HAUNTED!

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 776, 24 September 1929, Page 1

HAUNTED!

Ponsonby’s Mystery House Gutted by Fire MANY STRANGE STORIES TOTTERING villa —haunted. In the darkened hours of night there echoed from within its mysterious walls wierd sounds of groans, and ghostlike gentle knockings. In such vivid fashion do old Ponsonby residents tell of the weather-beaten two-storeyed house situated at the corner of New and Dublin Streets, which was completely gutted by fire about 8.30 last evening. Many stories of mystery are told of this villa, which was of eight, rooms and unoccupied at the time of fire. “Yes, it was empty,” remarked a resident in the vicinity this morning. “But who could live in that house with all those uncanny and unbecoming noises. I really believe it was haunted. Those creeping sounds seemed too real to be fictitious. Then in recent years I have known no one to stay there long. It has been let at various times, as a boarding house and as an apartment house, but the tenants have been few and far between and their stays very brief,” continued this resident in her dramatic narrative.

While a Sun man could obtain little of a definite nature, and the firemen who attended the outbreak reported all was “0.K.” as far as ghosts or spirits were concerned. Another story goes that in one of the small rooms was an ugly blood stain, spelling misdeeds, and possibly murder, but little of this could be confirmed. It all sounded more like a fairy tale. But for long has it been known as the haunted house. Built more than half a century ago, shortly after the subdivision of that land, when it was transferred from Bishop Pompallier’s hands, it borders the footpath and features an old-fashioned overhanging balcony. In later years it has commanded little attention, except when folks have mused—“that is the haunted house.”

Although the fire last evening completely gutted the interior, the walls and roof remain standing. The flames, which were spectacular in the early stages of the fire, had a strong hold by the time the city and Ponsonby fire brigades arrived. Using leads from hydrants on both street frontages, the firemen quickly mastered the outbreak, which had attracted attention from all parts of the city. The house, which was owned by Mrs. M. I. Moody, was insured for £370 with the New Zealand Insurance Company.