Terrifying Tuesday’s haunt……The Traverse City State Hospital in Michigan
The Traverse City State Hospital
Constructed in 1885 and closed over 100 years later, the Traverse City State Hospital is perhaps the most eerie place in Grand Traverse County. Originally an asylum for the mentally unstable, during its active years the hospital also housed those afflicted with tuberculosis, typhoid, diphtheria, and polio. Although the Gothic-style buildings have undergone renovations since 2000, a visit to the grounds conjures up the ominous and oppressive feelings of its past. Underground tunnels and caged balconies add to the spooky visual stimuli and, located on the trails behind the buildings, there is said to be a portal to Hell under “The Hippy Tree”. As well as documented paranormal investigations, the State Hospital has several books dedicated to its disturbing history.
http://www.awesomemitten.com/miscellaneous/ten-haunted-places-in-michigan/
Todays Haunt goes to …:drum roll:…Bacon’s Castle in Surry Virginia
Built in 1665 by Arthur Allen, Bacon’s Castle is the oldest documented brick dwelling in Virginia and the only surviving example of Jacobean architecture in North America. The 9,000 square foot mansion is named after the 1676 Virginia Rebel Leader, Nathaniel Bacon of “Bacon’s Rebellion”. In 1676 Bacon’s Rebels captured the Castle and occupied its grounds and buildings for a few months in late-1676.
Today the house museum interprets nearly 350 years of Virginia history of the people who lived and worked on and those touched by historical events associated with the historic site, slave and tenants quarter, barns, smokehouse, its architectural significance, and rare 17th-century english formal garden. 
http://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/BaconsCastle/
Union, Confederate or Native American?
Taken this evening on the Singleton property located in Beech Grove, TN. I recently learned that there was massive Indian hunting territory fights over this area. These are just two the the photos taken with in 5 seconds of each other. There first was taken while my son Jessie was telling me that there was a very cold chill on his face and arms, his hair was also standing up on his arms. the second picture was taken approximately
5 to 10 seconds after the first while he was talking.
Tuesday Haunt “White Horse Tavern” Newport, Rhode Island
White Horse Tavern –
HauntedHouses.com
Haunted Dwelling — White Horse Tavern
ADDRESS
26 Marlborough Street
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
(401) 849-3600
DESCRIPTION
What an impressive, “massively framed” 3 storied building that features well-done architecture from the colonial era. It is one of the oldest tavern buildings in the United States. The former owners, over 300 years ago didn’t fool around, and built a solid secure building, both inside and outside. The owners that followed changed the insides a bit when they transformed this once private residence into a commercial building in 1673, and modern improvements were added throughout the years to modernize the building a bit to meet the needs of the tavern business, that has long been located here. Sometime in its history, the inn part of the tavern, located upstairs, was discontinued, and the second floor became more tavern/dining space. However, the original colonial aura of this property has never been tampered with, and it looks much like it did so long ago.
As we stood across the street, Tom and I saw the “clapboard walls, gambrel roof (added just after the Revolutionary War), and plain pediment doors bordering the sidewalk.” Stepping into this upscale tavern, was like stepping back into the 1600s and 1700s, with “its’ giant beams, small stairway hard against chimney, tiny front hall, cavernous fireplaces, dark interior illuminated by candlelight, high ceilings, and wooden floor,” the decor is well-done colonial, and sparks the imagination of what it was like in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The White Horse Tavern is a flexible venue, and has a variety of sized rooms to meet the needs of their community, and outside groups. The first floor has a regular dining room, with individual tables, and one or two smaller rooms off the main dining room for larger families or small business groups. Other rooms throughout the first and second floor can accommodate 20 to 70 guests. Even during the winter months, The White Horse Tavern is a comfortable place to go to dinner, or an event, because each room has its own wood-burning fireplace.
Tom and I decided to have dinner here, after tromping around Newport all day, getting pictures for our website. Though the dress code is business casual, they are kind and understanding with visitors who don’t know any better! Although Tom and I were under-dressed in jeans; (oops), they were very cordial, and greeted us warmly, showing us to a real table cloth-covered table in the first floor dining room. The waiters are dressed in period clothing. Service was great, and the food truly upscale delicious. They take great pride in having a trained chef who can really cook! Their cuisine staff work with event planners to provide just the right fare for the occasion.
HISTORY
Throughout its long history, The White Horse Tavern building has only had 6 owners, 4 of which have passed the property down through their descendents from the early years, up until 1954: Brinleys, Mayes, Nichols,and Preece. While O.L. Pitts bought The White Horse Tavern as a partnership endeavor in the 1980s, Paul Hogan is a long time resident of Newport, and may pass the property down his own line of family descendents!
The original 1652, built to last structure began its existence as the family home of Francis Brinley, for twenty years. In 1673, William Mayes Sr. saw the commercial possibilities of this structure, and bought it. He turned it into a comfortable classy tavern and inn. For the next 100 years, this structure was big enough and comfortable enough to host meetings of the Colony’s General Assembly, Criminal Court and City Council.
In 1702, William Mayes Sr must have died, and his black sheep son, William Mayes Jr. took over the tavern’s business. Before becoming the tavern and inn’s new owner, William Mayes Jr. had been a notorious pirate. The people of Newport forgave him, and protected him from the law enforcement authorities for a little while. When he was able to get a license to sell “…all sorts of Strong Drink,” he added more of a variety of alcohol to the tavern, boosting liquor sales.
However, the British authorities were really embarrassed about a notorious pirate, who deserved legal punishment himself, being allowed to run a popular, upscale business that hosted government functions, and they weren’t so forgiving. So, William Mayes Jr.’s career as a tavern keeper didn’t last very long. His sister, Mary Mayes Nichols and her husband, Richard, who were respectable people, became the new tavern keepers. Travelers could also spend the night, but they didn’t get their own room, but a place to sleep. If you didn’t get one of the few rooms, that you shared it with a stranger, the floor was offered for bedrolls, or a pile a straw.
In 1708, Mary and Richard started offering lunch to city councilmen, who billed the city treasury as a business expense. It is claimed that this tavern became the first establishment to be the birth place of the idea of “the businessman’s lunch.”
In the 1720s, every innkeeper’s /hotel manager’s biggest nightmare of any era happened. One of the Nichols’ overnight guests died in his sleep. Fearing that he had died from a communicable disease, Mary Nichols and the Indian girl were sent by the authorities to the quarantine island, Coaster’s Harbor Island. While they didn’t catch anything from their dead guest, both of them caught smallpox while in quarantine. Mary survived and came home. Perhaps they stopped offering sleeping accommodations after this incident.
In 1730, other Nichols family relatives of Mary and Robert Nichols took over the tavern. Jonathan Nichols gave the tavern its name, that has stuck throughout the years; The White Horse Tavern. The Nichols family lived upstairs, and the tavern was downstairs. During the War of 1776, Walter Nichols moved his family out of the building and out of Newport to avoid having to serve and host the Hessian soldiers garrisoned there by the British. After the war was over, Walter Nichols came back, made improvements, like adding a new roof, and opened The White Horse Tavern once again for business. It was larger than before, to accommodate more people and events. Perhaps it needed some renovation, after the soldiers had lived there. Perhaps they got a little rowdy at times, as young men tend to do, and left some damage behind.
