Unknown short story

[Karen Jeanette Sebesta <ksebesta@TENET.EDU>]

A colleague of mine has asked me to locate the name of a short story he
remembers from middle school--ca. 1956-7.  He remembers only two things
about it:  Mysterious footsteps preceded anyone who walked in the house
in which the story is set.  Also, at the end, the mysterious forces at
work in the house were dispelled when a secret room was found at the back
of the house.  It contained an occult mechanism that, when disturbed,
created an earthquake.  The book containing the story was an old
anthology probably out of adoption at the time.

Can anyone assist me with info about this story--author, title, etc?

Karen Sebesta, Librarian
Highlands HS
San Antonio, Tx