The Tenney House, Methuen, MA
(First Investigation)   August, 29, 2009

On August 29, 2009, the Souhegan Paranormal Investigators and guests had the opportunity to investigate the Tenney Gatehouse in Methuen, MA.  We had 16 people attend this investigation.  Attendees from the SPI group were Susan, Rita, Elisha, John, and Patti.  Also, attached to the SPI group, were our very good friends, Distant Wolf and Dianne.  Distant Wolf is a Shaman and Dianne is a Sensitive.  We also had the extreme pleasure of being joined by Joe Bella, President of the Methuen Historical Society.  Joe explored the history of the Tenney Gatehouse with us so we would have a unique understanding of its history.

History: The original rough stone farm house was built in the 1830's by a local farmer named William Whittier, and at one time served as a stage coach stop.  Along with 75 surrounding acres, the property was purchased and elegantly renovated by Charles and Fanny Tenney in the 1880's, and would become known as the Tenney Gatehouse where the family lived while they built a stone mansion on the hill in the mid to late 1880's.  Mr. Tenney was a local, wealthy hat manufacturer with a thriving business who held many gala events at the castle.  When the Tenney's left Methuen to return to New York, the castle was then used as a summer manor.  It was abandoned as a home by 1951, with 26 acres being donated to the school system with Grey Court castle and the remaining land being sold to the Basilican Salvatorian Order who established a monastery on the site.  At first, the monks lived in the castle, then the Gatehouse, and then the old Tenney barn, renting the Gatehouse to tenants, and renting the castle for use as a drug rehabilitation center called Challenge House.  The castle fell into disuse and disrepair in the 1970's.  The roof was falling in, it was overgrown, and a series of fires eventually destroyed it altogether.  The Tenney Gatehouse is said to be haunted according to many who rented it, passing down the story of the monk who hung himself in the tower room and strange happenings near the gravestone of Father Nicholas Demetrius in the monks' cemetery that used to exist (but was moved) between the Tenney Gatehouse and the Searles Building at 41 Pleasant.  The area surrounding the castle now comprises Greycourt State Park where an amphitheater was built over the castle ruins and only a small portion of the courtyard remains. The Gatehouse, which was renovated revealing several hidden fireplaces, is now open to the public with free admission on Sundays from 1-3 p.m., and showcases memorabilia from the Revolutionary and Civil War time periods, along with old photos taken of the inside of the mansion and displays from the Tenney's hat factory. 

Fortunately, for us as well as other groups, the Methuen Historical Society allows paranormal investigations.

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

The Investigation:  Upon our arrival; approximately 6:30 p.m., John and Susan set up the equipment. We then assembled as a group and listened to Joe orate the history of Tenney Gatehouse.  Now that we had a bit of history to think about, we broke up into 4 teams, each team consisting of 4 people and began investigating at approx. 8:10 p.m. 

The Parlor:  The first team to investigate the parlor was DistantWolf, Dianne, Mandy and Susan. We were also joined by Joe Bella. Approximately 10 minutes into our investigation, Mandy began having stomach cramps and  Dianne's jaw began hurting. Mandy also felt the presence of a black cat. Distant Wolf felt there had been a fight in the house between a military officer and a person dressed in plain clothes. The year was between 1875 and 1876. He also felt that there had been an important political gala held in the house. He envisioned beautiful gardens. He also informed us that Mrs. Fannie Tenney liked to be the center of attention. Upon ending our EVP session in the parlor, Joe mentioned that he thought he had heard some whispering and we knew it wasn't from any of us. Upon reviewing our EVP recorders, we found we captured the following EVP's. Dianne was speaking and said, “Easier said than done at 56 years of age.” At pos :02, a male entity says, “ha, ha, ha” followed by a loud exhale. Dianne then said, “Well, thank you spirits of the house, but I didn’t get anything. From what I heard, hopefully you spoke into the little red light. How do I shut this off? End EVP.” At pos :16, a male entity says something that sounds like “Right on ten”, or “Light on ten.”

While another team, Bill, Chris, Christine, and Dawne was investigating the parlor and doing some EVP work, Christine (Christine is a Medium) sensed energy coming from the black dress that is positioned in one corner of the parlor.

The Basement: While our team was investigating the basement (Distant Wolf, Dianne, Mandy, and Susan), we had some interesting events happen.  Less than 2 minutes after our arrival, Dianne thought she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and Mandy had an itchy/prickly feeling on her arms. At the time, we didn't think much of it, but our photo section will confirm that we did indeed have a visitor with us from another dimension.  Three minutes after feeling the itchy/prickly feeling, Mandy captured a black mass/shadow in the furnace room.  The next photo taken immmediately afterward will show the shadow disappeared.  These photos were taken in the dark. A bit of time passed and while doing some EVP work, Sue said, “I’m just going to set this down. Then Dianne asked, “How many of you are there down here with us, and why would you come down here? What was this originally? Is this part of an add-on or is this part of the original basement? At pos :24, a male entity says, “You f’ing tempt me.”       Please do not think that any of us would speak in this type manner.  This is definitely a legitimate EVP.  One minute and 73 seconds later, Distant Wolf saw a shadow bounce off the hallway wall and leave. 

NOTE:  It is worthy to note, that on February 2, 2008, while a different group of paranormal investigators investigated the basement at Tenney Gatehouse, two of their investigators saw a black shadow moving off to the side in the basement, so this helps to lend credibility to the photos of a shadow that Mandy was able to capture.

