Quicksand and Living Busts

Name: Asa Gilbert, Eddy Foster, Daniel Patterson
Died: November 1, 1942

Asa Gilbert, Eddy Foster, and Daniel Patterson were the Mansion’s handyman, gardener, and liveryman. Little is known about their early years except that each has a past he was trying to hide, or hide from. While they were quite young they all joined the same carnival as roustabouts and soon became fast friends. Each of them developed a crush on Miss Lilian, the tight rope walker, and all but came to blows over her. After that they vowed to never again let a woman disrupt their friendship. Miss Lilian was fond of the young men, and when Master Gracey took her as his bride, she had Gracey hire them as servants.

Gilbert, Foster, and Patterson faithfully performed their "downstairs" duties at the Mansion, while keeping a respectful distance from the odd goings on of the "upstairs". When their beloved Mistress Lilian died in the "accident" they hid their grief and kept to themselves more than ever. They feared that Master Gracey would dismiss them, though he actually valued them almost as family.

Little Leota tried to seduce each of the three men, but they would have nothing to do with her. One stormy night, she sent them down to the river to investigate a noise. Hearing the howls of Hellhound coming from the wrong direction, the trio became disoriented in the dark and stumbled into the quicksand. They climbed onto each other’s shoulders in a futile effort to reach a swaying tree branch. It’s said that the ghosts of the three faithful servants sometimes appear outside the Mansion on misty mornings to lend a hand with repair work, landscaping, or moving stanchion boxes.



Name: Thurl, Ravens, Croft, Singg and Buss
Died: August 24, 1934

Sherman Thurl, Richard Ravens, Robert Croft, Dansen Singg, and Omney Buss were members of the Yale Glee Club at the time Master Gracey was a student. The five friends formed their own singing group which was the most popular entertainment at the social functions. They asked their classmate George to come up with a catchy name for the quintet. He suggested that since their singing was soft and sweet as marshmallows that they should call themselves the Mallow Men.

The ensemble continued to perform for a short time after graduation, but the Mallow Men eventually realized that they had to go their separate ways. Thurl became a radio announcer, Ravens and Croft teamed up as songwriters, while Singg and Buss went into vaudeville.

In 1934 Master Gracey invited his fellow alumni to the Mansion for a reunion. At his suggestion the Mallow Men got back together to revive their old act for the party. And to add to the excitement of the evening, Thurl arranged to broadcast his radio show from the Mansion that evening. The turnout was excellent despite the ominous thunderstorm, and by air time the ballroom was overflowing with cheerful alumni. Singg and Buss put the guests and listeners at ease by poking fun at the spooky atmosphere of the Mansion in their comedy routine. The radio show continued with a drama about two teenagers exploring a haunted house-Thurl’s deep bass voice narrating. Continuing the theme of the show, the Mallow Men performed the a song especially written for the occasion by Ravens and Croft entitled "Grim Grinning Ghosts". For the finale the entire cast sang the refrain "Hurry back, we would like your company". The show ran short, so Thurl, Ravens, Croft, Singg, and Buss stepped up to the mike for an encore. Just then lightening struck the relay antenna on the roof and the Mallow Men were electrocuted.

The five singers were buried in the Mansion’s graveyard. Feeling responsible for his friends’ death, Master Gracey commissioned busts of the Mallow Men to go over their graves. He further directed Eddy Foster, the gardener, to plant a hedge in front of them so they would appear to be on stage, the poplar trees behind them as their backdrop. Three years later, during the final performance of the Jones Family Opera Singers, the head of Thurl’s bust broke off. Asa Gilbert, the handyman, repaired it only for the head to fall off again five years later on the night Little Leota drowned, the three servants died in quicksand, and Master Gracey’s dog Hellhound was struck by lightening. The singer’s bust has remained that way ever since.

(Stories by Ghost Gallery)

The Mysterious Daughter

Little Leota
Born: October 1, 1919
Died: November 1, 1942

Little Leota was Madame Leota’s daughter and the first child born in the Mansion. Madame Leota never revealed the father’s name, but it’s interesting to note that whenever Little Leota spoke... Master Gracey always fell silent.

At a tender age, Little Leota began helping her mother in the seance circle. She soon developed her own talents as a spirit medium. Always playful, she teased or flirted with the seance guests. Many believed that if they failed to heed her taunting call to "Hurry Back", her little joke about a death certificate would come to pass.

Fascinated with death, Little Leota was instrumental in getting the townspeople to hold funerals in the Mansion’s conservatory. However, she was a practical joker, nailing the coffin shut before the viewing or replacing the flowers with dead ones. Her favorite trick was to lock all the guest room doors in the middle of the night and then run down the corridor knocking on them.

Little Leota was given to long and lonely wanderings, especially at night. She could be seen carrying a single candle from window to window or endlessly walking the hallways, candelabra in hand. She loved to stand on the porch and feel the wind in her face.

Quite the tart, Little Leota had affairs with every man that struck her fancy. The only men who resisted her charms were the Mansion’s handyman, gardener, and liveryman, who feared for their jobs should they become involved with her. Incensed at being snubbed, Little Leota plotted against the trio, sending them on a wild goose chase one night. They perished in quicksand, as she watched from a tree. The branch broke, and she fell in the river and drowned. When her body was recovered, it had shriveled to the size of a doll.


Little Leota and the Pirates

Little Leota was the type of person who was easily bored with everyday routine. She could not sit inside and mope about the Mansion like the other family members. She had to be involved in some sort of mischief.

One evening after the servants had left and the Mansion was deathly quiet, Leota climbed out her bedroom window, slid down off the archway, and was away in a flash. she took a horse from the stable and galloped down to the wharf.

A pirate ship had landed earlier in the evening and the crew was enjoying their liberty at a local pub. They were rowdy and crude, singing pirate chanteys and drinking rum. Little Leota joined in with the fun.

The next morning, Leota was strangely silent. Others in the household remarked on her strange behavior. Then a change came over her and she began singing a peculiar song: "Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!" and the hallway echoed with an awful laughter and the sound of water lapping on boards.

Then it was over. She regained her composure, smiled sweetly and greeted the guests for the day.

(Story by Ghost Gallery)