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People who work in cemeteries often wind up with some odd tales to tell, as this item from the “Iowa County Democrat,” April 11, 1895, amply demonstrates:

Sexton Gorham, of Marietta City cemetery, is not a believer in ghosts, but during the many years he has been at work among the dead he has seen two mysterious persons suddenly disappear, that astonished him, says the Atlanta Constitution. 

Eleven years ago, he says, he was at work one Saturday and he noticed a man, dressed in black, standing about where the tool box is now. He says he worked on a short distance from him, and for one hour the mysterious man stood there like a statue. When Mr. Gorham concluded to quit work he placed his tools in his wheelbarrow and started towards the man to put up his tools. When he got within 15 or 20 yards of the man he looked down to guide his wheelbarrow, and when he looked up again the “man in black” had disappeared. 

He said it was an open space where he stood and there was no place for any one to hide. He said he looked all around, but he couldn't find him anywhere. Recently Sexton Gorham has had another experience. He said that he was coming from the new cemetery to the old, through a drizzling rain, and at a newly made grave he saw a woman dressed in black. He watched her closely, and walked toward her to see who it was out on such an inclement day, and when he got very near her he passed around a monument, and when he looked for the “woman in black" again she, too, had suddenly vanished. He went to where she stood and he could see no tracks and he made a diligent search for her, but nowhere was she visible. Sexton Gorham says it put some “curious feelings" on him, and he did not propose to explain the matter.

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You don’t normally see Mystery Blood, a sinister Woman in Black, and poltergeist activity all in the same newspaper story, but I guess this is just our lucky week.  This story from the “San Francisco Bulletin” was reprinted in the New Orleans “Times-Picayune” on September 20, 1862.

A Telegraph Hill Ghostess. The Woman in Black. Allusion was recently made in the Bulletin to a Telegraph Hill ghost story, and as there really is something remarkable about the matter, we now present the whole story as received from an intelligent disbeliever in "spirits." Said he:

It is a week ago last Monday when the first visitation came to a house on Kearney street, between Greenwich and Lombard. George---- something he's an Englishman by birth and a stevedore by occupation lived there. Long ago he married a widow who already had a daughter. The widow died, and George (he's got a curious name that I can’t recollect, so I always call him by his Christian name,) married again; this time to a servant girl in my house. By the last wife George has two children; so the first girl has a step-father and step-mother, you see.

Well, on Monday week, George and his wife had gone out to a neighbor's near by, leaving the children at home.  The little ones after a while saw a lady, dressed in black, walk into the house and through the rooms, to the bedchamber of their parents. There was nothing ghost-like about the woman in black--she looked natural enough, and it was not until she entered their parents’ bedroom that the children became curious and followed her.  They saw her go in and lie on the bed.They then were frightened and ran to find their parents.   The father came in with the little ones, but as he could see no one, he supposed the visitant was simply one of the neighbors, looking, perhaps, tor his wife.

On Tuesday the mysterious visitant again appeared. The father and mother couldn't see her, but the little ones (4 and 5 years of age) could.  She again walked to the same bedchamber. "There, don't you see her?  She's going to the bed again!" cried tho children. The parents saw nothing. "Her face is all bloody!” whispered one of the frightened children. "She's lying down on the bed, and now her face is on the pillow!" As the little one spoke, sure enough, the parents saw a great blotch or wet blood appear on the white pillow, but they could see nothing else.  It was very singular.

From that time until Saturday, dishes and furniture were capsized and broken, and there was the old Harry to pay generally. The eldest girl (the step-daughter) seemed to be the most affected. George's wife, too, who didn't believe at all in spirits, was also attacked. She was sitting in a chair, when she suddenly felt and heard a rap under it. Looking under it, she could see nothing. She had heard how Spiritualists convene with spirits, so she asked: "Are there any spirits present?”   when a loud voice close to her ear exclaimed "Yes!" Yet she was alone.

"Do you want me?" she queried. 

"Yes," said the voice.

“Then you can go to the old fish," she replied; whereupon her chair seemed to be seized by hands on either side and carried all around the room as she sat in it. 

The eldest girl, too, had frequently been slapped on the face by the woman in black, and blood always appeared upon her cheek on such occasions. It was found best to leave the house, so annoying had this come to be, so the family moved to a house on Montgomery street, near Green, still on Telegraph Hill. But the singular woman in black also appeared here. On Saturday, the oldest girl went to the house of Mr. S. It was broad daylight, and, attracted by the mysterious rumor, some thirty or forty persons also went to the house to talk with the girl. While they were there she suddenly declared that the woman in black was approaching her with her bloody hand. Then she was struck again, and bloody marks of fingers suddenly appeared upon her face. The blood even ran down upon her neck. 

