Ghosts of the SouthCoast

by Tim Weisberg

  Even when they’re not renovating, however, the family has endured amazing levels of paranormal activity. From phantom footsteps to full-fledged apparitions, the phenomena in the Samuel West House run the complete gamut. Voices are often heard in unoccupied rooms, bells will ring on their own and balls of light have materialized out of thin air and then dissipated just as quickly. Unattached voices will call out residents of the house by name. Horrible smells, like something out a sewer or a garbage can, will permeate the house with no known source. And, above all, nobody wants to go in the attic because of how strong the activity is up there.

  Katie contacted author and analytical folklorist Christopher Balzano when he put out word through his website, the Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads (www.masscrossroads.com), that he was looking for stories of paranormal activity in the area. Balzano and a group of paranormal investigators, including Spooky Southcoast cohost and science advisor Matt Moniz, have since spent the past several years documenting what haunts the West house.

  What they’ve found is some of the most intriguing evidence of the existence of ghosts. As documented in Balzano’s book Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting and the accompanying DVD, EVPs are captured with relative ease in the house. The spirits actually speak to the investigators by name, both aloud and through EVPs, and ask about them when they haven’t been there in a while. Talcum powder sprinkled on the floor or bookshelf is soon littered with handprints, footprints and written messages even when nobody is in the room to make them.

  Even Balzano’s DVD was affected by the ghosts of the Samuel West House, with EVPs appearing in the footage captured during the editing process. In one particular scene, Balzano’s camera is being drained of all its battery power as a disembodied voice imprints itself on the camera’s audio, which sounds like an upset male saying something about a death in a plane crash. Andrew Lake of Greenville Paranormal Research in Rhode Island, who was present on the investigation and edited the film, confirmed through newspaper research that a plane crash occurred very close to the home in 1957.

  Over time, Katie and Johnny have learned to live with the ghosts, and the ghosts have learned to live with them. While it can still become unnerving on occasion, the spirits of the Samuel West House have become a part of their family.

  NEW BEDFORD

  New Bedford is known as the Whaling City because of its deep heritage in the whaling industry. Made famous by Herman Melville’s 1851 classic Moby Dick, it still remains today as the number one fishing port in the world.

  Originally part of the Dartmouth settlement, New Bedford seceded and incorporated under its new name in 1787. As the whaling industry helped it grow, it officially became a city in 1847. Around that time, New Bedford experienced an immigration boom, mostly from Portugal. The influence of Portuguese culture is still strong within the city today.

  New Bedford was also a significant location in African American history. The famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a former slave, settled in New Bedford in 1838. It was here that the seeds were planted for the crusader against racial injustice that Douglass would eventually become.

  The Haunted Armory

  In paranormal circles, New Bedford is probably best known for the National Guard Armory on Sycamore Street, because it was featured in an early but memorable episode of the SyFy Channel show Ghost Hunters, which starred, among others, New Bedford native Steve Gonsalves. In the episode, Pilgrim Films sound man Frank deAngelis is knocked to the ground when an unseen spirit passes through him. According to members of the Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS, the featured team on Ghost Hunters) that I’ve spoken with, deAngelis was not a believer in the paranormal prior to that experience. It disturbed him so badly that he left the crew of the program shortly thereafter.

  The haunted armory in New Bedford, as seen on the SyFy Channel’s Ghost Hunters.

  The castlelike armory was built in 1903 but was used less and less through the 1990s as it fell into disrepair. It was eventually shut down and put on the auction block, but nobody has yet come up with the funds necessary to take ownership of the property and then make the necessary repairs to get it up to code.

  The current condition of the building is even more of a nightmare than the ghosts that haunt it, as an upper floor has reportedly rotted away completely, crashing into the level below it. Flooding is another problem as well.

  When it was still staffed by the National Guard, the guardsmen would often report seeing a black-hooded figure lurking about in the shadows, and an unseen force that would shove them from behind. Whatever it was also had enough strength to violently slam some of the heavy steel doors within the armory.

  The building is now closed permanently, and trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  The Ghouls of the Schools

  Numerous students of New Bedford schools who have heard our radio show have contacted us to say they’ve had experiences in their school. One elementary school is rumored to be haunted by a former principal that died on the school grounds, although there is no verification of any such death.

  Other rumored but unconfirmed deaths are said to be the cause of alleged haunts at New Bedford High School. The activity reported includes slamming lockers and sinks that turn themselves on. There is also a story about someone who hanged himself in the projection booth of the high school auditorium, whose ghost remains behind, keeping an eternal watch over the stage. Lights going on and off and curtains closing on its own are some of the most frequent reports associated with this spirit.

  Nothing to See at the Z

  Ironically, the same story is attached to the historic Zeiterion Theater in downtown New Bedford. The claim is that shortly after the 1923 opening of the venue, profits weren’t as great as anticipated and, distraught, the owner of the theater hanged himself in the projection booth. According to an internet report, there are rooms without doors, doors without rooms and hallways that lead to nowhere.

