The Spirits of Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH

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Colby-Sawyer College is located in New London, NH and was established in 1837. At the time it was called The New London Academy. The Academy was co-ed until 1928 when it became a women only college. This was due to the financial hardships during that time. Because of these issues and an educational gender shift, the Academy decided to make the college women only and became the Colby Junior College for Women. In 1975, the Academy was renamed to what it is today, Colby-Sawyer College. In 1990  it became co-ed again. Over the last one-hundred and eighty-six years, many students have walked the halls and many have claimed to see some paranormal occurrences that are not covered in their academia. 

One would think most colleges would shy away and scoff at the idea of the supernatural, but Colby-Sawyer College seems to embrace it, whether for scientific reasons or fun. Students, especially those who have experienced a haunting or two, have shown interest in conducting investigations as well as ouija board sessions at the college to try and find answers for these paranormal experiences. In fact, some have said that they were skeptics until attending Colby-Sawyer, but all it took was one experience to change their minds. Some would say it’s hard to be a skeptic when every building has a ghost story. Here is the haunted history of Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH. 

We’re going to start with the most popular spirit at Colby-Sawyer. He is known as the Ghost with the Large Brimmed Hat or also referred to as The Ghost with the Top Hat. A specter so popular that Dartmouth Film & Media Studies made a short documentary where they interviewed students and faculty about the Hat Ghost. I will be using some footage from this documentary as a visual reference. If you’re interested in watching the full short documentary, I will link it in the description below. It’s only 11 minutes long, so perfect for those with short attention spans. Like me. 

Colgate Hall is the main building at the school and where our first and most popular spirit seems to reside the most, though he has been spotted in other areas. Our first story is from the article I wrote about Colby-Sawyer around ten years ago. I tried re-finding the resources for this story, but came up short, and it appears the websites I found this story originally are no longer around. Keep in mind, a lot of these videos are influenced by old articles I wrote over ten years ago and most websites I used as references back then are no longer active, so I can’t find the website I originally found this story, but it’s a spine-tingling tale, so I will tell it. 

We will start with the true account of a young lady, who was a student at Colby-Sawyer at the time. She was in her dorm room when she looked outside her window and saw a rather peculiar man she never saw before. He was wearing a stylish coat and a top hat that covered his facial features. Granted, she knew that Colby-Sawyer tended to attract outside people due to the theater and some of these outsiders the students thought were odd, but she felt this guy was different. There was just something about him that intrigued her and had to get a closer look. 

To give the illusion that she wasn’t spying on this guy, she grabbed a notebook to pass herself off as a student going from building to building, but in reality was going to go out to get a better look at this strange man in a top hat. When she looked outside, he was still leaning against the rail of the back door stairs of the Colgate building and looked like he had no plans on leaving. She kneeled down to put on her shoes, but when she looked up, the mysterious man was gone. She went out and spent twenty minutes trying to look for him, but eventually gave up. I guess he was just that odd of a person to spend that much time looking for him. However, this was not going to be the last time she saw the mysterious man with the top hat, but after this next experience, she probably wished she only saw him once. 

A week later he appeared again. Wearing the same hat, but this time, according to the story, he was wearing a suit instead of the flowing coat he was wearing the last time. The day was fading away and the student was determined to see who this person was, so; she approached from the library, she turned her head to look both ways of the road that separated the buildings, she looked up and he was still there, but she was about to see something startling. 

He was evaporating. Vanishing before her very own startled eyes. This experience baffled the young woman so much that she got glasses, because she actually thought her vision was going bad. That was the last time she saw the Man in the Large Brimmed Hat. She should be thankful though, as according to most accounts, most people who have seen the Top Hat Ghost has said they didn’t feel threatened by him. However, I did read one or two stories that said he did get violent. We’ll get to that later. 

As for the identity of the mysterious Ghost with the Top Hat. Some say he looks to be anywhere between his 30s and 40s. Some say it is the spirit of Anthony Colby, one of the founder’s of the college. Others say it is a student from Dartmouth, looking to be a part of the school play. For those familiar with this ghost story, who do you think the Ghost with the Top Hat is? 