In 1895, the Nichols family sold the property to Thomas and Bridget Preece, who had new plans for the structure. It became a rooming house. Uh oh! Usually, the money made from a rooming house doesn’t bring in enough revenue to provide for the extended upkeep an old structure like this needs. By 1954, the building, while still standing, was in need of lots of TLC, and a boatload of money. The Van Buren family rescued the property, and gave it to The Preservation Society of Newport County. After 3 years of careful restoration, this building was again opened up as The White Horse Tavern.
In 1981, The White Horse Tavern again became privately owned, when a former Texan by the name of O.L. Pitts and his three partners bought The White Horse Tavern, and continued on the tradition of offering “good fellowship, good food and good cheer.”
Newport native, Paul Hogan bought the White Horse Tavern from O.L.Pitts, and continues on with the spirit and tradition so long established at this place of business. Along with a wonderful structure and upscale Tavern and dining business, he seems to have inherited some spiritual residents.
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS
Owners and managers of established businesses sometimes choose to stay in their buildings to supervise the living, not letting death get in the way of keeping an eye on what was their live-blood while alive.
( Bullock Hotel * Saint Andrews Inn * Stanley Hotel * Colony Hotel )
People who die unexpectedly in a place, and not buried properly, or not given a name or proper respect, their spirits can hang around until it is done so; finding the missing remains, giving a proper epitaph on the stone, or solving the mystery as to identity of the deceased.
( Liberty Hall Mansion * Gettysburg National Cemetery * General Wayne Inn * The Bank Street House )
Mary and Robert Nichols’ guest who died in one of the upstairs rooms so long ago, was never identified. The stranger who had shared the bed with the deceased must have woke up and discovered that his bed partner had died. Not wanting to wind up in quarantine, he made a hasty departure. Any information he may have known about this fellow went with him. So, the dead man was was quickly buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave, fearing that he may have died of a an illness that was deadly if caught. Despite making an effort to find out who he was, it remained a mystery.
MANIFESTATIONS:
Several spirits are thought to inhabit The White Horse Tavern.
Entity of the elderly male guest who died – Dressed in common, shabby Colonial attire.
This entity’s apparition has been seen by staff and guests many times in the main dining room by one of the fireplaces.
This spirit has been known to pester female diners, who are sensitive to spirits. Perhaps this spirit thinks that they can help to identify him.
This spirit was also seen in the upstairs men’s bathroom.
An unseen entity; could be male or female:
Supervises the staff, and helps to keep an eye on guests; guardian of the building.
Keeps an eye on people who wander up to the second floor.
Taps the staff on their shoulders, and
Tells them to lock up when it isn’t time yet.
Patrols the building sometimes while staff is closing up the Tavern, and counting money to put in the safe.
The entity of a female
Her face was caught above one of the tables in a photo. Imagine their surprise when she shows up in the picture!
PARANORMAL FINDINGS
It has been reported that all of the staff have had experiences with the spirits in The White Horse Tavern, as well as some patrons over the years. Many paranormal groups have done investigations in this tavern, but I couldn’t find any shared evidence on line. Two photos have been shared. A photograph of the old man who died there is framed and is on the wall of The White Horse Tavern, and An unintentional photo of a female face was caught on film by a professional photographer, taking a publicity photo for The White Horse Tavern. Imagine their surprise when she shows up in the picture!
STILL HAUNTED?
A Huge PROBABLY SO is in order.
Though investigators haven’t shared on line what they have captured, plenty of people know they are not alone in the tavern. They don’t need really hard evidence as they live with the spirits every day, and have seen plenty, making the spirits a reality.
Perhaps investigators haven’t used the right trigger to entice the spirits to come out and talk via EVPs.
Two photos by two different people have caught what looks like two of the entities seen and experienced. There are always some skeptics when it comes to believing that ghost photos are paranormal, but the photos are accepted by the folks who have to live with the spirits here.
SOURCES INCLUDE
Haunted Rhode Island
by Thomas D’Agostino
Schiffer Books, 2006
Ghosts of Newport: Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends, and Lore
by John T. Brennan
Published by Haunted America, 2007
whitehorsetavern.us/history.htm * quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=39 *
.quahog.org/factsfolklore/– Edited transcript of a talk given by Anita Rafael at the White Horse Tavern on December 16, 2000.
http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/ri/white-horse-newport.htm
Mondays Haunt is ..:drum roll:..Alcatraz Prison, CA
Haunting Ghost Stories of Alcatraz
Is Al Capone Still Wandering the Corridors of Alcatraz?
By Charles Montaldo, About.com Guide
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In the late 1850s, the first inmates to occupy Alcatraz were military prisoners who were put to work building a new prison that later became known as “The Rock.” The U.S. Army used the island until 1933, at which time the Federal Government decided to open a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with the most incorrigible inmates.
Alcatraz was designed to break rebellious prisoners by putting them in a structured, monotonous routine until their release. Prisoners were given four basic things – food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Receiving anything beyond that had to be earned. Famous criminals, such as Al Capone, George “Machine-Gun” Kelly, Alvin Karpis and Arthur “Doc” Barker, spent time in Alcatraz. Mobsters in other prisons often managed to manipulate special privileges from guards, but not at Alcatraz.
Tough Punishment
- The Strip Cell
Prisoners refusing to follow prison rules risked being confined to the Strip Cell, located on the lower tier of D Block. It was a dark steel cell, where inmates would be stripped naked and given water and bread once daily, an occasional meal and a mattress at night. The only ‘toilet’ was a hole in the cell floor and there was no sink. While there, convicts had no contact with others, spending their time in pitch-dark solitude. - The Hole on D Block
Similar to the strip cell, there were five ‘hole’ cells also on the lower tier, where prisoners were kept in isolation for up to 19 days. The cells had a toilet, sink, lightbulb and a mattress provided during the night only.
Prison Closure
Because of the huge cost to refurbish the prison it was closed in 1963. Later the island and parts of the prison were reopened by the Parks Services for daily public tours.
Tales of Torture
The fact that Alcatraz was built on an island and kept so isolated from public view, tales of inmates being tortured and of their bitter spirits coming back to haunt the halls of Alcatraz began to circulate.
The Ghost Stories of Alcatraz
- The Utility Corridor
One of the areas which some claim is the most active with paranormal activity is a utility corridor where inmates Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard were plummeted with bullets after a failed prison escape. It is there that in 1976 a night security guard reported hearing unexplained eerie clanging sounds coming from inside. - Cell 14D
Cell 14D, one of the ‘hole’ cells is believed by some to be very active with spirits. Visitors and employees have reported feeling a raw coldness and at times a sudden ‘intensity’ encompasses the cell.Tales have been told of an event in the 1940s, when a prisoner locked-in 14D screamed throughout the night that a creature with glowing eyes was killing him. The next day guards found the man strangled to death in the cell. No one ever claimed responsibility for the convict’s death, however the next day when doing head counts, the guards counted one too many prisoners. Some of the guards claimed seeing the dead convict in line with the other inmates, but only for a second before he vanished.
