Ghost File: Witch Hollow

The Investigation of Witch Hollow

Tucked away in the woods of a nearby town, lies a 300 year old farm house called Witch Hollow. What is this place? Why such a name? That's why The New England Ghost Project went there: to answer these questions.

The Legend of Witch Hollow

Witch Hollow is an old farm house built around 1666 by Job Tyler. It is actually three houses joined together and includes two secret passages, reportedly used in case of indian raids (or were they used for some other sinister purpose?) In the late 1600's it was the home of Mary Tyler. She had a suitor by the name of Timothy Swan, but Mary did not care for him. Finally Timothy couldn't bear her rejection any more and had her arrested. They took her off by oxcart to Salem where she was tried and convicted of witchcraft for having a pact with the Devil and doing destestable acts on Timothy Swan ("he was tortured and afflicted and pined and wasted away") However, for some unknown reason Mary was not executed but imprisoned instead.

Finally she was freed and returned to Witch Hollow where some say she still resides today. She has been reportedly seen by the former owners roaming the house and grounds carring a curry comb. Noise such as a loud banging and the rustling of paper have also been heard in the attic. A black pitch-like substance of an unknown source has also been seen dripping from the living room ceiling. (Was this the same substance which Ron was "slimed" with?) This is one of the many mysteries of Witch Hollow and how it got it's name.

After looking into the history and talking with the former owners, we decided to conduct an investigation. However, we were not received well by the current owners, who refused to let us on the property to do an investigation. (But all was not lost!)

Since Mary Tyler was said to be seen on the grounds as well as the house, we decided to conduct our investigation from a nearby nature trail. It was a cool Autumn night when we set up our equipment. we had no idea what to expect. Was this just a wild goose chase? Only time would tell. We waited for hours with little excitement.

Then it happened! We heard a dog barking in the distance, but we thought little of it. The remote temperature sensor dropped 10 degrees in seconds, that seemed odd. Then there was a gust of wind on a windless night and finally we noticed a white cloud or mist rolling over the meadow. Was this just an ordinary cloud? The remote infrared camera said no. It had a shape. We pounced on it with a barrage of camera flashes. Then as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

2:57 AM What was it? Was it the ghost of Mary Tyler or just some natural phenomenon? This is what the camera caught. You Decide!

Copyright by Ron Kolek 2003-2007. All rights Reserved.