27/08/2024
Pushed Over the Edge by Ghosts
During the late 1800s, many inmates, for whatever reason, haunted the rooms and hallways of the “lunatic asylums” of the United States. One man, was known to have a fascination for boxing. He would often steal a pencil, draw photos of men on the wall and have a match with them, punching away for hours. In another asylum, one lady believed that her sister-in-law, was in a room just below her and was being torn to pieces by bloodhounds. This image haunted her day and night.
One woman in a Maryland asylum believed that her dead husband was in the room next to her and was calling day and night for her. She would often become violent and fight with the staff to gain access to the room.
Some inmates claimed or complained that they could contact the dead or were even visited by ghosts. Most of these were heavily involved in spiritualism within their lifetime and it greatly affected their sanity.
It is a mystery about what can send a mind over the edge. In one strange case, during the winter of 1886, a Boston undertaker received a phone call one night from a local cemetery office. When he answered, he heard a far away, “chilling” voice greeting him in the most eerie of tones. Suddenly, the phone went silent. Calling the operator, he asked to be transferred back to the line that called him. When the cemetery answered, they informed him that no one there had called.
This happened to the undertaker often and before long, he came to believe that someone from the grave was calling him. Possibly someone he had recently buried.
The man had the phone taken out of his house, which hurt his business in the worst way. He began to obsess over the phone calls and soon became insane.
Another instance of the mind being greatly disturbed was the case of Ralph Reynolds, who lived in Calhoun County, IA, during the later part of the 1800s.
Ralph was a strong young man, who boasted to his friends that he didn’t believe in the idea of ghosts. He said if he ever came upon one, he wouldn’t show the slightest sign of fear. His friends set out to prove him wrong.
A story was going around the area about a farmer who was recently murdered on a bridge. It was said that the ghost of the farmer walked under the bridge each night and if you were to go under it, you could see him. The friends dared young Ralph to stay under the bridge that night and he agreed.
Sometime during the night, the friends snuck through the woods to the bridge and one of them put on a ghostly sheet, making himself known to Ralph by moaning, and swaying in the darkness.
Ralph was beside himself with fear and began to shake violently. He soon passed out and his friends had to send for help.
Doctors claimed the incident caused him a case of severe “brain fever” and shattered his nerves. He spent two years in an asylum and when released, he seemed to be doing good, until he passed the bridge again. That’s when he took a turn for the worse and went totally insane, having to be placed back into the asylum for life.
Sometimes a traumatic incident in a person’s life can also destroy their sanity, such as happened to Anthony Zundt, of Berlin, Conn., in 1911.
Anthony’s best friend, Anthony Vresia, was murdered on July 4th of that year and he was really struggling with the loss. He had been depressed for some time and when he went into his house one night, his mouth dropped. There on his dining room table, he saw what he described as the ghost of his dead friend laying on it.
The fright caused Anthony to lose his voice. For day’s he could not speak to anyone or describe the terrible thing he had seen.
One of Anthony’s family members talked him into going to mass at his local church and as he prayed, his voice was restored. When he began to speak and tell others about the ghostly vision of his friend, he began to go “stark raving mad” and was placed in an asylum. He was declared hopelessly insane by doctors. He spent his time making friends with some of the other inmates, such as one lady who believed the doctor had her face and would not restore it to her and a man who claimed his insides were made of iron. He had to be constantly watched by staff because he would try to eat any substance, he could get his hands on to prove his point. Oh, and the others, the many others, who claimed that they too had seen and talked with real ghosts… Maybe they were right. What do you think?
