Houghton Mansion
Address: 172 Church Street, North Adams, MA 01247
Website: http://houghton-mansion.tripod.com/
Contact
information for anything paranormal related to the Houghton Mansion:
Josh Mantello, Past President of the Masonic Temple
Phone: (413) 652-0324
Email: jmantello@msn.com
The Houghton Mansion is one of New England's most well
known haunted locations
General Info (From Wikipedia)
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Built in the 1890’s
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The mansion was built for A.C.
Houghton and his family.
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Mr. A.C. Houghton was the town’s
first mayor ever elected; the mansion was built for him after he served his
term as mayor.
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Privately owned building, is
currently used as a masonic temple.
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The Freemasons, who purchased the
mansion from one of the daughters of A.C. Houghton, built a temple in the back
of the mansion and used it for their ceremonies.
·
The rocky wall of boulders
surrounding the property like a fence – those boulders are from the Hoosac
Tunnel – the Bloody Pitt. For more information on this other haunt, read on.
·
Home to the Bershire Paranormal Group
·
The Houghton
Mansion is one of New England's most well
known haunted locations.
History (From
Wikipedia)
Houghton Mansion/Masonic Lodge, North Adams - Chauffer John
Widders"Chauffer John" Widders was a happy man living in North Adams during the early 1900s. He worked for a well-known family, headed by wealthy patriarch Albert C. Houghton - who had served as the city's mayor. Apparently, Widders was treated like a member of the family, doting on the Houghton children, especially the youngest daughter, Mary, Sybil Hutton was a childhood friend of Mary's whom he had watched grow to womanhood. Through careful investment, Widders had saved a nest egg himself and looked forward to a peaceful old age.
Everything changed, however, on August 1, 1911, when a family motor outing turned deadly. Widders was at the wheel of the big Pierce-Arrow as it slowly climbed the daunting Pownal Center Hill. In the vehicle with was Mr. Houghton and his daughter Mary, and they were accompanied by Dr. and Mrs. Robert Hutton (Sybil Hutton was a childhood friend of Mary’s). Mrs. Houghton did not go along for this ride and chose to stay home that morning. Workmen in the road forced him to take a wider path and another vehicle provided another obstacle. Suddenly, the gravel shoulder gave out, sending the auto and its passengers plunging down the slope. Sybil Houghton was crushed by the car's roof and killed. Mary Houghton was pronounced dead a few hours later. The other passengers were shaken but not seriously hurt.
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| JOHN WIDDERS WAS DRIVING A PIERCE ARROW - THEN CRASHED IT |
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| NEWSPAPER CLIPPING TELLING OF THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT |
As the shocked town grieved, Chauffer John took the blame on himself. The investigator for the State of Vermont exonerated Widders of all wrongdoing, blaming the accident instead on the soft shoulder of the road. But Widders still blamed himself. Rejecting attempts of comfort from friends, he walked, alone, into a barn behind the mansion. He never walked out. At 4:00am on the morning of August 2nd, he shot himself in the head in the cellar of the Houghton Barn. Friends found him later with a bullet in his head. Mr. Widders had shot himself with a horse pistol. Mr. Houghton died on the 11th of the month. Family patriarch A.C. Houghton never fully recovered, emotionally, from the tragedy. He died on the 11th of that month.
Following the tragedy, one the the surviving Houghton daughters,
Florence, moved into the house with her husband, William Arthur Gallup, and
made their home there, looking after Mrs. Houghton until her death in 1916.
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| A,C, HOUGHTON |
Alleged Hauntings
The
building allegedly holds the ghosts of a suicide victim; A.C. Houghton himself;
and the spirit of his daughter Mary, who died in a tragic car accident August
1, 1914. It is also believed to be haunted by Mr. Houghton’s wife and a
darker haunt in John Widders. A notable haunt is the apparition of a little
girl, who has no relation to the family. In 1920, the mansion was sold to the
Masonic Lodge, which still uses the building as a headquarters. The masons
state that before the mansion was built, another house was located on the
property, and the mansion was built on top of the house, leaving the basement
intact. Many times over the years, ghostly
footsteps have been heard in the building, but no spirit has been seen.
