Paranormal Investigation: North Adams, Massachusetts

Paranormal Investigation: North Adams, Massachusetts - 2005

Site Type: Historical Destination - Masonic Lodge
Location: North Adams, Massachusetts
Date: March 6, 2005
Client Status: Open to the Public
Address: Houghton Mansion, 172 Church Street, North Adams, MA

Case Report

In the 1890's the Houghton Mansion belonged to the former mayor of North Adams Massachusetts, Albert C. Houghton and his family. It is now a Masonic lodge and home to the Greylock Lodge A.F. & A.M. and the Naomi Chapter of the Eastern Star. The mansion has been identified as haunted and has been previously investigated by The New England Ghost Project.

History:

Obtaining the actual history of this notable residence seemed to be a daunting task. ISIS received and obtained various versions of the tragedy.

Account 1:

According to various Internet and newspaper reports, one fatal day in the summer of 1911, fate paid a final visit to the Houghton family. On August 1, 1911, Sybil Hutton and Mary Houghton accompanied by, Albert Houghton, the first mayor of North Adams Massachusetts, set out for a drive with Chauffer John Widders. Later in their journey Widders was forced to swerve around a road work crew on a narrow mountain road. The shoulder of the road gave out and sent the car and its occupants down the sharp embankment. Sybil Hutton died at the scene: crushed to death. Mary Houghton, who was gravely injured, was driven to the hospital by a doctor who had arrived at the scene of the accident, but she died in route. Both Mr. Houghton and Mr. Widders suffered only minor physical injuries.

Nonetheless, the psychological pain that both Houghton and Widders had to endure was both unbearable and costly: their grief resulted in their deaths. Widders, overcome by the guilt he felt about the deaths, went behind the barn located on the premises and shot himself and Mr. Houghton soon after died of grief.

Account 2:

Literary sources of the accident vary in myriad details. David J. Pitkin, in Ghosts of the Northeast, relates a different tale. Pitkin states that the Houghtons along with Sybil Hutton and John Widders went for a mountain ride to Bennington Vermont. After the initial accident, Pitkin contends that Mary was rendered unconscious and brought home by an ambulance; and that Albert Houghton entered a long period of grief that led to a death by stroke three years after the incident. Interestingly, in all accounts, little is mentioned of Mr. Houghton's wife.

Account 3:

According to the current owners, the Houghton tragedy involved John Widders, Mary Houghton, A.C. Houghton, and Sybil Hutton, but there is some uncertainty pertaining to the identity of Sybil. There exists speculation that she may have been the mayor's wife or a friend of Mary's. Additionally, to the best of their knowledge, the mayor died three days after the initial accident. There has been speculation that he died of grief or a heart attack. Widders committed suicide in the old barn.

Clarification on the Houghton Tragedy:

The ISIS team decided to put in a call to the town historian, Mr. Paul Marino, to see if he could shed any light on the discrepancies revealed in the retelling of the Houghton tragedy. Mr. Marino was quite comfortable and familiar with the Houghton case and was extremely helpful in our investigation.

Per Mr. Marino, Mr. and Mrs. Houghton had five daughters: Florence, Susan, Laura, Janet, and Mary. Laura died as a child. The only daughter present during the accident in 1911 was Mary Houghton. Further, according to Mr. Marino, the tragic event did occur on August 1, 1911. The male victims, Albert Houghton and John Widders, escaped with minor injuries, Sybil Hutton, who had accompanied the family, was a longtime, childhood friend of Mary Houghton and daughter of W. G. Cady, and niece of H. Torrey Cady, the second mayor of North Adams. Albert Houghton was brought home from the accident with minor injuries and expected to survive, but sadly died ten days later on August 11, 1911.

