Ghosts of the SouthCoast

GHOSTS OF THE
SOUTHCOAST

TIM WEISBERG

FOREWORD BY JEFF BELANGER, EPILOGUE BY CHRISTOPHER BALZANO

 

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright © 2010 by Tim Weisberg

All rights reserved

Back cover image of Lizzie Borden.
Courtesy of Stefani Koorey and Pear Tree Press.

Unless otherwise stated, all photos are by the author or from the author's collection.

First published 2010

e-book edition 2011

ISBN 978.1.61423.009.0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weisberg, Tim.

Ghosts of the SouthCoast / Tim Weisberg.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p.    ).

print edition: ISBN 978-1-59629-142-3

1. Ghosts--Massachusetts--New Bedford Region. I. Title.

BF1472.U6W445 2010

133.109744'8--dc22

2010034446

Notice
: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is
offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and
The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

 

 

To my son, Adam, who always asks questions; and to my wife, Jennifer,
who always puts up with mine.

 

Foreword by Jeff Belanger

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. The What: A Paranormal Primer

Ghosts

Hauntings

A Psychological Imprint

Factors for a Haunt

2. The Why

King Philip's War

The Bridgewater Triangle

3. The Where

Wareham and Buzzards Bay

The Tri-Town Region: Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester

Fairhaven and Acushnet

New Bedford

Lakeville and Freetown

Dartmouth and Westport

Fall River

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast: The SouthCoast's Most Famous Haunt

Epilogue by Christopher Balzano

Bibliography

About the Author

S
pooktacular,” as Tim Weisberg is so fond of saying on his
Spooky Southcoast
radio show. It's a great word, and it sums up the adventure that is paranormal investigating. If you don't get excited by legends, if you're not exhilarated by the thought of putting yourself into haunted places and seeking out the unknown, then put this book down right now. But, if like many millions of other people all over the world you do suspect there's more to the universe than what we see, keep reading. Your journey into the supernatural side of the SouthCoast begins here.

I'm a person who is passionate about the pursuit of the paranormal. Though I've been in many of the right places for unexplained activity all over the world, I'm usually there at the wrong time. I've had only a handful of experiences that I would truly call paranormal. One of those encounters occurred in the SouthCoast region at the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, and Tim Weisberg was there when it happened. You'll read more about the Borden history and case later in this book, so I'll stick to what we experienced.

This legend trip was a dream come true for paranormal guys like myself, Tim, Chris Balzano and Matt Moniz. The four of us were alone in the Lizzie Borden house for the evening and had the chance to investigate without anyone else contaminating the environment. It was around 11:30 at night and the four of us were in the basement, just a few feet from the bottom of the stairs. We were quiet, setting up a video camera, and suddenly we heard scampering footsteps and muffled voices right above us in the side hallway leading to the kitchen. Our heads
snapped toward each other, our eyes widened—but no one was thinking about ghosts.

We raced up the stairs to the side hallway. No more than four or five seconds had passed between the time we heard the noise and the time we reached the location. We looked around frantically.
No one was thinking ghosts.
We were thinking some kids from Fall River had just broken in and we're in charge for the night. We were not thinking ghosts; we were thinking we needed to call the police; we were thinking we needed to manhandle the intruders out right away—we were
not
thinking ghosts.

I walked over and checked the door. It was locked and secure. Matt looked around the kitchen. Chris and Tim were also looking around the house to see if we missed anything. Nothing. Silence. The four of us looked at each other again.
Whoa
was the consensus. We agreed that it sounded like two sets of feet and the voices sounded like kids. But there was no one there but us.
Now
we were thinking ghosts. If not ghosts, I can't possibly tell you what made those distinct sounds that all of us heard and reacted to.

Ghosts and the paranormal are everywhere. With such a rich history and diverse population, the SouthCoast of Massachusetts is full of these legends. I can think of no better tour guide to show you this stuff than Tim Weisberg. Through reading this book, you're embarking on a supernatural adventure. But don't let it end here. Use this book as a jumping-off point. Get into the field and experience these places and stories for yourself. Legend trip wherever you go, because through the experience you become part of the story that is the SouthCoast.

Jeff Belanger
Author of
Weird Massachusetts,
founder of
Ghostvillage.com
and host of
30
Odd Minutes
.

