Yankee Mystery Files → Ghosts and Haunted Places in New England →
North Adams, MA: Houghton Mansion
by Alan Brown
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
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