Portsmouth: Molly Malone’s Pub

Portsmouth in New Hampshire is the 3^rd oldest city in the United States. In the 1800s it hosted over forty brothels that serviced the thousands of seamen that visited this port every week.

Molly Malone's when it was open.

Molly Malone’s is an Irish Pub that once was located on the second floor of a building in downtown Portsmouth. The building that housed this pub was one of these brothels. It is said the fancy ladies that worked at this location in the 1800s and early 1900s would perch or hang out the 2nd-floor windows to attract their clientele.

As patrons would walk up the stairs to enter the pub they passed several portraits of these working ladies.

A recent owner of this pub, Jeff Cutter feels the bar still hosts two of these fancy ladies. He calls them “the ladies.” On several occasions, he saw these two spirits looking out the pub’s windows late at night.

He states they were attempting to get the attention of those passing by on the street below. Cutter describes them as lovely, wearing 19th-century gowns and waving to people who walk along State Street.

Besides Cutter, several people who work or live in neighboring buildings have reported seeing these two ghosts. Two sisters both in the nineties, state they often saw the two ghostly women peering out the pub’s windows.

Cutter mentioned that the ladies liked to play pranks. At the end of night shifts employees would often find one of the 1^st floor Ladies restroom stall doors locked from the inside.

This baffled everyone because these stall doors have slide locks and the doors reach to one and a half inches from the floor so it would be impossible for someone to lock them from the outside--not being able to crawl underneath.

The first few times this happened Cutter recounts they broke down these doors, thinking a female patron must have passed out inside the stall from drinking too much Guinness, only to find no one there.

Molly Malone's Bar

Cutter’s two ladies also liked to mess with the kitchen staff. Cooks often had their arms tugged and one cook recounts an incident involving the kitchen radio.

A dishwasher remarked he liked the song playing on this radio. The cook then noticed the volume on the radio turned up. No one was by it, but he saw the radio’s dial turning on its own.

In a finale note Cutter remembers the ladies always were protective of him. He recounts two separate instances that happened while his silent partner visited the bar.

The first time he and his partner--who rarely came to the pub--were having a heated argument. They stopped when a stack of glasses at the end of the bar flew off in the direction of his partner. Several witnesses saw this happen.

Two weeks later a similar incident occurred. The two men were arguing again when suddenly several glasses flew off the bar and smashed on the wall near his partner.

After this, Jeff Cutter bought out his partner’s share of the bar.

There are other ghosts besides Cutter’s two ladies in this building including a spirit seen wearing a long white coat in the pub’s basement. This room in the 1800s was used as an apothecary.

In 2008 this pub closed down. This saddened many of the local residents who have fond memories.

A final note for ghost hunters--the building still stands.

New Hampshire’s South Street Cemetery

This South Street Cemetery located near downtown Portsmouth is haunted. One reason for this is because it was used as a hanging ground in the 1700s.

South Street is enormous and actually consists of five cemeteries that were eventually combined. 

South Street Cemetery

“South Street” is not the cemeteries’ official name but most call it this--because it stands at the intersection of South Street and Sagamore Avenue.

Near the north side, of the entrance to this cemetery, is where the gallows stood. In this area is where many visitors and investigators claim they get “creepy” or “eerie” feelings.

It was here in 1739 that Penelope Henry and Sarah Simpson were “turned off the cart.” This means they were positioned on a cart beneath the gallows--the cart was then pulled away leaving them hanging.

The man responsible for their deaths was High Sheriff Thomas Packer. In New Hampshire’s history, only three women have been executed by hanging--Packer was accountable for all three of these executions.

The most well known of these three was a 25-year old school teacher, Ruth Blay. Becoming pregnant out of wedlock, Blay concealed her condition. Her baby was stillborn.

She wrapped her dead baby in a cloak and buried it beneath loose floorboards, in the schoolhouse. Several of her students, including 5-year old Betsy Pettengill, saw her do this.

Packer's Falls

Blay's trial was rushed. She was found guilty and sentenced to hang--which many considered too harsh a punishment. After the trial, it was discovered her baby was stillborn.

Portsmouth residents defended their favorite schoolteacher and requested that a reprieve be granted.

However, on the day of her execution, December 30, 1768, Packer had other plans. Knowing a pardon might be on the way, he moved Blay’s execution up by one hour, before noon, so he would not be late for dinner.

An angry mob discovering this stood in the street, as Ruth Blay dressed in silk was taken by cart to the gallows. She did not go quietly--all heard her shrieks.

Packer hastily positioned her beneath the gallows and ignoring the shouting crowd, looped the noose around her neck. With his brisk command, the horses were driven away--leaving Blay's body swinging.

Her last view was of the open sea--today at this spot the view is blocked.

Ruth Blay is buried at the bottom of Gallows Hill. 

Packer left quickly as not to be late for his meal. Within minutes of Blay’s death, a rider with an urgent letter arrived. It was a pardon from New Hampshire’s Royal Governor, for Blay.

Outraged, the mob marched to the sheriff’s house. They hung an effigy of Packer with a sign that read:

“Am I to love my dinner

This woman for to hang?