Mrs. S. with a damp towel removed the blood from the girl's face, and was standing beside her, talking, when all at once Mrs. S. was herself struck in the face, and blood appeared all over it!  That's about the whole story, but it may be well to add that Mrs. S. and the eldest girl believe to a certain extent in "spiritual manifestations.”

The blood discolored all the water in a basin at Mr. S.'s house, so it is believed to be genuine blood--blood of the body. Some clots of it that dried on the pillow and bed clothes have been preserved for analysis, so as to be sure that no one has been squirting blood-colored liquid at the supposed victims of spiritual assaults.

Very many persons supposed to be rational disbelievers in spiritual manifestations assert most positively that this occurred, and it is rather perplexing to account for it. The father was a firm disbeliever, but now says he can doubt no longer. He hates to talk about it. The mother firmly disbelieved, and won't believe now. although she was carried round a room, heard strange voices, and so on. The eldest girl was perhaps a believer before this happened. The two children knew nothing about such things. Mrs. S. believes in it a little, but not much. 

Part of it is accounted for in this manner: Medical books say that where the skin of the face has been diseased, then from a spasm of fear or pain it sometimes happens that the vicarous blood rushes through the skin just as though it had been brought out by a blow. And it so happens that the girl's face was affected by poison oak some time since.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to learn anything more about this first-rate ghost story.

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Spectral “Woman in Black” stories are a dime a dozen in the world of The Weird, but the following is more unusual than most.  “The Rock Island Argus,” January 2, 1893:

The story as Irving tells it of the headless horseman who spread consternation through Sleepy Hollow is well known by readers. Now, here is a story of a mysterious Woman in Black who is exciting as much fear among the people of this peaceful village, sixty miles further up the beautiful valley, as did Irving's ghost. It is the story of a strange creature who glides noiselessly along the country roads at dead of night. She has never been known to address anybody, although she has met many. Her language is the language of signs. She invariably halts long enough to stretch out her long arm from beneath a black veil and make a hissing noise. She might say more if anybody hesitated long enough to give her the chance, but nobody has tarried as yet.

This strange apparition is described by those who have seen it as a thin woman, at least 6 feet 4 inches tall, with a slight stoop and a long stride. The Woman in Black, as the apparition is known, first made her appearance in Rhinebeck about six weeks ago. John Judson, who lives in Chestnut street, was the first to behold her here. As he was going home late one night he heard a noise in Waller W. Snell's front yard. He looked around and was startled to see a tall black object standing perfectly still. Judson hurried home. The next day the news was all over Rhinebeck. The women and children shivered and the men laughed, but that same night as David Ackert, one of the best known business men in the village, was going home he met the black-robed object in Main street.

Ackert is six feet tall himself and he says he had to look up at the woman. She shrank from him with a hissing sound, he declares, and he passed on without saying a word or again looking around. David Ackert's word is as good as an affidavit in Rhinebeck.  “I wasn't scared, boys," he said to a group of listeners the next day, "but I felt a shivering sensation, for she was so tall and slim and piratical-looking." The four village constables and a night-watchman heard Ackert's story and vowed to capture the creature that very night. But the woman discreetly kept off the highways and was not seen the following night either.

Thomas Sinclair was the next reliable person to encounter the strange woman. He met her on the outskirts of the village about 10 o'clock at night. She was pacing in the middle of the road with her head bent low and her long arms clasped behind her. Next James Traster met the mysterious creature in a side street about 10 o'clock at night. He did not stop and speak to her because, as he says, he didn't think of it until after she had disappeared. Things have been running along in this way ever since. No one has taken advantage of his opportunity to address the woman, and no one, so far as can be learned, has deliberately set about an investigation. 

The first woman to see the black apparition was Miss Florence Welch, the teacher at Miller's school, a mile and a half from here. Miss Welch dismissed her pupils at 4 o'clock on last Thursday and then went to call on Mrs. Herman Aher, who lives on a farm near by. She remained there until shortly after 5 o'clock, when she started to walk home. It was about dusk as she passed her school house, and she glanced through the window. There sat the Woman in Black on one of the benches. Miss Welch remembered distinctly that she had locked the schoolhouse door. She did not stop to see if it had been opened, but ran for her life. She is sure she was not laboring under a delusion.

