Night-Side of Nature; Or, Ghosts and Ghost-Seers — Chapter 15 - Apparitions Seeking the Prayers of the Living (Part 1)

CHAPTER XV. APPARITIONS SEEKING THE PRAYERS OF THE LIVING.

WITH regard to the appearance of ghosts, the frequency of haunted houses, presentiments, prognostics, and dreams, if we come to inquire closely, it appears to me that all parts of the world are much on an equality—only, that where people are most engaged in business or pleasure, these things are, in the first place, less thought of and less believed in, consequently less observed; and when they _are_ observed, they are readily explained away: and in the second place—where the external life, the life of the brain, wholly prevails—either they do not happen, or they are not perceived—the rapport not existing, or the receptive faculty being obscured.

But, although the above phenomena seem to be equally well known in all countries, there is one peculiar class of apparitions of which I meet with no records but in Germany.

I allude to ghosts, who, like those described in the “Seeress of Prevorst,” seek the prayers of the living.

In spite of the positive assertions of Kerner, Eschenmayer, and others, that after neglecting no means to investigate the affair, they had been forced into the conviction that the spectres that frequented Frederica Hauffe were not subjective illusions, but real outstanding forms, still, as she was in the somnambulic state, many persons remain persuaded that the whole thing was delusion.

It is true, that as those parties were not there, and as all those who did go to the spot came to a different conclusion, this opinion being only the result of preconceived notions or prejudices, and not of calm investigation, is of no value whatever;

nevertheless, it is not to be denied that these narrations are very extraordinary; but, perplexing as they are, they by no means stand alone.

I find many similar ones noticed in various works, where there has been no somnambule in question.

In all cases, these unfortunate spirits appear to have been waiting for some one with whom they could establish a rapport, so as to be able to communicate with them; and this waiting has sometimes endured a century or more.

Sometimes they are seen by only one person, at other times by several, with varying degrees of distinctness, appearing to one as a light, to another as a shadowy figure, and to a third as a defined human form.

Other testimonies of their presence—as sounds, footsteps, lights, visible removing of solid articles without a visible agent, odors, &c. —are generally perceived by many; in short, the sounds seem audible to all who come to the spot, with the exception of the voice, which in most instances is only heard by the person with whom the rapport is chiefly established.

Some cases are related, where a mark like burning is left on the articles seen to be lifted.

This is an old persuasion, and has given rise to many a joke.

But, upon the hypothesis I have offered, the thing is simple enough: the mark will probably be of the same nature as that left by the electrical fluid;—and it is this particular, and the lights that often accompany spirits, that have caused the notion of material flames, sulphur, brimstone, &c. , to be connected with the idea of a future state.

According to our views, there can be no difficulty in conceiving that a happy and blessed spirit would emit a mild radiance; while anger or malignity would necessarily alter the character of the effulgence.

As whoever wishes to see a number of these cases may have recourse to my translation of the “Seeress of Prevorst,” I will here only relate one, of a very remarkable nature, that occurred in the prison of Weinsberg, in the year 1835. Dr. Kerner, who has published a little volume containing a report of the circumstances, describes the place where the thing happened to be such a one as negatives at once all possibility of trick or imposture.

It was in a sort of block-house or fortress—a prison within a prison—with no windows but what looked into a narrow passage, closed with several doors.

It was on the second floor; the windows were high up, heavily barred with iron, and immovable without considerable mechanical force.

The external prison is surrounded by a high wall, and the gates are kept closed day and night.

The prisoners in different apartments are of course never allowed to communicate with each other, and the deputy-governor of the prison and his family, consisting of a wife, niece, and one maid-servant, are described as people of unimpeachable respectability and veracity.

As depositions regarding this affair were laid before the magistrates, it is on them I found my narration.

On the 12th September, 1835, the deputy-governor or keeper of the jail, named Mayer, sent in a report to the magistrates that a woman called Elizabeth Eslinger was every night visited by a ghost, which generally came about eleven o’clock, and which left her no rest, as it said she was destined to release it, and it always invited her to follow it; and as she would not, it pressed heavily on her neck and side till it gave her pain.