- Warden Johnston
Other stories have circulated that Warden Johnston, nicknamed “The Golden Rule Warden,” also faced a bizarre event while showing some of his guests around the prison. According to the story, Johnston and his group heard someone sobbing from inside the prison walls, and then a cold wind whisked past the group. Johnston could never explain any reason for the occurances. - Cell blocks A, B, and C
Visitors to cellblocks A and B. claim they have heard crying and moaning. A psychic visiting wrote that while in Block C he came upon a disruptive spirit name Butcher. Prison records show that another inmate in block C murdered Abie Maldowitz, a mob hitman known as Butcher. - The Ghost of Al Capone
Al Capone, who spent his last years at Alcatraz with his health in decline from untreated syphilis, took up playing the banjo with a prison band. Fearing he would be killed if he spent his recreational time in the “yard,” Capone received permission to spend recreation time practicing his banjo in the shower room.In recent years, a park ranger claimed he heard banjo music coming from the shower room. Not familiar with the history of Alcatraz, the ranger could not find a reason for the sound and documented the strange event. Other visitors and employees have reported hearing the sound of a banjo coming from the prison walls.
- More Paranormal Reports
Other odd events experienced over the years include guards smelling smoke, but finding no fire; sounds of unexplained crying and moaning; unexplained cold spots in areas of the prison and claims of seeing ghosts of prisoners or military personnel.
Could it be Alcatraz is haunted? Ghost hunters have said they feel parts of the island and areas of the prison evoke a certain “strangeness.”
Todays haunt goes to ..:Drum Roll:..Haunted Canada, too many to just list one ;)
Ghosts and Haunted Places of Alberta
Are you a ghost chaser? If so, you could do worse that check out Alberta’s ghosts. There are tons of them here, and no matter which kind of ghosts you prefer, you’ll find something to your taste in Alberta’s spookiest locations.
Are you a big fan of ghostly murder scenes? If so, you could head to the Banff Springs Hotel where a family was supposedly murdered many years ago. Hotel guests report that the spirits of this family group have been seen all over the hotel. So much so, that management attempted to reduce the chance of their spirits escaping from the scene of their slaughter. They walled in the door to that unlucky room. However, people tend to notice that room 873 is missing, and ask about it. Then out comes the grisly tale, to the delight of all ardent ghost hunters. The part of the wall where the door once was leaves no doubt that an area has been enclosed there. Before it was walled in, the domestic staff reported that their efforts to remove a child’s fingerprints from that room met with the stubborn reappearance of those forensic identifiers over and over again. So, until some brave soul goes in there with a bottle of Windex and nerves of steel, we may never know whether or not this tale has any real foundation.
Banff Springs Hotel – One of Many Haunted Places in Alberta, Photo by MyklR, Flickr
If those murder victims are too elusive for you, maybe you’d prefer Calgary’s Deane House. This house has been the scene of many murder mystery parties in the past. These were successful in that several guests reported seeing a man in the basement. He appeared to be Aboriginal, and local historians speculated it was Chief Deerfoot. Plexiglass may soon be installed at Deane house, as glass cabinets seem to shatter without any obvious reason. If you’re staying overnight there and want to encounter a ghost, try sleeping in the upstairs bedrooms. People have been reporting seeing ghosts there for many years. Maybe it’s time for another murder mystery party there. Only this time maybe a group of paranormal investigators could set up their half ton of equipment in the house to capture scientific evidence of ghosts. It’s unfortunate that such equipment seems to guarantee a ghost-free evening, punctuated by the occasional shrieks of Nervous Nellies falling over each other in the dark.
Of course, the obvious place to look for ghosts is around graveyards. And Alberta’s full of these haunted places, some of which feature both visual and acoustic effects. You won’t go far wrong in Drumheller. People have reported ghosts in the entire area of the city Graveyard, and for three kilometres around it.
If you drive out of Edmonton to Calling Lake School, you may feel your every move is being watched by unseen eyes. People have long believed that the school was built on an old Aboriginal burial ground. This has led to reports of the appearance of a ghostly visitor to the school library both in the dark of night and in broad daylight. You’d have to wonder what Bright Spark in the planning stages for the school, suggested such an unsuitable location.
An ancient battlefield turned graveyard in Cadotte Lake is the Peace River’s contribution to Alberta’s roster of other-worldly haunts. Again here, one apparently feels the sting of long-dead eyes upon the flesh. People see strange lights on the nearby lake, and find themselves ejected from the graveyard after dark by a tall shadowy shape. Floodlights might fix it!
But don’t be thinking that all of Alberta’s ghosts are to be found in old, broken down surroundings. Some of them even have the nerve to show up in those bastions of commercial enterprise—modern businesses.
There’s a Mark’s Work Warehouse on Macleod Trail South in Calgary where you might be witness to the daily tossing of objects across the store by unseen hands. Fortunately this doesn’t happen at peak retail times, so no harm done. However the bad smells in the store can often be encountered during the day. Some have likened this odor to that of wet dogs. Whew! Chills, eerie footsteps and odd shadows on the floor may hinder your concentration when trying to select your winter long johns.
Zellers in Forest Lawn is another unlikely place for tormented spirits. That’s where George, (a ghost) throws items off the shelves. His ghostly ears don’t seem to work as they once did, so he goes around turning up the volume on electrical appliances. He also favors the skirl of the bagpipes! It sounds like an experience not to be missed!
And finally for the younger generation, there’s a haunted mall in Grande Prairie. Here you may spot an old lady who apparently choked to death in the food court, and a less than handsome old fellow who stakes out the area near the mall offices at night.
Ghosts are always interesting and thought provoking. I wonder what they think of us when we go around searching for them in haunted places, then screech and high tail it out of there when we think we’ve found them. If they’re searching for us too, and then immediately disappear when they find us, what possible use is this popular mutual seeking each other out? Could it be an age old human need to seek out the unknown? Or is it a game played by ghosts bored to death by disembodiment? What do you think?
Alberta is a great place to hunt down ghosts if you enjoy the occasional goosebumpy experience. Why not do some investigating, if you’re tough enough? There are plenty of hanunted places throughout the province to keep you busy for a while.
