Even the simplest unexplained
activity can cause terror *, especially when the same sight is seen for over a century and a half.
Abandoned industrial site.
In the mid-1800s Castleton,
Vermont was a booming mining town with several mills and a quarry.
By the early 1900s, the
town had slid into a financial decline. Castleton by the early 1920s was abandoned.
In 1929, the area became Lake
Bomoseen State Park. Years before this, the lake already had a firm reputation for
being haunted.
Lake Bomoseen at sunset.
The cause for this was connected
to three Irish quarry workers that lived in the area during its boom years.
One night, these three men
rowed across the lake to visit a local tavern to celebrate and drink.
After they left this bar
drunk, they were never seen again. It was believed they must have drowned in
the lake, on their way home.
Their bodies were never
found. But their rowboat was discovered several days later when it drifted
ashore.
This incident would not be
remembered today—except for the strange sight it caused.
One artist's depiction of the phantom rowboat.
Ever since the loss of these
three men, witnesses have claimed to see a strange rowboat gliding across the
lake—especially if there is a full moon.
The boat is described as
empty and completely quiet.
People report seeing the oars
rowing, but what is creepy, is they don’t see anyone in the boat. Even scarier
is none of these witnesses heard a splash as the oars hit the water.
Also strange is there is no
ripple on the surface of the water as the rowboat passes.
So are these three men doomed
to row this boat for eternity?
*People don’t need to experience a lot of
activity for it to be frightening.
When I was in high school, every time I was
alone at home, a lamp in our den would turn on by itself. It
never happened when others were there.
My family had it checked. There
was not an electrical short etc. But this pattern of it happening when I was
alone in the house—freaked me out.
William Henry Hayden known as
“Will” moved his family to Albany, Vermont in the early 1800s. He borrowed
money from his mother-in-law Mercie Dale who was a widow and financially well
off.
Mercie moved with the family, and her money helped the family settle into this new community. Will never paid
this loan back, and several years later he found himself in severe financial trouble. He
once again approached Mercie and requested additional money.
She refused and now
uncomfortable moved away from the family. In the following months, she was
struck by an ongoing illness. Now suspicious, she accused Will of poisoning
her.
In 1809, as she lay dying in the
presence of her daughter Silence she uttered an ominous curse in which she
declared the Hayden name would die and pass into oblivion.
“The Hayden name shall die in the third generation and
the last to bear the name shall die in poverty.”
Mercie bitterly announced she
refused to be buried in the Hayden family cemetery she instead requested to be interred
in a neighbors’ family plot. Life went on, and the curse was forgotten.
Will Hayden’s daughters all got married and supplied the couple with several grandchildren. But the family’s luck and fortunes quickly took a turn for the worse.
Of the couple’s four sons all but one died young. The one that survived Henry was named after his father. He slowly started to show signs of erratic behavior.
Will and his wife Azabah became estranged after Will lost most of the family fortune. He later also lost his eyesight. Will at one point fled to Canada to avoid his creditors. He died later in New York penniless.
Will’s
son Henry Jr. built an extravagantly furnished home for
his family in 1854 after his father's death. *
Henry Hayden Jr. mansion
The Henry Hayden Jr. family
quickly became the envy of the neighborhood. The family would take regular pleasure rides down
South Albany Road in handsome horse-drawn carriages.
Henry's family lived comfortably
with many servants to fulfill all their needs. Their annual New Year’s party
held in the new mansions 3rd story ballroom with its “spring
suspended floor” was always a big success.
Hayden Family plot
As Henry Jr. continued to
grow unstable, his mother cut him out of the will. He had one daughter named
Mamie. He died in 1910 of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Henry Jr. body was carried in a horse-drawn hearse that passed his old home on the way to the cemetery. The curtains in the
windows were shut in tribute, but by this time his mansion had been empty for 20
years because he could no longer afford to live in it.
Many now recalled Mercie’s curse and most believed it had taken its toll on the Hayden family.
The only Hayden left alive
was Henry Jr.’s daughter Armenia or as she was known, Mamie. All that was left
of her inheritance was an unsavory family reputation and a large number of
unpaid bills.
Ill and humiliated she moved
to Waterville, Maine where she died alone in poverty in February of 1927.
She was the last victim of
Merice Dale’s curse.
* This 160-year-old Greek revival
style mansion located on Route 14 is on the National Register of Historic Places.
A family from Canada
purchased the old Hayden mansion for $25,000.
Rumors started to spread that
the underground tunnels that Henry Jr. had once used to smuggle illegal Chinese
immigrants to supply his farmland with cheap labor were now being used for a large
bootlegging operation.
