it so happened that the circumstances of fate allowed me to follow my own bent in the choice of a profession. from my earliest youth the weird, the mysterious had an irresistible fascination for me. having private means, i resolved to follow my unique inclinations, and i am now well known to all my friends as a professional exposer of ghosts, and one who can clear away the mysteries of most haunted houses. up to the present i have never had cause to regret my choice, but at the same time i cannot too strongly advise any one who thinks of following my example to hesitate before engaging himself in tasks that entail

time, expense, thankless labour, often ridicule, and not seldom great personal danger. to explain, by the application of science, phenomena attributed to spiritual agencies has been the work of my life. i have, naturally, gone through strange difficulties in accomplishing my mission. i propose in these pages to relate the histories of certain queer events, enveloped at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but, nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable of explanation.