Haunted Thursday goes to “Blacksburg Virginia”
| Blacksburg PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
| While visiting my friend somewhere near Blacksburg I kept seeing the ghost of a cat. At least I believe it was a ghost. Just to inform you, this cat looked nothing like her cats or dogs. This was not just one cat shaped flash or a cat shadow, I could see this cat very clearly. It was a tortoise shell cat with patches of bright white tabby. It was also vaguely transparent. I would see her sitting on the coffee table, walking across the floor, following |
| us across the yard, watching us in the little playhouse. I kept seeing her out of the corner of my eye, when I would look she would disappear. One time she was on the coffee table, I looked and she was gone. I looked away and |
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she reappeared, I turned and she disappeared. But I patted the place she had been, when I turned I saw her jump down and walk away. http://www.ghostsofamerica.com/2/Virginia_Blacksburg_ghost_sightings.html
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Haunt for tuesday June 11, 2013 goes to ::drum roll::
Hardtner – Auchenbach
In the 1st floor men’s room it is always 15 to 20 degrees cooler the rest of the building and you feel as if you are being watched.
In the basement there is the old morgue and you can see bloody footprints on the floor, walls and ceiling. On the 3rd floor you will here a toilet flush with no one in the bathroom and the elevator runs up and down on it’s own. You can also see the ghost of Charlie Auchenba. There are a number of cold spots and areas where you feel as though you are being watched. You can also see the shadow of a person standing on the ledge in several of the rooms on 3rd floor. I would warn people about going there now cause it was sold and the guy that owns it WILL call the cops on you if you are caught trespassing. However, if you can get permission to check it out it is well worth it.
*** I would like to add that whom ever posted this description must be a little out of it as it is entirely inaccurate. I was here recently on a photo excursion (see photos below) and there is not running water there for no flushing toilets, there is no morgue in the basement, no electricity therefor no running elevators, and I believe there’s no Charlie Auchenba, only a Jacob Auchenbach. On my visit nothing seemed haunted about this place, there were a few sounds caused by birds and other wildlife, but that is about it.
Haunt of the day is ..:drum roll:…Paramount Arts Center – Ashland, KY
Paramount Arts Center – Ashland, KY
BluegrassCache
GEO*Trailblazer 1
.GPX File
According to the website The Shadowlands (visit link) the following are ghost stories about “Paramount Joe”
It is said that during some early renovation work on the Paramount Theatre, a death occurred there and the man’s ghost has forever since haunted the Paramount. In the early 1940s, four construction workers from Boyd Theater Company in Cincinnati, Ohio were working on a project inside the auditorium. It is reported that all of them had gone to lunch except one man, a guy named Joe. When the other three returned, they found Joe hanging from the curtain rigging, dead. And since then, sounds have been heard, things have gone missing, cold drafts have been felt, and some folks even claim to have seen the image of a man appear on occasion. However, he is by all means a “good ghost” – one who seems to look out for the benefit of the theatre and its occupants. When Billy Ray Cyrus was here filming his video for “Achy Breaky Heart,” he was told about the legend of Paramount Joe. Between breaks, Billy Ray would talk to Joe, laughing and joking with him, sometimes even asking for his help. It is customary to get 8 x 10 photographs signed by each performer that appears at the Paramount and then hang the photo on the ‘Wall of Fame’ in the box office. Billy Ray personally autographed large color posters to each of the female employees working here at the time – and one with a personal inscription to Paramount Joe, whom he now had a fondness for. Each lady put her poster near her desk and Joe’s was hung in the box office, near all the other performers. As time passed and the walls in the box office became too full of 8×10’s signed by other performers, the executive director felt that some of the pictures and posters needed to come down. Since there were so many of Billy Ray, she asked the women to remove their posters since they were all so similar. Nobody wanted to take their personally autographed picture of Billy Ray down so they took down the one he had signed to Paramount Joe. The next day, when the ladies came to work, every single 8×10 and poster that had been hanging neatly on the walls the night before were now lined strewn on the floor, many of their glass frames shattered! It was as if someone had wiped each one off the wall. To this day, Paramount Joe’s poster still hangs in the Paramount, in a very special part of The Marquee Room, which is now the site of Paramount Joe’s Rising Star Café’. There is another story about the time two new employees wanted to investigate the basement in the Paramount and some old items that had been stored there. To reach the basement, you must go through a door that is located just inside the lounge outside the ladies restroom. This brings you to the top of the stairs. At the top of those stairs is a light switch that will light the first section of the stairwell. As you progress, there is a switch that will light each area in front of you. And, there is no partner switch. In other words, you must turn the light off at the same place you turned it on. The marketing director had offered to take the two new female employees into the basement and turned on the lights at the top of the stairs. The ladies hurried down the steps. At that moment the marketing director was called to take a phone call inside the office. He told the other two employees to wait, he would be right back. In their excitement however, they did not hear him and they continued on. Recounting the story later, it was at this point they called up to him to turn on the next light for them. As it turned out, he was on the phone longer than expected and met the ladies as they were coming back up the steps. “Thanks for turning on the light for us,” one of them said, “but we can’t get it to turn off.” Puzzled, he explained that he had not turned on the light for them – and in fact, could not turn on the light. The expression on their faces revealed that they were not kidding with him. They lead him back into the basement, only to be met by darkness. ‘Someone’ had turned the light off again as well. “Well, thanks Joe,” called out one of the ladies, as she shivered. In 2004, marketing director Tyson Compton was giving a tour to some high school students. As he was relating the Paramount Joe story, he realized that he was always talking about Joe, and not to him. So as he spoke to the students, he stopped and called out, “Joe, are you here? Is it ok that I tell your story?” While he swears that he then heard a seat squeak, that is not the the most chilling part of this story. Compton relates how he received a call the very next day from a psychic who lived in the area. She asked him if someone in his family or a close friend had recently died because she had gotten a message from “the other side.” He said no that he could think of no one. “Well, she said, “I’m supposed to tell you that Joe said he is here.”
| Public access?: This is a performing arts center and is open to the public during performances. However, if you ask nicely, sometimes they will give you a tour.  Website about the location and/or story: [Web Link] Visting hours: Not listed |
- Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. Photos you took of paranormal activity are great. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit
- Tell your story if you saw, felt, or smelled anything unusual. Post pictures of what you saw.
- Add any information you may have about the location. If your information is important about the location, please contact the waymark owner to see if it can be added to the description.
- Be careful and do not enter areas which are off limits or look dangerous. No waymark is worth harm. Use your 6th sense, because sometimes there are unseen things which are telling you to stay out.
- Use care when using your camera flash so you do not disrupt any possible nearby residents. Time lapse can be the best tool on your camera in many circumstances.
Sundays Haunt goes to ..:drum roll:…The Cornstalk Hotel, New Orleans
The Cornstalk Hotel, New Orleans
History
The Cornstalk Hotel was the early 1800’s home of Judge Francois Xavier-Martin, first Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and author of the first history of Louisiana, where Harriet Beecher Stowe stopped and was inspired to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin from the sights at the nearby slave markets.
Surrounded by a unique and intricate 165 year-old “cornstalk” cast iron fence, it is now a lovely hotel in the Victorian tradition of elegance. The building still functions today as an open hotel.
Hauntings
The stories of ghostly goings on here are rather different from any other location, apparitions of children have been witnessed running and playing all over the house and grounds, as well as the sounds of children laughing and light footsteps in the hall ways when no one’s there.
