the spook house

by Ambrose Bierce

on_the road leading north from Manchester, in eastern Kentucky, to Booneville, twenty miles away, stood, in 1862, a wooden plantation house of a somewhat better quality than most of_the dwellings in_that region . the house was destroyed by fire in_the year following- - probably by some stragglers from_the retreating column of general George W .Morgan, when he_was driven from Cumberland gap to_the Ohio river by general Kirby smith . at_the_time of_its destruction, it had for four or five years been vacant . the fields about_it were overgrown with brambles, the fences gone, even the few Negro quarters, and out-houses generally, fallen partly into ruin by neglect and pillage; for_the negroes and poor whites of_the vicinity found in_the building and fences an abundant supply of fuel, of_which they availed themselves without hesitation, openly and by daylight . by daylight alone; after nightfall no human being except passing strangers ever went near the place .

it_was known as_the " spook house ." that_it_was tenanted by evil spirits, visible, audible and active, no one in all that region doubted any more than he doubted what he_was told of Sundays by_the traveling preacher . its owner's opinion of_the matter was unknown; he and_his family had disappeared one night and no trace of_them had ever been found . they left everything-- household goods, clothing, provisions, the horses in_the stable, the cows in_the field, the negroes in_the quarters-- all as it stood; nothing was missing-- except a man, a woman, three girls, a boy and ababe ! it_was not altogether surprising that a plantation where seven human beings could_be simultaneously effaced and nobody the wiser should_be under some suspicion .

one night in June, 1859, two citizens of Frankfort, Col .J .C .McArdle, a lawyer, and judge Myron Veigh, of_the state militia, were driving from Booneville to Manchester . their business was so important that_they decided to push on, despite the darkness and_the mutterings of an approaching storm, which eventually broke upon them just as_they arrived opposite the " spook house ." the lightning was so incessant that_they easily found their way through_the gateway and into a shed, where they hitched and unharnessed their team . they then went to_the house, through_the rain, and knocked at all the doors without getting any response .Attributing this to_the continuous uproar of_the thunder they pushed at one_of_the doors, which yielded . they entered without further ceremony and closed the door . that instant they were in darkness and silence . not a gleam of_the lightning's unceasing blaze penetrated the windows or crevices; not a whisper of_the awful tumult without reached them there . it_was as if_they had suddenly been stricken blind and deaf, and McArdle afterward said that for a moment he believed himself to_have_been killed by a stroke of lightning as he crossed the threshold . the rest of_this adventure can as_well be related in_his own words, from_the Frankfort advocate of August 6, 1876:

" when I had somewhat recovered from_the dazing effect of_the transition from uproar to silence, my first impulse was to reopen the door which I had closed, and from_the knob of_which i_was not conscious of having removed my hand; I_felt it distinctly, still in_the clasp of_my fingers . my notion was to ascertain by stepping again into_the storm whether I had_been deprived of sight and hearing .I turned the doorknob and pulled open the door . it led into another room !

" this apartment was suffused with a faint greenish light, the source of_which I_could_not determine, making everything distinctly visible, though nothing was sharply defined . everything, I_say, but in truth the only objects within_the blank stone walls of_that room were human corpses . in number they were perhaps eight or ten-- it may well be understood that I_did_not truly count them . they were of different ages, or rather sizes, from infancy up, and of both sexes . all were prostrate on_the floor, excepting one, apparently a young woman, who sat up, her back supported by an angle of_the wall .ababe was clasped in_the arms of another and older woman .a half- grown lad lay face downward across the legs of a full- bearded man . one_or_two were nearly naked, and_the hand of a young girl held the fragment of a gown which she had torn open at_the breast . the bodies were in various stages of decay, all greatly shrunken in face and figure . some were but little more than skeletons .

" while I stood stupefied with horror by_this ghastly spectacle and still holding open the door, by some unaccountable perversity my attention was diverted from_the shocking scene and concerned itself with trifles and details . perhaps my mind, with an instinct of self- preservation, sought relief in matters which would relax its dangerous tension . among other things, I observed that_the door that i_was holding open was of heavy iron plates, riveted . equidistant from one another and from_the top and bottom, three strong bolts protruded from_the beveled edge .I turned the knob and_they were retracted flush with_the edge; released it, and_they shot out . it_was a spring lock . on_the inside there_was no knob, nor any kind of projection--a smooth surface of iron .

" while noting these things with an interest and attention which it now astonishes me to recall I_felt myself thrust aside, and judge Veigh, whom in_the intensity and vicissitudes of_my feelings I had altogether forgotten, pushed by me into_the room .' for god's sake,' I cried, ' do_not go in there ! let_us get out of_this dreadful place ! '

" he_gave no heed to my entreaties, but ( as fearless a gentleman as lived in all the south) walked quickly to_the center of_the room, knelt beside one_of_the bodies for a closer examination and tenderly raised its blackened and shriveled head in_his hands .a strong disagreeable odor came through_the doorway, completely overpowering me . my senses reeled; I_felt myself falling, and in clutching at_the edge of_the door for support pushed it shut with a sharp click !

"I remember no more: six weeks later I recovered my reason in a hotel at Manchester, whither I had_been taken by strangers the next_day . for all these weeks I had suffered from a nervous fever, attended with constant delirium .I had_been found lying in_the road several miles away from_the house; but how I had escaped from_it to_get there I never knew . on recovery, or as_soon_as my physicians permitted me to_talk, I inquired the fate of judge Veigh, whom ( to quiet me, as I now know) they represented as_well and at home .

" no one believed a word of_my story, and who_can wonder ? and who_can imagine my grief when, arriving at my home in Frankfort two months later, I learned that judge Veigh had never been heard of since that night ? I then regretted bitterly the pride which since_the first few_days after_the recovery of_my reason had forbidden me to repeat my discredited story and insist upon its truth .

" with all that afterward occurred-- the examination of_the house; the failure to_find any room corresponding to_that which I_have described; the attempt to_have me adjudged insane, and my triumph over my accusers-- the readers of_the advocate are familiar . after all these years I_am still confident that excavations which I_have neither the legal right to undertake nor the wealth to_make would disclose the secret of_the disappearance of_my unhappy friend, and possibly of_the former occupants and owners of_the deserted and now destroyed house . I_do_not despair of yet bringing about such a search, and it_is a source of deep grief to_me that it_has_been delayed by_the undeserved hostility and unwise incredulity of_the family and friends of_the late judge Veigh ."

colonel McArdle died in Frankfort on_the thirteenth day of December, in_the year 1879 .