Houghton Mansion Investigation 

April 19, 2008

History: The Houghton  Mansion is located in North Adams, MA.  In the early 1900's, the mansion was the residence of North Adams' first mayor, Albert C. Houghton and his family.  Four deaths are associated with the mansion, all occurring within just 11 days of each other.  On August 1st, 1914 the Houghton's chauffeur, John Widder, was driving Albert Houghton, his daughter Mary and a family friend, Sybil Hutton to Vermont in the family's Pierce Arrow.  They came upon a road crew on a mountain road, so Widders swerved to the edge of the road to avoid them.  The vehicle hit a soft shoulder and rolled violently down a steep embankment.  Sybil died at the scene and Mary died enroute to the hospital.  Both John Widders and Mayor Houghton suffered minor injuries.  The chauffeur was deeply depressed and highly emotional.  The following day, in the early morning hours, Widder was found dead in a barn behind the Mansion.  He had committed suicide by shooting himself with a pistol. Mayor Houghton died just 9 days later...some say because of overwhelming despair.

Ownership was passed to the Gallup family in 1918 who quickly sold the property to the Masons just two years later. The Masons erected a huge Masonic Temple at the rear of the house. The Mansion is still in use as a Masonic Temple today and is maintained by the Lafayette Graylock Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. and the Naomi Chapter of the Eastern Star. 

Common occurences at the Mansion include walking / running footsteps, female voices, cold spots, loud knocking on walls, slamming doors and lights going on and off. Some people have been touched by an invisible entity in the basement. Many have felt like they were being watched. Others have experienced chills and numbness when entering certain rooms. Mediums have made contact with multiple entities some of which have not always been very friendly. The three principle spirits of the Mansion seem to be that of A.C. Houghton, his daughter Mary, and John Widders. 

Investigation: The Souhegan Paranormal Investigators (SPI) arrived at the Mansion approximately 7:00 p.m. on April 19, 2008.  We were met by three of the Masons who are part of the Berkshire Paranormal Group - Nick Mantello, Paul Oleskiewicz, and John DeMarco.  Paul offered to take us on a tour of the Mansion which extended for approximately 1-1/2 hrs.  During the tour, Chris caught some interesting EVP’s.   While receiving a tour of the Green Room, Irene experienced a heavy chest and had a difficult time breathing.  Her legs from the knees down began to feel very heavy and became weak.  It is said that there have been incidents in the Green Room whereby an entity/shadow person had pushed another living person as well as moved objects such as a chair.  Paul was leading the SPI group from the cellar to the first floor and upon reaching the first landing of the stairway felt that he had been touched/pushed on his right shoulder/chest area.   He lost his balance but did not fall.  When he reached the first floor landing, he said he could still feel the sensation on his right chest/shoulder area where he had been touched/pushed.  Upon returning from the tour, Chris and Bill began setting up the camera equipment, etc. to get ready for our investigation. 

Just prior to beginning our investigation, Mario went to the men’s room.  While using the commode, it flushed by itself.  He mentioned the incident upon his return to the group.  We asked Nick and Paul if there was a problem with the plumbing in the men’s room or if they knew of anyone else that might have had the same experience.  Their answer was that they were not aware of any problem with the plumbing and that no one they knew had ever mentioned having a like experience.  We do not have an answer for this incident.  We had our EVP recorders, our EMF meters, our cameras, etc., ready so we divided up into groups to begin our investigation. We began at approximately 9:00 p.m.  We first went to Mary’s room where it is said that there is usually paranormal activity.  We attempted to record EVP’s, take pictures, etc., but we did not get anything paranormal.  Irene and Mario went back to the Green Room.  Once again, Irene experienced difficulty breathing and her legs from the knees down became heavy and felt very weak.  She immediately stepped out into the hallway and was able to regain her stability.  Later on that evening, Irene and Mario went back to the Green Room and on this third visit, Irene did not experience anything.  On separate occasions, Susan and Mario were in one of the hallways and while walking toward the end of the hallway they experienced an “eerie” feeling and felt they needed to leave that part of the hallway immediately.  We took turns investigating John Widders room as well as other parts of the Mansion, but none of us had any paranormal experiences.  Toward the end of the investigation, we all went together to the cellar where it is thought that a young female entity resides.  Bill had an EMF meter.  An EMF meter is used to detect electromagnetic fields and measures the force of energy in an area.  Bill’s EMF meter has three readings – green, amber, and red lights.  If the energy level is normal, the light will remain green.  When the energy level picks up, it will go to amber, and when there is a massive force of energy the light will turn red. We were sitting in a circle and Bill asked the young female spirit if she would like to come out and play.  He asked her if she could make the green light turn amber.  He asked her this question on three separate occasions, and each time the light turned from green to amber.  While sitting there Chris and I heard a noise but we couldn’t identify it. 

We wrapped up our investigation at approximately 3:00 a.m., April 20, 2008.  We bedded down and arose between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. to pack up, eat breakfast, and head for home.  Susan and another gal named Becky were in the ladies room freshening up from the night before.  Susan was brushing her teeth and allowed the water to continually run while brushing.  All of a sudden the water shut off.  Becky said, “You didn’t turn that water off.  I was watching you.”  Susan said, “No, I didn’t.”  When Susan turned the spigot back on she found the spigot had been turned off tight and she had to use a bit of force to turn it back on.  We asked Nick if this had happened before and he said there was one other incident when two woman were doing an investigation.  When they were in the ladies room the spigot turned off by itself.  We do not have an answer as to why the spigot turned off by itself.  The SPI group concurs with other paranormal groups that have investigated the Houghton Mansion – IT IS HAUNTED. 

Chris caught these EVP’s while Paul was giving SPI a tour of the mansion: 

• Spitting sounds on two separate occasions.   
• A clicking sound as if a stick is being tapped on a floor on two occasions.   
• In the attic where the electric chair resides, Chris asked Paul if he wanted the door closed and a voice is heard saying, “No, I don’t.”   
• Children’s laughter on more than one occasion.   
• Laughter from an adult female on more than one occasion.   
• On a second occasion of hearing the “clicking” sound a voice is heard saying the word “fired”.   
• While on the tour when Paul felt he was touched/pushed, a voice is heard saying “What is this?”   

We have included the EVP's that is most audible.

Note: Using headphones will enhance the audio for your listening pleasure.

We had just entered the attic. Listen for Chris to say, "Do you want this door closed?" People will begin talking and in the background you will soon hear a voice saying quite loudly, "No I don't."

Note: Bill and Chris investigated the Houghton Mansion on April 13, 2007, and captured this EVP. They are in Mary's room, and Bill is saying, "You do have a nice bedroom." Immediately following his words you can hear a whispered, "aaaah, get out" and then a few syllables of giggling. You can then hear Bill say, "Give us a sign."

Note: To view pictures taken during this investigation please click on this link.  Pictures Taken At The Houghton Mansion Investigation - April 19, 2008