What makes this location different from any other though is due to the stories of guests who have stayed there. On several occasions people have checked into the hotel with a camera on them, not an uncommon thing to do in a tourist area.
But upon getting the photos developed they have found there to be photos of themselves lying asleep in the bed they stayed in at the hotel. Many people can’t explain this as they were alone at the time of their stay. Maybe the spirits of the children have a passion for photography?
Haunt of the day goes to ..::drum roll:..Fort Delaware
Most Haunted Places in America: Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is an imposing building located along the Delaware Bay in Delaware City, Delaware. Its construction was completed two years before the start of the Civil War. This massive structure covers six acres, has 32 foot high walls, 7 to 30 feet thick in some places, the complex is surrounded by a 30 foot wide moat and it is entered through a medieval looking drawbridge at the entrance.
Though it was not its original intention, Fort Delaware became a prison camp for the Union during the Civil War. Prisoners first arrived here in 1862, most though came from the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. By the end of the Civil War, almost 40,000 men would call Fort Delaware prison home.
Unfortunately the conditions at the prison camp were extremely harsh. Prisoners would live in wooden huts that barely kept out the rain much less the cold. They were giving no extra clothes and according to the war department at that time, it was policy to provide as little clothing as possible. As you can imagine Fort Delaware had the highest mortality rate among Union prison camps with reports of 2500-3000 prisoners dying there.
Finn’s Point National Cemetery located across the river is where most of the confederate soldiers were buried. Unfortunately there is but one marker there that says: Erected By The United States To Mark The Burial Place Of 2436 Confederate Soldiers Who Died At Fort Delaware While Prisoners Of War And Whose Graves Cannot Now Be Individually Identified.
Today, the paranormal activity is still strong at Fort Delaware. So many deaths in such cruel conditions have produced one of the most haunted places in America. Starting in the basement, people have claimed to here moans, chains rattling and voices. Apparitions of Confederate soldiers running under the ramparts have also been seen. It has been suggested that these ghosts are still looking for ways to escape the prison camp.
There is a woman apparition that visits the officer’s kitchen seen by re-enactors. She has yet to be identified but she has been known to call out names and move things around. Maybe she had some form of authority in the kitchen? There have been many pictures taken at the fort and some have unexplained orbs, mists and some even show the presence of soldiers in them.
Some of the other paranormal activity includes one of the buildings having an apparition of a woman and a child attached to it. In the building it is said you can hear children laughing, falling objects, candles moving, a woman cry and even reports of a tugging on clothing. There have also been reports by multiple people about being touched or tugged on all around Fort Delaware. Claims of men swearing and a harmonica playing have been heard as well.
Haunt of the day goes to …:drum Roll:…Hampton, New Hampshire The Life and Times of “Goody” Cole
The Life and Times of “Goody” Cole
“Goodwife” Eunice Cole
By Cathy Marshall
A term paper written by a local student in 1975.
Goodwife Eunice Cole and her hard working husband, Goodman William Cole, lived in 
. “When she was born and where, is not a matter of record. Neither are their recorded facts related to her marriage nor her death.”1 But, what we do know for sure is that both Eunice and William Cole did live in Hampton. Their family stone, the Cole stone, is in the Ring [now called Founders Park], which is the grassland located across from the Tuck Memorial Museum [at 40 Park Avenue]. The Cole family came to Hampton sometime during the year of 1640. This was merely two years after the town of Hampton was settled. A little company, in the year 1638, came up the Hampton River and founded what was then known as Winnacunnet. This town was based on “sturdy virtues and even as with us some disturbing faults.”2 Even though when the Coles arrived, Hampton had already been settled for two years; it was still rather a wilderness. In fact, Winnacunnet, the Indian name for Hampton, means “the beautiful place of pines.”3 Also, the town of Hampton of the present is not the Hampton of the past. “The town of Hampton (Winnacunnet) was originally larger than it is at present and comprised within its boundaries what are now half a dozen prosperous towns.”4 Along with the family stones at the Ring are some of the township stones which have broken away from the rather large Winnacunnet.
Being in the wilderness, the town of Hampton had to struggle against the odds in order to survive. The people of Hampton were more fortunate than many other settlers, because they had products from the sea to help to support the produce they received from the land. The original settlers were mostly farmers. The people were such hard laborers that they took little time to enjoy themselves. They were constantly working outside, and the women didn’t just sit around either. They were very hard workers, also. Taking charge of a household in those days was much harder than it is today. The women had to make their own cloth, butter, bread, and take care of preserving foods to help them get through the winter; nowadays, people can run to the store and buy many of the things that these people had to make for themselves. Working so hard and working outside would have made many of the women age rather quickly. The medical and dental facilities probably left much to be desired.. These things probably added to the accusations that Goodwife Eunice Cole was to face later on in her life.
Goodwife Cole, or ‘Goody’ as she was most commonly known as, was a woman from Hampton, New Hampshire. She was a rather bent old woman who frequently walked with a cane (but, if she actually needed the cane to walk is not known). She was a woman of small frame who possessed sharp blue eyes. “Historically, she seems to have been a rather unpleasant person and this probably preluded her ultimate conviction.”5 Goody was both feared and hated by her neighbors. But, she lacked the character which would have won her the affection of her neighbors, and possibly she could have won their goodwill, if she had tried. She was known to be ill-natured, aggravating, malicious, and even ugly – but, does this constitute her to be a witch? If your answer was no, then I would agree with you. There were to be more things which Goody was to do to lead to her final conviction. But, you must admit Goody did look and act the part of the typical witch.
Before we start to uncover the life and the times of Eunice Cole, alias “The Real New Hampshire Witch”,6 it is important to get some background into this story. It is very important to remember “(that) one did not have to overtly profess a kinship with the powers of darkness to fall under suspicion.. A general irritability of temperament coupled with certain eccentricities would often serve the same purpose, especially if the subject looked the part.”7 Legally defined “a witch is a person who hath conference with the Devil to consult with him or to do some act.”8 A devil was a “little god”.9 But, what was a really remarkable thing was that “many people had fled their other lands in order to find freedom to worship as they choose to. But, the demands they made on other people were even more demanding and strict than those they had fled.”10 While uncover Goody’s life, accusation by accusation we must not condemn the people accusing Goody. We are looking back in time and no matter how hard we try, we cannot duplicate the struggle for survival or the religious frenzy or the superstition of the people of these tines. It is important to remember that we should sympathize with their faults because we will want someone to sympathize with ours. Now, we are ready to start our journey into the past life of Goody Cole – just hop on my broom, and away we will go – Goody here we come!