The persons confined with her pretended also to have seen this apparition.

Signed “MAYER.

” A woman named Rosina Schahl, condemned to eight days’ confinement for abusive language, deposed, that about eleven o’clock, Eslinger began to breathe hard as if she was suffocating; she said a ghost was with her, seeking his salvation.

“I did not trouble myself about it, but told her to wake me when it came again.

Last night I saw a shadowy form, between four and five feet high, standing near the bed; I did not see it move.

Eslinger breathed very hard, and complained of a pressure on the side.

For several days she has neither ate nor drank anything.

Signed “SCHAHL.

” “COURT RESOLVES, “That Eslinger is to be visited by the prison physician, and a report made as to her mental and bodily health.

“Signed by the magistrates, “ECKHARDT, “THEURER, “KNORR.

” “REPORT.

“Having examined the prisoner, Elizabeth Eslinger, confined here since the beginning of September, I found her of sound mind, but possessed with one fixed idea, namely, that she is and has been for a considerable time troubled by an apparition, which leaves her no rest, coming chiefly by night, and requiring her prayers to release it.

It visited her before she came to the prison, and was the cause of the offence that brought her here.

Having now, in compliance with the orders of the supreme court, observed this woman for eleven weeks, I am led to the conclusion that there is no deception in this case, and also that the persecution is not a mere monomaniacal idea of her own, and the testimony not only of her fellow-prisoners, but that of the deputy-governor’s family, and even of persons in distant houses, confirms me in this persuasion.

“Eslinger is a widow, aged thirty-eight years, and declares that she never had any sickness whatever, neither is she aware of any at present;

but she has always been a ghost-seer, though never till lately had any communication with them; that now, for eleven weeks that she has been in the prison, she is nightly disturbed by an apparition, that had previously visited her in her own house, and which had been once seen also by a girl of fourteen—a statement which this girl confirms.

When at home, the apparition did not appear in a defined human form, but as a pillar of cloud, out of which proceeded a hollow voice, signifying to her that she was to release it, by her prayers, from the cellar of a woman in Wimmenthal, named Singhaasin, whither it was banished, or whence it could not free itself.

She (Eslinger) says that she did not then venture to speak to it, not knowing whether to address it as _Sie_, _Ihr_, or _Du_ (that is, whether she should address it in the second or third person)—which custom among the Germans has rendered a very important point of etiquette.

It is to be remembered that this woman was a peasant, without education, who had been brought into trouble by treasure-seeking, a pursuit in which she hoped to be assisted by this spirit.

This digging for buried treasure is a strong passion in Germany.

“The ghost now comes in a perfect human shape, and is dressed in a loose robe, with a girdle, and has on its head a four-cornered cap.

It has a projecting chin and forehead, fiery, deep-set eyes, a long beard, and high cheek-bones, which look as if they were covered with parchment.

A

light radiates about and above his head, and in the midst of this light she sees the outlines of the spectre.

“Both she and her fellow-prisoners declare, that this apparition comes several times in a night, but always between the evening and morning bell.

He often comes through the closed door or window, but they can then see neither door nor window, nor iron bars; they often hear the closing of the door, and can see into the passage when he comes in or out that way, so that if a piece of wood lies there they see it.

They hear a shuffling in the passage as he comes and goes.

He most frequently enters by the window, and they then hear a peculiar sound there.

He comes in quite erect.

Although their cell is entirely closed, they feel a cool wind[5] when he is near them.

All sorts of noises are heard, particularly a crackling.

When he is angry, or in great trouble, they perceive a strange mouldering, earthy smell.

He often pulls away the coverlet, and sits on the edge of the bed.

At first the touch of his hand was icy cold, since he became brighter it is warmer; she first saw the brightness of his finger-ends; it afterward spread further.

If she stretches out her hand she can not feel him, but when he touches her she feels it.

He sometimes takes her hands and lays them together, to make her pray.

His sighs and groans are like a person in despair; they are heard by others as well as Eslinger.

While he is making these sounds, she is often praying aloud, or talking to her companions, so they are sure it is not she who makes them.

She does not see his mouth move when he speaks.

The voice is hollow and gasping.

He comes to her for prayers, and he seems to her like one in a mortal sickness, who seeks comfort in the prayers of others.

He says he was a catholic priest in Wimmenthal, and lived in the year 1414. ” (Wimmenthal is still catholic; the woman Eslinger herself is a Lutheran, and belongs to Backnang.

) “He says, that among other crimes, a fraud committed conjointly with his father, on his brothers, presses sorely on him; he can not get quit of it; it obstructs him.

He always entreated her to go with him to Wimmenthal, whither he was banished, or consigned, and pray there for him.

“She says she can not tell whether what he says is true; and does not deny that she thought to find treasures by his aid.

She has often told him that the prayers of a sinner, like herself, can not help him, and that he should seek the Redeemer; but he will not forbear his entreaties.

When she says these things, he is sad, and presses nearer to her, and lays his head so close that she is obliged to pray into his mouth.

_He seems hungry for prayers.

_ She has often felt his tears on her cheek and neck; they felt icy cold; but the spot soon after burns, and they have a bluish red mark.

(These marks are visible on her skin.

) “One night this apparition brought with him a large dog, which leaped on the beds, and was seen by her fellow-prisoners also, who were much terrified, and screamed.

The ghost, however, spoke, and said, ‘Fear not;

this is my father.

’ He had since brought the dog with him again, which alarmed them dreadfully, and made them quite ill.

“Both Mayer and the prisoners asserted, that Eslinger was scarcely seen to sleep, either by night or day, for ten weeks.

She ate very little, prayed continually, and appeared very much wasted and exhausted.

She said she saw the spectre alike, whether her eyes were opened or closed, which showed that it was a magnetic perception, and not _seeing_ by her bodily organs.

It is remarkable that a cat belonging to the jail, being shut up in this room, was so frightened when the apparition came, that it tried to make its escape by flying against the walls; and finding this impossible, it crept under the coverlet of the bed, in extreme terror.

The experiment was made again, with the same result; and after this second time the animal refused all nourishment, wasted away, and died.

“In order to satisfy myself,” says Dr. Kerner, “of the truth of these depositions, I went to the prison on the night of the 15th of October, and shut myself up without light in Eslinger’s cell.

About half-past eleven I heard a sound as of some hard body being flung down, but not on the side where the woman was, but the opposite; she immediately began to breathe hard, and told me the spectre was there.

I laid my hand on her head, and adjured it as an evil spirit to depart.

I had scarcely spoken the words when there was a strange rattling, crackling noise, all round the walls, which finally seemed to go out through the window; and the woman said that the spectre had departed.

“On the following night it told her that it was grieved at being addressed as an evil spirit, which it was not, but one that deserved pity; and that what it wanted was prayers and redemption.

“On the 18th of October, I went to the cell again, between ten and eleven, taking with me my wife, and the wife of the keeper, Madame Mayer.

When the woman’s breathing showed me the spectre was there, I laid my hand on her, and adjured it, in gentle terms, not to trouble her further.

The same sort of sound as before commenced, but it was softer, and this time continued all along the passage, where there was certainly nobody.

We all heard it.

“On the night of the 20th I went again, with Justice Heyd.

We both heard sounds when the spectre came, and the woman could not conceive why we did not see it.

We could not; but we distinctly felt a cool wind blowing upon us when, according to her account, it was near, although there was no aperture by which air could enter.

” On each of these occasions Dr. Kerner seems to have remained about a couple of hours.

Madame Mayer now resolved to pass a night in the cell, for the purpose of observation; and she took her niece, a girl aged nineteen, with her: her report is as follows:— “It was a rainy night, and, in the prison, pitch dark.

My niece slept sometimes; I remained awake all night, and mostly sitting up in bed.

“About midnight I saw a light come in at the window; it was a yellowish light, and moved slowly; and though we were closely shut in, I felt a cool wind blowing on me.

I said to the woman, ‘The ghost is here, is he not?

’ She said ‘Yes,’ and continued to pray, as she had been doing before.