This new family held dances
once more in the 3rd-floor ballroom. They enjoyed the social status
this brought. In 1922 they sold the mansion.
Most of the subsequent owners
did not have the money to maintain the old mansion. The estate was eventually
sold piece by piece other parts burnt down.
The mansion abandoned for
years spiraled into disrepair.
Stories began to circulate
that the old mansion located on the outskirts of town was haunted.
People passing by reported seeing strange lights. Others mentioned hearing music coming from the 3rd-floor ballroom. They stated this room was brightly lit at the time they heard
this music. Some believe that the ghosts
of the Chinese immigrants that Henry smuggled into the country remain. These
workers were often buried in unmarked graves near the family’s farm.
A local legend in Stowe,
Vermont states that a ghost from the 1800s haunts the historic Green Mountain Inn located in the village center.
Boots Berry was the inn’s
horseman just like his father before him. He was born in Room 302 in the
servant’s quarters in the hotel.
He was nicknamed, Boots because he loved to tap dance. He became
a local hero when he saved a stagecoach full of hotel guests.
Boots’ one vice was drinking.
This fault eventually resulted in him being dismissed from the hotel. It is
said that after years of wandering around the country Boots returned to Stowe
in the fall of 1902.
He again showed his courage
when he saved a child from the roof of the inn during a bad snowstorm.
But he wasn’t able to save
himself. It is said he slipped and fell from the roof to his death. Ironically,
he was standing above the room he was born in at the time.
Both workers and guests at
the Green Mountain Inn ever since have reported hearing Boot’s gleefully tap
dancing on the inn’s roof.
Disembodied Tap Shoes
While doing research for the
story above I came across the following gem.
This creative animated short
is of a little legless ghost girl who becomes enchanted by a pair of
disembodied mischievous tap shoes. As she watches them tap out the beat to the
song, “Moses Supposes” from the musical Singin’
in the Rain she decides all they lack is a body to accompany their fancy
footwork.
(We Tell Our Story: Vermont Songwriters
and Their Stories)
This story is one of being in
the wrong place at the wrong time. In 1887 the worst train disaster in
Vermont’s history occurred. It was a bitterly cold morning in February of 1887
when the rear sleeper car from the Central Vermont Railroad’s Montreal Express hit a
broken rail and plunged forty-two feet off the West Hartford Bridge taking with
it three other coaches to the icy waters of the White River below. A coupling broke which saved the rest of the train from tumbling off the track.
Cast iron “Baker” stoves
stoked with coal heated these wooden cars and whale oil kerosene lamps
illuminated them. As a result when these coaches struck the ice below
they were immediately consumed in flames. The area around this bridge has been
haunted by one young ghost ever since.
The West Hartford Bridge was
a wooden upside down covered bridge which means the railroad bed sat on top of an enclosed structure as opposed to running through it.
“On top of its wooden trusses was a layer of sheet
iron placed between the rails and ties and the supporting structure, an apron
to deflect any sparks from the locomotive’s belching smokestack. Ironically,
what had been designed to protect the bridge from fire most likely contributed
to its ultimate demise.”
The cause of the accident was
never specifically determined. Train walkers the day before the accident, that
occurred at 2:20 a.m. in the morning had found no apparent defeats along the
track. But after the accident 2 to 3 breaks in the rails were discovered. It
was speculated that the combination of the speed the train was traveling * plus
the low temperature’s effect on the alloy and the curve of the rails might have
caused them to fracture. After this accident the U.S. Congress passed the Railroad Appliance Act, which
established national safety standards for railroads.
Many of the estimated 37
people who died were burned or trapped within these cars wreckage. Some were
swept away by the river’s ice cold swift currents. People from the forward cars
above rushed to help. Charles H. Pierce the train engineer shoveled snow onto
one car in an attempt to douse the flames but finding this futile he instead
smashed windows and managed to save 7 lives.
But the flames from these
burning cars, two of them sleeper coaches, soon threatened the bridge above.
Pierce then went to move the remaining cars on the bridge forward away from the
fire. The West Hartford Bridge made out of wood was almost completely destroyed by
these flames. The rescue efforts were also hampered by the winter temperature,
which dropped to 20 below zero.
Many passengers onboard were
in a celebratory mood for they were traveling from Boston to Montreal to attend
a weeklong Carnival. It is still not known actually how many people died but it
is estimated that 37 people perished and another 50 escaped with injuries or
unharmed. Many of the deceased, barely dressed were identified by bits and
remnant clothing or by personal gear. Others were not identifiable.