When I did more research on Colby-Sawyer College, I found out some things I didn’t know ten years ago when I originally wrote the article and that is a lot of people have ghost stories pertaining to this college. I’ve found information on the college’s website devoted to the ghost stories, Tumblr posts, a Creepypasta was written about the Ghost with the Top Hat. Meaning this may be the longest video I’ve ever done. For those who are still watching, thank you. 

One of the better resources of stories for more ghost legends at Colby-Sawyer are first hand accounts from students of the college. I won’t read all of them, but have picked the ones I found interesting. These talk about the other spirits said to haunt Colby-Sawyer. For those interested in reading all of them, it will be listed in the references section of the article that will accompany this video. You can find the link to that in the video’s description. 

Ghost Children of Colgate Hall

From Jocelyn

On October 29th, 2009 Paranormal Experts came to Colby-Sawyer to take students on a ghosthunt. We sat in the fourth floor of Colgate Hall, and were surrounded by children ghosts, who said that at one time the building was an orphanage. The man with the hat was present, and the experts told him they did not like his smoking, they hated it. The man with the hat gained enough energy he punched the male expert in the head, slamming his head so hard against the hall, leaving a crack and a welt on his head, not to mention causing him to black out.

Knock, Knock 

From Jovana Stojanova

"My friends and I were watching a horror movie in the Honors Suite last night (5/8/13) and had all the lights turned off, as well as the doors closed. All of the sudden, we heard someone knocking on the door. We asked who is was, but there was no answer. We heard a second knock, but still there was no answer. The lights were turned off and we didn’t hear any footsteps. If you’ve ever been in the Honors Suite, you know how you can hear everything because the floor is wooden. Then there were three more knocks, but no one said anything.

A minute later, the smaller door next to the regular one just opened by itself (?). At this point, all of us are screaming and hiding under under the blankets, and THEN we heard footsteps next to us. Someone was definitely walking next to me, and then the thing started knocking on the table behind us. At first you could barely hear the knocks, but they were becoming louder and louder. None of us dared to turn back, so I guess we’ll try to repress last night deep, deep into our memories and hopefully we’ll forget one day."

The Blank Stare 

This story did not have a name, but is creepy regardless. 

"It was a weekday, middle of September in 2011. I am a freshman here at Colby-Sawyer, and I live in Danforth. One night I was sleeping soundly and dreaming, when suddenly I abruptly woke up, it was 3:30 in the morning. I sat up, and looked around. In the corner of my room, there was a man who had a top hat, he was wearing a suit, and wore a long coat over it. He was just there staring. His whole body was present. The look on his face wasn’t menacing, he was just looking blankly at me. He looked to be around his 30’s in age. I was so scared because he didn’t look like a ghost, he looked like a man. I thought a man had broken into our room! So I hid under my covers freaking out, for about an hour before I had the guts to look again. The second time I looked, he was still here. He was in the same spot, just looking at me blankly. This time he was holding a white poster, and it looked like it had some kind of scribbly writing on it, but I couldn’t understand what it said. I went back under the covers until about 6:00 am, and when I checked again, he was gone. I never felt that he was mean, or a bad presence was in the room, it just was. I told my roommates and friends about a few days later, and my friend who is a senior here said that I saw the “top hat man.” When I looked him up online, the description matched the man that I saw."

That’s all the stories I’ll share from Colby-Sawyer’s Tumblr page, however, there are a few more stories available for those who are interested. As said before, look for the link to the article version. It will be listed in the resources section. 

I tried looking for additional information for subjects that were briefly covered in this video already, but came up short. Such things as Colby Sawyer apparently being an orphanage at one point. Remember that part with the ghost children from Colgate Hall. They claim it was an orphanage at one point. I could not find any resources saying it ever was an orphanage. There was also a bit about a student killing themselves by leaping out a window, and the window was bricked up. I couldn’t find anything more on that. It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but I just couldn’t find any additional information on these topics. 

Regardless, there’s plenty of colleges in New Hampshire, however, I think it’s safe to say Colby-Sawyer College could very well be the most haunted college in the Granite State. If you don’t think so, and know of another that beats Colby-Sawyer, let me know in the comments by sending me an email and I may make a video on it in the future. Until next time, Graveyard Disciples, keep it scary. 

