The Hayden Family Curse

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 3^rd 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.

Maine: The House That Wasn’t There

This is a sad tale of a family that lost three sons in a fire. 

Edward Grove * owned an opulent Italian style white mansion in Northport, Maine. He was related to Edwin W. Grove who was the “Patent Medicine King” who had made millions from holding these patents. 

Edward and his wife left their three young sons under the care of two elderly caretakers while they went to a Boston hospital, so Mrs. Grove could give birth to their fourth child. 

Tragically, on December 16, 1954, a fire spread quickly through the mansion killing the Grove’s sons, Edwin aged 8, David aged 6 and Geoffrey aged 4. The two caretakers also died.

After the fire, all that remained of the home was blackened toys; pieces of the foundation, stone stairs that led to the entrance to the property, and one of the two tall chimneys that stood at either side of the home. 

One article written by The Lincoln Star described how “flames fanned by the winds from the Atlantic Ocean leveled the two-story showplace, in less than an hour.” Northport is located in Waldo County, which borders on the Atlantic Ocean.

Out of town newspaper article that described fire.

Today the area where the mansion burnt to the ground is still a vacant lot. Local residents claim that for years after this tragedy, they heard the cries of the children coming from where the mansion once stood. 

Several years after the tragedy, a family on vacation took a picture of what remains of the home. When they looked at their photographs later, they discovered that they had captured the mansion as it looked before it was destroyed. 

Since 1990, several more photos have been taken of the vacant lot that also shows “the house that wasn’t there.”

One of these photographs is displayed in a local Northport Diner. I have never seen this photo. I found this story interesting--it is not often people claim a phantom house--there are many phantom ships on the other hand. The difference here is this house is not seen with the naked eye but only in photos.

*  This story is well known by people in Maine. But the families name which was Grove has been changed to Cosgrove with the mansion being called Cosgrove Mansion.

The area where the mansion burnt down is kept private. There is no road name on maps etc. Since it is on an unnamed narrow one-lane road off Route 1 in the small town of Northport people, just look for, odd old rundown stone stairs that look like they were once elaborate. 

If you walk to the top of these stairs and go through an old broken chain link fence, you will spot the vacant lot.

The Ghost of Aaron Burr

By the time Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton met on an open field to duel the two men had been political and personal enemies for over a decade. 

This fight ended Burr’s political career. After the duel, Burr became very bitter. It is for this reason that many state his ghost still haunts the New York area.

Alexander Hamilton was a Federalist and Aaron Burr was a Republican. These two men first clashed in 1791 when Burr was elected to the U.S. Senate. His opponent was Hamilton’s powerful father-in-law Philip Schuyler. 

Then in 1800, Hamilton wrote a highly critical piece about President John Adams. This piece was meant for private eyes only, but Burr published it. This caused great embarrassment for Hamilton and caused a rift in the Federalist Party.

When Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied in balloting for the presidency Hamilton lobbied Congress aggressively to vote for Jefferson. His campaign had little effect, but Jefferson did emerge the winner. Burr then became the third vice-president. 

By 1804 the feud between these two became violent.

When it became clear that President Jefferson was going to drop Burr from the ticket for his second term in 1804, Burr decided to run for governor of New York. 

Burr turned his back on the Republican Party and ran as an Independent instead. Hamilton waged a campaign to try and convince New York’s Federalists not to support Burr’s bid. But again his campaign failed. Burr’s bid for governor failed as well.

By this point, the two men hated each other. 

In April of 1804, the Albany Register published a letter from Dr. Charles D. Cooper in which he told Philip Schuyler that Hamilton had given a speech where he stated that Burr was “a dangerous man, one who ought not be trusted with the reins of government.” 

Burr in April sent a request to Hamilton asking him if he had actually said this. In a round of heated letters, Hamilton neither denied nor admitted this statement.

Since Burr did not get the apology that he was seeking he challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton had no choice but to accept to save face. 

Duels by this time had been outlawed by the states of New York and New Jersey but Burr for some reason felt his challenge would revive his waning political career. 

The two men faced each other on the morning of July 11^th outside Weehawken, New Jersey. Each man fired a shot-- Hamilton hit the ground mortally wounded--he died the next day.

Burr walked away unscathed at least this is what he thought initially. He was charged with murder, he then fled to visit his daughter in South Carolina. * 

Later he returned to Washington to complete his term as vice-president. The charges against him were eventually dropped, but he never again held elective office. 

In 1807 he was charged with treason, he had attempted to create a new country in the center of North America--including the Southwest and parts of Mexico, but he was acquitted. 

Not surprising, Burr is considered one of Americas most controversial Founding Fathers.

Burr’s ghost is seen in several locations. The Morris-Jumel mansion located in northern Manhattan is one of these places. 

In 1833, at the age of 77, Burr married one of America’s wealthiest widows, Eliza Jumel. But it wasn’t long before Eliza realized that her new husband’s land speculation deals were draining her fortune. 

