The Ghosts in the Abbey

From Catholic World for August 1904.



THE GHOSTS OF THE ABBEY.

BY AGNES O'FARRELL ROWE,
Author of " Strangely Met," " Come," "A Shadowed Life," etc.

IT was a very old, rather tumbled-down and dilapidated-looking
house. For years it had borne the reputation of being haunted and was
supposed to have been a monastery in days gone by.

The country people declared that the monks were to be seen
nightly about the grounds, telling their beads, while one old friar in
particular was reported to traverse certain corridors, and visit parts
of the house in a manner which most decidedly seemed to point to the
fact that some secret weighed heavily upon his mind.

This good spirit was described by those who alleged they had seen
him as wearing a coarse brown habit fastened at the waist by a cord,
the hood, or cowl, being always well drawn forward so as to conceal
the head. A low murmuring sound, generally heard some distance off as
though to warn people of the approach of the supernatural visitor, was
supposed to accompany each apparition.

"No, I cannot say that I have been honored by a visit from his
reverence myself," said our host, in answer to some of the questions
asked; "but my daughter has seen this visitor twice, according to her
story, but has never mustered sufficient courage to challenge him. I
must acknowledge that we have all heard rather strange, uncanny sounds
at times, but have seen nothing, so we put the peculiar noise down to
no more romantic source than the scuttling of water rats." In spite of
Mr. White's assertion that he saw some dark object hiding among the
ruins of the old abbey church a few nights previously, the major still
remained an unbeliever and could not be raised to sufficient
enthusiasm to head the search party which we intended to institute.

Both my friend and I had fully made up our minds that if such a
person as the monk existed we would unearth him during these few
holidays. Now, I was only a young medical student whose head for some
time had been far more full of love for pretty Ella Leigh, Jack's
sister, than it was of either study or medicine. According to Jack's
own arrangement that night we slipped from the house long after all
the more sober-headed inmates were asleep, and having hidden ourselves
among the ruins, waited for the first appearance of the ghost.

Meantime Ella Leigh lay awake thinking of all the stories that
she had ever heard in connection with their new home. It was only of
late years that the old Abbey had been purchased by her father, and
now that she had finished school and was at liberty to indulge in a
little romance of this sort she found it very interesting to hear the
different stories told by the neighboring peasants.

To her it seemed not an improbable thing that the monks should
still haunt their earthly home. What more likely than that their
relics and valued church treasure were concealed somewhere about,
hidden from the time of the Reformation? Perhaps they were but waiting
for the arrival of one of their own faith who would have courage to
listen to them, and to whom they could divulge their secret and thus
earn a much-needed rest.

At length, tired out, the weary lids closed, and she fell into a
heavy slumber. Suddenly she awoke with the feeling that she was not
alone. She raised herself on her elbow and looked around. The bright
moonlight streamed in through the window and cast a hallowed radiance
about the room. It seemed to the girl that the curtains of her little
bed parted and a monk in a brown habit, his head bent forward and his
hands joined in an attitude of prayer, stood before her.

With a terrible feeling of horror upon her Ella lay watching him,
spell-bound with amazement, scarcely daring to breathe lest his
attention might be attracted towards herself.

The mysterious figure stood for some time as though expecting the
girl to address him, but all her boasted courage seemed to have
deserted her. She only stared with wildly terrified eyes upon him,
while her tongue, with which she would fain have summoned help, seemed
to cleave to the roof of her mouth and was unable to perform its
office.

For fully five minutes, which seemed hours to her, the figure
stood; then, seeing no advance likely to be made on her part, the monk
raised his head and looked straight into the eyes of the girl. A
pleading expression passed over his pale, haggard countenance as he
fixed a pair of piercing eyes upon her, and then slowly and solemnly
made a movement with his long, bony fingers motioning her to rise and
follow him.

During this interval some of her old courage and daring had
returned. It was not likely if this was a visitor from another world
that he would want to harm her; besides, was not this the opportunity
for which she had often longed? Now that it had arrived surely she
must do something. Terribly frightened and shivering in every limb,
though trying her best to be brave and if possible to learn what it
all meant, the girl instinctively followed.

