Specially ghostly noises are attributed to the living but absent.
THE GROCER'S COUGH A man of letters was born in a small Scotch town, where his father was the intimate friend of a tradesman whom we shall call the grocer.
Almost every day the grocer would come to have a chat with Mr.Mackay, and the visitor, alone of the natives, had the habit of knocking at the door before entering.

One day Mr.Mackay said to his daughter, "There's Mr.Macwilliam's knock.

Open the door." But there was no Mr.Macwilliam! He was just leaving his house at the other end of the street.

From that day Mr.Mackay always heard the grocer's knock "a little previous," accompanied by the grocer's cough, which was peculiar.

Then all the family heard it, including the son who later became learned.