well as an audio recording of The Open Window. Enjoy. Here is an 11 minute video of this story--re-titled, The Open Doors.
For two hundred years
countless people who have lived near the Northumberland Strait that runs between Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island have witnessed a very unique phenomenon. All
these witnesses, whether they were on the water or on land, have reported seeing
a three-masted brigandine moving fast through the Strait. As they watch this
ship it catches fire and then just disappears.
The ship has been seen year-round, but it is most often spotted in the fall months, just before a northeaster
blows in. Because of this many feel, this fiery ship is a harbinger, which
foretells a storm’s arrival. Many witnesses have written accounts of what
they saw. What is impressive is they all are eerily similar even
though some were written hundreds of years apart. Here is a recent report:
“One October night as I was
returning home from visiting a neighbor; I was walking along, and as I looked
out over the Northumberland Strait, I saw a ship burning. It was a clear night, and I could make out the outline of the ship quite distinctly. I watched it for
about twenty minutes and then it just disappeared.”
One witness who lived near
Murray Harbour, on Prince Edward Island, in 1912, reported that she and her eight-year-old son watched the ship for thirty
minutes, as it approached where they stood onshore, on a clear, bright day. She stated
that it was a three-masted schooner. She recounted that it stopped when it reached
where they stood. She described its crisp, pure white sails and shiny black hull. She saw the ship catch fire, and then numerous crewmembers came up on deck and
were engulfed in flames. To her amazement, the ship then just disappeared.
Besides individual reports, many large groups have witnessed this phenomenon. Ferries that crossed the
Strait regularly, before the Confederation Bridge was built, between
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island often encountered the phantom ship, only to
then lose sight of it. “Late one evening, approaching dusk, a ship was sighted
in the harbor which appeared in peril… Some distance out in the channel was
what appeared to be a large three-masted sailing vessel ablaze from the bow to
stern. A group of men boarded a small boat and rowed toward the flaming ship,
in hopes of rescuing as many of her crew as possible. While they were still
some distance from the craft, it disappeared into the mist and appeared to
vanish completely.” Later a thorough search was conducted, including
explorations by divers, but it failed to reveal any trace of the mysterious
ship.
Another group crossing the
Strait on a ferry reported that “a burning vessel appeared, they stated the
ship was aglow with fire and was moving fast.” Two nights later, another group
reported seeing this burning ship, but it was sailing through the strait
in the opposite direction quickly. Its fast movement has perplexed more than
one witness because it is often spotted when there is no wind stirring the
water.
Over the years, people have
attempted to reach the burning ship, only to have it disappear at close range into
thin air. A ferryboat captain reported sailing straight through the flames, finding nothing. A group of rescuers even disappeared themselves, during their
attempt to help the burning ship. This rescue crew in 1885, was lost and
never heard from again.
No one knows for sure the
identity of this phantom ship, or where it came from. But there have been many theories
put forth over the years. Here are just a few. One theory states this ship was
lost in a violent storm, in Nova Scotia. Many coastal residents feel that the
ship must be the Isabella, which set sail with a cargo of lumber in December of
1868, and was last seen by a light-keeper on Amet Island. After this, no trace of
the ship or crew was ever found.
Another theory is this
phantom ship must be an old immigrant ship of Highland Scots, who were lost at
sea while searching for new land. Yet another theory is that she was a pirate
ship sunk near Merigomish, by a British warship during the Napoleonic War. A colorful explanation is about a pirate ship that pillaged a vessel from
the old country and then got in a drunken brawl with another pirate ship over
their ill-gotten booty. It is stated that both ships caught fire and all hands
were lost.
Even though the origins of
this fiery ship are not known-- one thing is for sure-- the many
eyewitness reports of this phantom ship over a long period, plus the
remarkable consistency of these accounts, make it hard to ignore this phenomenon.
The Ostrich Inn is one of the
oldest inns and pubs in the UK. Documents and records date it back to 1165. The
Inn that stands today was built in the 1500s. It is located near the ancient
village of Colnbrook and was originally a popular coaching inn located on the main
stagecoach route from London to Bath. Many ghosts have been seen at the inn. This paranormal activity is attributed to one of its former landlords who
was a serial killer.
The Ostrich Inn story reminds
me of America’s first serial killer H. H. Holmes of Chicago’s Murder Castle
with the exception that the Ostrich landlord appears to have been more
prolific. A man by the name of Mr. Jarman was the landlord at the Ostrich in
the 17th century. Just like Holmes he preyed upon the guests that
stayed at the inn he ran. Jarman’s victims were weary travelers who stopped at
the inn in order to rest up and change clothes before they made their
appearance at Windsor Castle. These travelers carried vast sums of money with
them in order to buy the court’s favor. When Jarman discovered the wealth they
carried with them it sealed their fates.