  Considering how cozy the theater already is, it’s doubtful anyone would construct a venue in such a fashion. In 2007, when I inquired about it, management at the Z denied any such claims—although they wouldn’t let me snoop around to check it out for myself, either.

  Wamsutta Club

  Not far from the Zeiterion Theater is the Wamsutta Club, one of the finest private clubs in the country. It originally was organized by Charles Warren Clifford in 1866 as a baseball club, but it wasn’t long before it grew into a social club and was formally chartered in 1889. Over the years it was housed in a few different locations before settling in the former mansion of James Arnold, its current location, in 1919. The mansion was built in 1921 and has since been expanded to accommodate the club’s members.

  The Wamsutta Club in New Bedford has its own high-class hauntings.

  Not only was the club moving into classy digs, but they were classy digs that had been owned by classy people. Arnold had been involved in the whaling industry and had amassed a great fortune, which he used to fund his lavish gardens that he would open to the public. His wife, Sara, the daughter of his business partner William Rotch, was also known for her work with the poorer citizens of New Bedford.

  In its time, the Wamsutta Club has featured some of the most prominent citizens of New Bedford in its membership—from the whaling magnates to those who made their fortunes in the booming textile business of the early 1900s, the club was a who’s who of the Whaling City.

  However, the Great Depression meant the club had to lower its membership dues and, in doing so, opened its doors to a much wider portion of SouthCoast citizens. Even today, the club is affordable enough for middle-class families to enjoy a taste of the upper-class life.

  For as long as its history may be, there are actually few reports of paranormal activity that come out of the club. That may be more because of the tight-lipped nature of private club membership, but Eric LaVoie, the founder of Dartmouth Anomalies Research Team (DART), heard from an employee of the club that the place was act
ually quite haunted. He reported hearing the service elevator going off on its own, when he and the person he was working with were the only people in the building. He also reported that many employees refused to go in the basement or the boiler room because they always feel as if they are being watched.

  After contacting club manager Cindy Bouchard, Eric received clearance from the board of directors to become the first paranormal team to investigate the Wamsutta Club.

  Eric assembled a team that included Linda Lynch of Veils Edge Paranormal, Andrew Lake of Greenville Paranormal Research and EVP researcher Mike Markowicz, and the investigation was filmed for a DVD by Aldimar Video Productions and covered by a local journalist named Bob Eckstrom. With access to areas that are even off-limits to the paying members, the investigators said they felt no uneasy feelings anywhere in the building—except in the basement and the boiler room. They detected no high electromagnetic fields, or EMF, that would cause people to have the sensation of being watched. Also while investigating down there, they captured a number of intriguing EVPs, including one that said “don’t be afraid,” another that said “it’s evil; pick up the hatchet” and one that called Eric by name.

  Eric also asked if the spirits minded the investigators being there, to which he received a reply of “I don’t” as an EVP.

  Another area that proved to be active was the private apartments that are within the club, for those who choose to stay there. One resident described frequently waking up to odd sounds and the feeling of an unseen presence.

  Linda, who is a medium, detected the spirit of Sara Arnold still attached to the property as well as the spirit of a man standing near the bar in the Rounder’s Club located in the basement. She also reported feeling as though someone had been killed in that downstairs portion and the body was dumped in some sort of river, although she’s found nothing in historical records to verify it yet.

  Those who had the chance to investigate the Wamsutta Club agree that there is great potential for a residual haunting on the property, and that there may even be a number of intelligent spirits still hanging around. If so, let’s hope they’ve paid their membership dues.

  Fort Taber–Fort Rodman

  After the British successfully raided and burned much of the SouthCoast’s homes in 1778, local merchants started pulling together the funds and manpower necessary to erect some means of protection along the shores of New Bedford Harbor at Clark’s Point.

  At first, they put up a wooden beacon in 1797; a lighthouse followed in 1804. But, following the War of 1812, the need for better defense had more citizens concerned about protecting the city and its growing whaling industry from outside invaders. In the late 1840s, it was decided that a permanent military fort was needed at Clark’s Point, but it wasn’t until 1857 that they purchased the lands necessary to do so. Meanwhile, the Civil War broke out, and on May 11, 1861, Fort Taber became operational. Its construction was overseen by Captain Henry Martyn Robert, who would later devise Robert’s Rules of Order, which are still in use today.

  Ghostly wars are still raging at the Fort Taber–Fort Rodman complex on the southern tip of New Bedford.

  Following the Civil War, more additions were made to the fort, which was renamed in 1898 for Lieutenant Colonel William Rodman, a New Bedford native who died in the Civil War. The two batteries next to the fort were constructed in 1899, and the installation remained operational through World Wars I and II before eventually being decommissioned and sold to the city; it is now a state park.

  Many Civil War sites are imprinted with residual energy from those horrific battles. Gettysburg, for example, is considered by many to be the most haunted site in the world. The brutality of the dawn of modern warfare, combined with the emotional turmoil of fighting a war against one’s own countrymen, made the psychic scars of the conflict worse than any other before or since. It’s not unimaginable that even a small degree of those feelings have also imprinted themselves on the fort at Clark’s Point.