Resources for Video: 

Information Resources: 

The History of Colby-Sawyer

25 Years of Coeducation at Colby-Sawyer

Haunted Experiences at CSC

Is Colby-Sawyer haunted? 

Ghosts of Colby-Sawyer College

New Hampshire Governor, Ghosts, and a Second Wife 

The Top Hat Man creepypasta 

Student Experiences

Colby-Sawyer College Virtual Map (not used in video, but a great tool to give you a layout of the land.) 

Images used in video: 

Click on the images and it will direct you to the source. 

Videos resources: 

6K aerial video orbiting Colgate Hall, Colby Sawyer College, autumn, New London, New H.. | AX151_100

A New Home for the School of Nursing & Health Sciences

A Drive through New London, NH March 2022

I ❤ Colby-Sawyer College

The Man in the Top Hat & Other Ghosts of Colby-Sawyer College

Paranormal Photo: Malaysian Bus Crash Demon

Today we’re going to look at an alleged demon photo from Malaysia. There’s not much information on this, but here’s what I was able to gather. You can find the resources I used, such as photos and information, on my blog. Link will be in the description. 

As you can see in the photo, it’s a terrible bus accident. The bus flipped over on its roof and landed in what appears to be a river. You can see quite a few onlookers spectating the accident. However, there is something strange in this photo and it is rather creepy. The photographer who took this photo caught something more than a bus crash, but something hiding in the bushes. A frightening face peering out and it appears to be smiling. 

Sources for this photo give contradicting dates and years. One source says this accident took place in 2016 and the accident killed three people. The site also blames this demonic figure for the accident. However, another source that appears to have more information, says the accident took place on September 5th, 2005. I entered both dates and tried searching for more info, but unfortunately came up empty handed. Let's take a closer look at the latter source.

This is from the Blogspot blog, mis-uum-ghoststory. I have corrected some grammar issues to make it sound phonetically better. You can read the original transcript here.

"This story happened on the 5th of September 2005. An overloaded UUM bus was overturned and plunged into a river after a passenger apparently fell onto the steering wheel. Five people were seriously injured and admitted to the Alor Setar Hospital, while the other 47 passengers were given outpatient treatment at UUM Medical Centre. The bus was on its way to residential colleges in Bukit Kachi when the accident occurred. It is understood that the bus carried 63 passengers, 20 more than the maximum allowed, when it veered into the river after the driver lost control of the bus.

A reporter from The Star Newspaper had caught this strange photo.”

Like I said, resources for this photo are scarce. I’m almost sure there’s a website out there that does have the information of this accident. What I just read could be the accurate information, but without other resources to confirm it, like a more reputable resource, such as newspaper or something akin to that, I’m not sure. I did find The Sun Newspaper Malaysia website, but their news archive only goes back to 2020. But if anyone does know more about this accident, then please contact me and I will update this post with the accurate information.

Well, Graveyard Disciples, what do you think about this alleged demon photo? Although this photo has made its rounds to numerous websites, blogs, and apparently some Tik-Tok videos, it could very well be a form of pareidolia or not a demon, ghost, or whatever at all. What do you think? Ghost? Demon? Pareidolia? Or a trick to stir up attention? Until next time, keep it scary. 

The Balsams Resort: Dixville Notch, NH (Haunted and Abandoned - 2022 Update)

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When I used to work at my family store, we had a Coke delivery driver who was also into the paranormal. He was more into the alien aspect of it, big fan of Coast to Coast with Art Bell, would go to UFO conventions. That was his cup of tea, but sometimes the people he would meet would also be into ghosts. The guy’s name was Dennis Rano, the very man who drew this caricature you see as my profile picture and at the end of every video.

Anyway, he told me a story about when he went up to a hotel called the Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire to make a delivery. Looking at pictures of the Balsams, I can truly see it is a grand hotel. It does look beautiful, and a nice place to stay. But according to Dennis, as well as many others, the place is spook central. 