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A spectral “woman in black” is a common feature in ghost stories, but it’s not often one finds a name attached to it. From the “Kootenai Herald,” November 25, 1893:

Peebles, Ohio, Nov. 22. —The people of Dunkinvllle, a small place six miles south of here, are greatly excited over the actions of a mysterious object in the form of a woman which haunts the vicinity of the iron bridge crossing Brush Creek, and by its sudden appearance strikes terror to the hearts of the belated pedestrians who are chancing that way.

The first time the apparition was seen was when two young ladles and their escorts, while returning from church, were passing over the bridge, and saw coming toward them a medium-sized woman robed in black. As the mysterious being neared them the first thing that attracted the attention of the ladies was the appearance of the woman's feet, which were encased in what they thought was a pair of white slippers. There was nothing especially startling in this other than the slippers were rather out of season in such cool weather.

As she passed they looked more closely at the slight form in sombre black, with no wrap to shield her from the cool night air, her long, dark hair in disorder, streaming far below her waist, and a face which bore the stamp of death and shielded by a hand which for whiteness rivaled her countenance. As the ghostly object glided by them, to their astonishment they saw that the woman was barefooted. They were transfixed with horror as the being glided by them without a sound and passed across the bridge and out of sight.

Not one of the party had the nerve to follow and investigate, but hurriedly quit the scene. The mysterious object was seen by Abbott Wesley, who was returning home at a late hour, but his courage failed him and he, too, left the vicinity in haste.

Other residents claim that they have seen the same thing, and the believers in the supernatural connect its appearance with the remarkable mystery which puzzled the neighborhood years ago. Old residents will remember the excitement created over the mysterious disappearance of Julia Eichel, a young girl who was employed as a domestic in the family of Leslie Mangus, a former merchant at Dunkinvllle. One wintry night, when the snow was several inches deep, the young girl bade the family good night and retired to her room. The next morning her shoes and hat were found in her room, but the girl had disappeared as mysteriously as if the earth had swallowed her up. Diligent search failed to find any trace of her, and not a single track could be found in the snow about the house.

From that day to this no trace has ever been found, and the superstitious believe that it is the spirit of this girl which wanders about the spot unable to rest until her body is found. Others say the old graveyard in the vicinity has given up one of its dead, which wanders about frightening travelers.

The same thing was seen a number of times by reliable persons about six years ago and excited much talk at the time, but this is the first time it has been seen lately. The story goes without comment, and those who laugh at superstition may discredit, but those who saw the mysterious object are firm in their convictions that it was a supernatural being, and not the vision of an imaginative mind.

This is the only story I’ve found about the Ghost of Dunkinville. As far as I know, Julia Eichel’s disappearance remained a mystery, as well.

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The mysterious "Woman in Black" is a classic variety of apparition. One English example was reported in the "Nottingham Evening Post," December 21, 1928:

The Shropshire village of Northwood, between Wem and Ellesmere, is in state of excitement, caused by a mysterious apparition.

Accounts have been given by independent witnesses of the appearance of a woman, dressed in black, who vanishes in an instant when approached.

A farmer named Morris and workman named Peate were returning home at night with a horse and trap, when they saw the woman, whom they thought they recognised as the wife of a local farmer. They stopped the horse to give her a lift, but she vanished, and they got out of the trap and searched in vain for her.

A man named Egerton, in the same district, was walking along the road at night, and saw the woman in the glare of a passing motor-car. The car passed over the spot where the woman stood and he ran forward expecting to find her body in the road. There was nothing to be seen.

Mr. Arthur R. Ellis, of Wem, a dealer in wireless apparatus, was driving his car in the same district, and saw the woman, whom he knew well, standing in the road. He put on the brakes and swerved to avoid her, and pulled up, but there was nothing to be seen.

Unfortunately, I haven't found any more information about this story.

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Nothing brightens the day like a "Mysterious Woman in Black" story, so here's this item from the "Syracuse Herald," April 29, 1928:

Syracuse police today, after an interval of almost 10 years, again were confronted with the "Woman in Black." A detective yesterday was assigned to the 5500 block of South Salina Street, where residents reported a mysterious woman, garbed in black, has been hiding behind trees and frightening children for the last week.

Almost 10 years ago, veteran police officials recalled yesterday, the city literally was held in the grip of terror for months because of the frequent appearances in different sections of a similar woman. That mystery never was solved. The "Woman in Black," despite almost countless theories, remained simply the "Woman in Black."

