62 Haunted Houses and their Phenomena : [February, 
Brown embodies a deep-rooted trait of human nature. On 
the other hand, there is in us all a vein of scepticism no 
less unreasoning than the credulity just mentioned. We 
are loath to accept, or even to sift fairly, a fa£t which does 
not chime in with popular ideas. And these two opposite 
tendencies do not compensate each other. The mind is like 
a balance where the centre of gravity lies too high above the 
point of suspension ; either scale, if it once gets a trifling 
impulse, may preponderate. 
There is in England, at least, another special difficulty. 
A haunted house is the property of some one. The more a 
rumour gets spread that No. 19, Alfred-street, is the scene 
of unexplained phenomena, the more its value becomes de- 
preciated. If I therefore make observations upon such a 
house, and publish them, I am in a dilemma. If I give the 
name of the town and of the street the proprietor may bring 
&n action against me for damages. If I withhold all such 
particulars the reader cannot test my statements, and is 
entitled to doubt whether I am not playing upon his cre- 
dulity. 
What is a haunted house ? One, simply, where sights are 
seen, sounds heard, shocks, vibrations, or touches felt, and 
vague sensations experienced, which cannot be at once ac- 
counted for. If such phenomena occur frequently or regu- 
larly the house falls into bad repute, the tenants leave, and 
it remains unoccupied. The cause of the manifestations in 
question has then to be sought among one out of two groups 
of agencies ; — 
a. “ Natural.” Here we have the deeds and misdeeds of 
practical jokers, of smugglers, coiners, and other 
criminals who have got access to vaults and cellars, 
and whose interest it is to keep the house untenanted. 
Here also must rank the strange sounds occasioned 
by rats, cats, inserts ; by the wind, by unknown 
water- courses, or by echoes. 
h. “ Extra- or Super-natural.” Under this head would be 
classed the manifestations, real or supposed, of the 
spirits of deceased human beings, of other spirits, 
or of beings of which the “ dweller on the threshold” 
in Earl Lytton’s “ Zanoni ” may serve as an illus- 
tration. Or, lastly, the phenomena in question may 
be conceived of as produced by some man who has 
acquired powers unknown to the bulk of his species, 
and who exercises them to punish or annoy some 
enemy. 