Over time just like Holmes,
Jarman devised a very methodical and diabolical way of killing his unsuspecting
victims. He would ply them with strong drink and offer them the ‘best room’ in
the inn. Once he was sure his victim was asleep Jarman would remove two bolts from
the kitchen ceiling below. This caused the bed where the
victim slept to tilt down at a 45-degree angle, which resulted in the
inebriated guest sliding out of the bed into a vat of boiling fat that lay
below. These poor victims were killed instantly.
Jarman would then take their
horse and clothes and sell them to close-lipped gypsies. He disposed of what
was left of their corpses in a nearby river. Jarman was able to get away with
these murders for many years until one traveler that fell asleep in the booby-trapped
bed woke up and got out of the bed to use the chamber pot. As he turned he
spotted the head of the bed tilting down and saw the boiling vat below. This
man’s shouts awoke other guests and Jarman’s murderous activities finally came to an end.
Jarman was hanged for his
crimes and before he died he boasted he had killed 60 people. A working model
of the tilting bed, which was a four-poster, is still on display at the inn
today. The following is stated to be the original account of the murders, in
this account it appears Jarman had help from one or more men that probably
worked for him at the inn:
“This man should then be laid
in the chamber right over the kitchen, which was a fair chamber, and better set
out than any other in the house: the best of bedstead therein, though it was
little and low, yet was most cunningly carved, and faire, to the eys, the feet
whereof were fast-naild to the chamber floore, in such sort, that it could not
in any wise fall, the bed that lay therein was fast sowed to the sides of the
bedstead:
Moreover that part of the
chamber whereupon this bed and bedstead stood, was made in such sort, that by
pulling out of two yron pinnes below in the kitchen, it was to be let downe and
taken up by a draw bridge, or in manner of a trap doore: moreover in the
kitchen, directly under the place where this should fall, was a mighty great
caldron, wherin they used to seethe
their liquor when they went to brewing.
Now, the maen appointed for
the slaughter, were laid into this bed, and in the dead time of night, when
they were sound a sleepe, by plucking out the foresaid yron pinnes, downe would
the man fall out of his bed into the boyling caldron, and all the cloaths that
were upon him: where being suddenly scalded and drowned, he was never able to
cry or speake one word.
Then they had a little ladder
ever standing ready in the kitchen, by the which they presently mounted into
the sid chamber, and there closely take away the mans apparell, as also his
money, in his male or capcase: and then lifting up the said falling floore
which hung by hinges, they made it fast as before.
The dead body would they take
presently out of the caldron and throw it downe the river, which ran neere unto
their house, wherby they scaped all danger.
Now if in the morning any of
the rest of the quests that had talkt with the murdered man ore eve, chanst to
aske for him, as having occasion to ride the same way that he should have done,
the Goodman would answere, that he tooke a horse a good while before day, and
that he himselfe did set him forward: the horse the Goodman would also take out
of the stable, and convay him to a hay-barne of his.”
Thomas Cole, one victim of
Jarmans, is said to be one of the ghosts that haunts the Ostrich Inn. The town
of Colnbrook is supposedly named after him. Many ghost hunter groups have
investigated the inn over the years. They state that the room where the tilting
bed was located and the dinning room next to it both have a strange oppressive atmosphere.
These groups have recorded unexplained sounds and have captured some strange
anomalies on film.
A more recent landlord, who
was a die-hard skeptic when he first started working at the Ostrich Inn, was
quoted as saying:
“Strange noises, ghostly figures and objects moving by
themselves are all in a days work if you’re employed at the Ostrich Inn.”
This backs up my favorite old
adage, “Seeing is believing.”
Two of the other ghosts at
the inn are a Victorian lady and a shadowy figure that have been seen wandering
the upstairs corridor. Many staff members at the Ostrich have entered locked
rooms where the lights and electrical equipment are all switched on. Downstairs
near the ladies restroom, where Jarman would have stored the bodies of his
victims, cold spots have been felt and some are overwhelmed with feelings of
despair.
In Search of… was an American
documentary television show that aired from September of 1976 until March of
1982.
This series investigated offbeat and often controversial topics.
In Search of
The show
always began with the disclaimer that the information it presented was based
upon theory and conjecture. It was stated that the purpose of In Search of… was to “suggest some possible
explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we examine.” I found the series above all else to be very entertaining.
The series creator was Alan
Landsburg, a television writer, producer, and director. Landsburg also produced
“Biography” and the “National Geographic Specials,” etc. The original shows were
based upon a series of paperbacks he wrote about ancient mysteries and their
outer space connection.
The host of In Search of
Rod Serling, the creator of the “Twilight Zone” series,
hosted the original episodes. Leonard Nimoy, famous for his role as “Mr. Spock.”
in the “Star Trek” series then became the regular host.
In Search of… explored and
investigated an eclectic mix of subjects. The series explored everything from the
death of Marilyn Monroe to the Abominable Snowman. The show posed the question
did Sherlock Holmes really exist to a show that focused upon Sun Worshippers and solar energy. Other topics covered over six seasons were UFOs, myths
and monsters, missing persons, missing cities and missing ships, and of course, the paranormal.
