The Spy House Museum is in the top 5 most haunted locations for the entire United States and definitely number one on the Eastern Seaboard! This 300+ year old house has seen the Revolutionary War, pirates, tavern & brothel days to a pastor and his family living there. It was last serving as a museum, but has since been shut down. It was a great place to check out where one might meet the spirit of Abigail (who looks out to sea from the rear bedroom window waiting for her husband to return), or the innkeeper Thomas Whitlock (who has been known to go home with visitors when invited to do so) or perhaps the three children of Spy House who play in and around the house. Some even smelled the pipe of Thom Whitlock!
This restaurant has changed names and owners quite a bit over the past 20 years. When I (L'Aura M.) was a child, it was called the Wedgewood Inn and my mother worked there as a bookkeeper. Mondays the restaurant was closed, so if my school was on holiday as well, I would accompany mother to the restaurant for the day while she worked. I heard the stories about the one room, Phoebe's bedroom, that could never be heated properly and how the waitresses working in that room would sometimes see Phoebe's reflection in the mirror and not their own. Needless to say, when having to traverse this room to reach the bathroom, I would beeline straight through never even glancing at the mirror! However, I did have time to notice the distinct drop in temperature. This history of this haunting is quite a tale.
The original structure was built as a private home back in 1749 by John Sayre. In 1833, Samuel Sayre lived there with his wife and a servant girl, Phoebe. A sailor from the West Indies was hired, Antoine LeBlanc, as a farmhand. However, LebLanc misunderstood the employment opportunity and thought he would be managing a large operation in the capacity as Superintendent. As his frustration grew, LeBlanc killed the Sayres and their servant girl one night in order to steal some money and make his way back to New York. A posse was issued. They caught him and brought him back to Morristown for trial. He was convicted and hanged on the Green in Morristown. To cover the expenses of the trial and the celebration that followed, LeBlanc's skin was stripped (post-hanging!) and made into wallets and purses. (My Great-Grandmother, Rita Veader, had one of those wallets. When she passed away, it was left to my Grandmother who then donated it to the Morristown Museum.
As Society Hill, the owners had the Warrens investigate the place. Ed & Lorraine deduced it was the spirit of LeBlanc haunting the building and then had a Catholic Priest come in and perform an exorcism. They also recommended the doing away with "Ouija Board Night" as this was only making things worse. But what about Phoebe's reflection in the mirror?? Well, as any ghost investigator knows, the proof is in the 35mm film. Unfortunately, we have no pictures to evidence any spirit activity at this time. Perhaps, one day the owners, whoever they are by now, will allow us to investigate this site with camera in hand!
This place is reported to have an animal ghost…a cat. In addition, there is reported to be the ghost of Mr. Max McCray (committed suicide in the barn, 1911), His son's friend, Rose (who died while attempting to escape a third floor bedroom window to elope with her lover and father of her unborn child), an old lady (who was killed during a robbery), and a small boy (who was visiting one of the McCray kids and died in an accident in the house). There are witnesses to the sights and sounds of this mansion, but as yet, we have no proof on film. Any submissions of such proof are more than welcome!
Historical tours of this estate are still conducted. Jeff & I attended one of these tours, and unfortunately, nothing of a paranormal nature was captured on film. Although this stands to reason when you're part of a huge tour of people and your six year old is running wild!
The main portion of the building dates back to 1762. Robert Erskine, the geographer for George Washington became its owner. The house was completely rebuilt in 1807 by Martin Ryerson who profited from the iron sales. In 1936, the property was left to the State of New Jersey by the late Erskine Hewitt.
The hauntings include footsteps with no owner, doors that were shut the night before found wide open the next morning, and the feeling of someone there when in fact there isn't. This chilly spots include the corridors upstairs and downstairs and Mrs. Erskine's bedroom. We did not capture anything on film in these areas, however, we get the "willeys" in the bedroom as mentioned.
Pre-Ghost Hunter experience by L'Aura: Years ago while working for a medical device company (a far cry from being a Ghost Hunter!), we had a special night for our company at the Shakespere Festival held at Drew University. The evening started off in the main house parlor for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Afterwards we congregated in the hall to be lead over to the theater for the performance. While in the hallway, I was drawn to the staircase. I ascended the first two steps as if following someone. In my head I kept hearing "She's up there. I know she's up there." My logical mind retorted with "She who? Let's get back with the group."
Years later, while on a special Halloween show on WMTR radio, another ghost researcher phoned in about the lady of the main house on the Drew University campus. Thankfully only those in the studio could see the shocked look on my face! Apparently, this lady was once witnessed by two fireman who were on the scene of a fire on the campus. They were trying to get her to come to them to rescue her. As she approached, she faded from sight right in front of their very eyes!
Once people learn you're a "Ghost Hunter", all the stories and personal experiences come to light. There are so many given the age and history of New Jersey. After all, it is one of the original 13 colonies and George Washington really did sleep here! L'Aura has had her share of experiences living here. The best example, finishing out the 8th grade with a couple of ghosts in the 200+ year old house her family had to rent upon relocating back here from Florida.
We'd love to investigate and document your personal haunting or paranormal experience, so please contact Ghost Hunters, Inc. at 908-654-7502 or report your experience online here.