Her guide did not seem to walk, but rather glided along as though
floating on air. Still keeping her courage well to the fore, the girl
pressed on, closely following him as he traversed the landing outside
her room. Pausing at last before an alcove which was quite big enough
to hold the full-sized stature of a man, her strange guide paused.

Here, to her astonishment, she saw that he moved a hidden spring
which caused the statue to revolve slowly, and a large open panel
revealed itself to view. This the monk also opened by means of a
spring, and disclosed beyond a dark passage and flight of steps. Once
more that mysterious figure turned and looked full upon his companion,
as if to make sure that she was following; then, entering the aperture
with the astonished girl still closely following at his heels, the
monk sped on, his brown habit floating around him and his feet, though
encased in sandals, seeming never to touch the floor.

Suddenly he stopped. Ella glanced around, but was unable to
recognize the spot as any which she had visited before. The place in
which she found herself was a long, narrow passage, and opening from
either side of it were a number of entrances. Pushing open a door to
his left the monk entered. Ella followed and, to her astonishment,
found herself in a small underground chapel or crypt.

Once more a strange, half-fearful feeling of awe took possession
of the girl. She turned to look for her guide, but he was now nowhere
to be seen; he had disappeared as mysteriously as he had come!

As we two waited alone among the ruins in the dead of night a
strange feeling of awe crept over us. I have often heard that
moonlight has a strange, rather weird effect upon some natures; but
whether this is true or not as regards my own case I would not like to
say.

It was a beautiful night; not a breath of wind stirred among the
wild bushes or dense undergrowth that covered the ruins of the Abbey;
the air was not exactly cold, but somehow the immovable posture had
caused our limbs to ache and grow stiff. We were both about tired of
the position, and began to wish that we were once more cozily tucked
in between the sheets, when suddenly a strange object attracted our
attention.

From behind a huge pillar of stone a weird figure arose and made
its way towards us. When our astonishment had been overcome by a
little common sense, and we could collect our scattered senses, we saw
that this mysterious creature was enveloped in a long, brown habit
caught in at the waist by a cord.

Somehow it did not surprise us that the object on which our eyes
rested resembled in every particular the ghost of which we had heard
so much. It was without doubt the very spirit who was supposed to
haunt the Abbey. Now was our time, I told myself; but, in spite of
this feeling of joy that the mystery was about to be cleared up, a
stronger and a stranger one of awe crept over me. What if after all
there was more in this than we imagined? Could it really be possible
that this monk was no earthly visitor, but a spirit from the other
world?

Almost at that instant, as the thought entered my mind, I was
startled by a low, piercing shriek. For a moment nothing but the
horror and unearthliness of that weird cry filled my mind; then,
before either Jack or myself had recovered sufficiently to act or
speak, the solitary figure suddenly disappeared, and as it did so a
number of objects, all clad in similar attire, showed themselves.

So sudden had been their appearance that it seemed to us, the
astonished onlookers, as though these figures had arisen from the
earth just as they stood.

With a barrow full of something before them, every man, by a
given signal, took up his load and began to move on. Down towards the
river the small procession slowly wended its way, and certainly had we
been but a little more superstitious we must assuredly have fancied
that the procession of silent workers, with their heavy loads, only
represented the already much-talked-of monks, who were supposed to be
engaged in carting the utensils for the rebuilding of their former
monastery.

As the long line of religious began to disappear in the distance
Jack Leigh turned excitedly towards his friend, saying: "I have it all
now; part of the mystery at least is explained to me. . . . '

But before another word had escaped his lips a piercing scream,
long, heartrending and full of terror, reached our ears from some
unknown, unseen, though evidently nearby quarter.

With the cry of "Follow me; some one is in need of our help,"
Jack dashed out from our hiding-place, and a moment later had reached
the ruined wall where we had first seen those mysterious brown
figures. Imagine our horror as we reached the spot to see a girl's
head and shoulders suddenly appear above a hole or trap door in the
ground, while her agonized screams still continued to rend the
midnight air with cries for help.