The two separated just four months after they married. Their divorce was finalized on September 11, 1836, the same day that Aaron Burr died. His ghost is only one of several spirits that are seen at the Morris-Jumel home. **

Another area that Burr’s ghost is seen is in New York City’s West Village. Several witnesses have stated that they have observed him wandering through the streets in the Village. One restaurant, located on Barrow Street called One If By Land, Two If By Sea has laid claim to his ghost.

Many accounts state this restaurant is located in what was once Burr’s Carriage House. Actually, this Carriage House wasn’t built until after Burr sold the property. 

Employees over the years have encountered Burr’s ghost in the basement of this structure. It is said he likes to trip people as they walk down the stairs. Several workers have quit after this happened to them.

After the duel, Burr first fled to New Hope, Pennsylvania. It was here he found a safe haven in a private residence. Today this house is known as the Aaron Burr House. Burr’s spirit has been seen in this home, now a Bed and Breakfast, over the years.

*  I wrote another post about the ghost of Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodosia Burr Alston here.

** The Morris-Jumel house has a fascinating history. It is stated that Eliza killed her first husband for his money--her ghost also haunts this mansion. Her story is told here.

Myths and Hauntings at the Molly Brown House

Because of the Broadway musical and film made about Margaret Brown’s life, many myths have become mixed in with her real life. 

Molly Brown House

Her real name was Margaret or Maggie she never went by the name “Molly,” the press dubbed her this long after she had passed away. 

She did not marry her husband James or as she called him “J.J.” for his money--he was as poor as she was when they first met and married.

Another myth that has been circulated is that the Browns were so wealthy they burned money. 

The real story is that when J.J. first was paid good money as a mining engineer in Leadville--he brought the pay packet of cash home and hid it in the stove so he could surprise Margaret--she lit the stove not knowing about the money inside. 

It is said that Maggie “just fell into high society “after J.J. struck it rich in the Colorado silver mines. 

Actually, Margaret gained her standing as a Denver socialite because she was persistent. She learned to speak three languages, and she was the first woman in the county to run for the U.S. Senate in 1909.

Margaret was a hero as the Titanic sank. When the officer in charge of the lifeboat she was in lost control, she rallied the other women, and they rowed the boat. 

One myth is that Maggie used the fame she gained from her heroism while the Titanic sank for personal gain. This is not true.

Few women were allowed to testify at the Titanic Inquiry held after the disaster--Margaret persistent's allowed her to speak. 

After this, she used her newfound fame to speak out on issues, such as labor rights, women’s suffrage, and children’s literacy.

19th century Denver
Brown House on right

The Browns first moved to Denver from Leadville in 1894, they bought the home in Denver, that later was to become the Molly Brown Museum. They lived in the house for 15 years. 

By 1909 they were separated, and Margaret took sole ownership of the house. Her and J. J. never officially divorced. 

After this, she rarely lived there. Molly rented the home out and became a world traveler. 

In 1892, the home was used as the Governor’s Mansion. In the years after Margaret's death in 1932, the house was sold to one owner after another--each time falling more and more into disrepair.

By the 1950s the neighborhood and home were in significant decline. In the 1970s, a group called Historic Denver restored the mansion to its original 1910 splendor. 

The home has been a museum that gives tours, ever since. 

Both visitors and museum volunteers began to notice the home is haunted. I visited the “Molly Brown House” in the early The 1990s, the tour was informative--but our guide was unwilling to talk about “ghosts.”

Two of the ghosts that remain are Margaret and her husband, James. 

J.J. is not seen, but the scent of his pipe is often noticed in the home’s basement and attic. This is ironic because while J.J. lived in the home Maggie never let him smoke inside. 

Besides doors opening and shutting on their own, many witnesses have seen the blinds open and close on their own in the bedroom that was once Helens--Margaret’s daughter. 

Margaret’s mother has also been spotted standing at the window of her old bedroom.

A mysterious apparition that is seen in the house is that of a woman who wears a long Victorian dress. She is seen sitting at the dining room table, and she is known to rearrange the chairs in this area. This ghost has been captured on film.

Another ghost is observed walking around the second floor of the house--it is speculated that this is Maggie or possibly her mother. 

In the mid-2000s a tour guide, Demetrius O’Connor, who was closing the house for the day, was walking on the back stairs when he felt an icy breeze. 

When he turned the corner, he spotted a second-floor window open in one of the bedrooms. He shut the window, and as he was replacing the rope that cordons off the room from visitors entering it, he noticed a shadow of a woman on the ground next to his. When he turned to see who it was, no one was there.

Update: recently the house has been completely renovated. Some state the activity has become heightened because of this.

The following video was captured when a police officer responded to a report there was an intruder in the home. The figure in the room is believed to be Molly Brown--I will leave it to the reader to decide if this is faked or real.

Winchester: The Sad Widow

Sarah had lost her one-month old baby daughter and then her husband to tuberculosis in the same year. As if this grief was not enough, Sarah also carried a burden that she rarely spoke about. 