Just a short overview of the history of the hotel before I get going on Dennis’ story: the hotel was opened by George Parsons shortly after the Civil War and was then known as the Dix House. The Dix House was a 25 room summer inn. 

In 1895, it was bought by Henry S. Hale from Philadelphia who was an inventor as well as an industrialist and a long time visitor of the Dix House. By 1918, Hale’s vision for the little Inn grew steadily and expanded until what is today. Before long, the capacity went from 25 to 400 guests when he added the Hampshire House.

But, what makes the Balsams Hotel such a hotbed for spiritual activity? The Balsams, according to Dennis, is one of the most haunted places he’s ever been to, and with good reason. Here are some highlights from what he told me.

Experiences:

-Toilets flush on their own-there are no sensors on the toilets. Because of how my mind works, it makes me think, spirits go to the bathroom? At least they have the courtesy to flush. 

-A one armed man who mysteriously disappears

-Three, laughing old ladies who also disappear

Also, when Dennis told the maintenance man of these happenings he motioned Dennis to come along with him down to the basement of the grand resort. The resort's basement is filled with pipes, BUT, the strange part is there are people buried in the basement. Needless to say, Dennis probably got out quick.

Dennis has been back to the resort, and has actually slept there at one occasion and claimed it was one of the most restful nights he’s ever had.

But as I went deeper into my research, I found a few more intriguing guests who have never checked out of the Balsams. You’d be thinking that just like the Mount Washington Hotel swears the staff to secrecy about not telling guests about the spiritual activity, the Balsams actually embraces its ghostly guests of the dead. According to the book, Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places, in a chapter written by Joseph A. Citro, he said that when he talked to the president of the hotel, Stephen P. Barba, he was surprised to hear that Mr. Barba has actually documented the ghostly appearances since 1959.

According to Mr. Barba, the spiritual activity came to an uprising when they did renovations at the Balsams. He also claims that he does not discourage staff members to talk about the spirits. Now, not all of the staff are as welcomed to the idea of spirits as others, as there is actually a bellhop who will not, under any circumstances, go up to the third floor.

Other Ghostly Guests:

The Vanishing Beauty- The legend of the Vanishing Beauty at the Balsams starts with how a doorman was heading up to a room. Upon getting halfway up the last set of stairs, he looked up and saw a beautiful woman sitting in a chair just beyond the landing. At first he thought it was just a guest, but taking in consideration the hour, which was midnight, and her clothing, he wasn’t seeing just a former guest, he was seeing a ghost. Let’s just say, the doorman showed himself out after seeing this, but upon looking back, the beautiful woman vanished.

The Vanishing Beauty has been seen more than just once. She has also been seen or rather heard in the John Dix social parlor laughing. When guests try to look for her they are confused to find nothing. One man, however, had the same encounter, but with a different ending. When this man went to look for her, he passed a mirror, seeing a beautiful woman’s delightful figure reflecting off of it. When he turned to where the reflection should be coming from, he is met by the scary sensation of him being alone. The Vanishing Beauty is no stranger and has been seen sitting in chairs, being in the shadows of the hotel, and has even been spotted in the main lobby, but the question is, who is this woman? What was her purpose at the hotel? Why is her soul confined to the property? Is she stuck or does she just really enjoy the hotel’s service? Those questions will probably never be answered.

Another guest, though his name is not something I want to be plugged with once I am spotted as a ghost, is known as---

The Naked Man- The legend of the Naked Man, according to Mr. Citro’s story, is that one night a couple were staying in room 120. The wife was awoken to a man standing right at the foot of her bed. Thinking it was her husband she asked if he was okay. The response was not what she was expecting as it was not her husband standing at the end of the bed, it was a naked man standing at the end of the bed. She was also astonished to find out that the man was translucent, she could see through him. Before the figure disappeared, the husband had woken up to this scary sight before the figure vanished. Other occurrences in this room are sounds of things being moved and talking coming from the room even if there is nobody in there.

Who is the naked man? I’m okay with not finding out, but maybe someone does. If you must know, there are two possible theories as to who the naked man might be; one theory is that bandleaders used to frequent room 120. A second theory is when a bandleader drowned in Lake Gloriette which is on the resort's property.

