A Haunted House at Watertown, Massachusetts

Below is the full version text. It's the time of year when many folks like to dwell on the strange and unusual occurrences for which New England has always been famous. When we think of scary New England tales, we might focus our attention on places such as Salem, Massachusetts and the infamous witch trials.

Or, we might recall the Borden murders in Fall River, where Lizzie Borden took and axe and gave her mother 40 whacks and followed up with quite a few for her father. These stories and others are a wonderful mixture of history and horribleness. But few people realize that they needn't go quite so far from home to find weird and strange tales.

A town right here in Litchfield County has experienced far more than its share of odd and often supernatural events. That town is Watertown. In fact, Watertown even had its own Lizzie Borden, as well as ghosts, a dreadful curse and other creepy happenings. In May of , a Watertown farmer became the town's only murder victim of the 19th century.

And the murder was a spectacular one! Titus Foote was an 82 year old, living alone with the exception of a young Irish housekeeper named Hannah Donavan. Foote's house, which still stands near the corner of Echo Lake Road and Buckingham Street, is today, somewhat hidden among the trees. It was there that Donavan crushed his skull with an axe as he was asleep in bed. The following day, neighbors noticed that Mr. Foote had not been out and about and they decided to investigate. Upon entering his bedroom they found, beneath a blood-soaked sheet, the mutilated body of the old man.

The Waterbury American ran a full and vivid account of the scene:. An axe with which the deed was committed was afterwards found under a lounge, covered with blood and hairs". The housekeeper was found several miles away, arrested, tried and convicted of murder at the county courthouse in Litchfield. She served six years in prison but was then pardoned by the General Assembly and apparently deported. In both cases there was an elderly man murdered. Both of these victims were killed with an axe and both were lying down at the time of the attack.

Both households employed an Irish housekeeper and even the houses were of similar design. Lizzie Borden denied having committed the crime and was acquitted. Watertown's Hannah Donavan wasn't so lucky. One might not think of Watertown as being a haven for ghosts, but there was a time that ghost were running about causing all sorts of trouble. In November of , a ghostly apparition was spotted galloping down Main Street.

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This spirit included a horse and its rider, not unlike the headless horseman who terrorized Ichabod Crane in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This ghost, however, still had it's head. It seems that on that cool November night, two men were walking home from Waterbury when they heard the thundering hoofs of the oncoming spirit.

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The men were so frightened that they dropped their earthly belongings and made a mad dash to nearby fields, preferring to deal with barbed wire fences in the dark, rather than be trampled by the fast paced apparition. The ghost on horseback was seen on numerous other occasions by many different people before disappearing into local folklore forever.

Main Street in Watertown was always a dark, shadowy and foreboding place. With a long, high ridge running along the western side of the roadway, daylight was blocked long before sunset. Tall elm trees lined the street, giving it an almost tunnel-like feel. It wasn't until that the first electric street light arrived, ending two centuries of darkness. Ghost were constantly being spotted in town and they spread fright wherever they appeared. In April of , two girls living in the Oakville section of town were scared out of their boarding house by ghosts.

It was there that the spirits got violent, breaking pictures and vases and moving furniture around. Many items were thrown at the girls by these unseen hands. The young ladies refused to spend another night at the boarding house and took up accommodations nearby where more unnatural occurrences took place. It was at this second location that water glasses were emptied by seemingly thirsty ghouls and bed covers moved in an eerie manner without human aid.

Meanwhile, as the girls suffered through another night of fright, some local men staked out the first location where the ghosts had been so troublesome the night before. They had hopes of witnessing and possibly capturing the spooks. The vigil, however, was unrewarding as nothing supernatural was seen. Many came to believe that the event was a poltergeist, rather than a haunting, affecting the two girls and not any particular location. In more recent times, an Indian ghost has been spotted on Riverside Street.

This spook shows only its head and it isn't even right side up. And the ghost of a rooster has haunted a home on Linkfield Road, loudly making it's presence known at the exact same minute, night after night. While ghosts appeared throughout Watertown, there was another ongoing problem that was perhaps just as worrisome and far more bizarre. The problem was, simply stated, an over abundance of dead bodies. The town's mortality records show again and again that bodies of unknown strangers were constantly being found, scattered throughout the village.