Police yesterday advanced the theory that this woman seen in the South Salina Street block may be the same "Woman in Black." They declared the search for her, which was started yesterday, will be continued until the mystery is solved. They admitted the possibility the "Woman in Black," as was believed when the figure terrorized the city years ago, may be a man dressed in woman's clothing. They added the caution to residents not to be frightened, because the figure at the time of its former appearance committed no crime of violence and requested that the police be told instantly when any suspicious looking woman appears.

The former visit of the "Woman in Black" which ended as suddenly and mysteriously as it began, left in its wake only one possible solution. The theory was advanced that some mother, crazed by the death of her son in France, roamed the streets at night, vainly seeking to find in the faces of passing children some resemblance to the boy who was lost.

But that was only a theory, neither proved nor discredited. And against it were the claims of many persons, some of whom claimed to have had close views of the mystery figure, that the "Woman in Black" was a man.

The former scare started when milkmen, driving their lonely routes in the late hours of the night, reported a shadowy figure in black. Some of the men declared they made unsuccessful attempts to catch the figure. Others, after the scare had reached major importance, frankly admitted they fled the scene.

One section of the city after another reported visits from the "Woman in Black." One nervous householder reported firing a revolver at the figure. The shot took no effect.

Workers in a railroad yard reported an encounter with the mystery figure.

Then came the story of a man who declared he had a close encounter with the "Woman in Black." He said the cry that came from the lips of the creature as he attempted to seize an arm was the cry of a man. He declared the stride of the fleeing figure was the stride of a man.

But that, even as the story of the crazed mother, was probably only a theory. The "Woman in Black" remained shrouded in mystery. That mystery remained unsolved when she disappeared. For a while it was the leading topic of conversation. Then the city turned to other things.

The mystery, so far as the police were concerned, was reopened when the black-garbed figure was seen yesterday. The "Woman in Black" is back.

I have no idea if the "Woman/Man in Black" was ever identified, but if you are a mourning widow--or just have a taste for Goth fashion--stay well clear of Syracuse. Otherwise, you're liable to get arrested, manhandled, or shot.

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This tale of a wandering "Woman in Black" comes from the "Yorkshire Telegraph and Star" for November 7, 1908:

The latest ghost story comes from Ipswich. On the Ranelagh Road, in a quiet neighbourhood near the main railway station, general alarm among the residents has been caused owing to the declarations of the members of one family that a “woman in black” has haunted them for several weeks past. At the house in question there went to reside five weeks ago the new stage manager of the Hippodrome, Mr. Crane. Coming from Scarborough with his wife and two little daughters aged 8 and 5 respectively, he rented the house, mainly owing to its pleasant and healthy situation, and having no idea that it possessed a history which linked it with ghost stones.

Terrified by the weird happenings at their home, the family took a hurried departure Thursday evening, since when an otherwise quiet suburb has been visited by crowds people anxious to find the ghostly object, which is described as a "woman in black.”

The figure was first seen in a passage next to the house on 29th October by the elder of the two daughters, who naturally in her fright cried for her mother. Mrs. Crane (says a "Morning Leader” correspondent), rushing to her frightened child, exclaimed, “Woman, what you want?” The figure made no reply, but backed away and disappeared through the door which leads to the coal-cellar. The strange apparition is described as having the figure of woman of medium height. It floats through the air, it is said, about 3 ft. from the ground, and is clothed in black. Its lower limbs or feet are visible, and though the body appears fairly substantial, only the upper part of the face can be seen.

The eyes are deeply sunken, but the cheekbones are large and protruding. On the head is a curious kind of three-cornered black shawl. The right hand and arm hang loosely by the woman’s side, but with her left hand she trails a very large bundle wrapped in something resembling unbleached calico and tied at the top. The child Ivy thinks that this bundle is a baby, and says she saw the woman place it for a moment on the staircase. On the forefinger of the left hand is a broad ring set with one very large stone.

The husband returning from his duties at the Hippodrome has on several occasions found his wife and children in a state of collapse, the spectral figure having frequently been seen by them. Mrs. Crane, feeling safe in a new home, declares that the ghost touched her on the shoulder in the pantry only last Sunday, and that she saw it four times during Thursday. She also says that it came accompanied with a cold draught of air.

To some extent the story is supported by the statement of a married couple who left after spending only one day in the house. Their explanation to their friends was that “they had seen things in the night.” A neighbour is also positive that last Christmas, when the place was empty, there were strange noises to be heard.

I have not been able to find any follow-ups to this story.