The third ghostly figures are simply known as---

The Others- Though you may think that there is some horror, inhuman spirit which presides at the Balsams due to the name, but that is not the case. The name is only due to the fact that the employees who have seen “The Others' ' can not distinguish what or who these entities may be. The Others have been spotted in the direction of the Sun Room. Before the employees can mention the apparition to their peers, the figure disappears. Most employees have said that they think the figure is a male. When some of the employees pass the Captain’s Study heading towards the Sun Room, they are overtaken by a cold sensation.

What is it? Bad wiring? Or is the world of the supernatural and the world of the living both the same? A crossroads between the living and the dead may be located at the Balsams. Even though the Balsams is not considered in the same legendary status as the Mount Washington Hotel, it is still a worthy candidate for most haunted place in New Hampshire. 

Shortly after publishing this article in 2010, I received an email from a former employee who worked as a night steward at the Balsams. It was a pretty long email, but he had some interesting information that Dennis didn’t know. I have left some things he said out of the original email, because it would just be repeating stuff I’ve already talked about, but you can read the full email on my blog, link is in the description. Here’s what he had to say: 

"I used to work there as a night steward. I have seen none of these events, but if any place would be haunted in the north country it would probably be the Balsams. 

More importantly I notice you never went into the under tunnels, James." (James himself notes: I never knew of the tunnels). "The tunnels were once used for staff to move between facilities during the winter, thus avoiding having to deal with the blizzards and guests. When a nearby factory closed in the 90's, they stored the mannequins used for plastic molding in those tunnels. Yes, indeed, there were and still may be hordes of rotting mannequins, hot steam, and faulty lights down there. It was the only way for the night staff to leave when all facilities locked down.

Nobody told me of any haunted events during my tenure, but first rule of the night shift was that you were never to go alone into the tunnels. I do not know if anyone had the stomach to remove those blank faces and bins of grasping rotting arms. But I doubt it.

My father also worked on the crew renovating it in the late 90's when the last guys to own it came in and bought it. Apparently for construction workers there is an actual system for dealing with creepy places like that.

All work crews are grouped into three buddies and bring bright lamps as they work. As it turns out the tunnels are full of dead ends and unfinished works.

My night supervisor was scared out of his wits of those tunnels and high strung as a result. Apparently he worked at that factory before it closed."

Now, while the Mount Washington Hotel is still thriving, the Balsams is a different story. It has been closed since December of 2011, almost eleven years now. The current owners are trying to seek financing for redevelopment of the resort and the good news is that as of June of 2022, the funding may be commencing and we may see the Balsams reopen once again. 

Resources/Further Reading: 

https://thebalsamsresort.com/a-walk-through-history/

Ghost Photo?: The Hatman - Curious Observer or Something Worse?

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Today’s photo was found on the Facebook group, Universal Paranormal and the unknown. This is not their original photo and the source is not listed. This is what the description says: 

You can see, clear as a day, a shadow figure wearing a hat. A lot of the comments section of this photo say they get bad vibes from this figure, with more claiming it to be the Hatman. A paranormal entity a part of the shadow figure category. However, some ufologists claim it’s actually an alien observing humans. Those who experience the Hatman say the figure appears to be a male with a hat. Not much is found on violent, poltergeist activity attached to the appearance of the Hatman and most say, he just stands there and observes you. 

However, some others who have experienced the Hatman, say he appears during sleep paralysis and that it is seen hovering over the person just like the 13 year old who took this photo. 

Some would say that it could be just a hallucination brought on by drowsiness or it’s just a dream. However, some have said they have seen the Hatman even during the day. Whatever the case may be, what do you think of this photo?

Ghost Photo?: The Grinch That Stole the Photo

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Today’s photo comes from the Facebook group Haunted, Old and Beautiful By Amanda APS. This group is not the original poster of this unsettling photo you’re about to see. The backstory of the photo is that a group of friends got together in October to have a good time along with a few drinks. To commemorate the fun they had, the seven ladies took a group photo. Upon looking at the photo, they spotted something that terrified them. 

