A Ghostly Fireball in Shickshinny

A Victorian Era depiction of ball lightning

On a summer evening in 1889, a mysterious ball of fire drifted into the home of Charles Miller in the tiny Luzerne County borough of Shickshinny. After falling to the floor, Miller attempted to touch the anomalous object-- and was immediately struck by paralysis.

Even more astonishing is the fact that the strange object produced a similar effect on everyone else who came into contact with it. So just what was this mysterious object? An elemental from another dimension? A demon? Or perhaps some rare and unusual natural phenomenon like ball lightning?

The following story comes from the July 21, 1889 edition of the Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader.