Post by Joanna on Nov 2, 2016 17:12:03 GMT -5
10 of America's Lesser-known Haunted Places
Just about every city and small town in the U.S. has a haunting to call its own. There are even haunted houses you can rent for a spooky weekend. Of course, not all ghost-infested locations are created equal, and for every former-sanatorium-turned-exploitative-tourist-trap, there’s a lesser-known historical home, park, graveyard or museum with a seriously creepy backstory. With this in mind, we set out to find places in America with stories that match their mysterious reputations – and then some. These spots and their haunting pasts did not disappoint. From wine-stealing Colonial ghosts to a scissor-wielding wizard, these stories are best read on a dark and stormy night – but not alone.
Black Diamond Mines & Park (Antioch, California). The Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve plays host to Mary and Sarah, two very unfriendly 19th-century female spirits – they even share the nickname “The White Witch,” though their backstories are very different. Mary worked as a nanny in the nearby coal-mining town of Nortonville. Several families employed her to care for their children, all of whom died from unexplained illnesses under her watch. The townsfolk suspected she was a witch and swiftly hanged her. Since then, many have reported seeing a bright, white apparition floating around the entrance to the mines. She never appears exactly the same, but witnesses agree as to why she’s there – to protect children from the hazards of the mines.
Sarah Norton was killed suddenly in a carriage accident, but had specified before her death that she didn’t want any sort of funeral. Townsfolk held a service for her anyway, despite encountering what might be called supernatural resistance. Each time they attempted to hold Sarah’s funeral, a bizarrely strong storm would whip up out of nowhere. She was finally laid to rest in the public cemetery (above) and ever since, there have been reports of a similarly bright, white apparition hovering above the graveyard gates.
Red Onion Saloon (Skagway, Alaska). When it first opened in 1898, the Red Onion Saloon was a bustling brothel, warmly welcoming thousands of visitors to the region’s gold mines. It enjoyed a brief period of success before experiencing a decline. In the summer of 1889, many prospectors left Skagway for the gold mines of western Alaska and the ladies of the evening followed them – except for one.
The Red Onion is now open to the public as a museum and quite a few visitors have reported encounters with ghostly mists, mysterious reflections and, more often, the shade of a prostitute named Lydia. She’s been seen and heard throughout the building from her phantom footsteps in the halls to the scent of her sweet perfume. But Lydia’s favorite place seems to be the madame’s old room where her apparition goes through the motions of watering plants and some have discovered the soil in the potted plants actually seems damp following her otherworldly watering ritual. No one knows how Lydia died, but some say her spirit is hostile toward male visitors.
The Abraham Curry House (Carson City, Nevada). Abraham Curry, founder of Carson City and the original owner of this house (above), died suddenly, leaving unfinished business. The house has been renovated and added to since it was first constructed in 1871, but Curry’s spirit has remained. Although the apparition people see is very clearly Curry, there are a few theories as to why he isn’t at rest. Legend has it that he left his wife with a single silver dollar in her pocket when he passed and he’s still looking for her to make sure she’s all right. Curry died unexpectedly, and it is widely believed that sudden deaths occasionally result in hauntings. As the founder of the city, he was a prominent figure and probably left behind quite a few dreams he had for the future of the community.
Griggs Mansion (Saint Paul, Minnesota). Many have called the Griggs Mansion “home” since it was built in 1883, but very few have called it home for long. Even Chauncey Griggs, the man who oversaw the Richardsonian Romanesque mansion’s construction, lived in his new house only four years. Today, the mansion is known as the most haunted house in Saint Paul and for good reason. Residents and visitors have encountered apparitions of a Civil War veteran; a thin, long-faced man in a black suit; a former gardener, and a child’s disembodied head. Unexplained noises, flickering lights, shadowy figures, slamming doors and more are regular occurrences at the Griggs Mansion. No wonder no one sticks around.
Woodburn Mansion (Dover, Delaware). Built in 1798, the Woodburn Mansion has its fair share of ghosts who all seem to have one thing in common – they love to drink. The first of these wraiths appeared 25 years after the house was built, when a visitor asked his hosts about the “other guest” in the house, whom he’d seen on the staircase just moments earlier. He described the man and his hostess told him he had just described her late father, Charles Hillyard III, who built the house. Hillyard was known to enjoy his liquor and past owners have left out full decanters of wine at night only to find them empty in the morning. Of course, this isn’t all Hillyard’s doing: several other spirits, all in Colonial dress, have been caught stealing wine from the cellar.
