We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni Page B

left out of his account of those events. In addition, I thought that through my own cleverness I had convinced an entire town that a certain house was haunted, but my sister believed that she had proved her ability to communicate with the dead. In the end, it was a matter of perspective that was perhaps too complex for me to grasp.
    When Kate first suggested that we continue the rapping outside of the Hydesville house, I refused to cooperate. It seemed clear to me that if we rapped outside of the house, we would soon be caught in the act. However, Kate insisted that people already suspected it was our gift of second sight that made communication with the spirit possible. I admit I was easier to convince when I was angry with Mr. Lewis. He had already left town, having gathered the sworn certificates of dozens of witnesses. I promised myself that he would soon return when he learned it was the girl rather than the house that was haunted, but I was wrong. I never met Mr. Lewis again, although he did indeed publish his pamphlet. As promised, it did not include my name or Kate’s, but by the time it was printed, our notoriety was already ensured.
    When the rapping first descended upon the Fox family farm, a day of chaos and confusion ensued. I distinctly recall Lizzie clasping her hands to her ears and crying, “I won’t hear it! I won’t hear it!” My poor sister-in-law, Betsy, fell into a state of collapse, sobbing that no one had been murdered in her house. The peddler’s bones fell under blame, and David ran the box out of the house and into the barn for temporary storage. For my part, I regretted my actions almost at once, out of pity and fear for Betsy. I was afraid she would lose the baby, and this was something I did not intend and for which I would not forgive myself.
    Through it all, Kate was a center of calmness and serenity, with her hands folded placidly and her voice firmly stating, “I don’t think it is the same rapping. I am sure it is not the same spirit at all.”
    Of course, it absolutely was the same rapping, caused by the same source, and yet Kate’s continued insistence that it sounded different eventually had an effect on the listeners, and they agreed that the sound was not identical to the one heard in the Hydesville house. This surprised me, for I had not yet come to understand the magnificent power of suggestion that would play a role in our future deceptions.
    David asked if the spirit would rap for the alphabet, and two knocks were heard for yes. Painstakingly and patiently, David spelled out the alphabet, waiting for a rap to confirm each letter, until the following message was revealed: We are all your dear friends and relatives.
    This caused another commotion, resulting in David taking his wife to her brother’s house, where she could rest in peace, away from the rapping. Before he left, he argued with Mother about the new noises.
    â€œYour sister has the gift,” I heard Mother tell him.
    â€œNow, Mother, don’t talk superstitious nonsense,” David hushed her.
    â€œSuperstitious nonsense!” my mother sputtered indignantly. “Did you not just recite the alphabet for a ghost? My grandmother had the second sight—”
    â€œYes, so you’ve told us,” David interjected. “I’ve heard the stories.”
    â€œStories! Is that what you think? But surely you remember your aunt Elizabeth!”
    â€œCertainly I remember her—vaguely—but whether or not she actually prophesied her own death…”
    Mother gasped. “Do you think I don’t know whether or not my own sister had the sight?”
    â€œPerhaps, but I am just as sure that my sister does not!” David stared her down stubbornly.
    â€œThen how do you explain all that has happened here this month—and today, here at this house?”
    â€œI don’t know, Mother. But there must be an explanation, an explanation that is