Superstition, like a disease, keeps on growing stronger and spreading once it gets started. Goody first got recognition for her well. This is because “…. the water from Goody Cole’s well no matter how long the journey might be, never grew brackish in the water butt.”11 This well served as a convenient oasis for a number of weary boatmen. You see, Goody Cole lived on Island Path – “after many turns and bends, well toward the point where the road and river meet.”12 This is an extremely good description of Island Path, this I know because I live on Island Path in the summertime. The reason this well could serve as a convenient oasis is because this path goes right down to the point of where the road meets the river. Goody was in a rather isolated spot. But, as I told you before, superstition was to be closely involved with Goody Cole. Even though she lived off from everyone else, the village children still used to peek in her window. I suppose that is typical of children’s curiosity. The village children reported “the Evil One in the shape of a little black dwarf with a red cap on his head sat at her table and that she frequently cuffed his ears to keep him in order.”13 They also told the towns-people that “one of the devils imps …(was) sitting on her shoulder to wisper in her ear.”14 The seed of superstition was now planted, it just had to be cultivated. Soon, Goody’s name was able to “hush crying children into silence, or hurry truant boys to school.”15
With superstition already mounting, Goody was in pretty bad shape, only she seemed to he unaware of this fact. While she was spinning on her porch, overlooking the marsh, a boat came down the Hampton River. There were young people on the boat and to them Goody looked rather funny. They were laughing at the poor old woman. One of the young people yelled out, “Fie on the witch!”16 Goody answered the young person by stating “You are brave today, but I hear the little waves laugh and tell me that the broth that awaits you at home will be very, very cold.”17 The captain told the young people not to bother with the witch because it would not bring them good luck at all. But, the young people kept up their teasing anyways. Then, they were off to Star Island , which is one of the islands of the Isles of Shoals. The boat was approximately nine miles out from the New Hampshire coast line when they heard distant thunder. They tried sailing for the shelter at the Isles of Shoals Harbor. But, it was too late, the storm was much closer than the captain had thought it was. The wind blew at a terrible force for about forty minutes. Then, the sun came out very brightly, again. The people at the harbor on Star Island ran down to the water to see if the boat was all right. The people looked seaward but, the ship was gone – crew and all. There were two women, four men and two children on board the boat when it had disappeared. The people who were lost at sea were; “Robert Reed, Sergt. William Swaine, Emanuel Hilliard, John Philbrick, his wife Ann, and their daughter Sarah, Alice, the wife of Moses Cox, and John Cox their son, and as is supposed, their only child.”18 It was almost as though the ocean had opened up and swallowed the boat up. (none of the crew was ever heard of or seen again, dead or alive.) Goody looked seaward after the storm was over and said, “They are lost, boat and all! The Lord forgive me, for my words about the broth were true. They will never return.19 The people, now, were sure that Goody was a witch and a dangerous one at that.
Unexplained happenings began to be blamed on poor unsuspecting Goody. It seems as though Goody Marston and Goodwife Palmer were talking about Goodwife Marston’s child and Goodwife Cole. It seems as though “thirteen years before, she had known one ‘bewitched as Goodwife Marston’s child was’ and that this person ‘was changed from man to an ape as Goody Marston’s child was’.”20 At a different time, Goodwife Sobriety Moulton and Goodwife Sleeper also thought the subject of Goody Marston’s child and Goody Cole made for good conversation or more specifically gossip. As they were talking about that subject, there came a very loud scraping noise. This noise made the two women stop their gossiping and check to see what was making the noise. But, when they went outside, they were very much surprised for there was nothing there to make the noise. So, the two women returned inside the house and took up where they left off on their gossiping. The scraping noise started, again, just as it had done before. Only this time the noise was louder. It was so bad that the women decided to go outside again and check to see what could be causing this strange noise. But, again to their surprise there was nothing or no one outside to be scraping the house. If a dog or a cat had made the noise, there surely would have been a mark or something on the house, but there was none at all. The women decided that this was a rather strange phenomenon and decided to break up their gab session. But, unfortunately for Goody, this strange happening was not forgotten and would be brought up again.
In the meantime, Goody Cole had moved near the Baptist Church in Hampton. She now lived not too far from where the Tuck Memorial Museum stands today. Thomas Philbrick, also, lived near Goody Cole. Many stories were told about the strange feats performed by Goodwife Eunice Cole. Because of her reputation, she was feared and also hated. She lacked the character to win her the respect and friendship of her neighbors. She may very well have been ugly, ill-natured, and malicious; but, now it was “believed that she was able to render persons deformed, to torture, and even to drown them with ‘an invisible hand’.”21 Possibly if Goody had a different disposition, she may not have been suspected as being a witch, but, of course, that’s merely speculation on my part.
In 1656, Goodwife Eunice Cole was charged with being a witch. Unfortunately Goody didn’t really have many true friends, so she really had no one to help her or to believe that she was innocent. “…. Not all in Hampton were under the witchcraft delusion. But it was almost dangerous to deny it.”22 For this reason anyone who even suspected that she was not guilty was not apt to stand up in court and say so, because there was the possibility that the people would next accuse that person of being a witch. See, it wasn’t just dangerous to the witch, but it was also dangerous not to believe there was such a thing as a witch. Goody was now to stand trial in the Norfolk Court. As I said before, Goody really didn’t have anyone to stand for her, and everyone was afraid for their own life to help her out. I guess all through history it has always been every man for himself, and survival of the fittest.
The trial against Goody proceeded. There were to be many to testify against poor Goody Cole. Goodwife Moulton and Goodwife Sleeper testified that Goody Cole was a witch because when they were talking about her they heard a loud scraping noise, and there was nothing outside the house to have caused the noise. Goodwife Marston and Goodwife Palmer gave their testimony “that Goodwife Cole said that she was sure there was a witche in towne, and she knew where hee dwelt and who they are.”23 Thomas Philbrick came forth with his testimony against Goody. It seems as though Thomas’ calves used to eat the grass from Goody’s property, and Goody threatened that “she wished it might poysen them or choke them.”24 That night one of his two calves returned home, and that calf died within the week. Drake reported that since Goody moved beside him that he lost some of his cows and he blamed that on Goody. Goody also was blamed for some boat mishaps. She was blamed for the boat that was on its way to Star Island when she made her prediction about what was to happen to the boat and it did. This is most famously known as the Wreck of the Rivermouth which is a poem by [John Greenleaf] Whittier. There was another case in which “two young men were drowned in Hampton River and their boat was believed to be overturned through her agency.”25 As you can see, things did not look too good for our poor friend Goody Cole.
The court decision was made, Goody was found guilty of witchcraft. She was now not only suspected of being a witch, but now the people of Hampton felt they had enough evidence to prove that she was definitely proven to be a full fledged witch.! Goody was to be the only woman to be convicted of witchcraft in New Hampshire. As we look back, “The evidence in the case goes to establish the fact that Goody Cole was neither loved nor respected by her neighbors, and that she was not, perhaps entitled to their love nor respect; but on a calm review of the case, it seems difficult to understand how the court or the jury could, from the testimony induced, pronounced her guilty of the crime alleged.”26 Goody received a double punishment for her crime. Goody was to be whipped and imprisoned for life or until the court decided to release her. To us, that seems like a very harsh sentence. But, the people of the time felt that “the court, in a comparatively humane gesture, sentenced her only to be flogged and then imprisoned for life in Boston.”27 Actually, the sentence she received was to appease the parents and relatives of the people who were drowned in the Wreck of the Rivermouth. “Major Waldron, the presiding magistrate, ordered her to be imprisoned, with ‘a lock kept on her leg’ at the pleasure of the court.28 Poor Goody was about to embark on a very sorrowful trip in which she was never to completely recover.
