Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Ghost Stories: Cape Cod

The Village Green Inn, Falmouth (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

I'm continuing my The Ghosts of Aquinnah ghost story series today with a trip to some of the haunted houses of Cape Cod.

I've been to the Cape a few times when visiting Martha's Vineyard, but I never knew that so many of the old inns there are considered haunted. Had I known I may have tried to stay at one of the ghostly places. Maybe I will stay in one in the future and see if I can come in contact with any ghosts or ghouls myself. :D

The Village Green Inn, seen above, is located in Falmouth, which is very close to the harbor where we catch the ferry that takes us to the Vineyard. The Inn was built in 1894 and was the home of the Tripp family for many years. The patriarch of the family, Dr. Edwin Tripp, died in 1953 and rumor has it that he has been haunting the inn ever since.

Dr. Tripp, who walked with a stooped posture, was known for wearing flannel shirts in his later years. Numerous guests as well as the current owners of the Inn have reported sightings of an elderly man with a stooped posture shuffling through the rooms and hallways. The apparition is always wearing flannel shirts.

The room that was once Dr. Tripp's waiting room is now a guest room and the lights and radio have been known to turn on in this room by themselves. Dr. Tripp seems to be a friendly ghost and has never caused any other mischief, so maybe he just likes listening to music.

Barnstable Harbor (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Barnstable House, also known as the House of the Eleven Spirits, is located in the old town of Barnstable, which, like many towns in New England, predates the American Revolution. The town itself has enough ghost stories to fill a haunted walking tour run by the Cape and Islands Paranormal Research Society.

The Barnstable House was built in 1716 and has been the scene of many tragedies, including a man who hung himself in a tree in the yard and a little girl who drowned in the basement. In addition, one owner of the house was thought to practice black magic and conduct experiments in the occult.

Over the years, numerous guests have reported seeing a "waiter ghost" who is dressed in Colonial clothing and carries a towel over his arm. The little girl who drowned has also reportedly appeared and asked frightened guests to play with her. A former owner by the name of Captain John Grey is accused of loudly slamming doors. In addition, the house is known for fires that start on their own in the fireplace.

Sandwich, Massachusetts (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The most famous haunted house on the Cape is probably The Dillingham House, which is located in the town of Sandwich. In 1813 Branch Dillingham, the grandson of the house's original owner, committed suicide. A few weeks later, his wife passed away, which left the couple's nine children as orphans. The house is now thought to be haunted by the Dillingham family.

Visitors to the Dillingham House have reportedly heard children running through the halls while no children are actually present in the house. In addition, guests have seen rocking chairs moving on their own and latches being lifted from doors by invisible hands. One guest reported seeing a man dressed in Victorian clothing in her room and another insisted that she woke up to the sight of a young child sitting on the edge of her bed. Both owners and guests have reported increased ghostly activities during the month of October, so perhaps the Dillingham ghosts are fans of Halloween.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

On that note, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Halloween! To all who have little ghouls and goblins, I hope they have a great time trick or treating. :)

35 comments:

  1. You definitely need to stay at one of those Inns next time. A self-starting fireplace is a plus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for all the creepy chills this morning! I'm just glad it's light outside when I read this post. :)

    I don't think I'd like to stay in a place I know is haunted, but I guess it would depend on how the people died and if they ended up as "friendly" ghosts....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alex is brave.
    I definitely WON'T be staying there. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Creepy! I don't want to have any ghost encounters. No, no, no. I'll stick to reading about them in books. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Alex, I was glad it didn't seem as if the fires started anywhere else. Considerate ghosts.

    @Madeline, yeah, I would only want to stay with the friendly ghosts. :D

    @Melissa, I doubt I will either because I'm a total chicken LOL.

    @Carol, thanks, you too!

    @LG, that sounds like a good plan. I'd probably have a heart attack if I actually encountered anything like these stories LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy Halloween!

    Such cool stories, especially the one about a flannel-wearing ghost!

    ReplyDelete
  7. How fascinating. I always wanted my own friendly ghost. Have a Happy Halloween tomorrow! Our trick-or-treating might be moved to Friday since we're due for a huge thunderstorm tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My grandma lived in a house that looked like the first one, only a bit more run down. I remember visiting there when I was about 8. I remember running past the broken window at the turn in the stairwell, convinced something spooky was going to get me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Creepy cool! I love a good ghost story. We were in Williamsburg recently and got to hear about all the Colonial ghost sightings :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. You go right ahead Julie. This child has no interest in staying in a haunted anything. Let's just say that when I was a kid, we lived for a very short period of time in such a house. It wasn't any fun. So, I'll pass on that idea.

