The Dancing Picture.
Strange Tricks in a Haunted House.
Milan, August 15th.
Troops were called out on Tuesday night to reduce to order peasants who were engaged in a faction fight. The disturbance took place around a country house, supposed to be haunted by spirits, and belonging to a man named Gattano Ulva, who had called upon the parish priest, telling him that life was no longer possible in his own house on account of the enormous crowd of spirits.
The priest visited the house, and saw a number of spiritualistic phenomena. A big picture began to dance in the middle of the dining-room a heavy statue fell down and the broken pieces executed a dance. The priest advised Ulva to have his twins, just born, baptised. This was done, but the spirits went on with tricks.
Meanwhile the peasants who became aware of what was going on formed two parties – those who believed in Signor Ulva’s statements to the priest, and those who disbelieved in the story of the spirits. They came into collision, as stated, on Tuesday night. The intervention of the troops put an end not only to the peasants’ conflict, but even to the enterprise of the spirits. – “Times” telegram.
Wiltshire News, 19th August 1921.