Ghost stories from Massachusetts are as plentiful as they are creepy! This is where mass hysteria infested an entire town and resulted in the famously heinous Salem witch trials. Many innocent men, women, and children lost their lives during this dark time period and it’s no wonder much of the town is now believed to be haunted.
Massachusetts was also the home of the infamous Lizzie Borden, who hacked her parents to death with an ax and was acquitted. What’s known as the Bridgewater Triangle and the country’s most haunted forest are also located in Massachusetts. With a history like this it’s no wonder paranormal enthusiasts flock to the state in droves. This list explores some of Massachusetts’ urban legends and ghost stories that have been intriguing people for years.
1. There’s a Gate to Hell in Spider Gate Cemetery
The old Quaker cemetery in Leicester Massachusetts is officially named The Friends Cemetery. However, its ornate webbed gates and creepy atmosphere earned it the nickname Spider Gate and a whole slew of lore.
The graves date back to the 1700’s and according to legend it’s a gateway to hell. The grounds contain eight ‘gates’ and once you pass through them all you’ll find yourself in hell.
If you feel like stirring up the spirit of a Quaker for a conversation, you can summon Marmaduke Earle. Just walk around his gravestone 10 times at midnight, then place your hand on the gravestone and say “Marmaduke speak to me.”
Other legends are pretty gruesome, one tale says a young girl was murdered and dismembered in the nearby cave. Another claims a teenage boy hung himself at the cemetery gate back in the 1980s.
People have heard rustling when there’s no wind and roaring in the surrounding wood. There are runes etched into the underside of the rocks of the cemetery walls and there’s a raised point at its center allegedly used as an altar for satanic worship.
There’s an area where no grass will grow and a mysterious white substance oozes from the ground, and apparently there is a second cemetery that can only be found once.
2. Shadow Figures Stalk Taunton State Hospital
The State Lunatic Hospital in Taunton, Massachusetts first opened in 1854. It was later renamed Taunton State Hospital, but that wasn’t enough to erase the evil residing within its walls. There were long-running rumors that some of the staff were a satanic coven and would take patients down to the basement for rituals and even human sacrifices.
The most infamously evil resident, was serial killer Jane Toppan. She confessed to murdering 31-people – she poisoned them while she was working as a nurse. Although Lizzie Borden enthusiasts dispute it, there is also a rumor that Lizzie herself was a patient here while she was awaiting her murder trial.
While in operation, many claimed to see shadowy figure lurking around the hospital and surrounding grounds. It would climb the walls and linger up on the ceilings peering down at terrified patients. There are still shadow person sightings reported in the area.
3. Restless Spirits Linger in the Lizzie Borden House
Everyone has heard of Lizzie Borden – even schoolyard children, morbidly reciting “Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”
In 1892, Lizzie Borden was tried for the brutal murders of her parents but was acquitted. The Borden house (where the double murder was committed) is long believed to be haunted and currently opened to the public.
Many report feeling ill, a sense of being watched, or being touched. Some have even claimed to have seen full-bodied apparitions in the home while staying overnight. The Borden house haunting has been investigated by numerous paranormal researchers and was also featured on numerous major network television shows.
4. Danvers State Mental Hospital Inspired Lovecraft
Built in the 1880s, the Danvers State Mental Hospital doesn’t need stories to make it a terrifying place. Just on looks alone, the looming gothic monstrosity was enough to inspire H.P. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanatorium – yes the same place as the Arkham Asylum in the Batman universe.
This hospital was only meant to house 600 patients but somehow ended up with over 2,300. As is usually the case in over-crowded state institutions, the living conditions were just as cringeworthy as the treatment methods (the frontal-lobotomy was “perfected” at Danvers).
The staff was so overwhelmed that there are quite a few documented cases where patients died and weren’t discovered for several days.
5. The Black Flash Terrorized Provincetown
The first reports of Black Flash sightings came from local children that no one seemed to take seriously. That all changed in October of 1939.
Miss Costa walked by Town Hall, an inhumanly tall figure dressed all in black jumped out in front of her from out of the bushes. He had glowing blues eyes, big silver ears, and the ability to jump like a gazelle. Costa ran into a coffee shop screaming and several men inside ran down Commercial Street looking for the apparition, but found nothing. The police apparently chuckled after taking a statement from the visibly shaken Costa – Provincetown Magazine
After that, claims of the dark, hooded figure standing over eight feet tall erupted throughout Provincetown. According to witnesses, this “Black Flash” would jump out at them, laughing maniacally and dart off faster than they could process the event. Some witnesses also reported a strange buzzing sound emanating from the creature.