Backstory of photo

Behind them is the pale figure of a disembodied head and you can make out the features of eyes, nose, and mouth. The owner of the flat, named Rebecca, has been having trouble sleeping. She had heard rumors that a former tenant died in the bath of the very same flat the photo was taken. 

A lot of commenters on this post nicknamed the spooky figure The Grinch. Some people have debunked this as just a curious bystander looking through the window and if that was the case this person would either be standing on something or is very tall to tower over the ladies in this photo. Some people have speculated the photo was a hoax and someone was wearing or holding up a mask. What do you think?

If you think you have a photo of a spirit, then please send it to scaredsheetlessncn@hotmail.com and I may feature it in a future video. 

Also, if you would be so kind to leave a like and subscribe for future Scared Sheetless content.

Keep it scary, Graveyard Disciples.

Ocean Born Mary - An Ocean of Lies and Very Little Truth (Henniker, NH)

The Ocean Born Mary house

Don't like reading? I have a video version of this as well. Click here. 

Not every ghost story’s origins takes place in a haunted house. In fact, one of New Hampshire’s most famous spiritual tales starts out at sea. While North Carolina may have Blackbeard, we have Mary Wallace, soon to be known, in legend, as Ocean Born Mary. But keep this as a disclaimer, because it will be important later, there is a catch to this story. 

I first heard about the legend of Ocean Born Mary in “Haunted New Hampshire” by Thomas D’Agostino. Most of the information in this column is from his book. If there is any other information that I got from anywhere else it will be listed at the bottom of the column.

Our story takes place on July 17th, 1720, as we set sail out to sea. A ship, by the name of The Wolf, is heading towards its destination, which is Boston, Massachusetts. James and Elizabeth Wilson are setting sail to the “new world”-The United States of America. And, within the U.S. was where their new land was, in Henniker, NH. Elizabeth was pregnant and as the coast of Massachusetts came into view, Elizabeth gave birth.

The newborn didn’t have a name though. This was about to change as the Wolf was taken hostage by pirates. Their leader Don Pedro - a ruthless, dark, and well … handsome pirate, got wind that there was a baby on board as Pedro went over to Elizabeth and James. The pirate who took them hostage asked what the baby's name was as Elizabeth said she was just born. Pedro’s demeanor changed from an intimidating pirate to a more kinder approach and asked if she could name the newborn after his mother, Mary. The Wilson’s agreed, but Don had one more request before he came back with gifts for the newborn. He presented Elizabeth with a silk dress and asked when Mary is to wed, he wishes she would wear this dress. Elizabeth told him she would make sure of it. Pedro left with nobody harmed and everyone’s possessions returned.

Sadly, it didn’t take long after they landed safely in Boston that James died. Nonetheless, Mary grew up to be a tall(records show her at 6’2”)and a beautiful woman. In 1742, Mary got married to Thomas Wallace. Mary honored Don Pedro’s wishes by wearing the silk dress. Mary and Thomas had four sons and a daughter. After the birth of the youngest, Thomas died.

As of that time, Don Pedro was retired from his pirate days and decided to settle down in Henniker, NH himself. Long forgotten about Ocean Born Mary, he decided to go and see what she made herself into. Feeling troubled about her being widowed, he begged her to be his housekeeper and promised to take care of her and her four children. Mary obliged and Don Pedro was a man of his word. 

Don brought Mary and her children to his grand mansion on 6,000 acres of land. Mary and her children couldn’t be happier as they lived in solace…for awhile. Don, however, being a pirate, had a curse, and that curse was about to catch up to him.

One night, after Mary and her children went to bed, former chums of Don Pedro decided to pay a visit. Sadly, Don Pedro was about to come to realize that his maties were not what they seemed. They killed Don by using a pirate’s cutlass in the front yard of his home. His former “mates” must’ve ran, because once Mary got to the room where Don laid with a cutlass hanging out of his chest, the men were gone. Don, with his final breaths, told Mary to bury his treasure under the hearth with him. Mary, a while before this tragedy happened, saw Don with a retired pirate, a friend of his, carrying a large black trunk out to the orchard. Mary honored Don’s request and buried the treasure under the hearth along with Pedro.

