The Ghost of Deacon Brown + 

In a backwoods town + 

Lived Deacon Brown, + 

And he was a miser old; + 

He would trust no bank, + 

So he dug, and sank + 

In the ground a box of gold, + 

Down deep in the ground a box of gold. + 

He hid his gold, + 

As has been told, + 

He remembered that he did it; + 

But sad to say, + 

On the very next day, + 

He forgot just where he hid it: + 

To find his gold he tried and tried + 

Till he grew faint and sick, and died. + 

Then on each dark and gloomy night + 

A form in phosphorescent white, + 

A genuine hair-raising sight, + 

Would wander through the town. + 

And as it slowly roamed around, + 

With a spade it dug each foot of ground; + 

So the folks about + 

Said there was no doubt + 

’Twas the ghost of Deacon Brown. + 

Around the church + 

This Ghost would search, + 

And whenever it would see + 

The passers-by + 

Take wings and fly + 

It would laugh in ghostly glee, + 

Hee, hee!⁠—it would laugh in ghostly glee. + 

And so the town + 

Went quickly down, + 

For they said that it was haunted; + 

And doors and gates, + 

So the story states, + 

Bore a notice, “Tenants wanted.” + 

And the town is now for let, + 

But the ghost is digging yet. + 