The cool wind and the light now approached me; my coverlet was quite light, and I could see my hands and arms; and at the same time I perceived an indescribable odor of putrefaction; my face felt as if ants were running over it.

(Most of the prisoners described themselves as feeling the same sensation when the spectre was there.

) Then the light moved about, and went up and down the room; and on the door of the cell I saw a number of little glimmering stars, such as I had never before seen.

Presently, I and my niece heard a voice which I can compare to nothing I ever heard before.

It was not like a human voice.

The words and sighs sounded as if they were drawn up out of a deep hollow, and appeared to ascend from the floor to the roof in a column; while this voice spoke, the woman was praying aloud: so I was sure it did not proceed from her.

No one could produce such a sound.

They were strange, superhuman sighs and entreaties for prayers and redemption.

“It is very extraordinary that, whenever the ghost spoke, I always _felt it beforehand_.

[Proving that the spirit had been able to establish a rapport with this person.

She was in a magnetic relation to him.

] We heard a crackling in the room also.

I was perfectly awake, and in possession of my senses; and we are ready to make oath to having seen and heard these things.

” On the 9th of December, Madame Mayer spent the night again in the cell, with her niece and her maid-servant; and her report is as follows:— “It was moonlight, and I sat up in bed all night, watching Eslinger.

Suddenly I saw a white shadowy form, like a small animal, cross the room.

I asked her what it was; and she answered, ‘Don’t you see it’s a lamb?

It often comes with the apparition.

’ We then saw a stool, that was near us, lifted and _set down_ again on its legs.

She was in bed, and praying the whole time.

Presently, there was such a noise at the window that I thought all the panes were broken.

She told us it was the ghost, and that he was sitting on the stool.

We then heard a walking and shuffling up and down, although I could not see him; but presently I felt a cool wind blowing on me, and out of this wind the same hollow voice I had heard before, said, ‘In the name of Jesus, look on me!

’ “Before this, the moon was gone, and it was quite dark; but when the voice spoke to me, I saw a light around us, though still no form.

Then there was a sound of walking toward the opposite window, and I heard the voice say, ‘Do you see me now?

’ And then, for the first time, I saw a shadowy form, stretching up as if to make itself visible to us, but could distinguish no features.

“During the rest of the night, I saw it repeatedly, sometimes sitting on the stool, and at others moving about; and I am perfectly certain that there was no moonlight now, nor any other light from without.

How I saw it, I can not tell; it is a thing not to be described.

“Eslinger prayed the whole time, and the more earnestly she did so, the closer the spectre went to her.

It sometimes sat upon her bed.

“About five o’clock, when he came near to me, and I felt the cool air, I said, ‘Go to my husband, in his chamber, and leave a sign that you have been there!

’ He answered distinctly, ‘Yes.

’ Then we heard the door, which was fast locked, open and shut; and we saw the shadow float out (for he floated rather than walked), and we heard the shuffling along the passage.

“In a quarter of an hour we saw him return, entering by the window; and I asked him if he had been with my husband, and what he had done.

He answered by a sound like a short, low, hollow laugh.

Then he hovered about without any noise, and we heard him speaking to Eslinger, while she still prayed aloud.

Still, as before, I always knew when he was going to speak.

After six o’clock, we saw him no more.

In the morning, my husband mentioned, with great surprise, that his chamber door, which he was sure he had fast bolted and locked, even taking out the key when he went to bed, he had found wide open.

” On the 24th, Madame Mayer passed the night there again; but on this occasion she only saw a white shadow coming and going, and standing by the woman, who prayed unceasingly.

She also heard the shuffling.

Between prisoners and the persons in authority who went to observe, the number of those who testify to this phenomenon is considerable; and, although the amount of what was perceived varied according to the receptivity of the subject in each case, the evidence of all is perfectly coincident as to the character of the phenomena.

Some saw only the light; others distinguished the form in the midst of it; all heard the sound, and perceived the mouldering earthy smell.

That the receptivity of the women was greater than that of the men, after what I have elsewhere said, should excite no surprise; the preponderance of the sympathetic system in them being sufficient to account for the difference.