Mary kept her word to Don and buried him with his treasure. Mary lived a long and wonderful life right after that; she died in 1814. She only left in body, though, as some say her spirit remains in the house that her and Don Pedro shared. 

In the early 20th century, the house was opened to the general public and Ocean Born Mary made her presence well known after that. A rocking chair would sway softly back and forth(many said this was Mary’s own way of saying the visitors were welcomed). She has also been sensed near the hearth as legend says she was always there, maybe making sure Pedro still had his prized treasure? Also, Hanz Holzer, known for his book “Ghosts of New England” - which also has a chapter on Ocean Born Mary. Mr. Holzer conducted a séance in the Henniker home. Hans felt like there was something there, but he could never get to the bottom of it. He said that Mary kept 'alluding' him, but said that one day, Ocean Born Mary house will make history.

Some Henniker residents have said that on every Halloween, Mary’s ghost can be seen coming out of the Henniker Centre Cemetery, riding a horse drawn coach heading for her home. According to some eye witnesses who have seen her ghost, they have said they see a beautiful woman who is tall with red hair and green eyes watching over them.

However, fellow Graveyard Disciples, here is where the catch is and I hate to disappoint you, but most of this story is fabricated. A lie. Yeah, kind of a letdown, huh? A lot of it was a lie, but was all of it? No. Let’s get to where the story goes from truth to fiction. The last truthful part of this story happens all the way back to where Mary’s husband, Thomas dies. After that, it’s all fictional from there. Here’s the truth: After Thomas died, Mary went to Rhode Island and stayed there until her death on February 13th, 1814 at the age of 93. Her story ends in Rhode Island, but her body was buried in Henniker. But what about the Ocean Born Mary house? Why is it called that? 

The Ocean Born Mary house, the one I’ve been showing, is not her house. It did have connections to Mary. It was built by her son, Robert, who lived there, but Mary never did. I read some articles about this story that said her and Robert didn’t like each other, but most reports say she lived out the rest of her 20 years of life in Rhode Island. Wait? You’re thinning. 20 years? I thought she was young when Thomas died? I’ll get to that in a moment. There’s even a few things I read where it said they actually moved Mary’s childhood home from Henniker, NH to Rhode Island for reasons unknown. Does she have ties to Henniker? Yes, but not to the house that claims her spirit resides. Hans Holzer, as well as other paranormalists, may have thought they contacted Mary Wallace, but they were all looking in the wrong house. Reports say, Mary has haunted her home in Rhode Island, but that home burned to the ground in the 1920s. But some say the house that inhabits the location now may have the actual spirit of Ocean Born Mary there. Who knows for sure? 

So, yes, this means Don Pedro never came back and Don and Mary didn’t live happily ever after in Henniker. That also means there was no treasure, no pirate buried underneath a hearth, or anything like that. Like I said, after Thomas died, that’s where the story turned to fiction and I just went over what actually happened with Mary Wallace. But who fabricated this story? Who created this legend that some people still willingly buy as truth even though the evidence to contradict it is out in the open? This guy. 

Louis Roy. He was a photographer by trade and a legend fabricator as a side job it seemed. He purchased the Ocean Born Mary house in 1917, heard of the story of Robert’s mother, and from there created the story of Don Pedro returning to Mary after she had grown up and took care of her and her kids at his big mansion that he built. No. Mary’s son, Robert, built the house and Roy just spun the rest of Mary’s tale going from where Thomas died. He made it seem like Thomas died when Mary was still young, but Mary and Thomas actually were together for almost 50 years, meaning Mary was in her early 70’s when Thomas died. From here, she would move with her son William to Rhode Island. But people bought Roy’s story as fact for a long time. 

Roy's mother acting as Mary Wallace during tours of the house.

Roy had his mother reenacting older Mary’s life in a supposed pirate house with treasure hidden. He would also sell tickets for people to dig up the property, looking for the lost treasure. I’m willing to bet nobody ever found anything, but fools gold. Roy would keep this story going up until his death in 1965. Some reports say he confessed to the fabrication on his deathbed. 

