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Haunted places
on the South Shore - 20081103
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The Patriot Ledger
634 Careswell St., Marshfield
History: The house was built in 1699 for Judge
Isaac Winslow, the son and grandson of Colonial governors
Josiah and Edward Winslow. Winslow family members occupied
it until 1822, and prominent people from Marshfield –
including Daniel Webster– later worked to preserve the
property, which is still used for historical and other functions.
Paranormal activity: Born in England, Penelope
(Pelham) Winslow moved to Massachusetts at age 8. The daughter
of Harvard College's first treasurer, she married Josiah Winslow
in London and returned to Plymouth Colony four years later.
She spent the final five years of her life at the home of
her son Isaac in Marshfield, and is still believed to pace
the halls and open and close doors at the centuries-old manse.
739 Washington St., Quincy
History: Built at the Fore River shipyard,
where it now resides as a floating museum, the USS Salem was
in action for 12 years, in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The heavy cruiser’s guns never fired before it was decommissioned
in 1959.
Paranormal activity: A team from Mass Paranormal
reported high-level “activity” on the ship, including
a ghost named John and an unseen woman telling them to “get
out.” Their investigation came after repeated reports
of unexplained noises and ghost-like appearances.
On Sea Street, near Fore River Avenue, in
Weymouth
History: On April 6, 1623, Myles Standish
and several other men killed four Indians, some of whom were
accused of stealing their corn and plotting attacks. The “massacre”
set off more violence, including several slain Indians and
settlers. A memorial garden was dedicated in 2001.
Paranormal activity: Workers on Sea Street
found the remains of two beheaded Indians in the 1830s. In
the decades since, Indians’ spirits have been spotted
in nearby houses and woods – as have pairs of hawks ominously
circling overhead.
In waters off the coast of Scituate and Cohasset
History: Minot’s Ledge Light, its supports
drilled directly into the surface of the most dangerous rocks
around Boston Harbor, was considered state-of-the-art when
it was built in 1850. In April 1851, the lighthouse collapsed
in a severe storm, taking two young assistants – Joseph
Antoine and Joseph Wilson – along with it. The light
was rebuilt in 1860, and automated (without lightkeepers)
in 1947.
Paranormal activity: Lightkeepers and visitors
have reported unexplained noises, from taps on pipes (how
Antoine and Wilson supposedly communicated) to words in Antoine’s
native Portuguese. Some say they also have seen ghosts, thought
to be Antoine and Wilson.
500 Congress St., Duxbury
History: The building now known as the Sun
Tavern went up in 1741, occupied by a series of residents.
The last was Lysander Walker, a hermit who shot and killed
himself at the home in 1928. The building then became the
summer residence of the Rev. Francis Keegan, and in the early
1930s Mary Hackett took it over and started a restaurant there.
Paranormal activity: Several owners of the
restaurant and others have noted strange happenings and disturbances,
purportedly caused by the spirit of Lysander Walker, who committed
suicide there.
41 Highland Ave., Cohasset
History: Cohasset’s Italianate-style
town hall went up in the mid-19th century, on the town common,
with an addition in the late 1980s. Among other features,
the building included jail cells where prisoners were kept.
Town business is still conducted here.
Paranormal activity: A survey by the Enfield
Paranormal Society “confirmed” the presence of a
male ghost in the town hall. The investigators said they heard
banging and heavy breathing in the cellar, where jail cells
once were.
105 Alden St., Duxbury
History:The Alden family, including Mayflower
passengers John and Priscilla, began living in 1632 on the
Duxbury property, made famous in a poem about their courtship
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an Alden descendant. Relatives
lived there for decades more.
Paranormal activity: While the Alden House
has been occupied since the 17th century, its ghosts are relatively
young. Charles Alden, who gave tours in the 1920s, haunts
the house, according to the Dead of Night paranormal group.
Some say “Aunt Polly,” who died at age 93 in 1882,
also still occupies the property.
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