A few even saw this flash of darkness leap impossibly high over fences. Two men claimed to have been physically attacked by the shadowy giant. Then the sightings just stopped. The last known account was in December of 1945.
6. There’s a Paranormal Hotspot Known as The Bridgewater Triangle
The Bridgewater Triangle is the 200-square mile area in Massachusetts, often referred to as the paranormal Disney World. The Triangle boasts a litany of mysterious experiences and creepy sightings; ghosts, cryptids, spook lights, and UFOs have all been reported throughout the area.
Within the Bridgewater Triangle is the Freetown/Fall River State Forest. This forest is notorious for freaky occurrences. Brutal murders, suicides, animal mutilations, and Satanic rituals have taken place in and around the forest.
7. Pukwudgies Lure Travelers To Their Deaths
The Wampanoag tribe have many oral traditions, one of their creatures of legend are the Pukwudgies. These tiny, grey, humanoid beasts inhabit eastern Massachusetts’ swampy regions.
These tricksters have glowing grey skin with oversized noses, fingers, and ears. They have been described as troll-like porcupines that walk upright. These beings can shape-shift, manifest fire, and have the ability to appear and vanish at will.
They are known for luring people to their deaths, blinding them with sand and pushing them off cliffs. Sometimes they even attack victims directly with their tiny spears and poisoned arrows.
8. A Witch Curses Intruders at Dogtown
Dogtown Massachusetts, located on Cape Ann, was first established in 1693. It was once a respectable community, but as people moved out, seedy characters and feral animals moved right into the abandoned homes and buildings.
The surrounding towns began to spread rumors about witches living in Dogtown and the haunted woods nearby. They believed curses were put on anyone who got too close to the town, courtesy of the queen of the witches, Thomazine “Tammy” Younger.
Today, the abandoned town is surrounded with rocks bearing odd inscriptions. A gigantic wolf is rumored to run through the forest as well.
9. The Spirit Of Eugene O’Neill Appears At Shelton Hall
When constructed in 1923, Shelton Hall was originally a part of the first Sheraton hotels. In 1954, it was converted into a residence hall by Boston University. Apparently the university got more than just a building to house creative writing majors – they also got a ghost!
Playwright Eugene O’Neill died in room 401 one year before it became a part of Boston U. It seems he gets a kick out of disrupting the creative process of the budding writers on the same floor he died on. He knocks on doors, dramatically changes the temperature, and stops the elevator on “his” floor.
10. Executed Witches Haunt The Joshua Ward House
Sheriff George Corwin once lived and died on the land where the Joshua Ward house stands. He still comes out to haunt the house at night along with two other restless spirits.
The infamous Sheriff George Corwin established his home and jail on the land back in the 1680s. During the Salem witch trials, Corwin was nicknamed “The Strangler” for his intense interrogation techniques. Those he believed were witches or warlocks received excruciating death sentences – if they survived the interrogation, that is.
Nineteen men and women were executed on his order. He would order slow strangulations, sometimes he’d tightly tie the accused’s neck to their ankles, until blood poured from their noses. Corwin was also fond of crushing the alleged witches to death with large rocks.
In addition to the sadistic Sheriff Corwin, it’s believed the land and subsequently the Ward house, is also haunted by a man Corwin labeled a warlock and executed. There have also been sightings of a wild haired woman, believed to be another one of Corwin’s victims.
Lights flicker, doors open and slam seemingly on their own. Gusts of wind with no logical source blow through the house at random. Overturned trash cans, bookshelves in disarray, and unlit candles melted down are just a few of the unsettling things witnessed inside the Ward house.
11. The S.K. Pierce Mansion
This gothic mansion was home to Sylvester Knowlton Pierce – founder of the S.K. Pierce & Son Chair Company. The grand home was built in 1875 and had some famous guests walk its halls, Bette Davis, P.T. Barnum, Norman Rockwell, and President Calvin Coolidge to name a few. Despite the wealth and influence of its owners, the home has seen quite a bit of tragedy and some believe it’s the house that caused it all!
S.K. Pierce’s first wife Susan, fell ill and passed away within only 3 weeks of moving in – but her spirit never left. Other members of the Pierce family, including S.K. Pierce himself are believed to still inhabit the house. As does the spirit of a former nanny, Mattie Cornwall, who loved the mansion so much she couldn’t part with it even in death. A young boy who drowned on the premises and can still be spotted in mirrors.
After leaving the Pierce families hands (legally) the house was turned into a brothel where a prostitute was murdered. Later in the house’s timeline, a boarder named Eino Saari just spontaneously combusted in 1963. These lost souls still wander the mansion’s halls today.
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