One of the earliest was a black man whose body was discovered hanging from a tree, a rope secured around his neck. Found on February 23, , witnesses said the body was frozen solid. For the next century, bodies would be regularly found across the landscape. In May of , a lifeless body of a slightly decomposed man was found in a haystack near Litchfield Road. The medical examiner was called but no cause of death was ever issued and the man was never identified. Two bodies were discovered in , one being near the Waterville line, the other in some woodlands.

The second of these was that of a man, 60 to 70 years old. A comb and some tobacco were found with the badly decomposed body, but as always seemed to be the case, there was no identification. Most of these corpses were buried in unmarked graves at the old burial grounds on Main Street. Who these men were, and what drew them to Watertown during the last days of their lives, remains a mystery.

Probably Watertown's most tragic event of the 19th century was also the awakening of what many see as a curse. The drama unfolded in an unremarkable house on French Street, just up from the old railroad crossing. The bolt was described as a huge ball of fire that entered the girl's bedroom. It was so powerful that it stopped the clocks in the house and drew nails from interior walls and shot them across the rooms into the opposite walls. The lightning struck both of the girls killing Sarah instantly.

Eliza lived just 45 minutes longer. A witness described the appearance of the dead girls as looking like they had been in a red hot furnace, their hair singed and their clothing scorched. So bad was the carnage that it took seven men to lift Sarah's body from the bed in an attempt to keep it from falling into pieces.

In the weeks that followed, thousands of curious onlookers visited the scene, wanting to see the damaged house where the two girls lost their lives and where the lightning seemed to have behaved in such an unnatural manner. Eventually the house was repaired and new occupants moved in but the place would forever be known as the Lightning House. There was even a proposal to name the road Lightning Street but the prominent French family prevailed and the street was named after them.

After that tragic night at the Lightning House, William McGraffy, the girl's father, moved the rest of the family to Thomaston. It was there that they hoped to escape the memory of that awful night and get on with their lives. The family had no idea that a curse might now be associated with the old house and those who lived there. In July of , yet another body was found in Watertown.

This time it was in a pond off of Thomaston Road. It was soon discovered that the dead man was none other than William McGraffy. The cause of his mysterious death was never determined.

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The curse had secured its third victim. The Lightning House was, in the early part of the 20th century, considered a place of "bad repute. The trouble was over a girl and it ended with a heavy bottle to the head of one of the participants. Blood flowed but it is not known if the blow proved fatal. Voices have been heard as well in the lobby, restaurant and halls.

Regis College's haunted College Hall, built in the late s, is rumored to have several ghosts in residence, including a roaming cold spot. A former piano teacher opens and closes doors and occasionally plays the piano, and the fourth floor is home to some spectral nuns, students say. The Civil War-era mansion known as the Cary House is private property, but it has a legend attached. The daughter who lived here had two beaus on opposing sides of the war, and they happened to kill each other on the staircase. Rumor has it that on Mr.

Everett Square Theatre has recently undergone renovations. Folks have reported blinking lights, unexplained noises, and uneasy feelings of unseen presences inside the building. Esmeralda died in a purple chair in the audience near the right side of the This historic property was a former schoolhouse, and residents have reported seeing the apparition of a female teacher, as well as hearing children playing.

Submitted by Callum Swift. Apparently unable to quit his favorite route, a spectral horseback rider in Colonial garb is said to patrol the remains of the old road. She has often been seen standing near the fireplace, and has visited since the place opened in Fort Warren, a pentagonal structure of stone and granite, was completed near the beginning of the Civil War and was decommissioned in It was named after Revolutionary War hero Dr.

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Joseph Warren, who sent Paul Revere on his well-known ride. The fort is haunted by a ghostly lady in At Framingham State University, visitors may hear ghostly laughter or feel cold spots, and orbs are often photographed at Horace Mann Hall. And in Peirce Hall, residents have awoken to find all the mirrors in the rooms have been stacked outside in the hallways, piled with the reflective sides facing This former Navy cruiser is now a museum ship and open to the public. The ship, in one of its duties, served as a hospital after the Ionian Earthquake, and many spirits from throughout the ship's service are said to have lingered here.