In a moment we had seen how things were, and I rushed forward
just in time to trip forward the huge monster in monastic attire who
was almost upon the heels of that terrified fugitive. Another few
seconds found me grappling for very life with a being who I soon found
to my cost was anything but a spirit, being instead a rather
substantial monster of flesh and blood. It is not at all unlikely that
my part of the story might have terminated rather abruptly during this
encounter, for my antagonist, being a burly and desperate fellow, was
determined, if possible, to do for me, had not my friend suddenly laid
down his own fair burden and come to my assistance.

At last, having overcome the supposed monk, I turned upon my
friend with the words, "What does it all mean?' For answer Jack led me
to the spot where the still insensible girl lay. A terrible cry broke
from my lips as I recognized in that unconscious form, clad only in
night attire with a morning gown cast over her, the unconscious figure
of the girl I loved, Jack's sister, Ella.

To carry the only half-conscious girl home, rouse the house and
return with more help, was our next move. Upon hearing Ella's strange
story, it was proved without a doubt that the girl had in her dream
risen from her bed and followed, as she thought, her supernatural
visitor through the secret panel by the statue. The shock she received
on finding that her saintly guide had disappeared and she was alone
had been the cause of her sudden awakening.

Ella's first impulse was to get back to her room as quickly as
she could; but seeing that she was in a strange place, she was
frightened and glanced curiously around. The apartment was lighted by
small, lantern like lamps, which hung from the walls and ceiling.
Sufficient illumination was given by this means to show all that the
room contained. From its appearance it might have been a sacristy, so
well was the place filled with the vessels of silver and gold usually
used in the services of the church. There were also a pile of rich
satin and silk vestments, a quantity of old lace, valuable plush and
silk curtains, as well as a number of heavily worked gold and silver
candelabra and other costly ornaments.

The sight of all these beautiful and costly things so took away
Ella's breath that for a few moments she stood gazing around her in
delight. Suddenly she was recalled to a sense of her strange position
by the sound of a heavy rumbling noise, accompanied by the patter of
feet. Fear for the moment held her spellbound; but the steps instead
of drawing nearer faded away in the distance, and thoughts for her
personal safety rushed before her mind.

Where she really was she had not the slightest idea, but to make
her escape from this strange place was now her only desire. Leaving
the chapel or store-room in which she had found herself on awakening,
she made her way along a low, narrow passage, and as she did so her
heart stood still once more, for in the distance at the end of the
passage she saw a man's figure making his way towards her.

What prompted her to act as she did she never knew, but the sight
of this rough, burly-looking customer in the monks' habit seemed to
strike terror into her heart. Taking to her feet she ran with all her
might down the passage, which suddenly seemed to terminate in a long
ladder which led to an open space or trap door. Seeing the bright
moonlight streaming down, Ella made at once for it, and raised at the
same moment that cry for help which brought her brother and devoted
admirer so quickly to her side.

That same night the supposed monks were all arrested. They proved
to be a most dangerous gang of church robbers who, having found the
secret and subterranean passages connected with the old Abbey, had so
worked upon the superstition of the country folk that by adopting the
garb of the monks they were enabled to ply their nefarious work
unsuspected and by the aid of a small boat landed their sacrilegious
booty with ease.

The manner in which so many great church robberies had so far
managed to pass undetected was solved at last, and things were
recognized and claimed by their owners which had been brought some
hundreds of miles by the wily thieves.

Evidently the secret entrance from the major's house was not
known to the gang; for had it been so, there is but little doubt that
they would have made use of it to help themselves to that gentleman's
property. Sure enough they found the secret panel at the old statue
just as Ella described it from her dream, while buried among the ruins
was found the little crypt or secret chapel in which the false monks
now had stored their ill-gotten goods.

Whether the girl really was favored by a visitor from the other
world, or whether it was but the outcome of a highly sensitive and
imaginative mind whose thoughts were dwelling constantly on the old
legend, I do not presume to give an opinion. I simply state the facts
as they are and inform the reader that Ella Leigh was never troubled
with somnambulism again, nor was the ghost ever afterwards seen within
the precincts of the Abbey.