Slightly Odd Fitchburg

Watch the video above or read the article below! This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. I share them and you can get in on the fun by liking my page at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following me at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the haunting story! DID YOU KNOW that Newport, Rhode Island is home to a Christmas ghost? In the late 19th century, the Beechwood Mansion was a luxurious mansion, frequented by the elite during the Gilded Age, so the fanciest people of the fanciest time. One Christmas Eve, a maid named Abigail was found dead in one of the grand halls. Rumors swirled that she had been pushed from the staircase by a jealous lover, though her death was officially ruled an accident. Fancy people in a fancy time rarely get prosecuted. Anyway, since that fateful night, guests and staff at the Beechwood Mansion have reported strange occurrences every Christmas season. The scent of Abigai...

  Have you ever have one of those nights where everything seems fine, and then, boom! Your best friend betrays you, people get murdered, and now you’re a ghost forever wandering the rocky shores of a forgotten island? No? Well, welcome to Smuttynose Island, where the vibes are bad, the history is worse, and everything feels like the plot of an experimental indie horror film your pretentious cousin swears is life-changing. Let’s set the stage: it’s 1873. You’re a Norwegian immigrant trying to carve out a peaceful life on a chunk of granite in the middle of the Atlantic. Smuttynose, they call it. A name that sounds suspiciously like a bad insult from a Victorian middle schooler. But hey, it’s home. And if you squint hard enough, the rocky coastlines, endless sea, and isolation are kind of charming. It’s like Little House on the Prairie, except the prairie is made of sharp rocks, and you’re way more likely to die from exposure.   The Smuttynose Murders — A Real-Life Gothic Horro...

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the haunting story! Fitch Bits: The Angry Old Ghost of The Old Powder House DID YOU KNOW that The Old Powder House in Somerville, MA. is haunted by a very angry ghost? The building was constructed as a windmill around 1703 for the Mallet family farm. It was subsequently sold to Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1747, and turned into a powder magazine. That's where it got its name and it actually featured somewhat heavily in the Revolution. It was seized by the British because it held gunpowder and munitions for the colonies. One thing led to another and there was a battle fought over it. That's later than our story, though. Back when it was still a windmill, it was the scene of a grisly murder! At least that's the fo...

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Fitch Bits: Boston's Murder of the (19th) Century DID YOU KNOW that Boston was home to the murder of the century? Oh, yeah! As PBS puts it: "The Parkman murder has been called the O. J. Simpson trial of the nineteenth century. It had everything a good murder story needs: a rich, well-known victim; a well-respected suspect; gruesome evidence; and a possible underdog hero." So, basically, it all began in November of 1849 when Dr. George Parkman, a scion of one of Boston's richest families, suddenly vanished. One week later, the janitor of the Harvard Medical College discovered body parts hidden in the laboratory of a mild-mannered professor of chemistry named John Webster. Though his influenti...