Port Boca Grande Light Station (Gasparilla Island, Florida). Originally known as Gasparilla Island Light Station, the sandy area around Port Boca Grande Light (above) at the southern tip of Gasparilla Island is said to be haunted by the headless apparition of a young woman, decapitated by the bloodthirsty pirate José Gaspar, when she rebuffed his advances. She is most often seen strolling the beach as the fog rolls in from the sea.
But the lady who died in defense of her honor isn’t the only ghost haunting the location. According to Robert Johnson, a former harbor pilot who spent time at the lighthouse as a child, the keeper’s house is home to the wraith of a keeper’s daughter who died of fever while her father was assigned to the station. Many have heard the little girl humming and playing a spectral game of jacks. Of interest, according to park ranger, Dave Porter, an assistant keeper committed suicide in the house around the turn of the 20th century and he believes the “presence” reported by those who find themselves alone in the keeper’s quarters is that of the man who took his own life.
The Old Straw House (West Newfield, Maine). The winter of 1825-26 was extremely cold with heavy snow keeping all but the most stalwart Mainers housebound, so when Hannah Straw Chadbourne, the 30-year-old wife of Ira Chadbourne, died on March 2, 1826, she was buried beneath the floor in a corner of the kitchen. Later, a metal plaque was ordered and placed atop what was intended to be the lady’s temporary resting place, where it remained for decades. Subsequent residents of the home reported hearing phantom footsteps on the stairs, and one occupant claimed that one cold night, he was awakened by Hannah’s icy hands on his face. The place was eventually abandoned and used as a hunting lodge, during which time people reported seeing a woman in white looking out the windows. Today, the big white house at 205 Elm Street has been restored and once again serves as a private residence. While some claim the story of Hannah’s kitchen grave is nothing more than a tall tale, there is an extant photograph, taken in the 1940s or 50s, showing the metal plaque in the corner.
Sumpter Valley Dredge (Sumpter, Oregon). Throughout its years of operation, the Sumpter Valley Dredge (above) has hosted the malevolent spirit of Joe Bush, a man who may have died while working on the dredge. People who worked on the dredge, which shut down in 1954, knew to brace themselves for a visit from Joe when the power would go out. A junior employee would be left alone in the dark to wait for the dredgemaster to arrive and fix the power. “There were no lights, nothing. They just sat in the dark and waited for Joe Bush to come by,” recalled one former employee. “[The dredge] never shut down, unless Joe Bush got into something,” another said. Joe was also known to eat the packed lunches employees brought from home, steal their tools and leave damp, bare footprints on the deck. The dredge is now a historical landmark and holds regular tours, however, Joe finds ways to interrupt the fun, often moaning and slamming doors on innocent tourists.
Fordham University (New York, New York). Among the innumerable haunted colleges and universities in the U.S., Fordham stands out for the wide variety of ghosts stalking its dormitories and other buildings. Finlay Hall, today an upperclassmen dorm, was once the university’s medical school, and students living in the lofted rooms have reported awakening at night to find apparitions of medical students in lab coats staring down at them. Others have felt the sensation of choking or being toe-tagged as they slept. The freshmen dorm of Queen’s Court is a veritable hotbed of paranormal activity: a Jesuit priest who is said to have committed suicide speaks to students, and a dead girl’s doll, crying out for its mommy, has appeared multiple times in one room. Other campus hauntings include the spirits of a little girl and man in Martyr’s Court, a construction worker who fell to his death in O’Hare Hall, and strange whispers, unexplained cold sensations and a light-extinguishing spook called “Johnny” in Collins Auditorium.
Wizard Clip (Middleway, West Virginia). This final story is about an angry ghost that haunted the Livingston home in the late 1700s. One night in 1794, a stranger showed up at Adam Livingston’s door seeking shelter. During the night, the man became seriously ill and begged Livingston to fetch a Catholic priest to perform last rites. Livingston and his wife were devout Lutherans and refused to send anyone out in the dead of night to find a priest and decided to wait until morning. By sunrise, the traveler was dead. They laid out the stranger, but it was said the candles placed around the corpse would not remain lit. Later, items would go missing, and the family was plagued by the phantom sounds of galloping horses and breaking crockery, but worst of all, spectral scissors cut linen, clothing, papers and even sliced off the heads of the family’s flock of ducks.
After enduring the supernatural activity as long as they could, Livingston called on an Irish priest, who anointed the house with holy water. Livingston was so grateful he converted to Catholicism and deeded a portion of land to the Catholic church, which, to this day, is known as Priest Field. Later, a Franciscan retreat was established on the property and still operates as the Priest Field Pastoral Center.
Sources: Sara Coughlin, Refinery29, October 31, 2016; Prominent American Ghosts by Suzy Smith; Florida Lighthouses, and The Wizard's Clip.