After Goody was in jail for three years, her husband, William Cole, petitioned the court for her release. His petition was on November 3, 1659. He was now in his late eighties. He said that he couldn’t take care of himself and he couldn’t obtain enough to live on. He needed and wanted his wife to come and help him out. He was too old to work his land alone, and he would certainly starve if there was no one to help him get food and take care of him. He said that he was near perishing and couldn’t afford anyone to come and work for him. William, also, wanted his wife out of jail because he had made his will out to her leaving her everything in which he owned. William’s property consisted of ” …. (a) house lot of five acres …. forty acres granted to him in June, 1640, and had one share in the commons in l646.”29 But, the court would not release Goody from jail. The court ordered the town to take over William’s property, for he was bankrupt without his wife, and the town was to assume responsibility for both William and for Goody. This is to be remembered for it will be very important at another time.
In 1662, Goody petitioned the court for her release. She pleaded her release because of her age, weakness and because of the age and condition of her husband. The court ordered her to pay her board money – fee to keep Goody in jail.
The cost to keep Goody in jail was eight pounds a day. There was no way that Goody could pay this high board. Neither Goody nor her husband had any money, so the town of Hampton was ordered by the court to pay this board money from William’s estate. The town began paying the board money, but they very easily forgot about her. William died on “May 36, 1662”30 so there was no one left in the town who really gave Goody a moments thought. The town also just seemed to forget about paying Goody’s board. At least the townspeople forgot about the board until “William Salter, the keeper of the prison at Boston, brought a demand against the town for boarding Eunice Cole at the prison to which she had been sentenced by the court; and, to secure payment of the debt, he arrested Thomas Marston, one of the selectmen, July 14, 1664.31 This helped to remind the people about Goody Cole suffering in jail. They adopted a resolution that the fines from lesser crimes would be used to help keep Goody in jail. The people would probably have done anything to keep Goody in jail.
Nobody actually knows how many petitions were filed for the release of Goody Cole, but there were quite a few. In 1665, Goody again petitioned for her release, only quite different from past petitions, she was to finally get some action. With this petition, the court ordered Goody to pay up all that was owed the Court and within one month to depart from the jurisdiction of the court. There was no way that Goody would be able to comply with these rules. The court warned that if she didn’t “depart within one month after her release, out of this jurisdiction, & not to returne againe on poenalty of hir former sentenc being executed against hir.”32 But, “… someway she was released and returned to Hampton sometime before l67l.”33
Goody was now free at last. She returned to Hampton and lived at the foot of Rand’s Hill. The town provided a small shack-like shelter for Goody to live in. This was built on the Meeting House Green. They also had to provide the food and fuel for Goody. They had to take turns in order of the way they lived. If the portion was less than four shillings, then they should join with the next neighbor who was contribute to Goody. Each family was to provide for Goody one week at a time. It is important to remember that “…no open arms (were) extended to her, rather the clenched fist.”34 The townspeople didn’t go out of their way to do anything extra for Goody, they just did the things that they had to do. “Her own experience had not given her any love of the townspeople and their fears and dread of witchcraft was increasing.”35 As you can see, this was not a very pleasant situation.
Goody along with the townspeople lived in constant fear. You see, Goody was never sure when someone would come up and accuse her, again. There was no way that she would be able to protect herself from being falsely accused. The townspeople feared Goody so that if anything out of the ordinary happened, they were sure to blame it on Goody. They were fearful because they were not friends with Goody and they didn’t know what she would want to do to them. But, now, Goody had to depend on the same people who convicted her to provide her with food, shelter and fuel. She never knew when they would turn against her. Goody knew that she was a burden to them and she probably feared them as much as they feared her. The relationship between the townspeople and Goody was not an ideal one, in fact it would have to go a long way before it was even to be considered a good relationship at all.
The town that Goody returned to was far different from the Hampton in which she left. Her husband, William, had already died which must have been very hard on Goody. There was no one left who truly cared about poor Goody Cole. She was truly alone in the world. Goody no longer had the feeling of ownership. The town provided for her essentials, nothing at all belonged to her. When Goody had left the town, she was suspected of being a witch, only she returned a convicted person. So the town was now sure that Goody was a witch and were going to shun her even more than they had before. They also knew that she had committed all those crimes, and she would have to be ready to accept the guilt in which the people would thrust upon her (even if she didn’t commit those crimes). With her husband dead, her old homestead taken over by the town, her neighbors unfriendly and being a ward of the town; she must have led a rather miserable existence for those years in which she survived.
Goody’s fears and doubts about her neighbors proved to be right. For in October, 1672, Goody was again charged with being a witch. She was taken before the grand jury. She was charged with being seen in many different forms. She was seen as a woman, a dog, a cat, and an eagle. She was also charged with enticing a young innocent girl, Ann Smith, to come to live with her. She was charged with making Ann work for her as her domestic. The grand jury found the bill against Goody Cole and on April, 1673 she was ordered by the Salisbury Court to go once again to Boston. She was to go and await trial again.
There was a remarkable decision made in favor of Goody Cole. The Court’s decision was “In ye case of Unis Cole now prisoner att ye Bar not Legally guilty according to Inditement butt just ground of vehement suspissyon of her haveing had famillyarryty with the devill – Jonas Clarke in the name of the rest.”36 This court decision was of monumental importance (especially to Goody). This was to be the beginning of the decline in witchcraft. New, Goody was free. She was actually found not guilty. But, now will the people be more willing to help her out? The answer was no. Many of the townspeople went to their deaths still believing that Goody was actually guilty of being a witch!
There was again a cry of witchcraft. This time Goody Fuller named Goody Cole as a witch. There were eight women who were also named as witches and there were two men who were unnamed as wizards. But, “they were too influential to be openly charged with witchcraft. These men eased some of the hardships of Goody Cole’s last days but for many reasons it was aadvisablenot to do so openly.”37 It was still hard for the people to help Goody out too much (for those who wished to help her, that is). Because no one could help her very much, she spent much of “her last few days in a solitude nearly as profound as that which she’d suffered behind bars.”38
Goody was getting old and worn out. Because of her age and the condition in which she was living, her constitution began to break down. Throughout the witch trials and being in jail, all Goody had was her firm constitution and now she was robbed of that. It must have been almost unbearable for the old woman who was too ill to live the rest of her life relatively alone, being persecuted, hated and scorned. Even though she was very old, Goody was still very much feared.
Goody lived out her last few days without a friend to comfort her. No one even knew if Goody was alive or even dead. The reason the day that Goody died is not a matter of record is because no one was there so no one really knows. Some people were walking by her house and noticed there was no smoke coming from her chimney. “Such was the fear of her supposed powers had inspired, that it required a great deal of courage on the part of the inhabitants to force an entrance into her cabin, where she lay dead.”39 Word passed quickly that Goody Cole was dead because of the immense fear of her supposed powers.
