here is an RI Monthly thing from the current issue that represents not only one of my favorite paranormal days ever... and yet also, of meeting my friend that day, and this articles writer... the lovely and brilliant - Erin Erin Swanson.... anyway, here it be. wurrrrd. Haunted Spaces, Dark Places by Erin Swanson PBS’s Haunted RI allowed viewers to explore the Ocean State’s spookiest settings from the safety of their own living rooms. From legends of witches and vampires to tales of murders and exhumations, each episode evoked both terror and curiosity: Do spirit ghosts truly exist? Co-producer Christian White was kind enough to take me on an unforgettable esoteric tour to five of Rhode Island’s most actively haunted spots. We began in Providence by heading west on Atwells Avenue towards the highway overpass that marks the boundary between the city’s most lively dining strip and one of its greatest haunted locales. We turned right onto Eagle Street and traversed the Woonasquatucket River, arriving at the ominous Butcher Block Mills. “We’ve crossed water, a bridge and train tracks,” White said. “All three signal you’re entering into someplace bad.” It’s no coincidence that the historic mill is located on Eagle Street either; the eagle is a totemic animal, having potential to emblemize a spirit clan. Some believe an unsolved murder was committed here in 2010 and the body tossed into the river. The 200-acre Swan Point Cemetery on Providence’s Blackstone Boulevard dates back to 1846 when a man named Thomas Hartshorn purchased its first 59.5 acres of land. Recently, while examining photos, cemetery personnel were shocked to see that all three of Hartshorn’s children died in 1845. “Of course there are ghosts here,” White said. “People come to cemeteries to mourn, which gives off a concentrated current, much like electricity, upon which spirits can attach themselves.” We hopped in the car and drove south to the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Exeter where alleged vampire Mercy Lena Brown is buried. When we rolled to a stop on a long dirt road less than a mile from our destination, a salt-of-the-Earth farmer peered into the car with a knowing smirk. “You must be looking for Mercy Brown,” he said. “You can’t miss her. She’s right by the tree.” Once there, I noticed that the grass around her grave was worn to dirt, her headstone adorned with flowers and candy. As I attempted to snap a photo, my iPhone suddenly froze. “I’d put that away if I were you,” White warned. “Lena hates having her picture taken.” We headed next to Newport’s Cliff Walk, where White divulged the legend of the lady in the red dress. “Supposedly, a young woman committed suicide here after stabbing her husband up on Bellevue,” he said. “When the tide is low, a woman with long black hair appears at the point.” Prior to learning of the tale, White was walking the path with friends one evening when he heard a female whisper. “There was no breeze or wind that night and the voice was unmistakable. We all recognized the sound at once… very chilling.” Exhausted, we made the trek back north to Woonsocket’s Precious Blood Cemetery, the resting place of Marie Rose Ferron, the stigmatized martyr who died in 1936 with a crown of thorns around her head and blood pouring from her eyes. The cemetery is also the site of an eminently grisly incident. “In the 1950s, a hurricane hit Rhode Island and this whole back corner beside the pond flooded out,” White explained as I viewed the graves still marked by simple wooden crosses. “Caskets broke open and bodies just washed away.” The pond seemed so peaceful yet held so many tragic secrets, a simple metaphor for a complex world.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 01:10:48 +0000
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