The Storm

Since her husband’s death Sarah had wanted to move her three young children from the family farm into town. She delayed because the farm had meant so much to her husband.

A near tragedy changed her mind. With the spring rains came torrential floods. One storm in particular lasted 3 days. The winds threatened to blow the old house down.

The firewood was running out so Sarah sent her oldest son, Daniel to fetch more. She warned him as he donned his rain slicker to be very careful.

She watched from the front porch as Daniel made his way to the woodpile. He was trudging back to the house when a large branch from a dead sycamore tree snapped.

She screamed a warning but it was too late, this branch struck Daniel’s head knocking him off his feet. She ran to his side picked him up and carried him back to the house all the time calling his name—she received no response.

Daniel’s head was bleeding profusely and his face was pale. Sarah knew she must get help, but how? The farm was ten miles from the nearest town and high water had washed the bridge out.

Finding no solution, Sarah became frantic. The sounds of the wind outside were joined by a distinct knock on the front door. At first Sarah thought it was her imagination but as the knocks became more persistent she cautiously opened the door.

Two rain-soaked men stood in front of her. One was chubby and short the other was tall and lanky. Sarah managed to stutter that her son was injured and could they bring help.

The taller of the two quickly moved passed her and took off his hat. She recognized him as a visiting doctor by the name of Tucker who had been the guest of the local doctor three years before.

Relieved she quickly led him to where Daniel lay. He examined her son and concluded he needed an operation to save his life. His friend handed him a large black bag Sarah had not seen when they stood on the dark porch.

Dr. Tucker took Sarah’s arm gently and suggested she take the smaller children into the next room and get some rest. Sarah reluctantly complied and was surprised she was able to doze off.

When she awoke the operation was over. Doctor Tucker assured her there was nothing to worry about Daniel would be fine. Relieved, Sarah thanked him and invited the two men to dinner.

She went to the kitchen to see what she could prepare, when she returned the two men were gone.

After the storm had passed, Sarah went into town. She ran into the local doctor and told him how grateful that Doctor Tucker had happened by her farm.

Dr. Jones listened to her story with a puzzled expression. He hesitated and then told her she must be mistaken for Doctor Tucker had been killed in a train accident the year before.

This story has been told in many different forms—it is another gem that Ruth Ann Musick collected for her book Coffin Hollow.

Poltergeist: Fire Spook, Part ll

In Part l of this post I recount a terrifying haunting that drove a farm family--the MacDonalds-- from their home in Nova Scotia.

Multiple fires had started in their farmhouse and there was strange activity that centered upon the MacDonald’s livestock.

This case garnered so much attention in 1922 around the world that many people who only knew the “sensational story” from newspapers accounts began to put forth theories. 

Many stated it was obviously not a haunting but just “pranks” that had been committed on this farm.

This prank theory doesn’t take into account the fact that the MacDonald livestock always escaped within seconds of the farmer securing them. Or that many of the fires started when no one was in the farmhouse.

An Odd Investigation

Dr. Walter Prince

As mentioned in Part l a famous scientist, Dr. Walter Prince--on invitation-- traveled to Caledonia Mills to investigate this case.

Before he arrived he had already made up his mind--he believed the activity was a poltergeist that was attached to the MacDonald’s 15-year old foster daughter, Mary Ellen.

A journalist, Harold Whidden who had initially brought the case to the world’s attention accompanied Prince during part of his investigation, which lasted 3 weeks from late February to mid March. He spent six of these days at the farm.

Whidden noted that Prince went about his investigation in odd ways. He seemed more concerned about the cold than the haunting.

He spent the first day he arrived in arranging a comfortable room for himself. He demanded privacy. He insisted that no one could stay at the farm with him during his investigation without an invitation including the MacDonald family--which left a sour impression.

He did invite the MacDonald family at one point hoping they would trigger the activity. He also included Whiddon who while in the farmhouse felt the same sensation he had during his own investigation with Detective Carroll.

At one point Dr. Prince, Dan Gillivray-- a neighbor of the MacDonalds and the three MacDonald’s all witnessed Whidden walk across the room appearing to be in a trance.

He demanded a pencil and scribbled on bits of paper for over 2 hours.

He seemed to be possessed by the poltergeist that wrote a confession he had set the fires. Right after, Prince agreed with this conclusion.

Surprise Findings

In the cases he investigated Dr. Prince’s findings were considered the “final word.”

Before the investigation he had proclaimed the activity was a poltergeist but his findings, which the public had greatly anticipated, were a complete turn about.

He denied seeing Whidden do the automatic writing. 