“One of the most heart rending remains was that of a
parent and child fused together in a final poignant embrace, burned beyond
recognition.”
Among the passengers were a
father and son, David and Joseph Maigret ** traveling from Holyoke to their
home in Shawinigan, Quebec. Tragically, being in one of the coaches that
plunged off the bridge Joseph’s father was pinned down by the wreckage. Unable
to get out he gave his personal belongings, which included a watch and
pocketbook to his young son. Joseph bade a tearful goodbye and then watched
helplessly as the creeping wall of flames reached his father.
Very quickly after this
disaster the West Hartford Bridge was rebuilt now constructed out of steel. But
a haunting near the bridge in the years since has kept this accident fresh in
many minds. The smell of something burning has been noticed under this bridge for
years, without cause. Witnesses often report aromas as a first sign of a
haunting because they are often out of place in the area they are noticed.
But by far the most
compelling evidence that this area is haunted is that witnesses have seen an
apparition of a young boy. Many of these witnesses have been driving across the
West Hartford Bridge when they get a fleeting glimpse of this ghost. Often they
don’t realize he is a ghost until afterwards.
This area is used for
recreation today. In the warmer months many people swim in the White River near
the bridge so it is a common sight to see people wearing swimwear. But what is
unusual is many people report seeing a young boy who is believed to be Joseph
Maigret wearing old-fashioned clothes--including white socks and knickers. ***
His ghost is seen sometimes
walking four feet above the White River. According to one man, Steven Marshall
who has investigated this haunting this makes sense because at the time of the
accident the ice would have raised the river to the level this boy is seen
walking along. Many feel that even though he survived the accident his spirit
returns to the place where he last saw his father alive.
* The engineer slowed the
train to a safe speed, 12 miles an hour as it approached the bridge.
** In some versions of this
haunting the boy and his father’s name has been changed to McCabe.But their surname was Maigret. Some spellings
have it as Meigret or Maiquete--they were French Canadian from the Province of Quebec.
*** Knickers are loose
fitting trousers gathered at the knee. Young boys during the this period wore these short pants until they became older and were allowed
then to wear long pants.
The following is a video that
highlights Steven Marshall talking about this haunting.
The Gold Brook Bridge located
near Stowe, Vermont is a traditional New England covered bridge. It is said a female ghost by the name of Emily haunts it. This haunting is so well known that this bridge is sometimes called “Emily’s Bridge.”
Several locals claim the story
of Emily is a legend created by a high school student who wrote about Emily for
a class assignment. This student and friends had used a Ouija board on the
bridge in 1968. The student claimed that the ghost of a girl named Emily had
contacted them through the board. Others though state they actually heard stories about a female ghost that haunts the bridge years before the late 1960s. Regardless, the stories of why Emily haunts the Gold Brook Bridge are told with relish.
There are several versions as to why Emily’s ghost lingers at this bridge. Most of these stories mention a love won and then lost. A simplified version says that Emily came
from an abusive family who did not like the man she was dating. The two
decided to elope. They arranged to meet on the Gold Brook Bridge and then leave
the area. Emily arrived at the bridge and waited patiently for hours, but her
lover did not show up. Distraught and knowing she dare not return to her family, Emily took the rope she had used to tie all of her belonging together and tied it
to one of the bridge’s rafters. She then hung herself.
Another version has Emily
being jilted at a church altar on her wedding day. She then took her families’ wagon and horses and whipped them into a frenzy to confront her faithless groom. As she approached the bridge, she lost control
of the team at a steep curve. The horses and the wagon then plunged
off the bank falling to the jagged rocks near the brook below. Both Emily
and the horses perished. Yet another version states that her fiancé’s mother
killed Emily on the bridge.
Many people who have visited this bridge have experienced unusual activity. Disembodied voices are heard often. People have also heard footsteps, a rope
tightening, and a women's screams. Others report that they have been touched or
scratched by Emily’s ghost. Some even indicate their cars, while parked on the
bridge have been marked with scratches.
Several witnesses to this haunting state that as
they drove across the bridge, they heard something drag across the top of
their cars. Other witnesses state something banged or hit their vehicle as they
crossed the bridge. Both of these events are attributed to Emily’s
ghost. It is believed she does this because she is still angry. After all, she lost her love.
There are many reports of people seeing Emily’s apparition. She is described as a White Ghost because her form
is seen within a white fog or mist. A few witnesses have managed to capture this
anomaly in photographs. The stories about Emily and her haunting have
become so prevalent over the years that several amateur films have been made about
the activity that occurs on this covered bridge. A couple of photos taken of this anomaly.
