Vermont ghost stories, and haunted house locations you can explore
The following are 13 scary locations in Vermont that might haunt you for days (or even years) to come.
Each one of these creepy places are sure to appeal to your sense of curiosity and delight. It's fun to be a little scared, or at the very least intrigued, so enjoy some of these unusual places at your leisure. Be aware that some of these places do not allow trespassing and should only be viewed from a distance. You have been warned.
1. Hyde Manor – Sudbury, VT
This former grand hotel and resort, located in Sudbury, VT just a few miles south of Middlebury, tops the list
Though now decrepit and slowly falling victim to the ravages of time, this magnificent structure still amazes passerby's who venture through the small, Lake Hortonia community. From Rte 30, you can quite clearly see the decaying Hyde Manor, especially during fall and winter, when the trees have shed their leaves. Note: A recent visit in May 2016 yielded a courteous, yet firm “NO”, from the current owner, when we asked permission to enter the grounds and view the Hyde Manor. Please respect her wishes and do not bother her. She will NOT allow anyone access due to serious safety concerns.
As of February 2019, apparently most of the Hyde Manor has now collapsed due to nature, the weather and conditions.
2. The Hayden House – Albany, VT
Driving along Rte 14 just south of Albany village, you will see a large brick house across from the meandering Black River. As a matter of fact, the house still looks almost exactly like the image above, though many of the outbuildings and barns are long gone. The Hayden Family who lived within it's brick walls were supposedly cursed by Mercie Dale, a mother-in-law who was supposedly cheated out of her money and ultimately passed away from a long illness. She accused her son-in-law, William Hayden of poisoning her and her curse doomed generations of the family into oblivion. The property was left abandoned for years and locals often reported stories of ghostly lights and apparitions seen when passing by.
3. The Green Mountain Inn – Stowe, VT
Any self respecting Vermont inn has a resident ghost or two. The Green Mountain Inn located in Stowe is no exception. As a matter of fact, they have a very unique, tap dancing ghost with the nickname of “Boots” Berry! As it turns out, “Boots” was quite a heroic Samaritan who fell to his death after saving the life of a little girl who somehow managed to find her way onto the roof of the Inn, during a heavy snowstorm. A recent discussion with a bartender in 2015, revealed that “Boots” spirit can still be heard around the Green Mountain Inn.
4. Ricker Basin – Waterbury, VT
A Real Vermont Ghost Town
Ricker Basin was formerly a thriving community at what is now known as Little River State Park, between Waterbury and Bolton, VT. The community was established in the mid 1800's but soon was abandoned after times changed and the steep landscape, along with poor soil quality, inevitably drove people to move to easier locations. By 1934, the last few remaining families were driven out by flooding. Not much remains of the town now other than foundations and one standing house. There are stories of strange and creepy events occurring at Ricker Basin, particularly at night and one man brave enough to camp out for the night, endured a bone chilling experience that was extremely frightening.
5. The Dutton House at Shelburne Museum
Haunted House at Shelburne Museum?
It is said that the Dutton House of Shelburne Museum, contains a resident who refuses to leave, although he has been dead for many years. One museum employee reports that on her first day on the job, as a tour guide, she went upstairs and noticed an older man with a white shirt and scruffy face hunkering down under the slope of the roof. Another museum tour guide mentioned that she has heard the sound of a little girl crying.
6. The Haunted Railroad Bridge of Hartford, VT
If there is a haunted railroad bridge to be found in Vermont, the best place to find it would be in Hartford. During a bitterly frigid winter night in the late 1800's, a fire occurred on the original railroad trestle in Hartford, VT. The Montreal Express, a train with passenger cars carrying 78 people, derailed and burned. Tragically, thirty-six people were crushed, drowned or burned alive, including a boy and his father. Tortured souls are said to re-live the gruesome event in perpetuity, a haunting and tragic tale to be sure.
7. The Highgate Manor Inn
A haunted house with a dark, forboding past
In 1870, the Highgate Manor was purchased by Dr. Henry Baxter. As was the custom of the day, Dr. Baxter opened his practice in his home. It was during this time that the legend of the Highgate Manor started to grow. Many of Dr. Baxter’s children did not live past the age of ten and died of strange illnesses. The town’s people believed that the good doctor was using his children for experiments and that after their deaths their spirits have remained in the house to this day.
8. An Elaborate Tomb for a Man Worried About Being Buried Alive
In 1893, a man named Dr. Timothy Clark Smith constructed an elaborate tomb in the event that he was accidentally buried while still alive. In 1893, he died at the Logan House in Middlebury, Vermont – on Halloween ironically enough. Supposedly, he died with a fear of catching sleeping sickness, which would give the illusion of death, later to awaken in a cold, dark grave, very much alive. His body was interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, VT. in a specially prepared grave – complete with a burial arch with stairs, two rooms and a viewing window!
9. Huntington Gorge – Swimming Hole of Death
Thousands of people head to the Huntington River Gorge every summer. But many lives have been lost in one popular spot and its frightening death toll has continued to climb over the last half-century. A sign at the falls indicates the tragic fates of 22 visitors since 1950. Huntington Gorge is beautiful, captivating and potentially deadly for those who are careless. A visit to the gorge is exciting yet discernibly eerie, once you read the sign and contemplate the number of souls that have been lost. Some have said that the gorge contains a vengeful spirit that must feed it's hunger every year with a new victim.
10. The Grave of the Ancient Egyptian Mummy in Middlebury, VT
Rumor has it that a local junk dealer, named Henry Sheldon, purchased an Egyptian mummy from a New York antique dealer in 1866. He kept the mummy in his own house, along with a large collection of junk and trinkets (which eventually became a museum of sorts) until he died in 1907. 1883 B.C., was when the young son of an Egyptian king, named Amun-Her-Khepesh-Ef passed away and was mummified for all of eternity. The mummy was the infant son of Sen Woset III, King of Egypt, and his wife Hathornhotpe.
After Sheldon's death, the then current museum director found the mummy and decided it best to bury him in the local graveyard. In 1945, the mummy was cremated and the ashes finally interred in a burial plot at the West Cemetery in Middlebury, VT.
11. The Curse of Brunswick Springs
Brunswick Springs is located well off the main road in Brunswick, VT., a town of approximately 100 residents in the Northeast Kingdom. The story of the curse begins in 1748, when Abenakis lived near the springs and relied on the natural healing powers of the waters. After a soldier attempted to take advantage of the spring's waters, the Abenakis objected. A struggle ensued resulting in the death of an Abenaki man and a baby. The child’s mother, a sorceress, is said to have cursed the springs. Ever since then, every attempt to build hotels on the property resulted in destruction. The place is hallowed grounds and is still said to be very active with spirits and activity.
12. The Bowman Monument of Cuttingsville, VT
If you drive along Route 103 in Cuttingsville, the eerie site of a ghostly white figure standing outside the door of the Laurel Glen Mausoleum with a wreath and key in one hand and a top hat in the other may momentarily startle you. Strange and eerie occurrences have been reported around the mausoleum at night. The mansion across the street from the cemetery seems to be the focal point for hauntings. Locals believe that the ghosts of Bowman and his family still walk within the mansion they had once enjoyed during life.
13. Hope Cemetery of Barre, VT
We have saved the most fascinating place for last. Many cemeteries serve to hold monuments of death but Hope Cemetery is equally a place to honor monuments of life. Many of the ornately designed granite monuments are works of art and tell the story of the person and families interred below or within.
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