He reported that a human hand had set the fires. He stated he had found wads of cotton soaked with an odorless flammable liquid had been positioned about 5 feet high--the same height as Mary Ellen--or thrown higher.

So he accused Mary Ellen of being the culprit. He tempered his report by stating that she was probably possessed or sleepwalking when these fires were set--so she was most likely unaware of her actions.

As for Whidden’s and Carroll’s previous experiences in the house he stated they were extremely cold and probably just hallucinating.

He never directly addressed the strange phenomenon with the cattle and horses.

A Rebuttal

After Prince’s report came out Mary Ellen became the villain of the piece in the public’s eyes. They now saw her as an arsonist.

Whidden had always gotten his information from the neighbor's the McGillivrays-- but now the MacDonald’s understandably upset, broke their silence for the first time.

In a statement, Mary Ellen defended herself passionately. She accused Dr. Prince of “fibbing.” She stated:

“I have never set fires. I have never untied the cattle in the barns. I never plaited the tails of the horses. I would have been afraid to. First they claimed I had a boyfriend--a sweetheart--who did it now they say I did it. I tell you I don’t care who Dr. Prince is. He ought to be ashamed of himself.”

Shortly after this interview Dr. Prince labeled it just another fake, stating the Mary Ellen he’d met would not have been able to make this statement for she had “the mind of a four year old.”

Dr. Prince had too much clout. Public sentiment from around the world took his side.

No one thought to check with the Caledonia Mills residents who knew Mary Ellen. She was a teen of normal intelligence that was known to have a bright smile and a happy disposition.

Tragic Outcome

Newspapers now dubbed the teenage girl, Mary Ellen Fire Spook.

The MacDonald family moved back to the farm just months afterward. All was calm through the summer but by the following October the fires started as suddenly and incomprehensibly as before.

Word spread quickly the Fire Spook was back. There was no sympathy for the family this time. Police officers that were not local, showed up at the farm. They had come for Mary Ellen.

Alex and Janet desperately fought to keep their foster daughter. Janet had to be pulled forcibly away from holding Mary Ellen.

The authorities had “sectioned” their daughter without a by-your-leave.

She was placed in the Nova Scotia Home for the Insane located in Dartmouth where the 16-year old was kept in solitary confinement for a long time.

She was considered too dangerous to be placed with the other inmates. She might set fire to something.

Mary Ellen at asylum.

Within days of her arrival Superintendent Lawler of the asylum was giving statements to the New York press. He stated she was a “common variety of the moron family and not particularly interesting…an arsonist with the mind of a child.”

After this the fires stopped which gave more credence to Dr. Prince’s version.

Mary Ellen spent the rest of her life in this asylum.

In Poltergeist: Fire Spook,Part I-- I share more details about this haunting and the Whidden and Carroll investigation.

The Stranger

This story was told to a priest by one of his older female parishioners in the early 20^th century.

It was the late 1800s and Edith was a newlywed. She had been born and raised in a city in Upper Michigan so it was a shock to move to her husband’s rural farm.

This farm was isolated, being the last mailbox on the lane. It was a lonely, harsh life, but Edith was happy in her marriage, and she and Lou her husband were lucky for they didn’t want for life’s necessities.

One early summer morning Lou had gone out to a field to mow hay. As Edith stood at the kitchen window, she saw a stranger ride into the farmyard.

He hitched his horse to the post but Edith was surprised to see him head toward the barn instead of approaching the house.

She watched with concern as he entered the barn, he then came out and inspected their shed. As she watched him wander around the yard, seeming to look for something, she became anxious.

He finally headed for the house. By the time his knock sounded on the door, Edith was frightened.

She hesitated, not wanting to answer, but she became afraid the stranger would break down the door. She opened it just a crack.

The words caught in her throat as she said, “Yes, what do you want?”

The stranger peered at her and said in a toneless voice, “Are you alone?”

Edith terrified now, and not wanting to be alone with the stranger blurted out, “No!” “My husband is in the attic.” To convince him, she then turned and called out, “Hey Lou.”

A voice that of her husband responded immediately, “Yea, what is it? I’ll be right down.”

Edith turned back to the stranger to see him transformed. His face became animated with anger as he backed down the porch steps. He then jumped on his horse and quickly rode away.

Edith’s shut the door and sought a chair before her knees gave out. She wondered why Lou was in the attic, she had not heard him return from the field.

She went upstairs to see what he was doing, but no one was in the attic.

A half-hour later, Lou returned from mowing hay for lunch. He had not seen the strange man.

The priest mentioned above, after retelling this story asked his parishioners, “Whose Guardian Angel do you think that was, Edith’s or Lou’s?”

A young woman gave a surprising but thoughtful reply. “I’d like to think it was the rider’s Guardian Angel keeping him out of trouble.”