Come draw away the cart, my boys--

Don’t stop to say amen.

Draw away, draw away the cart.”

Ruth Blay was buried in an unmarked grave, 300 feet north of the pond, that sits at the center of South Street Cemetery. It is near her grave where investigators capture the most anomalies in their photographs.

It is here, where most cameras malfunction. When investigators leave the area, they find their cameras work fine. Strange glowing lights--described as different than orbs--are also seen near Blay’s grave.

It is also believed that Blay and her baby, haunt the old schoolhouse located at 94 Main South Hampton, New Hampshire.

Thomas Packer hanged all three women for the same reason--records show that they were convicted of “ feloniously concealing the death of an infant bastard child.”

Just 25 years after Ruth Blay’s execution, American lawmakers ruled that Concealment should no longer be punishable by death.

Packer died in office, on June 22, 1771.

Dover’s Haunted Mill

This cotton mill known as Cocheco Mill Number 1 located in Dover, New Hampshire was built in 1890. This large 5-story building was used to manufacture cotton fabric.

Cocheco Mill on fire

In January of 1907 a fire broke out in this mill on the 4^th floor. The sprinkler system was turned off for repairs so the fire spread quickly.

Many workers were trapped on the 4^th and 5^th floors. The power was shut down, leaving these panicked employees to escape through the darkness and smoke.

The mill had only one fire escape so many people were injured as they leapt from the upper windows. 

The fire fighters that responded from Portsmouth and Dover battled this fire for 36 hours. They found their ladders did not reach the upper floors of the mill.

30-degree temperatures hampered their efforts--it was so cold the water from the fire engines froze almost immediately and the firemen could only work in half hour shifts.

To make matters worse the wheels from several buggies driven in by sightseers cut several of the fire hoses.

In the end, six lives were lost and the million-dollar building was partially destroyed--3 stories collapsed into each other, taking tons of machinery down with them.

Just days before this fire the Mutual Insurance Company had declared it “excellent” when it came to safety.

At this point in time cotton mills often caught fire--they were not kept as clean as they are today. Cotton fiber is extremely flammable when in a light or fluffy state.

The cause for the Dover fire was never determined but it was possible friction caused by the large machinery might have set it off. Another possibility was human error.

One eyewitness to this fire--a prisoner who observed the tragedy from his cell in the Dover jail across from the mill--wrote a poem about what he saw. Here is a link to his poem.

The Hauntings

This building is considered to be extremely haunted. The old mill was renovated and used to manufacture fire engines and then rifles. Today it houses offices and apartments.

Renovated Mill today river side.

Many feel that the 1907 fire is the reason for this activity, which probably accounts for some of the activity but the various eyewitness accounts seem to point to the building having a portal that allows a variety of spirits to come and go.

Two common reports are of strange lights being seen in the upper floors of the building when it has been empty. Before the more modern renovations witnesses reported seeing a light on in the basement at a time when the entrances to these rooms were blocked off.

In more recent times many people have reported hearing disembodied voices especially in the two towers that house the stairwells.

One eerie report involves people hearing the old mill’s machinery start up or shut down--many witnesses claim that after a few minutes one very loud machine takes over. These reports are strange considering the fact that there is no longer mill machinery housed in this building.

First Person Account

A wife shares her husband’s unusual encounters in the building.

My husband works as the maintenance manager in the old mill. His first experience happened at 3:00 a.m. He was covering for one of his janitors who was on vacation.

He was on the 3^rd floor cleaning a restroom when he became uneasy. He then heard a giggle. Knowing he was the only one in the building his “blood turned cold.” When he stopped and listened the sound stopped but as soon as he moved again he heard more laughter.

This time it was two distinct voices laughing--both sounded like small children. Unnerved he left the area quickly.

Later that morning when sunlight streamed in the windows he returned to the area and noticed two pictures on the wall where he heard the laughter. They were of two teen sisters--dressed in Victorian clothing.

He felt in some way these two had returned as children. *

When the vacationing janitor returned to work her husband asked him if he had ever heard anything. This man smiled and replied, “You mean my girls.” He went on to mention that besides the laughter he often heard doors slam that were already closed.

The building houses an auditorium and this janitor also mentioned that in the mornings he would find the same seats down--despite the fact they were the kind that spring up when no one is sitting in them.

Later her husband covering for other workers also experienced first hand the doors slamming and the same seats being down in the morning.

Office and apartment spaces today.

One night the husband brought his wife with him to the building. It had been raining and he wanted to check for leaks. While on an upper floor the wife veered off to use a restroom. She met her husband in one office lab.

They turned to leave and her husband paused. She followed his gaze to the bottom of the door. They both saw shadows moving outside the door in the gap beneath the door. It wasn’t just one of two shadows but an entire parade of shadows that passed.

When they walked out to look no one was there. They determined no one else was in the building with them. When they checked the parking lot no other cars were there.

* Parapsychologists believe that ghosts can come back at various ages and stages in their lives--from when they were children up through their adult years.