The Enigmatic Origins of the Newport Tower

The Enigmatic Origins of the Newport Tower

The coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island is famously known for its Gilded Age mansions. Lesser known is a structure that looks like it came right out of the Middle Ages. Sitting in a small park, it’s the remnants of a round tower built of stone. The origins of the Newport Tower have been a source of public debate since at least the first half of the 19th century. A variety of theories exist, many asserting that the tower predates the arrival of Columbus. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Hidden History, Rhode Island, 0 comments
Vampire Case: The Ray Brothers of Jewett City

Vampire Case: The Ray Brothers of Jewett City

In an out-of-the-way cemetery in Jewett City, Connecticut, you’ll find the burial plots of the Ray family. Tragedy struck this family in the mid-1800s when a number of its members were lost to consumption (now known as tuberculosis). People started thinking that the illness was due to something supernatural. Suspicion fell upon the dead and drastic actions were taken. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Connecticut, Vampires, 0 comments
History and Hauntings at the Fairbanks House

History and Hauntings at the Fairbanks House

In the town of Dedham, MA there is a historic house of great distinction – it is, in fact, the oldest wood frame house in North America. Built between 1637 and 1641, the Fairbanks House provides an amazing view into history. Although the last resident moved out over 100 years ago, some spirits may still call it home. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Ghosts, Massachusetts, 0 comments
Abandoned Zoo Enclosures in Boston

Abandoned Zoo Enclosures in Boston

Once a major attraction, the Bear Dens at Boston’s Franklin Park now sit silent and obscure. The old enclosures are tucked away in a wooded area outside the modern boundaries of the zoo. Walking around it, you can sense the former grandeur of the place, which somehow makes it all the more eerie. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Massachusetts, Mysterious, 0 comments
Medfield’s Abandoned Insane Asylum

Medfield’s Abandoned Insane Asylum

Abandoned places often have a strange allure. Locations once filled with activity, now slowly and silently decaying. Of course, the nature of what the place once was often adds to the atmosphere. With that in mind, let’s turn to the town of Medfield, MA. Nestled among trees and fields, you’ll find a large, abandoned campus populated by redbrick buildings. Although it may be reminiscent of a college, it is actually a former insane asylum. The public is permitted to walk the grounds, and I found the site to be both fascinating and somber. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Massachusetts, Mysterious, 0 comments
Hammond Castle

Hammond Castle

On the Massachusetts coast, in the town of Gloucester, sits a building that appears to be, quite simply, on the wrong continent. It’s as if a medieval castle were plucked out of the Old World and dropped in the New World. The creation of a wealthy and eccentric inventor, Hammond Castle Museum is filled with antiques, ancient artifacts, and (as far as some are concerned) ghosts. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Ghosts, Massachusetts, 0 comments
The Vampire Case of Sarah Tillinghast

The Vampire Case of Sarah Tillinghast

An old and easily overlooked cemetery lies tucked away in a neighborhood in Exeter, Rhode Island. It’s small, measuring 50 square feet, and contains just 25 burials. Beneath one of the unmarked stones lies the body of Sarah Tillinghast – a young woman who, in death, was believed to be a vampire. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Rhode Island, Vampires, 1 comment
Yantic Cemetery and the Blue Lady

Yantic Cemetery and the Blue Lady

Situated by the Yantic River in Norwich, Connecticut lies a necropolis filled with elaborate tombstones, towering monuments, and a mysterious woman shrouded in blue. She forever keeps watch over a single grave, though this lady is not a ghost. Rather, this eternal mourner is a striking and enigmatic sculpture made of bronze. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Connecticut, Mysterious, 0 comments
The Vampire Case of Mercy Brown

The Vampire Case of Mercy Brown

In a quiet cemetery adjacent to a church in rural Rhode Island, you can find the grave of New England’s last suspected vampire, Mercy Lena Brown. The events surrounding this vampiric suspicion shocked many at the time, and may still surprise people today. The incident is an example of true folkloric beliefs surrounding the threat that the dead (or undead) could pose to the living. Continue reading →

Posted by AP Sylvia in Rhode Island, Vampires, 0 comments