Haunted Jesse James Farm

It is said that the James farm in Kearney, Missouri where the notorious outlaw Jesse James grew up is haunted. Jesse James’ parents moved from Kentucky to Kearney in 1842. 

His father was a Baptist minister who wanted his boys to be well educated. However, during a trip to the California gold fields he died leaving his sons without a father, Jesse was just 3 years old. 

His mother, Zerelda lived on this farm for the rest of her life, through three marriages and eight children. 

At the time of the Civil War in 1863, the James’ farm was brutally attacked by Union soldiers. Shortly afterward Jesse age 16 and his older brother Frank became Confederate guerilla soldiers, riding with William Quantrill and “Bloody Bill” Anderson.

Quantrill’s Raiders as they later became known operated out of Missouri. They ambushed Union patrols and supply convoys. They seized the mail and occasionally struck towns on the Kansas-Missouri border. Their primary focus though was against the local pro-Union civilians-- which they tried to drive out of the territory. 

At the end of the Civil War the James brothers, Jesse and Frank, were now officially outlaws. They began to attack trains, banks, and stagecoaches that were controlled by the Northern side, which had instated brutal control to the Missouri legislation.

Jesse and Frank

From 1860 to 1882, the James gang was the most feared band of outlaws in America. Responsible for 20 bank and train robberies they murdered countless individuals that stood in their way. They stole an estimated $200,000. Despite their ruthlessness, they became folk heroes to some. They literally became “legends in their own time.” 

The local citizens of Kearney kept quiet when they were home on the farm during this time. Clay County where the farm is located was in a part of Missouri called "Little Dixie," the entire state was 75% southern sympathizers. 

Both Jesse and Frank were devoted husbands and fathers who spent a lot of time with their families. They were not modern Robin Hoods though, for they kept the money they stole.

Jesse James Dime Novel

In 1869, the gang robbed a bank in Gallatin, Missouri. Jesse shot the banker through the heart feeling he was responsible for the callous murder of Bloody Bill Anderson. 

The James Gang lost some public favor after this. Local newspapers started to call for the capture of “this blood thirty gang.” 

Frustrated at how the locals protected them, Governor Crittenden had the railroad place an enormous price on the James brother’s heads. 

Pinkerton detectives hired by several bankers raided the James farm in 1875 thinking the older brothers were there. They threw a bomb in the window, killing Jesse and Frank’s younger half-brother, Archie as their mother watched. She lost part of her right arm and hand during this struggle.

In one bank robbery, several members of the gang were killed. After this, the Youngers, a part of their group, were sent to prison for 25 years. 

In 1882, the brothers planned one last robbery with Charley and Bob Ford. They did not know these brothers intended to betray them for the hefty price on their heads. 

On the morning they were to commit this robbery Jesse ate breakfast with the Ford’s, he then placed his gun on one of the farmhouse beds and stopped to straighten a picture that hung on the wall. 

Bob Ford shot Jesse in the back of the head. He died instantly and was buried in the side yard of the James’ farmhouse. His remains were later moved to the family plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Kearney.

James Farm 

The locals did not appreciate what the Ford brothers had done. Bob Ford, who was pardoned by Governor Crittenden was driven out of Missouri known as the coward who had shot Jesse. He traveled around in a Wild West show ironically about the James gang. 

He was shot and killed in Creede, Colorado in 1892. His older brother Charley stayed in Missouri but was shunned. He committed suicide ten years after his brother was murdered.

Frank James gave himself up after Jesse was killed. He was tried several times, but there never was enough evidence to convict him. He lived peacefully for the rest of his life at the farm. In later years he charged tourists money to give them a tour of the place.

The James farm and house has been considered haunted for over 100 years. Located off James Road in Kearney, Missouri the farm is a museum today. Employees at this farm still report odd occurrences. 

After the museum closes for the night many have spotted lights going on and off in the farmhouse. Others report that doors have slammed shut in front of them without cause.

Several witnesses have reported hearing horse hooves stomping outside on foggy nights. When investigated nothing has been found. 

Others have reported hearing whispered conversations inside the house when no one is there. Some have even heard the bomb going off or cries and gunshots as if a Civil War battle is happening outside. 

Many staff at the museum today will not go into the house alone. They state that they feel an unnatural intense presence in the home that scares them.

The Bloggart

What is a Bloggart? You may ask. Read this tale, and you may know.

There was a fine farmer who lived in the northern part of England. He had a fine wife and five fine children. His farm and livestock were also fine. 

With all this fineness he should have been very happy. But he was not, for he had a Bloggart in his farmhouse and barn.

