Most Haunted Houses in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a place with such a long, rich history that it almost goes without saying that some places will be haunted or, at least, perceived as such. From dangerous areas of the sea to ghostly burial grounds, there are countless places in Massachusetts that are said to be the stomping grounds of some friendly and some unfriendly spirits. Among these "haunted" places are numerous houses, some of which date back hundreds of years to colonial Massachusetts.

S.K. Pierce Mansion a.k.a. "The Victorian"

Gardner, Massachusetts

The S.K. Pierce Mansion is an 1875 mansion that once belonged to S.K. Pierce of the S.K. Pierce & Sons Chair Company. He was a wealthy man who hosted several famous guests in his lovely 26-room home. After his death, the house changed hands several times. At one time, it was a brothel and rumor has it that something sinister happened to one of the ladies who worked at the S.K. Pierce Mansion at that time.

Along with the ghost of the supposedly murdered lady of the night, there is also a child ghost haunting The Victorian. There appears to be no record of a child death at the house and no reasonable explanation for this alleged haunting. Nonetheless, people claim he comes and goes as he pleases in this historic Massachusetts mansion. Another entity who is said to hang out at The Victorian is the ghost of a man who died in a fire there. Of course, there is the odd claim of the ever-vague "paranormal activity" and "orb" sightings as well.

Stone's Public House

Ashland, Massachusetts

Stone's Public House was built by John Stone in 1832. He called it the Railroad Boarding House. It was his way of making some money off the railroad that went by directly beside the inn. However, he passed the inn on to Napoleon Stone only two years after he opened the inn. Some say he moved on so quickly because he committed a murder there over a game of cards and buried his victim in the inn's basement.

Massachusetts is home to many a murder story like this one and, sadly, quite a few of them are true. However, the alleged murder of a card player by John Stone is no more significant that a rumor. There is no proof that this actually happened, unless you call ghostly apparitions and sensations evidence. The inn is still used for its original purpose today. Workers at the inn claim that John Stone and his victim haunt the basement at Stone's Public House to this day.

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast

Fall River, Massachusetts

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast was once home to the Borden family. It is now named for the youngest daughter of a man who was murdered there (along with his wife) on August 4, 1892. Why is the house name after his daughter? Well, because she was accused of killing him and her stepmother. She was 33 years old at the time. Lizzie was acquitted, but no other person was charged with the murders. Some people wonder if they had the killer and she got away with it.

The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden were rather brutal. Someone hacked both of them to death. The murder weapon is presumed to have been an axe. The bodies were found in two separate areas of the house.

Because of the nature of these crimes, there is no way this house would have lasted this long without claims of hauntings. In fact, the possibility of hauntings is being capitalized on. People can actually rent rooms at the house, including the room where Abby was murdered. Of course, people say that she and her husband haunt the house. Some people even claim that Lizzie Borden herself lingers there.

Hammond Castle

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Hammond Castle is a stunning 1920s castle by the sea in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It was built for wealthy inventor John Hammond. Hammond was an eccentric character who filled the castle with such castle delights as secret passageways and furnishings fit for a museum. When Hammond died, he had himself buried on the grounds surrounded by poison ivy. Today, his castle is a museum and his odd gravesite is only accessible with some diligence or immunity to poison ivy.

Being a castle, of course Hammond Castle is haunted. Hammond, his wife and a groundskeeper are said to spend some afterlife rest and relaxation there. Oddly, so does the Hammond cat or cats, according to some. Whether there is paranormal activity or not at Hammond Castle, it is certainly one of the most interesting places to visit in Massachusetts, architecturally and historically speaking.

Joshua Ward House

Salem, Massachusetts

No list of haunted anything in Massachusetts would be complete without a Salem listing. Salem was home to the darkest period in Massachusetts history. It was a time when normal people were accused of witchcraft by overzealous Puritans. Some of these innocent colonial folk were horrendously murdered by their accusers. Such is the foundation of any Salem haunting. In the case of Joshua Ward House it is quite literally the foundation of the house that ties it to the Salem Witch Trials and its haunting.

Joshua Ward was a naval captain who built his house on the foundation of George Corwin's former home in the 1780s. George Corwin was the sheriff of Salem (and the surrounding county) at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. As such, he played a large role in arresting and, in at least one case, killing accused witches. He died of a heart attack at the age of 30. His ghost and that of the man he had killed (Giles Cory) are said to still linger in Salem. In the case of Corwin, the Joshua Ward House is his favorite haunt. or so people say. There is also an unidentified woman and an entity that twists candles and sets off the house's modern alarm at the Joshua Ward House.

These houses have stood for decades or centuries and have picked up a lot of Massachusetts history along the way. Does that mean they are haunted? Only those who claim to see entities in these houses or those who have been around them for long enough to know they are never going to see any entities in them know well enough to comment on their reported hauntedness.

Sources

D'Agostino, Thomas, Haunted Massachusetts, pages 7-10, 2007, Schiffer Publishing

Hammond Castle, retrieved 2/2/11, mysticalblaze.com/GhostsMassachusetts.htm

Salem Hauntings - Joshua Ward House, retrieved 2/2/11, insearchofghosts.com/2010/02/15/salem-hauntings --- joshua-ward-house

The Victorian Mansion, retrieved 2/2/11, hauntedvictorian.com

Linder, Doug, The Trial of Lizzie Borden, retrieved 2/2/11, law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/LizzieBorden/bordenaccount.html