John Widders per all reports was highly emotional after the accident. Widders remained under close watch by advisement as people were deeply concerned for his well being. Chauffeur Wilkins remained with Widders until 2 A.M. on August 11, and another unknown friend took over watch after that. Widders advised his friend that he was going to tend to the horses, however he did not return. After a reasonable amount of time passed Widders' friend grew concerned and went looking for him. Widders was nowhere to be found. Panicked, Widders' friend called the police and the resulting search found Widders dead in the cellar of the horse barn. He had committed suicide with a horse pistol.

Marino also clarified what happened to Mr. Houghton's wife. Mr. Houghton's wife was not in the Pierce-Arrow that killed her daughter and her friend. Her daughter Florence and husband, W.A. Gallup, the son of a Methodist Minister, moved in with Mrs. Houghton after the death of A.C. Houghton and remained with her until her death by natural causes in 1918. Ownership of the property was then passed to Mr. and Mrs. Gallup and the location was later sold to the Masons in 1920.

The location has belonged to the Masons ever since. However, the group could not have possibly imagined that they purchased far more than they bargained for.

Special Note: The ISIS team would like to give special thanks to Paul Marino for taking the time to talk to us and answer our questions.

A final note on the Houghton family: According to a genealogy search retrieved from The Houghton Surname Project at:

Houghton Genealogy

The following genealogy information was retrieved: (REVISED)

Albert C. Houghton was the son of James Houghton and Chloe Carpenter. He was born on April 12, 1844 in Stamford Vermont. At the age of 22, Albert C. Houghton married Cordelia Jeannette Smith on September 17, 1866. Cordelia Jeannette Smith Houghton was born on Jan. 25, 1845 and died on Feb. 26, 1918. The Houghton's had five children, all of them female.

Laura Cordelia Houghton was born September 30, 1867 and died of brain fever on January 13, 1871, age 3 years, 3 months, and 17 days.

Florence Louisa Houghton was born on November 3, 1869. She later married W.A. Gallup and died on May 13, 1939.

Susan Houghton born circa 1872; no further information is offered.

Alice (Janet?) Houghton - born circa 1875. No other further information is offered.

Mary C. Houghton was born in July 1877 and died August 1, 1911 and Albert C. Houghton died on August 11, 1914.

Current Activity per Previous Witness Reports:

Knocking on the wall can be heard

Orbs caught on film

Cold Spots

Unidentified female voices

Presence felt

Footsteps and running heard by individuals

Lights that do not function seen on when outside the location

Feelings of being touched by someone or something

Case Summary:

A team of four ISIS investigators, one male and three females, set out to the Houghton Mansion on March 13, 2005. We arrived at the location shortly before 6 p.m. and took photos of the outside of the location while waiting for our hosts to arrive. After introductions and light conversation, the team began to prepare equipment and proceeded to set up the video camera in a hotspot: a room just off the main lobby in which many orbs have been captured in photos and strange activity has been previously reported. Interestingly, the video camera battery, which was fully charged prior to our arrival, was completely drained and therefore would not work. Using an extension cord, the camera was set up for taping. Leaving the camera in hopes of capturing phenomena on video, with Nick, Josh, Greg, and Sarah in the lead, we then proceeded to take a walk through most of the 35+ room location. An investigator recorded for EVPs while, several other investigators took photos. Photos were taken using a Sony Cyber-shot P41 Digital Camera and a standard, automatic load and rewind, Argus 35mm. Intermittently, investigators also performed EMF and temperature readings in each room.

Our first stop was the huge basement. Photos of orbs have been reported in this area by other paranormal photographers; however, because the basement was extremely dusty, the team had to exclude any photos of the basement when considering the evidence due to contamination.

Next, we returned to the first floor and began photographing the main entrance area, the library, dining room, and school room, and the main staircase. The team was then led to the second floor where we shot photos and took EVPs and EMF samples. Proceeding to the third floor, we repeated the process. Finally, returning to the main floor we took some final shots and readings of the library, the kitchen, the ballroom, the school room and the dining area.

