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Ghosts and Haunted Places in New England
by Alan Brown
Do you believe in ghosts? New England ghost hunters say two of the most active haunted places in the region are Houghton Mansion in North Adams, Massachusetts, and Carousel Gardens Restaurant in Seymour, Connecticut.
Sample these scary stories from Ghost Hunters of New England by Alan Brown. Read on, if you dare...
Houghton Mansion
172 Church St.
North Adams, Massachusetts
Excerpt from interview with Josh Mantello, Berkshire Paranormal Group
"During an all-night investigation, several members of [Josh's] group ... heard a loud noise coming from another room down the hall. Two of the investigators walked down ... One of them exclaimed, 'I heard the sound coming from over here!' and pointed to a corner of the room. At that same moment, the other investigator took his photograph. 'He's pointing to an orb in the photograph,' Josh says. 'It's not transparent. It looks like it's emanating its own light instead of reflecting [the] flash ... I like to go there because I know I'll find something every time. I'll go there at 3 a.m., and I'll hear voices.' "
The Houghton Mansion, built in the 1890s for North Adams' first mayor, is now a Masonic Temple, said to be haunted by the spirits of owner Albert C. Houghton and his daughter Mary, both of whom died following a tragic auto accident, and chauffeur John Widders, who committed suicide on the property.
Legend has it that witnesses have seen a young girl in the cellar. "She comes in and peeks around the corner at you," Josh Mantello told Alan Brown. "If you walk toward her, she disappears."
For tours and events:
houghton-mansion.tripod.com
berkshireparanormal.com
Carousel Gardens Restaurant
153 North St.
Seymour, Connecticut
Excerpt from interview with Donna Kent, Cosmic Society of Paranormal Investigation
"The paranormal has held a lifelong fascination for Donna Kent: 'As a child, I would hear my name called ... when I was home alone from school, and it would sound like my Dad's voice ... Many years ago, I went to Carousel Gardens with a radio station [disc jockey who] was a skeptic. He was mocking the ghost ... As the night went on, [he] continued to provoke the spirit more and more. All at once, he said, "If there is a spirit here, I'd like to see something right now." At that moment, a wine glass sitting on a table across the room shattered, and all the shards formed a perfect circle on the floor ... [He] went from total skeptic to totally terrified in a matter of minutes.'"
Helena Ruth Wooster, one of the owner's five daughters, and her brother, Horace, are believed to haunt their old home. Ruth is said to have been in the habit of setting the table with porcelain dinner for her pets; after he death, witnesses reported seeing a gray-haired woman in the windows of her bedroom.
North Adams, MA: Houghton Mansion
Houghton Mansion
172 Church St.
North Adams, Massachusetts
Excerpt from interview with Josh Mantello, Berkshire Paranormal Group
Reader Comments
Comment from Eibhlin MacIntosh on October 14, 2008
Great story! There are so many wonderful haunted places around New England. Historical ghost stories, such as the Bridget Bishop one, are fascinating!
I'd love to know where this haunted bar is in Old Town, Maine. I'll definitely check out the Houghton Mansion and Connecticut's Carousel Gardens Restaurant.
I like websites such as HollowHill.com that list ghosts at places that everyone can visit. Around Halloween, those places are fun whether anything scary happens or not.
Comment from Kathy Bunnell on October 14, 2008
Check out the former Gardner Cinema, once home to the Orpheum Theater, in Gardner, MA -- part of Johnny Appleseed Country in North Central Mass. The ghost of a young girl whose visage has been seen in the theater's window late at night. A female voice comes through the air vents. Lights flicker, movie posters fall off the wall, and a door near the refreshment stand opens & closes on its own.
The "Ghost Hunters" TV show did an episode in 2007 on a grand Victorian home on West Broadway (Rte. 2A) in S. Gardner -- the Pierce mansion built in 1875 by chair factory owner Sylvester Pierce. The website "Massachusetts' Most Haunted Places" features the house and its 19-year-old female ghost from the late 19th century, a man who died in a 1963 fire, and a little boy. Footsteps, orbs and spirits in shadow await in the 26-room house. If you want to go, go quick. A non-profit organization said last summer it was interested in acquiring the mansion and turning it into a museum or cultural center.
Comment from ruth soppe on October 15, 2008
these sound like intriguing places to visit as I have always been fascinated by the paranormal. My first choice of course would be the Lizzie Borden home.
Comment from Denise Martinelli on October 15, 2008
New England really is a most haunted place! Check out the Old mystic Inn,(Hawthorne Room) in Mystic,Conn. or the John Stone Inn in Ashland,Ma. Spider Gates cemetery in Leicester,Ma and dont forget Salem, Ma! Especially at Halloween time...what a great time!
Comment from H BRINK on October 15, 2008
We are going to Salem for Halloween. See you there if you dare.
Comment from darleen shea on October 27, 2008
My daughter and I are going to stay at the Lizzie Borden house on Nov 1st. We are so excited and scared at the same time. I have always been interested in the paranormal and have bee wanting to do something like this for a long time.We are staying in the Andrew Borden room. There are alot of haunted places in New England. It is so much fun at this time of year I love Halloween. Wish us luck ...............
Comment from harold murray on April 27, 2009
recently the Bangor ghost hunters association returned to this location in old town upon doing research we come across this article. To give a update the bar is still experiencing unexplained activity we are currently re-investigative this location. Harold Murray director Bangor ghost hunters association.
Comment from Carol Corbett on September 4, 2009
There are several great books out on haunted places in New England...try Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire by Marianne O'Connor or Haunted Cemeteries and Haunted Pubs of New England both by Roxie Zwicker.
Comment from Dawn Sova on October 20, 2009
Take a look at The Herbert Hotel in Kingfield, ME-- guests have reported feeling and seeing "something" in several of the rooms -- images, different people, strange feelings that somebody is in the room.
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