Tag Archives: western MA

Apr 30 2016

A Most Haunted House

One of the most haunted houses I’ve ever lived in was in the Agawam, MA suburb of Feeding Hills.  I was so happy to find this small cape away from a lot of traffic and noise.  The yard was large, had great trees, and the neighbors were few.  I didn’t understand why this place had stayed empty for so long, but it didn’t take long to find out why.

We moved our things in and got settled.  My small daughter was in her new room fixing things up when she flew down the stairs and announced that she didn’t want to stay in that room.  She looked rattled.  So, I asked her why not.  She looked at me and said, “Because I don’t like the looks of that dead woman lying on the floor.”   Well,  alrighty then…  So, we went back upstairs to investigate.  There were no bodies to be found, but I do have to admit the energy in that room was far from peaceful feeling.

We agreed she could stay in my room, across the hall, for the night.  After being in bed for about half an hour, there were no bodies appearing on the floor, but the large black mass of a blob that entered the room and stood by the bed wasn’t comforting, either.  It was darker than the darkness in the room.  I commanded it to leave.  It responded by moving out the the hall. It retreated to the hallway, but stood in the doorway of the room.  I turned on the light and the blob suddenly disappeared.  Deciding to leave the light on for the rest of the night, we tried to get some sleep.

About half an hour later there was a series of loud bangs that sounded like someone  bashing their fists on the wall all the way down the stairs.  This was followed by footfalls throughout the downstairs.  Upon investigation, nothing and no-one was found in the house.  Needless to say, not much sleep was gotten that night.

Since there was an extra room downstairs, I decided to move the sleeping quarters into that room.  The upstairs obviously wasn’t very receptive to company.  The noises didn’t stop.  I left a hall light on and the bedroom door open.  You could see a black amorphous shape pass by the light  —  and cast a shadow!  It didn’t come into the new bedroom but it was never far away.

The activity in this house didn’t restrict itself to nighttime hours.  Things happened whether it was dark or not.  Objects would be moved.  Cupboard doors would open.  The doorknobs would turn. Footfalls could be heard everywhere. Lights would turn on and off by themselves.  And, the knocking and rapping up and down the staircase didn’t stop, either.

One day I was outside doing something in the back yard when a neighbor came over to talk.  She asked me if I liked the place.  Then she said, “You don’t sleep upstairs in there do you?”  I asked her why and she just said that from what she had heard she wouldn’t even want to go inside.  How neighborly and comforting!  That was all the information that she was willing to share.

Another day when arriving home from the store, we parked in the driveway to take groceries in through the side door that entered into the kitchen.  When we got to the door we couldn’t get in.  The refrigerator had been moved from a side wall to the side door.  It blocked entry, not allowing the door to open enough to get through.  That was the last straw.  I made arrangements for our things to be moved out – asap – and we stayed with my mom until we found a new place to live.

While we were there, I did try to find someone who would do an exorcism, but didn’t have any takers.  The place remained vacant for years until someone finally bought it.  The house was gutted and re-built.  Sure hope for them that did the trick!!

–  ashanta

 

Jan 11 2016

Is Smith College Haunted?

Some years ago I knew a woman who worked in the kitchen and dining hall of Sessions House, a dormitory for women attending Smith College in Northampton, MA. It wasn’t long after she started working there that she noticed odd things happening. Glasses would be tipped over, things disappeared or moved, and noises could be heard when no one else was there to make them. Eventually, it seemed she had company in the kitchen. One late afternoon as she was preparing dinner she felt as though someone was standing close by watching her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. As she slowly turned around to look, she saw someone standing there staring at her. As soon as their glances met, the woman faded away. Not knowing what to do next, I guess, she finished preparing the meal. She never felt freightened, but she never felt alone again, either.

Turns out this wasn’t the first time this woman has been seen and it probably wasn’t the last. But, who is she?

Northampton Massachusetts was first inhabited around 1654. Dwellings went up and strong stockades were erected for protection from possible Native American uprisings. Around 1710 Capt. Jonathan Hunt decided to leave the confines of the encampment and built a large, three-story colonial home just outside the stockade. Realizing that attacks from local tribes were probable, Hunt had a secret passageway built that led down to the Connecticut River as an escape route for the household.

