A lady writes: "My father and old Mr. D---- were first cousins. Richard
D---- asked my father would he come and sit up with him one night, in
order to see what might be seen. Both were particularly sober men. The
annoyances in the house were becoming unbearable. Mrs. D----'s work-box
used to be thrown down, the table-cloth would be whisked off the table,
the fender and fireirons would be hurled about the room, and other
similar things would happen. Mr. D---- and my father went up to one of
the bedrooms, where a big fire was made up. They searched every part of
the room carefully, but nothing uncanny was to be seen or found. They
then placed two candles and a brace of pistols on a small table between
them, and waited. Nothing happened for some time, till all of a sudden a
large black dog walked out from under the bed. Both men fired, and the
dog disappeared. That is all! The family had to leave the house."

Now to the blending of fact with fiction, of which we have already
spoken: the intelligent reader can decide in his own mind which is which.
It was said that black magic had been practised in this house at one
time, and that in consequence terrible and weird occurrences were quite
the order of the day there. When being cooked, the hens used to scream
and the mutton used to bleat in the pot. Black dogs were seen frequently.
The beds used to be lifted up, and the occupants thereof used to be
beaten black and blue, by invisible hands. One particularly ghoulish tale
was told. It was said that a monk (!) was in love with one of the
daughters of the house, who was an exceedingly fat girl. She died
unmarried, and was buried in the family vault. Some time later the vault
was again opened for an interment, and those who entered it found that
Miss D----'s coffin had been disturbed, and the lid loosened. They
then saw that all the fat around her heart had been scooped away.

Apropos of ineradicable blood on a floor, which is a not infrequent item