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Essay on The Return of the Ruined Banker

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The Return of the Ruined Banker The setting for this ghost story was at Sturdivant Hall, in Selma, Alabama in the 1860’s.
Sturdivant Hall had been constructed in 1852. This stately mansion had six tall white pillars in the front. There were many parlors downstairs and an abundance of spacious bedrooms upstairs.
There were large fig trees, shrubs, and scuppernong vines on either side of the home. A group of visitors had gathered to take a to tour of this beautiful mansion; then, the guide revealed something quite remarkable. (Windham and Figh, 79)
The guests were admiring the graceful proportions of the downstairs parlors and had made their way to an upstairs bedroom. The guide was describing the rope-laced trundle bed and …show more content…

(Windham and Figh, 81) Life was good. Then, with a suddenness that shocked the entire community, John
Parker’s career ended in disgrace. The youthful bank president speculated in cotton and invested the bank’s money, only to lose it all, when the price of cotton dropped, and he could not cover the losses. Because federal money was deposited in The First National Bank, General Swayne, a commanding officer of the United States troops in the Selma district moved in quickly, closed the bank and had Parkman arrested. (Windham and Figh, 81) Parkman was taken under guard to Cahaba and confined in Castle Morgan, the prison which had only a short time before been used by the Confederate government for the incarceration of Yankee prisoners. He managed to escape from that prison; however, as he was climbing a prison wall, an alarm sounded, and some shots were fired . There were several stories surrounding Parkman’s fate. Some people speculated that he dived into the nearby river and drowned. Other people claimed his body was buried under one of the huge trees at the rear of Sturdivant Hall.
Although his death remained a mystery, students of the supernatural say that Parkman’s ghost had came back to try to clear his name about three years later, after the home had been sold. Some servants who worked for Parker were so convinced his spirit

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