As the house changed hands from family to family over time,the house has had additions and renovations, but the secret staircase still exists. The last family to occupy the house was that of Mrs. Ruth Huntington Sessions. She used to rent rooms there to students attending Smith College. In 1921 she sold what has become known as Sessions House to Smith College and it remains a dormatory for women living on campus.

There are a number of theories about who the ghost could be, but no one has any kind of conclusive evidence as of yet. British General John Burgoyne is said to have been detained at Sessions House during the Revolutionary War. It is rumored that during that time he and Jonathan Hunt’s oldest daughter, Lucy, fell in love and met in the secret tunnel to escape her parents disdaining glance. It was during one of those secret trysts that Lucy fell to her death sneaking from her room to meet her love. Is she still there waiting to see her beloved, “Johnny”, once again?

Although this is a wonderfully romantic story, I have not been able to find any solid information supporting the hypothesis that Burgoyne had ever been near Sessions House after his defeat at Saratoga.

Another theory is that a woman once living in the house with her family awoke one night to noises. She went to explore with ax in hand. Thinking she had stumbled across home invaders she struck out only to find she had killed her children. Could she still be there stuck in the emotion of the terrible act she committed?

And one other story relates to Halloween eve festivities at the dorm. Girls have an hour to try and find the secret passageway. It is rumored that one of these celebrations led to the death of two young women who were found beneath a hidden staircase. Could it be one of them?

Whatever the true story turns out to be, someone is still walking the halls of Sessions House keeping an eye on things and the people who reside and work there.

         –  ashanta

Nov 15 2015

White Church Cemetery – West Springfield MA

Western Massachusetts has its fair share of old cemeteries purported to be haunted, but that doesn’t mean that those without that reputation don’t have ghostly activity.

The old White Church, as it has become known, is an old place. For just over 200 years it has occupied a spot on the corner of Elm Street and Witch Path. It was originally built as a Meeting House for a burgeoning community just west and across the river from Springfield. As was the custom, meeting houses were used for church services and a Congregational religion sprung up and used the place for Sunday services…..which were mandatory for the population to attend. Over time the place became the Congregational Church on Meeting House Hill.

As West Springfield grew life went on, people lived their lives and died. A churchyard cemetery started to grow adjacent to the church. A Mrs. Ashley from one of the founding families was the first to be buried there. Her grave can be found to the left of the chain gate that can cross the road entrance right behind the church. There used to be a huge ancient tree just in front of it, but I think that’s gone now.

There are no remarkable stones in this graveyard, but there’s still a lot of history and interesting stories on the stones. They still speak. Townspeople use the small street circumscribing the place to jog, walk their dogs, and sometimes on moonlit nights sit on a bench and steal a kiss from a loved one.

This quiet spot doesn’t seem to come alive until most of the townspeople are at home and perhaps sleeping their own sleep. On occasions, small bright lights that some might call “orbs” can be seen dancing around the outlines of the stones. A dark figure of a man walks slowly from south to north across the middle heading toward what seems to be a potter’s field. Just forward of that there are two headstones that touch. One is of a young woman and the other an infant. Did she die in childbirth along with her child? Her shadow can sometimes be seen just above the grave…. is she looking for her baby? And on some nights when things aren’t seen you can still hear the rhythmic leaves and twigs crunching as invisible feet seem to walk over them.

And what about Witch Path on the South side of the church? That’s another story….

– ashanta

Oct 16 2015

Strange Company

We live in a house in Holyoke MA that was built in the late 1880’s and will remain unidentified for obvious reasons.  It’s a humble eight room place with garage and old carriage house.  When it was built the city looked much different from the way it does today. Many landmarks have recessed into history and are almost forgotten.   There used to be a small pond at the bottom of the hill where a street full of houses now stands.  Not far away was the old slaughterhouse – from the time before the city crept away from its start further downtown.  Holyoke was the first planned industrial city in the United States and during its inception planned the streets around mills that were prevalent in the area at the time.