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| HOUGHTON FAMILY PORTRAIT |
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| TOMBSTONES OF THE HOUGHTON FAMILY |
The Ghost Adventures Team Investigation
Lock Down Location: Houghton Mansions front entry way, Mary Houghton’s room,
Investigation Held on : June 7, 2008
Interview of Rachel Branch and Josh Mantello
First on their visit to North Adams to investigate the Houghton Mansion, the Ghost Adventures team met up with the step great-great-granddaughter of A.C. Houghton, Ms. Rachel Branch, paying a visit to her home. From there they then went to the entrance of the Hoosac Tunnel from the North Adams portal. They enter the tunnel, walking in and take video of their walk long enough to catch the sound of a brick maybe falling down from the old brick ceiling. Zak Bagans saw something run across the tracks in that pitch dark tunnel, but if it was a guy or an animal, he wasn’t sure.
Later, back at the Houghton Mansion, the Ghost Adventures team interviews Josh Mantello, the former president of the Masonic temple. According to Josh, there have been reports of unexplained footsteps are most common on the stairs leading to the third floor, where John Widders once slept.People say John Widders still hasn’t forgiven himself. People have reported feeling an icy blast of air on the stairs as the unforgiven spirit of Chauffer John Widders passes by, heading up the stairs as he once headed up the fateful hill.
During the Ghost Adventures interviews with different mason temple members, a few mentioned the strange happenings they have witnessed. Such that there are certain doors to the laundry rooms that will shake (shiver almost).
Josh, showed Zak and the team to the second floor of the mansion to Mary’s room, a room with dark green wallpaper with white floral patterns. The room has it’s own fireplace. Josh stated that people have been struck in that room and some have experienced sensations of sadness and sensations of being touched.
Josh went on to say that they have done their own investigation of the haunting and has captured an evp with some screaming. He claims another evp recorded said ‘get out’. He says the evp of “get out” has been recorded upstairs and downstairs.
The evp of “get out” was recorded on the 3rd floor. The recording was played for Zak, and the voice could be heard on the evp saying “get out” and is a male voice.
Josh says a majority of the paranormal activity happens on the 3rd floor.
Another location of the mansion that is said to have a lot of spirit activity is in one of the servant rooms. It is in this room that a male apparition was seen very clearly.
The basement of the mansion is an original cellar that belonged to another house that was previously on the site of the mansion, but that house was moved to another site. Josh stated that there is a spirit of a little girl in that cellar which was probably attached to the previous house. The spirit of this little girl is very playful, you’ll be tapped, or she’ll touch you and play with your hair.
During the Lock Down: Just before 10pm, one of the motion sensors that was placed in the front entryway went off with no visible reason for it being triggered. Video of the event shows a shadow go from A.C. Houghtons office and goes right through the wall on the right.
Emf detectors showed spikes on the meter and Zak and the team experienced coldspots. The sound of a little girl’s holler is clearly heard on the footage when Zak is noting the meter spikes.
Just before midnight the team goes to Mary’s room. Nick states that he keeps hearing footsteps in Mary’s room. The sound of the footsteps is loud enough for viewers to hear from the video footage.
Zak experiments with a black light to see if the light attracks spirits to it. After waving it around, the then took pictures using an infared night vision camera that also records the room temperature with each picture taken. The majority of the pictures show a temperature of 75 degrees, except for one that dropped to 64 degrees in the difference of just a minute (photo taken at 12:18am) and it is in this photo that mist formation is caught on camera next to a dresser in Mary’s room.
They leave Mary’s room to go to the Mason Temple. The entrance to the mason temple apparently is through a closet door and it is inside that closet that there is another door. This leads to the temple.
Inside the temple Nick asks if there is someone there that did not want them there. He went on to say that if they did not want them there, they would leave if the spirit would make a sound for them as a sign. As soon as this is said, the loud sound of a door opening is heard but the door in question that opened is not visible.
Next the GA Team take the investigation to the 3rd floor servant quarters of Mr. Widders room. It is 3:09am. The black is used again, and an emf meter is in the center of the room with a camera focused on it to record spikes. Two other cameras are also filming in the room.
