Depopulated by Ghost

Last week I posted a blog on Southern Roads Paranormal about the town of Springville, New York that desperately wanted a ghost or haunted house to bring visitors to the town. Now I am writing about the polar opposite of a town destroyed by one. The following in quotations is from the Rawlins, Wyoming Territory newspaper January 30, 1885. "The little town of Latham, thirty miles west of here on the Union Pacific railway, has lately had a mysterious visitant, which frightened the populace to hasty flight, leaving the village without a solitary inhabitant, save the mysterious visitant. The ghost first made himself known to Jasper O'Rourke, the worthy postmaster and section foreman, by tapping on the windows, the door and the side of his residence. Groans were heard coming from under the floor, then up the stairs, and then very faintly as the invisible stranger seemingly went away. At first Mr. Ghost was invisible, and the postmaster and section foreman could stand it. But before long he appeared in all the agony of reality - a spectre as white as snow, which could be distinctly observed any time after 11pm til 4am, prancing about over the prairie or coming steadily toward the postmaster's residence, where he would walk right over the wall or go over or under the house as he chose."

Jasper O'Rourke was not the only one that lived at Latham. His family had joined him on the prairie, as well as twelve strong (and brave as they claimed) men who served as O'Rourke's assistants. One can only take the antics of a noisy and persistent ghost for so long especially without a restful night's sleep. On January 17th Jasper packed up his family, tendered his resignation and moved to California. The next day all twelve of his assistants left Latham as well.

The railroad and postmaster general found that word traveled fast about the ghost and that they couldn't find a single man that would go to Latham and run the station. Each Saturday night the Overland Express and the Union Pacific train met in Latham. It was then that the Overland brakeman had quite the experience. - "L.H. Foster, the polished dude brakeman on the Overland, while unlocking the switch to sidetrack his train, saw the ghost walking toward him. He dropped his lantern and the lock, and drawing his 45-calibre, shot four times at the man in white." The bullets had no effect on the spirit.

Then a preacher working for the Rawlins newspaper had a similar encounter which he recounted in the article. "The ghost himself showed up. He had a wagon-cover around him, and his eyes glared most awfully. I put five 45 caliber ball through him as he stood in the door, but it never fazed him - I really thought he winked at me as I threw my empty revolver right through him. Then he took me by the collar and, seizing the lantern, gave me a run across the prairie for a mile or more - fact."

When I checked Latham, Wyoming on the trusty old interweb, it comes up as uninhabited, no residents to report in the census. Perhaps Mr. Ghost is still roaming the station, forever keeping the living from disturbing his peace.