Frederica Follen, from Lowenstein, who was eight weeks in the same cell with Eslinger, was witness to all the phenomena, though she only once arrived at seeing the spectre in its perfect human form, as the latter saw it; but it frequently spoke to her, bidding her amend her life, and remember that it was one who had tasted of death that give her this counsel.

This circumstance had a great effect upon her.

When any of them swore, the apparition always evinced much displeasure, grasped them by the throat, and forced them to pray.

Frequently, when he came or went, they said it sounded like a flight of pigeons.

Catherine Sinn, from Mayenfels, was confined in an adjoining room for a fortnight.

After her release, she was interrogated by the minister of her parish, and deposed that she had known nothing of Eslinger, or the spectre; “but every night, being quite alone, I heard a rustling and a noise at the window, which looked only into the passage.

I felt and heard, though I could not see anybody, that some one was moving about the room; _these sounds_ were accompanied by a cool wind, though the place was closely shut up.

I heard also a crackling, and a shuffling, and a sound as if gravel were thrown; but could find none in the morning.

Once it seemed to me that a hand was laid softly on my forehead.

I did not like staying alone, on account of these things, and begged to be put into a room with others; so I was placed with Eslingen and Follen.

The same things continued here, and they told me about the ghost; but not being alone, I was not so frightened.

I often heard him speak; it was hollow and slow, not like a human voice; but I could seldom catch the words.

When he left the prison, which was generally about five in the morning, he used to say, ‘Pray!

’ and when he did so, he would add, ‘God reward you!

’ I never saw him distinctly till the last morning I was there; then I saw a white shadow standing by Eslinger’s bed.

Signed, “CATHERINE SINN.

“MINISTER BINDER, Mayenfels.

” It would be tedious, were I to copy the depositions of all the prisoners, the experience of most of them being similar to the above.

I

will therefore content myself with giving an abstract of the most remarkable particulars.

Besides the crackling, rustling as of paper, walking, shuffling, concussions of the windows and of their beds, &c. , &c. , they heard sometimes a fearful cry, and not unfrequently the bed-coverings were pulled from them; it appearing to be the object of the spirit to manifest himself thus to those to whom he could not make himself visible; and as I find this pulling off the bed-clothes, and heaving up the bed as if some one were under it, repeated in a variety of cases, foreign and English, I conclude the motive to be the same.

Several of the women heard him speak.

All these depositions are contained in Dr. Kerner’s report to the magistrates; and he concludes by saying, that there can be no doubt of the fact of the woman Elizabeth Eslinger suffering these annoyances, by whatever name people may choose to call them.

Among the most remarkable phenomena, is the real or apparent opening of the door, so that they could see what was in the passage.

Eslinger said that the spirit was often surrounded by a light, and his eyes looked fiery; and there sometimes came with him two lambs, which occasionally appeared as stars.

He often took hold of Eslinger, and made her sit up, put her hands together, that she might pray; and once he appeared to take a pen and paper from under his gown, and wrote, laying it on her coverled.

It is extremely curious that, on two occasions, Eslinger saw Dr. Kerner and Justice Heyd enter with the ghost, when they were not there in the body, and both times Heyd was enveloped in a black cloud.

The ghost, on being asked, told Eslinger that the cloud indicated that trouble was impending.

A few days afterward his child died very unexpectedly, and Dr. Kerner now remembered, that the first time Eslinger said she had seen Heyd in this way, his father had died directly afterward.

Kerner attended both patients, and was thus associated in the symbol.

Follen also saw these two images, and spoke, believing the one to be Dr. Kerner himself.

On other occasions she saw strangers come in with the ghost, whom afterward, when they _really_ came in the body, she recognised.

This seems to have been a sort of second sight.

Dr. K.

says, I think justly enough, that if Eslinger had been feigning, she never would have ventured on what seemed so improbable.

Some of the women, after the spectre had visibly leaned over them, or had spoken into their ears, were so affected by the odor he diffused that they vomited, and could not eat till they had taken an emetic; and those parts of their persons that he touched became painful and swollen, an effect I find produced in numerous other instances.