  As with most military haunts, phantom gunfire is frequently reported. Although the main facility of the fort is boarded up, there are a few spots where you can peer through worn-away stone; often, ghostly soldiers are seen patrolling the inside. The batteries feature a number of former storerooms that are now open and empty, and visitors at night have seen shadow figures darting among those storerooms, walking along the main structure’s roof or seen in the lighthouse at the top of the fort.

  There is also a Tiger tank from World War II on display outside the Fort Taber–Fort Rodman Military Museum, and at least one witness has reported seeing the apparition of a mechanic checking out the tank.

  Seamen’s Bethel

  New Bedford of the early 1800s featured a unique dichotomy. There were still the remnants of the Puritans and Quakers who had originally settled the SouthCoast, frequently crossing paths with the rough-and-tumble lot that comprised the crews of the whaling vessels that sailed out of the harbor. Especially along the waterfront, there was a seedy underbelly to the Whaling City that caused many residents to worry about the eternal souls of the whalers and sailors.

  One group came together in 1830 as the New Bedford Port Society and was “dedicated to the moral and religious improvement of Seamen.” In early 1831, they constructed a chapel with the intention of making it nondenominational but open to every sailor in order to worship and pray before heading out to sea. The Seamen’s Bethel opened in May of 1832 and was made famous as the Whaleman’s Chapel in Melville’s Moby Dick in 1851.

  Thirty-one black-framed cenotaphs adorn the chapel walls, representative of those men and ships lost at sea. There are still services held today to pray for the souls of those who never sailed home and perished in Davy Jones’s Locker.

  Melville wrote a famous scene in which a clergyman gives a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon on a pulpit that looks like the bow of a whaling vessel. However, that was a bit of creative license on his part; no such pulpit existed. When the 1956 film version of the book, starring Gregory Peck, introduced a whole new generation to the story of the great white whale, tourism increased at the Seamen’s Bethel yet most remained disappointed in not seeing the peculiar pulpit as described by Melville; in 1961, one was built, and it remains one of the most enduring images from the Bethel.

  This pulpit was inspired by Moby Dick and constructed in 1961. Does a ghostly clergyman offer his spectral sermons from its bow?

  The Seamen’s Bethel welcomes all beliefs, including belief in the paranormal.

  Melville visited Seamen’s Bethel in 1840 while the seeds of Moby Dick were fertilizing in his mind, and the spot where he sat is immortalized with an inscription. Fans of his work often come here to see the spot and soak up the historic atmosphere within its walls—but they’re not prepared for the spirit that may greet them.

  The ghost of a former clergyman who served at Seaman’s Bethel is said to roam the chapel, and his footsteps can be heard on the creaking wooden floor. The legend says that he was distraught over being unable to get the rowdy whalemen to see the error of their wicked ways and beg for the Lord’s forgiveness, so he committed the ultimate sin and killed himself in the chapel itself, most likely by hanging. He hoped to make the people of the waterfront realize what true sin is, and that his death would make them repent. Modern reports say that those who enter the chapel and are disrespectful of it or God will feel the clergyman’s wrath.

  The Beast of Brooklawn Park

  Located in the city’s north end, Brooklawn Park features picturesque running and walking trails and is the home to youth baseball and softball leagues. It’s a relaxing spot in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city, but it’s also the home to a mysterious creature that was seen in the late 1960s.

  Witnesses described a manlike creature with hoofed feet running through the park and emitting a high-pitched laugh. They described as a real flesh-and-blood being, one that would stop and stare at park patrons before dashing off again.

  Sightings seemed to have
dropped off after the initial rash around 1968, but many who heard the stories back then still won’t visit the park at night.

  The Ghost that Got Away

  The Charles W. Morgan now resides in the seaport of Mystic, Connecticut, but the whaling ship and the ghost that haunts it originally belonged in New Bedford.

  Built in the city and launched from its harbor in 1841, the Morgan made over thirty-seven whaling voyages in eighty years of service. It eventually fell into disrepair, however, and was moved to a private residence in Dartmouth until it sailed to Mystic in 1941 to begin extensive restoration.

  The Morgan is now one of the top tourist attractions at Mystic Seaport and is said to be inhabited by the spirit of Gerald, a nineteenth-century seaman who still works on the ship as he did more than one hundred years ago.

  The initial investigation was done by the Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group, under the direction of Dr. Andrew Laird, after receiving numerous reports about spirit activity on the Morgan through the years. When the group received three similar reports from three different groups that described an encounter with a spirit aboard the ship, it decided to investigate.

  Aboard the ship, Laird saw the apparition of Gerald, marking only the second time in his twenty-plus years of investigating the paranormal that he saw an actual ghost. Gerald’s presence may have been tied into the fact that the Morgan was about to undergo an extensive restoration of the main hull that should be completed soon. The project, estimated to cost around $3.5 million, involved replacing the 30 percent of original timber still on the ship, which falls below the waterline. It was replaced by new live oak, including some two hundred trees donated from along the Mississippi coast that were uprooted in Hurricane Katrina—which, naturally, could bring some of their own ghosts with them as well.