This Bloggart was a trickster spirit who loved to play practical jokes. He never really hurt anyone but he was a nuisance. This spirit would walk around the farmhouse at night and pull off everyone’s covers. 

He would often knock at the front door in the middle of the night and when the sleepy farmer went to open it--no one was there.

This entity was a noisy spirit. It would fall down stairs making an awful racket. The wife afraid it was one of her children that had fallen went into a panic each time. 

This Bloggart knocked constantly on the linen chest; it also rolled a heavy ball across the floor awakening, everyone. One night it took out all the pots and pans and threw them down the cellar stairs. Again, this clatter awoke the household.

On some occasions, the Bloggart would appear to help the family. It would wash the dishes, churn the butter and collect the eggs. It would feed and water the cattle and horses. 

But the very next day it would break all the dishes, steal the butter, break the eggs and tie all the cattle and horses tails into knots.

When anyone lit a fire in the chimney, this impish spirit would blow all the smoke back down into the home. If someone tried to light a match, the Bloggart would immediately blow it out. 

This spirit caused so much trouble the farmer and his family decided they must do something. But what?

They decided to move. They packed up all their belongings and piled their wagon high. Just as they drove off a neighbor waylaid them and asked, “Oh, are you leaving?”

The farmer replied "yes" and then regaled him with a list of all the bothersome unbearable things the Bloggart had done. The neighbor took off his hat, scratched his head and waved goodbye.

As soon as the farmer and his family were at a distance where they couldn’t look back, the neighbor whistled sharply and motioned with his hand. 

The Bloggart who had been watching from the chimney jumped down upon the man’s shoulder. The man tweaked the spirit’s nose and laughed. He considered the spirit with a knowing eye and stated, “Me and mine will be movin’ in shortly.”

The Toys ‘R’ Us Ghost

This haunted toy store is located in Sunnyvale, California. I investigated it briefly in the early1980s when I visited my aunt, who lived in, Sunnyvale. 

The activity in this store, for the most part, is humorous. But some of the former employees who had never experienced a haunting before, found it to be terrifying. Most of the activity seen in this store, involves toys being manipulated.

Several people who have investigated the history of the land, that this store sits upon, believe the ghost that causes all the uproar is a farmhand, who worked on the Martin Murphy farm in the early 1880s. 

This farmhand, Jon or Johan Johnson, had the misfortune to fall in love with Murphy’s daughter, Elizabeth. But Beth loved another man, an eastern lawyer, who she ran off with. 

It seems Johnson, who was distraught at losing his love, became distracted as he chopped down a tree, on the farm. According to newspaper accounts written about this accident, his ax slipped and either cut into his leg or neck—at which point he bled to death.

The activity in this store occurs --on the main floor, in the stockroom, and in the upstairs offices. 

The activity occurs regularly, and this location has a history of losing many managers—they either quit or request transfers. Other employees stay for short periods and then leave. 

But this ghost has never hurt anyone and is actually considered fun-loving by several of the witnesses. It appears he enjoys playing tricks.

Several employees mentioned that he likes to call out people’s names as they work in the stockroom—when they look around, they discover they are alone. 

Other workers state that their hair was touched, or that they felt an icy breeze go by. 

One long-time employee described the day she saw this ghost.

“He was in his 20s or 30s, he wore boots, a long-sleeved white shirt, and on his head was an old-fashioned grey snap-brim cap. He walked right past me.”

She went on to state that later that same day, she heard what sounded like horses galloping past her. It is known that one of Johnson’s jobs, on the farm, was to exercise the horses.

This is reported as being
an IR photo of Johnson
taken in the store.

Witnesses state he likes to play with them. Late one evening after the store had closed two men were waxing the floors. 

To their consternation, a large teddy bear would appear on the floor each time they started on a new aisle. They stated that this was the same teddy bear that they had moved out of the way several times. 

One aisle on the main floor is known to have the scent of fresh-picked flowers. No one has ever discovered the reason for this. 

Contracted employees have also reported that they saw random toys leap off the shelves, without cause. After this, they refused to work at this location again.

Lights flicker on and off, and female customers and employees, state they refuse to use the women’s restroom. They report hearing someone enter and turn on all the faucets, but when they left the stalls, no one was in the restroom with them. 

Cash registers in the store have also acted strange. Sometimes when only one item is rung up, the total amount on the screen is several hundred dollars.

After I visited this store, it was publicized that several people were bought in to help get rid of the ghost because the store was having trouble retaining employees. But in the late 1990s, activity was still being reported.

The following video highlights this story. When part one ends just click on title of part two and it will start. At the end of this story, the real witnesses are interviewed.

Note: This store closed several years ago.