When I found out, I was disappointed. I mean, New Hampshire has other great ghost legends and haunted locations that should be on every paranormal investigators list, but the Ocean Born Mary story seemed like something out of a fantasy book and it was in the end. Even if most of it is made up, Mary Wallace did have an exciting origin story where a ruthless pirate had a change of heart. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Keep it scary, folks. 

References Used for this Article/Further Reading/Photos Used: 

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Henniker-s-ghost-story-lives-on-30620373 

http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places-and-Events/Historic-Tours/The-Ocean-Born-Mary-House-Hoax/ 

https://alchetron.com/Ocean-Born-Mary#ocean-born-mary-41e1db9a-9b67-4e4f-adfc-c4cd98436c7-resize-750.jpg

https://www.tuckerfreelibrary.org/2015/12/11/ocean-born-mary-original-source-material/

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/ocean-born-mary-new-hampshire-legend/

https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/homes/famous-house-new-hampshire-house-sale/

https://hollowhill.com/spoiler-the-truth-about-ocean-born-mary/

https://newenglandghoststories.com/tag/ocean-born-mary/

https://newengland.com/today/travel/new-hampshire/the-legend-of-ocean-born-mary/

Thomas D’ Agostino’s Haunted New Hampshire 

Hans Holzer’s Ghosts of New England

What Happened to Ada of Cobwebs n' Stripes?

My C n' S reviews have brought in the majority of traffic here. Which either says I'm really good at reviews or people want to know what happened. I'm willing to bet it's the latter. I've been getting a lot of emails lately with people asking me, "What happens? Why did it vanish? Where's Ada?" I'm almost thinking that maybe they didn't read my last C n' S review before I had to stop, because of the fact, I don't know what happened. 

Yes, me and Ada would talk on social media and converse about ... well, Beetlejuice mostly, or that other comic I reviewed called The Ghost with the Most. The thing is, yes, I talked to Ada, but we weren't friends in a sense that we knew each other. We didn't exchange e-mails or social media accounts (I talked to her through her fan page on Facebook) or phone numbers. Our relationship was purely just talking about my reviews and her art and some ideas I would bounce off of her every now and then (funny enough, I gave her an idea of doing a "live" version of the comic, where people would voice act and she would post it on Youtube. I was going to play the Judge, but got cold feet and told her I'm too nervous. -shrugs-) But our relationship was just that. 

That means, I can't answer the question of where she went and if she is okay and if Cobwebs and Stripes will ever make a return and will we ever see the end? Ada posted something on the fan page about how she wanted to explore other ambitions and that C n' S was getting in the way and she simply didn't have a passion for it anymore, despite always loving Beetlejuice and its world. I understand her to a fault. I understand she doesn't want to be just known as that C n S woman, she wants to be known for more than that. I totally get that. But where the fault lies is she has so many fans who want to read. I've had so many people email me and say they only know about this comic because of my reviews and if I have them and sadly, I don't. I wish I did save the comic if I knew she was going to erase everything. But not only that, but fans are like friends, we hang on to every project, and I'm sure whatever ambitions Ada had, we would've supported her, but not only that, but we miss seeing her creativity and we hope she is okay, both mentally and physically. We just don't know, because she deleted everything. Facebook, Tumblr, her Deviantart account, all gone. Only broken traces of what was once her across the internet. 

Maybe someday, she will return, and we can all be happy for that. Hopefully she, or someone who has the comic in their possession, will bring that back as well. I will admit, for not knowing Ada on a personal level, I would be very happy to know if she is okay and all is well, but the remaining mystery would be why did she delete everything? I'm a staunch Beetlejuice fan. Huge fan. It's all over this blog and my name for crying out loud is a Beetlejuice reference. I'm also a stubborn person to impress when it comes to Beetlejuice fan fictions and I would say Cobwebs and Stripes is the best damn Beetlejuice fan fiction out there. Bar none. 

Ada, if you ever read this, I'm sure your fans will agree with me by me saying, we hope you're okay wherever you are, and hopefully one day, you will return. Until then, take care, and be creative.