A Haunted House.
Since the curious affair of the Boulevard Voltaire we have heard little of haunted houses in Paris, but now comes a story from Arcueil, situated in the neighbourhood of the French capital, of some phenomena which are creating a great deal of annoyance and are exciting at the same time considerable speculation. In rather an isolated building resides the Vicomte de Larnage, whose life according to this account has, during the past four weeks, become a burden to him owing to the pranks played on his windows, and to the howls and cries which resound in every room during the day as well as in the night.
The panes of glass were pierced by mysterious projectiles with such force that only small round holes were made in them, but since gendarmes and policemen have occupied the place they have taken to falling of their own accord. Not a window in the house has a vestige of glass about it, while the groans and shrieks continue, though with less frequency than before.
The only neighbour is a retired police functionary, who certainly could not be suspected of playing such tricks; but measures were adopted with a view to ascertaining whether any possibility the projectiles might have proceeded from his premises, with the result that the gendarmes acquired the conviction that nothing had been sent from this quarter. In short the agents of the law are completely puzzled, and are unable to throw the slightest light on this peculiar affair.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle, 23rd December 1893.
The story of a haunted house.
A haunted house at Arcueil Cachan, Paris, is now interesting the French police. Its tenant, Vicomte de Larnage, says that he has been for a whole month tormented with noises for which he can assign no material or other cause. A week after they began he made a complaint to the Commissioner of Police of the district. This is what he said in writing:
“M. le Commissionaire – For eight days and nights my windows have been broken as if bullets had been fired at them. The holes made are as if pierced by the balls of rifles of the new model or rather by rifles of a still unknown model, they cutting through the glass without otherwise breaking it. I have not found any projectiles, and can only speak of effects without going into causes. This is not all. Every room in the house is noisy both day and night with cries and groans and howlings.”
Commissioner of Police Michaut sent gendarmes and agents in plain clothes to watch the house, which is detached and surrounded by walls, but their presence has not abated the nuisance of which Vicomte de Larnage complained. there is not now an undamaged pane of glass in the front of the house.
A retired Commissioner of Police lives over the way. The police-watchers refuse to believe that projectiles could have been discharged from his house at the Vicomte’s. Supposing, they say, there were a malicious person at the ex-Commissioner’s, it might explain the peculiar breakages of the panes, but not the other noises.
Edinburgh Evening News, Monday 25th December 1893.