In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Appendix two A MissouriIrish Haunting Bishop John Joseph Hogan Recalls1 It was now the autumn of 1864, the fourth year of the [civil] war. The wildest terror overspread North Missouri. Bushwhackers and guerillas were everywhere. Murders, robberies, and burnings were of daily occurrence. Andaboveallplaces,CharitonCountywasthetheatreofdarkandatrocious crimes. The Mulhollands and Shaughnessys abandoned their homes, and fledforgreatersafety;sometoBrookfield,sometoSt.Catherine’s,andsome to Center Point. I noticed that these terror-stricken refugees were regular attendants at Mass at Brookfield, on days appointed for Mass there—the fourth Sunday of each month. One of the Shaughnessys, with his family, occupiedtemporarilythevacantresidenceofaSquireSportsman,closeby the railroad, on the east bank of East Yellow Creek, near Center Point; the Squire having fled from the place and gone to California at the beginning of the war. The Squire’s log mansion, the first built and longest inhabited house in that part of the country, did not, as the event proved, entirely suit thetastesofthenewcomers.Nodoubtitwasso,becausetheywerethefirst to make the sign of the cross within its walls, and to shake the holy water over its foundations. We have heard of a strong city long ago, the walls of which fell down, when assaulted by the prayers of the servants of the Lord, and if the Missouri Squire’s log castle did not come down so readily in a tumble,itwas,asweshallsee,becausetherewasinitunbeknown,“astrong armed man determined to keep his court.” (St. Luke 11:21.) On a Sunday after Mass at Brookfield, the Center Point Shaughnessys, attended by many of their neighbors, called on me for consultations and advice. They said that since they had occupied the Sportsman residence, theywere subjected to terrorsofanextraordinarykind.That,commencing 228 Appendix Two withsunset,andbetweenthattimeandnightfall,loudknockingnoiseswere frequentlyheard,within,outside,andunderthefloorofthehouse;andthat these noises were so strange and unusual as to cause the dogs to howl, and the fowls to fly off their roost. They said also, that at these times, a man, strange and unknown to them, was usually seen walking outside, around the house, and from the house to an outside kitchen, close by the end of the house, and that upon search being made for him, he was nowhere to be found. Furthermore, they averred, that during the hours of the night, the beds, doors, windows, and furniture of the house rattled and shook, and that the house itself seemed to move and sway on its side. Yet, when they aroseandlightedthelights,thecommotionusuallyhadceased,andnothing seemeddisturbed,oroutoforder.Thestrangevisitorthatwassooftenseen around the premises, was noticed by persons outside the house, to pass directlyfrom thedoor;and yet,uponinquiry,theinmateshadnoknowledge of the presence of such a person amongst them. These facts were testified to before me, by persons living in the house, and by outsiders—catholic and non-catholic—who had gone to the house through curiosity, or in order to find out the imposition, if such had been practiced there. Several testified, these were chiefly men, that when they heard the noises, and the hammering on the floor under their feet, where there was neither space nor cellar that they hastened out of the house, and could not be induced to return there. Those that I examined were persons above suspicion of collusion or deceit; and I found that were I to continue the examination, as many as forty could be produced, witnesses of these facts, and present when they had occurred. There was nothing left for me to conclude, that these terrified people were convinced, as I was by their testimony, that the case was one of supernatural agency. BEELZEBUB CAST OUT Mr. Shaughnessy and his wife besought me to go with them to their house, to stay with them there that night, and to say Mass for them there the next morning.ForthisIdid notfeel prepared,especiallyasIwasconvincedthat I would have to meet there a vexing evil spirit. I replied that I was not ready just then, but that I would soon appoint a time to be with them, of which I wouldgivethemduepreviousnotice,soallcouldassistatMassandreceive A Missouri-Irish Haunting 229 the sacraments. Mindful of the rebuke of Our Lord to his Apostles, who, althoughhavingreceivedpowerfromHimtocastoutdevilsinHisname(St. Luke10:17),wereneverthelessunabletodoso,forwantofcertainnecessary virtues in themselves (St. Mark 9:28); I thought it to be my duty, and in a measure necessary for my safety, to make a spiritual retreat of some days in prayer and fasting. Accordingly I entered into retreat. But scarcely had I begun, when I was obliged to go on a sick call, east of Center Point, in the direction of Macon City. Having attended the sick call, it was...

Share