The team leaves Mr. Widders room and head for the basement. The team members have to wear face mask because they’ve been told that the room has asbestos.
Zake takes on the basement on his own while Nick and Aaron go back to the Masonic temple.
4:17am, Zak is still in the basement alone when he hears a noise, then he captures an evp of an older man saying “ran for help”. Maybe Mr. Widders did this when he caused that fatal car accident.
5:23 am the Lockdown ends and Josh unlocks the front door letting out the G.A. Team.
Evidence Edit
· Apparition: A faint, dark shadow quickly and briefly moves on a wall, sets off the motion-sensing alarms set up in the hallway, and vanishes.
· Apparition/temperature change: A digital photo taken by Zak shows a small mist that appears in midair with a sudden temperature drop (from 75°F to 64°F) that is recorded on an infrared camera.
· EVP: A young girl's voice can be heard. At the exact same time, the EMF meter visibly spikes.
· Footsteps/sounds: When the team is in a large central room, footsteps and a door slamming are heard in an outer hallway.
· EVP: When Zak was in the basement of the Houghton Mansion, you could hear an elderly man saying "ran for help".
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| CELLAR |
G.A. Team Findings: After being let out, Zak tells Josh that from what they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears and what they felt, he thinks that of the people they interviewed, their stories will be backed up by what they captured there during their investigation. His last words “all those stories are very credible.”
The evidence was taken to Las Vegas, Nevada to have some of it analyzed and be given a second opinion by Osvaldo Luna, Video and Photo technician for Las Vegas Paranormal and Micheal Carrico, a lead investigator for the same Paranormal investigators. Upon review of the evidence, Las Vegas Paranormal group’s opinion is that the evidence was class A proof of a haunting, and much of it by the spirit of the little girl.
Ghost Adventures Season 1 Episode 2 Houghton Mansion
No copyright infringement intended! All Footage belongs to Travel Channel & Ghost Adventures!
Tours
Hosted by Bershire Paranormal
No Public Tours Scheduled at this time.
Sleepovers and
Investigations
To be placed on a waiting list or
information on booking for 2012 please email
nick@berkshireparanormal.com
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Planning
Your Trip to North Adams, Massachusetts and the Houghton Mansion
The city of North Adams, Massachusetts is only a short drive to
five ski areas, a dozen golf courses, the Green Mountains of Vermont,
Upstate New York, as well as many swimming, fishing, boating and
camping facilities.
The city also has their own airport.
North Adams Airport
836
State Road, North Adams, Massachusetts
(413) 662-3000
Harriman-and-West
Airport, also known as Harriman & West or Harriman-West, is a public
airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of
North Adams, a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Mayor’s Office of
Tourism
| Contact: |
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| Mailing Address: |
City of North Adams
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Office of Tourism
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6 West Main Street
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North Adams, MA 01247
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| Location: |
6 West
Main Street, 1st Floor Enter through door on West Main Street and walk straight through Berkshire Rides lobby to the Office of Tourism.. |
| Phone: |
413-664-6180
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Hours:
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8:30 a.m.
- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday Closed from 12:30 - 1:30 daily |
Places to Stay – from the City
Directory
Places to Eat
Places to Stay
When visiting
North Adams to see Houghton Mansion, we recommend staying at either the Holiday
Inn Berkshires or staying at The Porches Inn. Both locations are only a few
blocks from Houghton Mansion (less than a mile). Here is information for hotel
accommodations:
Holiday Inn Berkshires
40 Main Street
North Adams,
Massachusetts
01247
Hotel Front
Desk: (413) 663 – 6500
Hotel Fax: (413)
663 - 6380
The Holiday Inn Hotel Berkshires in Western Massachusetts has beautifully
appointed guest rooms. We are nestled in the heart of the Berkshires, the ideal
choice to explore all the Berkshire museums, theatres, historic sites and
outdoor activities.
Conveniently
located in downtown North Adams, MA the hotel is minutes to Mass Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA),
Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown Theatre Festival,
MCLA & Williams College. Within a
scenic drive enjoy Tanglewood,
Norman Rockwell Museum, Hancock Shaker Village and S. VT attractions. The Berkshires
yields a bounty of opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.