The show always started with
a teaser and a clip introducing that episode’s topic. This was an excellent
device to heighten the viewers’ anticipation. The format of the show included
interviews, reenactments, and scene footage with voice-overs from Nimoy. The
series aired on the A&E Network and then on The History Channel. Re-runs
are no longer shown because of a licensing agreement that ended in early 2000.
Most of the episodes, although can be seen on YouTube.
The series had several
terrific episodes about ghosts. The first was entitled “Ghosts.” It focused
upon an investigation Dr. Hans Holzer conducted. Holzer was a parapsychologist, ghost hunter, and a pioneer within the paranormal community, he passed away in 2009. Other episodes included topics about spirit voices, haunted castles, and a
ghostly stakeout, which was a forerunner to all the ghost hunter shows on
television today. In Search of… was the groundbreaker for many television shows aired today.
Here is a link to the
first of three parts of the In Search of… entitled “Ghosts.”
Enjoy. Ghosts
Colorado has many tales of
ghosts that appear in, around, and on trains. Many engineers and conductors tell
stories of passengers that appear and then quickly disappear. One such tale
that I have heard first hand is about a female ghost, Essie Monroe Mentzer, who
died in October of 1898.
Essie’s family was pleased
when she married a “gentleman” doctor by the name of O. F. Mentzer.
Unfortunately for Essie this marriage turned out to be an unwise choice, for
Mentzer abused prescription drugs, alcohol and his wife. Divorce was frowned
upon in the 1800’s so Essie was trapped. To her relief, one day her husband disappeared
without a word.
Several months later Essie
received an impassioned letter from her husband claiming he had moved west to
get a fresh start. He went on to describe how he was a reformed man in everyway. With encouragement from her family Essie traveled to Telluride, Colorado
to reunite with her husband.
What she found when she
arrived was very disappointing. Far from being a reformed man her husband’s
abuses had actually worsened. When Essie’s brother and his wife visited they
were shocked by Essie's haggard appearance. Even more startling to them
was Mentzer’s state of mind.
During their visit Mentzer’s
behavior steadily went down hill. He drank all the time and took more and more
pills. In a daze, Mentzer shot Essie in the head in front of her bother killing her. Mentzer did
not live much longer than Essie for her brother immediately beat him to death. His actions were considered justified so he was not prosecuted.
Within a few weeks of Essie’s
death people boarding a train at Telluride station noticed an anxious young woman
looking around in fear as she stood on the platform. Once everyone was on the
train several passengers asked the young woman if something was wrong, she told
them, “He’s coming for me!” As she became noticeably more distressed one of the
passengers sent for the train conductor.
When the conductor entered
the car he recognized her as the local doctor’s wife. When he addressed her by
name she screamed loudly and then to everyone’s horror and amazement she faded
away. This same scenario was witnessed over and over again for many years.
Essie’s ghost would always disappear when addressed by name or when the train got ten
miles out of town. When the Rio Grande Southern stopped running out of
Telluride people stopped seeing Essie’s ghost.
The Brookdale Lodge near
Boulder Creek was built in 1924. It has many unique features. One interesting feature of this lodge is that a past owner built a dining room
or “Brook Room” as it is called around a natural stream so guests and visitors
sit and eat in a room with a stream rushing through it. Another fascinating feature is that the lodge has many secret tunnels and hidden rooms within its walls. These
were built in the 1940s and 1950s when gangsters frequented the lodge. Their
activities resulted in rumors being circulated that there are bodies buried
beneath the Brookdale.
The Lodge was originally a
lumber mill that was turned into a campground and lodge in the 1900s, for
tourists who visited the beautiful redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in
California. Like most popular resorts in this state, the lodge has hosted many
famous visitors. Including, Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone
Power, Joan Crawford, and Rita Hayworth. President Herbert Hoover also visited
the lodge.
The Brookdale has several
resident ghosts that have been seen over the years. The most frequently seen
ghost is a young girl by the name of Sarah Logan. She was a six-year-old niece of a past owner. She tragically drowned in the dining room’s
creek. She is described as wearing a blue and white Sunday dress. She is seen walking through the
lobby, or playing near the fireplace, that sits between the lobby and the Brook
Room.
One visitor who was a little girl
at the time she and her family stayed at Brookdale, saw the ghost of Sarah Logan. As she and her
family ate in the Brook Room, she spotted a young girl in an odd dress playing
near the indoor stream. She pleaded with her parents to let her go play with
this girl. They refused her request and she remembers she was perplexed that
they did not see the girl she was pointing out.
Sarah is known to approach
guests crying for her mother. When they respond by turning to look for her
mother she vanishes. Two recent owners were so disturbed by her presence—they both saw her run silently across the lobby floor and then disappear through the
office window—they called in clergy and a psychic to get rid of her ghost. Their
attempts failed, Sarah is still seen at the lodge today.