She approached a Boston friend, anxious and not sure what to do next. This friend knowing she had the financial means suggested that a fresh start and a new home might help ease part of Sarah’s burden. 

Taking this advice, Sarah left her home in New Haven, Connecticut, and headed west.

Wealthy, she bought a home that was already under construction and made plans to change it according to her Boston friend’s advice. 

It wasn’t long before she was able to host dinner parties at her table that seated twelve. She took pleasure in picking out only the finest wines from her cellar. 

She spent most evenings in the home’s grand ballroom. This area was her pride and joy. Despite arthritis in both hands, she played her piano or organ regularly.

She hired the best carpenters in the area to build her home with care. Sarah retained these carpenters, so they were always ready to change something to her liking. 

As time passed her home became larger. Sarah slowly became a recluse. She lived in this home for forty years until she died at the age of eighty-two in 1922. 

She left her home to her beloved niece.

This widow’s story could apply to many except for the unspoken burden I mentioned. 

Sarah was a firm believer in the Victorian Spiritualism movement. Her Boston friend was a Medium whose advice was to build a house large enough to contain the “spirits” that plagued Sarah. 

These spirits were the ones who wanted her to move west. Once in San Jose, California Sarah hired twenty carpenters to work around the clock on her home for forty years. 

This was done to confuse these spirits so they could not find her.

When Sarah entertained in her dining room, it was these spirits that were her guests. 

She picked out the finest wines for these dinners until she saw a black handprint on the wine cellar door and had it walled up forever. 

The guests Sarah played her music for were these spirits. 

She became obsessed with the number thirteen. She had thirteen steps built that led to nowhere. In her sewing room, she had thirteen windows and doors built. She had thirteen bathrooms built. 

The will she left for her niece had thirteen sections, and Sarah signed it thirteen times. By the time Sarah died her Victorian-style mansion, it had one-hundred and sixty rooms.

So was Sarah insane? Or was she driven by guilt? Did these spirits force her to keep changing her home for forty years? 

What did she do in her life to have such a burden? 

It was not Sarah but her father-in-law’s doing for he manufactured and sold the Winchester rifle that bore his name. This rifle killed countless people. He made a fortune in the process, and this wealth was passed on to Sarah Winchester. 

She felt part of her penance was to lose her baby and husband. 

Because of these spirits who haunted her--she spent most of her life in fear. She believed they all were the victims shot by the Winchester rifle.

In Sarah’s will, she requested that these spirits should always be welcomed and provided for. 

In 1923 the Winchester House was opened to the public. Many employees who have worked at the mansion can attest to the fact that these spirits are still around. 

Winchester House is considered one of America’s most haunted. Witnesses state that the “ghosts” that reside at the mansion are mischievous in nature.

A caretaker late one night heard footsteps then breathing. He listened to a screw slowly turning then he heard it drop to the ground. When he turned on the lights, he didn’t find this screw. 

One longtime employee felt that one ghost was targeting him. One night just after he locked the heavy gates that enclose the Mansion’s courtyard and set the alarm, he turned to find them unlocked. 

What puzzled him was the alarm had not gone off.

Yet another night as he shut off all the lights and left, he noticed as he walked to his car all the lights on the third floor where on. He felt that he might have forgotten to turn off one light but an entire floor? 

One morning as he entered his office in the mansion, he found all the papers on his desk where soaked. His pencil cup was filled with water. It had lightly rained the night before, but when his office was checked it was found, there were no leaks.

Several tour guides have had their own unique experiences. Part of their duties includes cleaning and maintaining the mansion. 

In the late 1980s, one guide was in one of six kitchens in the home cleaning. She smelled what she thought was chicken soup cooking. This was odd because this kitchen had not been used for years.

 She saw what she thought was steam coming off the stove, so she walked over and placed her hand above this area. She drew back as she felt something hot on her hand. She checked, and the stove wasn’t on.

Another tour guide leading the last group of the day around the second floor was going through her script when she heard her named called. 

When no one chimed in, she asked if someone had a question. They replied, no. As she continued her presentation, she heard her name called once more. This time when she questioned the group, they all looked confused. 

After this every time she began to speak, she was interrupted. She asked the visitors if they had heard her name being called. No one had. Frustrated she left her group to check the rest of the floor and the stairs --no one else was on the second floor.

For eighty years the mansion had areas that were off-limits to visitors, but in more recent years this changed when the Winchester House began hosting what they call “Behind The Scenes” tours. 

In preparation for this tour, guides started clearing out and cleaning the basements. During this time, several of them encountered the same ghost. 

They all saw a man they didn’t recognize with dark hair, a mustache, and wearing white overalls. He was seen pushing a wheelbarrow.

When these guides approached their supervisors to report this man they were told no one of that description was working on the property. 

This caused a lot of confusion because security is tight at the mansion. 

The mystery was solved as the gardener’s tool shed was cleared out for one of these new tours. An old photograph was found that showed several of the carpenters that worked for Sarah for many years. 

When this photo was passed around several of the tour guides who had seen the man with the wheelbarrow identified him as one of the men in this old photo.