In the
winter months, guests enjoy skiing, boarding and snow tubing at nearby Berkshire East, or Jiminy Peak. During fair weather months, golf, hiking
and biking are popular activities with a wide variety of courses, parks, and trails
to satisfy novice to expert enthusiasts.
The Porches Inn
231 RIVER STREET
NORTH ADAMS, MA
01247 |
Mailing Address:
231 River Street
P.O. Box 954 North Adams, MA 01247
Phone: (413) 664 - 0400
Fax: (413) 664 - 0401 Innkeeper Melahat Karakaya
Email the Innkeeper:
The
following is information provided by The Porches Inn’s website:
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While
you’re in the area of North Adams, you may like to check out this other local
haunt:
Hoosac Tunnel – The Bloody Pit
Hoosac Tunnel
Florida, MA 01343
The Hoosac Tunnel is an enduring engineering marvel, a
railroad line that plows nearly five miles through a mountain. But engineering
feats come with a price, often in terms of human life. Oddly, it's not clear just
how many men died constructing the Hoosac Tunnel, though it's certain that many
did and most estimates say close to 200 were killed. Soon after construction
began, the crew nicknamed the tunnel project "The Bloody Pit."
In 1865, two miners were killed in an explosion at the site. A third worker, Kelly Ringo, the man who had accidentally detonated the blast, walked away unhurt. One year later, Ringo's body was found in the hole; he had been strangled to death. No living person was apprehended for the crime, if there was one. Some locals believe it was the ghosts of the two miners exacting revenge.
There are countless tales of spooky happenings in the Hoosac, where the ghosts of the many men who died there may still haunt the tunnel, lurking in the dim cold and dampness. One thing is clear, grown men have been known to blanch after spending just a few minutes inside the tunnel after dark. Some report seeing swaying lanterns and hearing wails.
**CAUTION: The Hoosac Tunnel is private property and trespassers will be prosecuted. **
In 1865, two miners were killed in an explosion at the site. A third worker, Kelly Ringo, the man who had accidentally detonated the blast, walked away unhurt. One year later, Ringo's body was found in the hole; he had been strangled to death. No living person was apprehended for the crime, if there was one. Some locals believe it was the ghosts of the two miners exacting revenge.
There are countless tales of spooky happenings in the Hoosac, where the ghosts of the many men who died there may still haunt the tunnel, lurking in the dim cold and dampness. One thing is clear, grown men have been known to blanch after spending just a few minutes inside the tunnel after dark. Some report seeing swaying lanterns and hearing wails.
**CAUTION: The Hoosac Tunnel is private property and trespassers will be prosecuted. **
Basically to get to the West Portal you need to get onto Route 8A in North Adams (not to be mistaken with the 8A that runs from Dalton MA to Whitingham VT). Once on that road, there is a small turn off on the east side about 1/4 mile north of West Shaft Rd. the turn off is dirt and is a few hundred feet north of an old concrete bridge. There is a gate near the front, if its closed you will have to proceed on foot. Follow the dirt road for about 1/6 of a mile, where you will happen upon a parking area. From here you can explore anything. Just make sure you realize that by walking onto the tracks you are putting yourself as somewhat a risk, and you are trespassing. Refer to the West Portal map on the maps page to help find things.
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| MAP OF HOOSAC TUNNEL |
OTHER POSSIBLE LOCAL HAUNTS IN
THE VICINITY OF THE HOUGHTON MANSION
Old Plunket Hill Hospital –
noise and people crying, hospital now converted into condos.
Berkshire Place, located on
South Street in Pittsfield is said to still be watched by old nurses and
doctors. Apparitions of a doctor and children dressed in their Sunday’s
dress.
Roebuck Hotel
Tilehurst train station
13 Tyler Street – home that is
haunted.
Maplewood apartments – ghost of
girls. Past residents have reported waking to see a ghot looking down at
them.
Conte Milddle School –
Elevators in the gym open by themselves, Door to the attic shuts and opens on
its own.
McCann Technical School – “D-wing”
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