A second team (Mary Lou, Richard, Elisha, Rita) investigating the basement also had a personal experience.  Mary Lou and Elisha both felt a cold draft in the room.  Mary Lou felt a hand, or "something" very lightly brush against her back and neck.  Elisha felt as if someone had put their fingers on her back and lightly "walked" their fingers on her back toward her neck.  Mary Lou (who is a Medium) also felt the presence of a small boy about age 7 or 8.

While investigating the basement, one of the investigators in the third team (Bill, Chris, Christine, Dawne) also had a personal experience.  As Dawne walked past the furnace, she felt an urge to bend over. She tried walking in and out of the area 3 times, and each time she felt the same thing. Someone thought there might have been a root cellar in that area at some time, but when she inquired about the root cellar, Joe Bella said he didn't know of one. However, there could have been one that was never documented in the history of the house.  

The 1930's Room:  DistantWolf, Dianne, Mandy, and Susan were investigating what we called the 1930's room. Within one minute of being in the room, Susan was asking spirit to light up the K-II meter. The meter lit up to amber, but when asked to do it again, it did not light up.  Distant Wolf told us that he felt a male had died in this room; someone who was affiliated with a church. While doing some EVP work, Sue said, “Can you tell us your name, please? We mean no harm. We come as friends. Distant Wolf then said, “We really like to have a good time. We like to joke and fool around” and at pos :30 is a series of tapping and Distant Wolf continues to say “ we like to get poked and jabbed as long as nobody’s hurt; as long as it’s all done in fun.” Sue said, “Yeah, why don’t you come and touch one of us; pull our hair.” Distant Wolf then said, “This is the first haunted residence that I have ever been in that nobody has pulled my ponytail.” At pos :54 there are two loud thumps or stomps.     Dianne was attempting to coax spirit to light up the K-II meter. She said, “Okay, now that the man with the wisdom and the guidance to speak to you has left the room, does that make you feel better? Light up the K2 meter one notch.” At pos :24, it sounds like an entity is saying the word, “Gosh.”     While Dianne was sitting on the floor, she felt her shirt being tugged. She said, “Alright, I felt a tug on the shirt down here." Sue said, “You felt a tug?” Dianne said, “Yeah.” Sue said, “Which side, Di?” Dianne said, “Right here.” Dianne continues talking and then says, “You want to tug again?” At pos :26, there is an inaudible EVP that sounds something like, “Jenny took at Tenney Gate.” That makes no sense at all, but that sounds similar to what is being said.     Distant Wolf said, “I’m getting absolutely no reading.” Sue said, “Are you feeling anything, Mandy?” At pos:14, there is the sound of glass clinking.     Just as we were getting ready to leave the 1930's room, Distant Wolf said, “You know the next time we do an investigation, I’m going to bring a black light with us. Dianne said, “Yep.” At pos :10 there is a series of clapping or tapping. Then Distant Wolf said, “Bring an ultraviolet” and Dianne said, “I have one of those.” 

While a second team was investigating the 1930's room, Gloria and Patti had a personal experience.  Prior to investigating, Patti took a baseline temperature reading around the room and it was approximately 72 degrees.  From time to time, they would all feel the temperature drop and when Patti took new readings she would get between 61 and 62 degrees.  When Gloria and Patti were sitting on the sofa they felt a slight vibration.  Patti felt a cold spot at one point begin from her right side, pass in front of her and move to her left.  Gloria was sitting to Patti's left and said she felt it pass by her also.  At one point, while standing in the middle of the room, Patti felt chilled and got goosebumps.  She took a temperature reading, and it read 62 degrees.

The Display Room:  While investigating the Display Room, Patti, Gloria, Paul, and John experienced the same kind of temperature fluctuation as they did in the 1930's Room.  Gloria also sensed movement of energy around the room.

The Conference Room:  While Patti, Gloria, Paul, and John were investigating the room where the priest died, which is now the Conference Room, Gloria began to experience chest pains and was having difficulty breathing.  She tried to signal Paul to express her concerns, but she was unable to speak.  She thought that she was going to have to leave the room, but after a short period of time, her breathing returned to normal and the chest pains began to fade.  Joe told us that Father Nicholas Demetrius died in this room.  He also said that one of the Caretakers of the property had died (but not in this room) from a heart attack. 

The Attic:   There were two rooms in the attic; one of which was used for the children's bedroom.  The room opposite the bedroom was being investigated by Bill, Chris, Christine, and Dawne.  Christine is a Medium and Dawne is gifted.  Christine "saw" the spirit of a grey cat who likes to sleep in the baby carriage that is stored in that room.  Dawne was "chatting" with the spirits of a priest and another woman (possibly Mrs Tenney). The priest was already in the room and he invited the woman into the room. Dawne tried to get them to move the numbers on the EMF meter, but she was not successful. At one point, she tried asking the woman's name, and the lady said "Somersworth" to her (spirits don't always give her their real names).  Dawne didn't know what that meant at the time, but Joe Bella said that Somersworth, NH, was a very popular vacation spot for the Tenney's.

Dawne also believes she was "chatting" with the spirit of the woman who owned the black dress in the parlor. She was a pleasant lady who expressed her love for jewelry as well as nice clothes.

SPI feels we had an eventful investigation, and we definitely agree that there is paranormal activity at Tenney Gatehouse.

We captured some pictures during the investigation to share with you.  To view the image gallery, please click on this link.  Pictures From The Tenney Gatehouse, Methuen, MA (First Investigation) August 29, 2009.