We’ve only lived here a few years, but it was evident from the start that the house was already occupied by others before we moved in.  We’ve had the usual doors opening and closing by themselves, the sound of footfalls where the living weren’t walking, unusual raps and knocks, and course fickle lighting that goes off and on at will.  Occasionally one can even catch a glimpse of someone walking around that soon vanishes when they realize they, also, are being watched.  These things are all o.k.  It’s the other one that is a bit disturbing….

I think it’s old, it’s definitely strong, and it’s black.  Darker-than-night black.  We didn’t believe it at first, but as time went on it proved itself to be here.  This thing – and I doubt it was ever a person – can emit unusual smells.  That, in and of itself, isn’t so bad, but it can mess with your head, too, if you let it.  Initially we wondered why, all of a sudden, one or another of us would get an encompassing feeling of such grief that crying was inevitable.  For no reason.  Other times, it is overpowering depression – a dark downer.  It can also manifest and share anxiety and anger.

It likes to enter where you’re sleeping and stand beside the bed looking at you until you wake up or turn over.  Its large blob of a self is darker than the night and you can feel its stare.

It took a while to understand what was going on….it was subtle at first.  Getting a handle on this thing has provided some protection against it.  Banishing rituals have also been useful in mitigating its ability to influence your feelings.  But this thing doesn’t like these rites.  I’ve gotten scratches that bleed from something unseen when nothing or no-one else was close enough to me to do it.  Suddenly, it’s just a sharp hot that takes some time to heal.  Hair tugging happens, too, and isn’t as bad as bleeding.

 

I’ve done a history on the area of the house and there doesn’t seem to be anything here – that I can find – that would contribute to this activity.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t somehow associated with the land.  Many Native American settlements were close and I’m sure there were skirmishes.  I don’t think it was anyone who lived or died here, either…. as I said, don’t think this thing was ever human.

It’s still here and probably always will be.  It’s a matter of who’s will is stronger….  so far – we’re one up.

—  ashanta

Oct 13 2015

What is IT — or Who?

Up in the rolling foothills of the Berkshires are many small villages that fast-paced city life has left behind.  Here, life is lived much like it has been always.  Among the scattered homesteads, occasional country convenience store, and always present package stores are historical places that have been there since everyone can remember.  There aren’t many historical markers, just testaments to people living there  —  and dying.  Much of a town’s history can be read on old tombstones that tell something of the people who used to live there.  But, not all of them…

Middlefield MA is home to Mack Cemetery. It was the first burying ground in town started in the late 1700’s with members of the Mack family.  It’s identified by a small, humble, weathered wooden sign near 184 Skyline Trail.  A number of early residents are interred there.  Many are identified being members of related families.  Except one.

In a far back corner of the site, near the woods, a lone stone stands and appears to be an old hand-carved marker that shows age and wear.  The simple lettering identifies the dead as, “IT”.  While there is a lot of speculation as to who – or what – could be buried there, no one knows for sure.  On-line town records don’t identify it and it doesn’t seem to have any initials of anyone else resting there.  IT may not be resting, either.  On dark nights orbs have been seen around the stone and grey streaks have manifested in the area.  There’s a general feeling of uneasiness in that part of town even during daylight hours.  Is  IT watching us, too?

– –  Bran

We would like to invite anyone who would like to contact us, share a story, comment on anything, or just keep in  touch to reach us at:

ashantaofthelema@gmail.com                                Thank you!!

Sep 10 2014

Unanswered Questions

I was doing a tarot reading for an acquaintance of a work friend for the first time. I have read the cards for friends and family for several years now. This reading started out
as usual, but when it was over something new to me occurred.

A thought kept coming to me, “ask her if she knows [this person]”. I ignored it at first, but the voice-thought kept coming back. I eventually asked her and found out it was her
dead brother. She then told me this had happened once before when seeing a psychic. She said that he is always letting her know he is with her by seeing him in her dreams.

She then said she wished she could hear from her dead husband, but never had. Then his name came to me. I told her and she was excited, he proved who he was to her satisfaction
by bringing up things from their life together. She said she had one question that she always wanted-needed to know and that was the one thing that never came through.

I have since been told by an established medium that not getting an answer to a question is sometimes the answer. It could be that the spirit didn’t have an answer, or that the
asker needed to find out for themselves. I, too, believe that there are sometimes lessons to be learned that the asker will have to find out alone.

-Bran.