What things go bump in the night in New England?

Christopher Daley, a history teacher at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, explored the mysterious cases and tales that have been scaring New England residents for centuries Monday night in the Music Hall.

The presentation, hosted by the Sippican Historical Society, included slides on the “cursed” Freetown State Forest and Mercy Brown, the “vampire” of Exeter, Rhode Island.

Brown was a woman who, after dying in 1892, was thought to have been seen walking through the streets of the town, according to Daley. Daley also said many people flock to her graves and have reported ghost sightings in the Exeter cemetery.

Daley also recounted the tale of Lizzie Borden and the supposed haunted happenings which still occur in her former Fall River home.

Daley described his experience when visiting the Borden House:
“I’m not 'connected',” he said. “I don’t see spirits, but this is one place where the hair stands up on the back of my neck. I get the chills. The only other place I get this feeling is Gettysburg.”

Also included in the presentation were the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire; Giles Corey and the Curse of Salem; Dudleytown: the ghost town of Cornwall, Connecticut; Burial Hill in Plymouth and the John Alden House in Duxbury.

According to Daley, the appeal of his research into the mysterious aspects of New England’s history stems from an interest in stories that inspire fear.

“I think I pursued this because it’s local and it’s not just someone making something up,” he said. “It’s stories based on real life.”

Daley, a Wareham resident, has been a touring lecturer for nearly 20 years. He
has served as a member of the Board of Executives and Chairman of the Educational Outreach Program at the John Alden Historic site in Duxbury.  He has also served as the Chairman of the Pembroke Historical Commission and as the President of the Pembroke Historical Society.

Daley is currently working on a book partly based upon his lecture “Mass Murder,” which depicts infamous murder cases in Massachusetts.