    Interesting stories though. :-)

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh man, so you are one of the people in the horror movies that stays? I'm the one that when the first chair rocks on its own...it's tail lights baby!

    I once stayed at a campground near Antietam Battlefield. The whole time I was there I felt such a heavy presence. I couldn't wait to get home!

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Cherie, that was my favorite too.

    @Christine, we are supposed to have storms here too, hope they are wrong.

    @Tonja, oh, that's creepy.

    @Johanna, I bet that was fun! I've never been there.

    @Sia, oh I definitely don't think I'd want to live in a house like that, yikes!

    @Elizabeth, LOL, no I'm actually scared to death of horror movies! I just love to read about ghosts LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My high school had The Pink Lady. Cool spooky stories Julie.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I stayed on the Queen Mary, once, which is said to be haunted. My daughter and I even went ghost hunting in the middle of the night, but we didn't find any ghosties. Maybe some day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think it would be cool to stay in a haunted house. Not to say I wouldn't end up running screaming into the night but I still think it sounds cool.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the interesting stories!I would love to visit those places someday. I'm very interested in the paranormal and have thought of visiting some of our local places that are said to be haunted. Bobby Mackey's sounds like a good one to start with, but not quite as beautiful to look at as these places you mentioned!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Awesome stories. I love haunted houses but haven't gotten to visit many. Cape Cod sounds like a fun tour.

    ......dhole

    ReplyDelete
  18. I couldn't stay in a haunted place either. At least not on purpose! LOL

    Great history / ghost story lesson!

    Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  19. New England has so many creepy places. So much fun for Halloween. Great stories. Happy Halloween! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Village Green Inn and the Dillingham House are cute haunted houses, but the Barnstable House is creepy! How did a girl drown in the basement? Eek! Great post - perfect for Halloween. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I went to Cape Cod many years ago, but I didn't know about this. Too bad, I was there in October. Next time!

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Sheena-kay, oh, that sounds fun. I'd love to hear more about the Pink Lady.

    @Gwen, I think I'd be afraid to go ghost hunting but it does sound fun. I'd just chicken out when it came time to actually do it LOL.

    @LD, my thoughts exactly. :D

    @Julie, oh, I know, I've thought about visiting there too. I love the local stories, especially Music Hall.

    @Donna, glad you liked them!

    @Yolanda, thanks and Happy Halloween to you too!

    @Michael, yeah, I think since the towns are so old compared to most in the US there are lots of creepy fun stories there.

    @Lexa, I think it was something about an underground river that ran beneath the house, and she fell through the basement. It didn't make a lot of sense to me but it was creepy!

    @TBM, I wish I had known last time I was there too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. All of those ghosts sound fascinating. I'd love to stay in a haunted inn - but only with lots of other people and if I didn't actually need to sleep, of course!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ooh, so many eerie ghost stories--perfect for Halloween! I agree, I think it'd be cool to stay at a haunted inn someday, but only if the rumored ghosts are of the more friendly persuasion, like Dr. Tripp. I might get too freaked out otherwise, haha!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great stuff, Julie. I'd definately advocate staying in one of these Inns at some point, perhaps as a celebration of the success of the Ghosts of Aquinnah...? That'd be nice.
    Happy Halloween!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love these kinds of stories! I hope you get the chance to stay in one of these inns sometime. I'd love to do that too.

    Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  27. @Annalisa, I would want lots of other people are too.

    @Heather, I agree, I only want to see the friendlys haha.

    @Beverly, oh wow, that would be amazing!

    @Dana, thanks and Happy Halloween to you as well.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Those are some interesting stories. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Cape is routinely voted as one the most haunted areas in the US! Would love to visit, if not so much for the ghosts as all the old architecture. :)

    Happy Halloween, Julie!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love the idea of a haunted hotel. In Estes Park, CO, is the Stanley Hotel, setting for The Shining. Apparently they really capitalize on this claim to fame and the movie is run 24-7 on tv. I want to stay there sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi Julie,

    All those places and all those Inns. I had to reread your article. Practically every place mentioned, is a name of a place in England.

    Of course, our ghosts have been hanging around a bit longer over here.

    Happy Howloween!

    Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Sounds like a place I'd like to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Spoooky! But sounds very interesting. Happy Halloween , Julie.

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Misha, glad you liked them!

    @EJ, thanks, I hope you had a great Halloween! :)

    @Julie, I think I would be afraid to stay there! That book and movie scared me to no end LOL.

    @Gary, oh, I know, the New England settlers here weren't very original when naming their towns LOL. I guess they wanted a piece of home. I love the town names there.

    @Susan, I hope you make it there someday, it is a great area to visit.

    @Cathy, thanks! I hope you had a Happy Halloween.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.