While situating our equipment, an investigator interviewed our hosts and retrieved the following information:

The location houses the Masons and an exercise group that meets about twice a week. The Masons purchased the location sometime in the 1920's. The age of the location is estimated to be well over 100 years old, being built sometime in the 1890's, but according to Nick Mantello, the Lodge secretary, he believes the location may have been established earlier than that: perhaps as early as the 1850's. There is some belief that there might have been a previous site on the location; however, the only owners of the current house were the Houghton's and current owners, the Masons. The realization that the site was haunted did not occur suddenly to the current owners, in fact, it occurred over an estimated period of about ten years. Nick Mantello states that, "too many people heard too many things for it to be dismissed."

The location has never been blessed, but Masonic rites do take place on the location. As far as remodeling, the house did experience a fire in the kitchen which caused smoke damage and required that the main lobby area be repainted. Additionally, the lodge and dance hall were established to meet the needs of the Masons.

Previously investigated, the site was visited by a spirit medium in 2004 and has been investigated by the New England Ghost Project. Josh Mantello, soon to be establishing his own investigation group, has also conducted his own investigation of the site. Further, no clergy have been contacted about the activity. The only prior media involvement pertaining to the site and its occurrences have been the investigative teams, a local newspaper called the North Adams Transcript, and various Internet and other literary sources.

According to our hosts there have been countless witnesses to the strange happenings at the mansion. People have claimed to hear doors slamming without cause, shrieking, knocking, loud banging, unexplained mumbling from other floors, the feeling of hands on the shoulders, sounds of footsteps running across the floor, angry knocking on doors heard, footsteps going up the stairs, and strange creaking sounds. Additionally, a little girl's voice has been heard on the third floor and in the cellar, and talking has been heard in the basement. People have also experienced cold spots (no hot spots), and pins and needles sensations for no apparent reason.

Strange activity pertaining to electronics has also been reported. For a short while, no cell phone would work inside the location and neighbors have reported seeing a light on, located on the third floor, in an area in which the light does not work at all. Likewise, neighbors have also reported seeing people on the third floor, in the front window on the west side of the building when no one was in the mansion.

In 2004, a psychic named Maureen visited the site. She reported feeling like someone grabbed her stomach and heart and that she had to break from the séance to get away from the distressing feelings conveyed by the spirits in which she communicated with. Today, activity is reported daily at the mansion. Anything from cold spots to creepy sensations assail current visitors of the location.

The Disclosure:

What is clear about the history of the Houghton Mansion is that it is the location in which the Houghton family once lived; a family that experienced a heart wrenching tragedy. Also clear is that the home was later purchased by the Masons and that many have experienced strange phenomena, often with little or no explanation as to the cause of such occurrences.

The ISIS team took well over 350 photos of the site: 165 were taken with the digital camera while the remaining photos were taken with 35mm cameras using 400 speed film. Our photos revealed the presence of women, men, a little girl, and an animal. Many orbs and light anomalies are present, even after disregarding the basement photos. Additionally, we recorded three tapes (on one side only to avoid any voice overlapping) for the interview and EVP samples. Several EVPs were captured of both men and women.

EMF readings were too sporadic to reveal any quality evidence. Readings we did obtain were either from natural causes or below 2.0 Milliguass.

Temperature readings were also sporadic because the heat was still warming up the building, which normally remains at 52 degrees when no one else is in the building. However, a strange temperature reading did occur on the third floor; a temperature fluctuation occurred from 70 degrees to 30 degrees, back to 70 degrees. This fluctuation occurred just before one of our investigators felt as if something touched the top of her head. Another rapid fluctuation occurred in the library: jumping from 60 degrees down to 20 and then back up to 60 degrees once more.

Sensitive experiences included one investigator feeling someone touch her on the top of her head and at 9:45 p.m. one of our investigators suddenly became extremely upset and emotionally distraught-experiencing heavy, strong feelings in the heart area of her chest. So distressing was this experience, that she was forced to leave the building to recompose herself.

Additional Evidence:

View our Photo Gallery for paranormal photos associated with this case.

View our EVP Gallery for Electronic Voice Phenomena captures associated with this case.

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