B
ig thanks go out to Christopher Balzano and Jeff Belanger, who convinced me I could chronicle the ghosts of the SouthCoast and helped me to do so; to my
Spooky Southcoast
cohosts Matt Costa and Matt Moniz, for being at my side while investigating and talking about the subject these past few years; to my friends and family, not only for supporting me when I started talking about ghosts but for also doing the same; to teams and investigators such as Luann Joly and Whaling City Ghosts, Eric LaVoie and Dartmouth Anomalies Research Team, Keith Johnson and New England Anomalies Research, Andrew Lake and Greenville Paranormal Research, Linda Lynch of Veils Edge Paranormal, Loren Coleman, Thomas D'Agostino, Chris Pittman, Mike Markowicz, Carlston Wood, Bob Ethier and a whole community of others to whom I have been privileged enough to work with and learn from; to Stefani Koorey, Ph.D., and Pear Tree Press for the photos; and finally to our radio listeners and the people of the region who have reported their experiences and helped make the SouthCoast just a little bit spookier.

F
rom the time the early British colonists began migrating westward from Plymouth Colony in the 1630s, they knew there was something unusual about the area that would eventually come to be known as the SouthCoast of Massachusetts.

The Native Americans spoke of a special power that existed, and that power still has its hold on the region today. From those original inhabitants to the English of the 1600s to the Portuguese and numerous other cultures of today—through war and through civilization—the ghosts of the SouthCoast have had a direct effect on the land and its people.

And they've been around since the very beginning.

The first Englishman to visit the area—at least that we know of—was Bartholomew Gosnold, often referred to as History's Forgotten Man. After the failure of Roanoke in Virginia and other attempted English settlements in the New World, Gosnold set sail in 1602 aboard the
Concord,
first arriving in Maine and making his way down to Provincetown. There, he gave Cape Cod its name for the fish he observed so abundant in its waters and later named the island of Martha's Vineyard for his daughter, who died in infancy.

Gosnold also explored the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Cape Cod, and while out on one excursion to Penikese Island, they encountered four Wampanoags in a canoe. When the Native Americans ran off at the sight of the British explorers, Gosnold took their canoe as a prize for England. Perhaps this affront is why, to this very day, the specter of Gosnold's ship, the
Concord,
can still be spotted off the shores of the islands and even into the SouthCoast region along its chilly waters.

This can be considered America's earliest ghost story, and in the more than four hundred years since, the legends and lore that have sprung up from this particular area have not only given its residents chills and thrills but also became a deeply rooted part of their culture as well.

From the forts and taverns of the Revolution to the gothic libraries and schools of the Victorian era, so many SouthCoast spots are just as well-known for their haunts as they are their history.

As we examine the ghosts of the SouthCoast, understand that just because you might eventually leave them behind, they may not be ready to leave you. These are powerful, endearing haunts that you'll find are more than just a good campfire story. Those associated with the SouthCoast can always expect its specter to loom over them. Even poor Gosnold, whose brief visit forever changed the lands he claimed for the English crown, met an unexplained end. In 2002, a grave was discovered just outside of Jamestown, Virginia. The remains appeared to be of a man around five-foot-three who died when he was between thirty and thirty-six years of age. There was no indication of how he died or who he was—just a captain's staff. Thorough research has led historians to belief they are the remains of Captain Gosnold, proof that while his body may have been found in Virginia, his ghost—and many, many others—belongs to the SouthCoast.

B
efore we delve into the ghostly history of the SouthCoast, it's important we understand a bit more about the idea of what exactly we're talking about. The term paranormal means something that is alongside (para, as in parallel) the normal but doesn't fall under what is currently described as normal. That definition recognizes that something considered paranormal may in fact be normal, but that we just don't understand it enough to include it in that category just yet. It differs from the supernatural, which by definition can only exceed the natural and not be inclusive within it.

The hope is that someday, through research and field investigation, we'll be able to figure out exactly why the paranormal occurs, thus bringing it into the realm of the normal. Many, though, think we're not intended to understand it.

Either way, nothing helps sneak a little historical education into our minds like a good ghost story.

We could list a number of different dictionary and encyclopedic definitions of the word ghost, and while many would come close to explaining the phenomenon, none would be exact.

That's because ghosts have yet to be clearly defined. Mankind has believed in the idea of ghosts for as long as it's understood the concept of mortality;
the understanding of the end of life leads to the desire for something beyond it. Ghosts are referenced in some of our earliest histories, including the Holy Bible and Homer's
Iliad.
Every culture has a word for spirits and many have a strong belief in them.