When the Ghost Screams(24)
It is Bridget’s spirit who is responsible for the odd noises heard at the Lyceum, say employees.
When my friends Anne and Hilary Ferraro and I visited the restaurant, the manager invited us to explore the unoccupied upper floors. We were tired after walking around town all day, so after we had ventured up to the second floor, Anne turned to her daughter, twenty-one-year-old Hilary, and said, “Go up to the loft and tell us if there is anything worth seeing.”
Some employees refuse to venture upstairs in the Lyceum Bar and Grill. This view is from the loft, where strange noises often emanate. (Leslie Rule)
Hilary obediently started up the stairs. She was three-quarters of the way up when an ominous creak sounded from above, and suddenly Hilary was flying back down the stairs.
We all headed up to investigate. What could have caused the creak? It was so loud that we had all heard it. It had sounded like the creaking door in a scary movie. I tried all of the loft doors but could not duplicate the sound.
According to the manager, a film crew had visited recently to document the haunting and was baffled when the batteries were inexplicably deleted on every piece of their recording equipment, a common occurrence in haunted locations.
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LYCEUM BAR AND GRILL
43 Church Street
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-7665
Web site: www.LyceumSalem.com
Ghostly Witch
A formidable brick house, erected in 1784, may be home to the ghost of Sheriff George Corwin. The Joshua Ward House, which today houses offices, was built on the foundation of the home of one of Salem’s most detested people.
George Corwin was a cruel man who orchestrated the arrest of villagers accused of witchcraft. Many hated him after he tortured the accused in his home. He also stole the victims’ belongings after they were executed on Gallows Hill.
When George Corwin died, he was buried in his own basement to prevent his enemies from desecrating his grave. He was later exhumed and buried elsewhere, but many believe the despicable man’s spirit remains.
Who peers from the windows of the Joshua Ward House? (Leslie Rule)
It is a woman’s ghost, however, that has been spotted in the house. One witness saw the pale woman sitting in a chair in the home, while others have spied her peeking from the windows, or floating down the stairs. It is said that she is one of the accused witches who died as a result of Sheriff Corwin’s actions.
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JOSHUA WARD HOUSE
148 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
(The Joshua Ward House is not open to the public.)
Derby Street Haunting
Some believe it is the proximity to the city’s oldest graveyard that stirs up the ghosts in Roosevelt’s Restaurant. Owner Henry McGowan told a reporter for the North Andover, Massachusetts, Eagle-Tribune in October 2001, that he realized the place was haunted when items began moving around on their own.
An artist sculpted ghostly figures emerging from the wall outside of Roosevelt’s Restaurant. The wall supports one end of the old graveyard. (Leslie Rule)
The owner of Roosevelt’s Restaurant in Salem met the ghost of a woman here. (Leslie Rule)
He spotted an apparition when he was working alone in the building until three a.m. “I was on the second floor,” he said. “I actually looked up and saw somebody looking down at me. It was a woman.” He looked away for an instant, and when he looked back, she had vanished.
The building’s outdoor courtyard showcases a bit of whimsical and eerie art. A stone wall stops the graveyard next door from tumbling onto his property. Henry hired an artist to sculpt the images of ghosts, climbing through the wall, as if they were escaping from the cemetery.
According to legend, a casket once broke through the wall and fell into the building. Employees insist it really happened and point to part of the wall that obviously has been patched.
No one knows the identity of the ghosts who wander through the restaurant, but some wonder if they may indeed have escaped from the cemetery next door.
Known as the Burying Point, the graveyard is the final resting place of a judge from the Salem Witch Trials.
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ROOSEVELT’S RESTAURANT
300 Derby Street
Salem, MA 01910
(978) 745-1133
Gallows Hill
Mollie Stewart, a well-known paranormal researcher who leads the Vampire and Ghost Tour and owns the Spellbound Museum, was conducting an investigation on Gallows Hill one night when she encountered a presence.
Gallows Hill, a few miles from Salem, is infamous as the spot where nineteen accused witches were hanged.
As Mollie ventured up the hill, she at first didn’t think too much of it when she heard voices. She figured it was just a few other people, out exploring. But then she spotted a hooded figure. As she stared, it vanished before her eyes.