Even in death, Goody was not to be free of the people’s fears. Goody was hurriedly “buried in a grave by a ditch as too unclean for consecrated ground.”40 She was buried in a deep hole – 5′ deep x 6′ square – outside her little shack. Being very comfortable with the superstition of the time, the people fashioned a long stake which was suppose to “… exorcise the baleful influence she was suppose to have41 possessed.” A horseshoe was nailed to the end of the stake in order to cheat the devil out of his prey. No sign was to be left of Goody’s grave in order to discourage future witches. But, “that night the two who were suspected as wizards, with their sons… went to the shallow grave, removed the stake and tenderly lifting the body and bore it quietly away, first replacing the earth and stake so as not to show any mark of disturbance, and in a pleasant and grassy corner of the land of one, Goody Cole was quietly and decently given a fair resting place.”42
Even though Goody has been dead for a very long time, it is very interesting to know that people still think that she can cause trouble. In fact, it was two and one quarter centuries after she was dead when the trouble first started. The Frank Fogg family said that there were very weird things happening to their pigs and their cows. They also said that since they moved into this house that they have had no luck at all. “(The) Haunted house (is) built on site of the hut occupied by Goody Cole.”43 Supposedly, this house is haunted because Goody is buried there, and she can still pull tricks from her grave. “It is said that the body of the witch is buried between the two large trees in front of the house and some declare if one walks over the grave it will bring him good luck. But, it makes us nervous to think of the body of a witch is on the place.”44 The Fogg family used to live on the land which is now occupied by the Tuck Memorial Museum.
In the summer of 1936, Goody was to begin to become famous. That’s quite ironic, during her life she was feared, hated and persecuted; but, now, she was to start on the road to being famous. In 1936, a ‘society’ was formed. Miss Phyllis Tucker was the secretary and William Cram was the president of ‘The Society in Hampton for the Apprehension of those Falsely Accusing Eunice Goody Cole of Having had Familiarity With the Devil!’ It is believed that the idea for this society came up when Mr. William Cram was talking about “the Society in Dedham (Mass.) for the Apprehension of Horse Thieves”46. Someone supposedly mentioned that looking for horse thieves in these times was like hunting for witches. Thus, the idea was put in his head. The society was without a charter or by laws, and the society grew so that the objective of the society became the objective of the community. There were some important people who were members. Frances Parnell Murphy, the Governor of New Hampshire, Fred Everett, the Highway Commissioner, and Mrs. Harry Houdini were members. What was most impressing was that most of the community wanted to be involved in this society and wanted to be members. Goody was to be respected, if only she was alive to see this.
The Town of Hampton decided to take official action. There was a town meeting on March 8, 1938 to help clear the name of Goodwife Eunice Cole. Article 16 of the Warrant wanted to see if the town will adopt this resolution, “Resolved that we the citizens of the Town of Hampton in town meeting assembled do hereby declare that we believe that Eunice (Goody) Cole was unjustly accused of witchcraft and of familliarity with the devil in the seventeenth century, and we do hereby restore to the said Eunice (Goody) Cole to her rightful place as a citizen of the town of Hampton…The selectmen shall elect during the Tercentenary…appropriate and fitting ceremonies…publicly burned certified documents of all the official documents relating to the false accusations against Eunice (Goody) Cole, and that the ashes …soil from the reputed last resting place and from the site of the home of Eunice (Goody) Cole be gathered in an urn and reverently placed in the ground at such place in the Town of Hampton as the Selectmen shall designate.”47 This was a very historic thing, because “this constitutes the first attempt on the part of a New England community to make amends to one of it’s early citizens who had been persecuted for witchcraft.”48 But, it must always be remembered that “it was not a publicity stunt. It was a ringing declaration that our town was free forever from superstition based on ignorance and fear.”49 Along with restoring her citizenship and proclaiming that they had been wrong about Goody Cole, they memorialized her with a plain inexpensive stone. This is on the Village [Meeting House] Green, the closest place to where she was first accused of witchcraft. “There should be no better monument to the progress which our town has made in three centuries of its existence.”50 It is important to remember they tried to say they were sorry to Goody Cole, but they were 300 years too late.
The memory of Goody Cole was not to be easily forgotten. A Goody Cole Doll was constructed in the honor and memory of Goody Cole. This doll was designed by Ruth (Moir) Pratt. The doll was dressed in the clothes of the times in which she had lived. A woman in those days was not allowed to expose any part of her body. So, therefore, she had sleeves down to her wrist and her clothes were closed at the neck.
In the years between 1939 and 1963, there was a stranger about the town of Hampton. It was believed by some to be the ghost of Goody Cole. This woman possessed sharp blue eyes which is just like Goody Cole. Her hair was grey and unkept. Her clothes were somber, and she had rather worn out shoes which are believed to have buckles on them. She was seen frequently wandering around the ‘Ring’. This is where the first settlers lived. Goody, or rather the ghost of Goody Cole, was always asking where the monument or the Goody Cole Memorial was. Then she found out that there was no monument, she got quite upset.
A policeman stopped his car to warn an aged woman to use greater care while walking. She replied that she had walked these roads for hundreds of years. She then thanked the policeman for stopping and went about her way. The policeman thought nothing about this incident at first. But, then, he looked for the rather aged old woman and she was no where in sight. Strange things were beginning to happen all over town. When one woman told the ghost of Goody Cole that they hadn’t gotten around to memorializing Goody Cole, the ghost supposedly walked right through a closed door.
Jack Hayden says that he doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he remembers a grey haired woman flitting from stone to stone in the Memorial Green. She was looking at the inscriptions. But, what struck Jack Hayden quite strangely was that when he took off his glasses to clean them; and when he looked up, Goody’s ghost was 250 feet away. You must admit, that is quite strange.
Who could this woman be who frequents what is known as the ‘Ring’? Why does she want to know about the inhabitants who accused Goody Cole? Who is this woman who says she has walked the streets of Hampton for hundreds of years. “Is the lady a human being interested in the early history of our town, or does the ghost of Goody Cole walk through Hampton’s historic acres.”51 That question is not for me to answer or for anyone else to answer for you. You have to decide what you believe for yourself!
Goody may have been long dead, but for some unknown reason Goody’s name still seems to pop up. Right now, in Hampton, there is a dispute over whether or not to allow a class called “Mystery and the Supernatural”. In one of the articles written on the way in which the dispute is going also decided to bring Goody into his case. He states “Poor old Goodie Cole, Hampton’s only authentic witch, must be laughing herself silly in that unmarked grave where she was interred with a stake through her heart to hold her down.”52 Maybe Goody Cole is dead, but the fear within all people of something which they can’t understand or are afraid of still remains. Maybe the time will come when we will all be able to respect each others own opinion and not try to influence others by our personal opinion. When that day comes, the world will be a much better place and there will never be another Goody Cole!
Southern Goddess Paranormal 