Ghost tours are offered regularly, a At this inn, it is said that a woman named Jerusha Howe lingers, especially in Rooms 7 and 9. She is said to have been unlucky in her love life, and therefore likes to touch male visitors. Longfellow wrote a book about the inn in the A number of eerie experiences have been described by witnesses here, such as unexplained noises and whispers, and shadows that rush The Boston Light, built in , is said to be haunted by an old sailor who hates rock 'n' roll music.

When Coast Guards tune in to rock stations in the vicinity, they find that their radios suddenly switch to classical stations. At the lighthouse, footsteps and cold spots accompany Built in , Stone's Public House is said to be haunted by apparitions and spirits who throw glasses off shelves.

Creepy Watertown (full text below) by Charlie Crowell | Flickr

The portraits are said to watch guests and employees as they go about their business, and doors open and close on their own. Visitors to the upstairs function room describe The Pines is the old cemetery from Tewksbury State Hospital. There are numbered markers here for over 10, individuals who died at the hospital. It is rumored that many bodies were exhumed and taken to Boston for medical students to train on. The cemetery is located in the woods and is Locals tell of a ghostly white woman who walks here, as well as a dark, leather-skinned creature who follows guests through the graveyard.

Proctor's Ledge was the true site of Salem hangings. It's said that there is still a high psychic energy remaining since the hysteria ended. A note to anyone who investigates: Harold Parker State Forest now has 35 miles of woodsy trails and roads, ponds, swamps, forests and rocky outcroppings, but evidence of its 18th-century farming and milling operations may be seen here as well. Ruins of houses and unmarked graves can be found on the grounds.

Some say that beyond Salem State University is reported to have many ghosts, including the spirits of a student who hanged herself and a man in black in Gramley Hall, two girls who were electrocuted at Gramley Library, a little girl who died in the elevator shaft at Clewell Hall, and a haunted portrait The Witch House, aka Jonathan Corwin House, was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin and is known for being the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the Salem witch trials.

It was Corwin who investigated the claims of witchcraft after the accusations arose, which resulted Witnesses have seen a ghostly gray figure walking alongside them and have felt unpleasant vibes from the forest down the hill. There have also been sounds of claws on the path and a waist-high light that appeared near the top of the hill.

At this historic house built in , the spirits of Sheriff George Corwin and Giles Cory are said to linger. Both men are associated with the Salem Witch Trials. Formerly the Lyceum and now Turner's Seafood, the spot is said to be haunted by a woman in a long, white period dress on the staircase. She has also appeared as a reflection in mirrors. Some say the land on which it stands was once an apple orchard belonging to Make too much noise in the Peabody Institute's Library of Danvers, established in , and you may be shushed by a ghost.

The apparition of an old man likes to sit in the research section on the third floor, and is known to shush loud library patrons. At night, light anomolies are caught on camera and some of the local homes are thought to be haunted by ghosts that are buried at this site. Submitted by Chris Berglund. The Endicott Cemetery has three ghosts, locals say. Their identities are thought to be the spirits of the only three gravestones in the cemetery that haven't toppled over: Margaret and her two sons, Jeremy and Alex. The public is not allowed here and No Trespassing signs are posted because of Giles Corey, one of the accused witches of the Salem trials, was pressed to death nearby slowly crushed by heavy stones.

His ghost is reported at this cemetery and he was said to have cursed the local sheriff department; those in position as sheriff have suffered heart attacks, felt the This hotel boasts a haunted elevator and sixth floor. Legend has it that a double murder over a lovers' quarrel occurred here.

Chandeliers are said to sway and cold spots can be detected. Several ghosts are said to be in residence at this cottage built in , and one is the builder, Philip Knight. Another is Rebecca Towne, who wears a blue dress and floats through the dining room. Captain Henry Quiver died here in the s, and was said to join the This bed-and-breakfast inn is said to be haunted a young woman in turn-of-the-century clothing.

Ghostly children are believed to reside here as well. Susan Ingersoll, former owner and relative to Nathaniel Hawthorne, is still seen walking down the halls and peering out of the windows. The presence of a child has been reported in the attic, but is thought to be playful. Strange sounds are heard, objects move by themselves, and a chair An apparition moves from the ballroom to the hall, and can only be seen out of the corner of the eye.

When you turn to look at it, it vanishes. Running footsteps and disembodied laughter are some of the mysterious things that have been reported in Melrose Cemetery.