With Halloween quickly approaching, our twisted interest in haunted houses, murder stories and overall creepiness approaches a whole new level. Something about October just screams ghost stories, and luckily, Massachusetts has plenty of creepy places to keep you satisfied for the month. Here are our top six creepiest places in Massachusetts:
1) The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River
We all know the saying: 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, Abby and Andrew Borden were found murdered in their Fall River home, and their daughter Lizzie was the prime suspect. Lizzie was ultimately acquitted of the murders – though many to this day still think Lizzie was the one who committed the crime. The Borden house, featured on Ghost Hunters, is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of Abby and Andrew. The house is a bed-and-breakfast, and guests have felt a presence in the rooms where Lizzie’s parents were killed.
2) The Houghton Mansion in North Adams
The Houghton Mansion was home to Albert Charles Houghton, the first mayor of North Adams, MA, and his family. In 1914, Mr. Houghton, his daughter, Mary, their chauffeur, John Winters, and some family friends decided to take a joy ride to Vermont. On the way there, the car they were riding in crashed, ejecting everyone from the car except for Mary. The Houghton’s family friends died on impact, and Mr. Houghton and Mary eventually succumbed to their injuries. Feeling overwhelmed with guilt, John Winters eventually shot himself. The Houghton Mansion is said to be haunted by the ghosts of Mr. Houghton, Mary and John Winters. People have claimed they’ve heard voices and footsteps, saw shadows, and have felt a strange sense of sadness in Mary’s room.
3) Taunton State Hospital in Taunton
Last used in 1975, people used to refer to the Taunton State Hospital as the “State Lunatic Hospital,” as it was a hospital for the mentally ill. Apparently, the employees of this hospital in the 1800’s used to perform satanic rituals and sacrifices on the patients (which could explain the scratches on the basement walls). Staff members in the later decades of this hospital would walk down the stairs and said they were physically unable to descend to the last step, being blocked by something they couldn’t see.
4) The Orleans Inn in Orleans
The Orleans Inn was purchased by two sisters in 1900 and made into a boarding house. During the twenties, some of the female boarders ran a prostitution business out of the house, ultimately leading to the death of two prostitutes within the home, one of whom was shot in the parking lot of the Inn. In the 1970’s, a bartender named Fred hanged himself in the Inn – though some claimed it was murder. Following Fred’s death, a dishwasher named Paul hanged himself in the basement. The prostitute, Fred, and Paul are believed to haunt the Inn: doors open and close, shadows belonging to no one are seen, footsteps are heard going down to the basement, and Fred has a tendency to hang out by the bar. People also claim to have seen the naked ghost of the prostitute (who they have named Hannah) hanging out in some of the rooms.
5) Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham
Metropolitan State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital that opened in Waltham, MA in 1930. Former patients described Met State’s Gaebler Children Center as ‘prison,’ where children were heavily sedated as well as harshly disciplined. Met State is most well known for the 1978 murder of Anna Marie Davee, a patient at the hospital who was murdered by Melvin Wilson, a fellow patient. In 1980, Wilson showed police to three different places where he had buried Anna’s body on the grounds of the hospital. Within ten years of finding Anna’s body, Met State was shut down. Today, most of the hospital has been demolished. Fun fact: the hospital that American Horror Story: Asylum took place in was loosely based on this hospital.
6) Lincoln Mill in Scituate
The Lincoln Mill, which once served as a furniture store, has been abandoned – thus turning up the dial on the creepiness of the place. A girl who drowned in the pond next to the mill is said to haunt the place, staring out the windows and revealing herself in all her bloodied glory (why her ghost appears bloody when her death was ruled as a drowning, we’ll never know). What makes this place even scarier is the fact that people have heard screaming coming from the mill and the pond – but the building has been abandoned for years.
Indulge in the creepy, Collegiettes. You know you want to!
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