Comments on: Ghosts of Portsmouth, NH – South Street cemetery

By: Marker #154 Packer’s Falls « Mike in New Hampshire

Marker #154 Packer’s Falls « Mike in New Hampshire — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:55:03 +0000

[...] Her friends made numerous attempts to stay the execution, and a reprieve was on the way, but too late to save her. As the story goes, the Sherriff moved up the execution time by one hour, so he wouldn’t miss his dinner. The reprieve arrived 20 minutes after her hanging. She was buried in an unmarked grave at South St. Cemetery in Portsmouth, that some say she and her stillborn child haunt to this very day. [...]

By: Fiona Broome

Fiona Broome — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:37:11 +0000

Thanks for the information, Patty! I’m an avid letterboxer as well — and didn’t realize there’s a letterbox nearby — so this gives me an additional reason to revisit that location.

I’m noticing more & more fragrances and aromas at haunted sites now. I’m not sure why that’s happening, but it’s an interesting phenomenon.

Thanks again!

Cheerfully,
Fiona

By: Patty

Patty — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:36:54 +0000

We stopped by the cemetery on our way home from Massachusetts to do some “letterboxing.” As we walked back to our car, which was parked at the Little Harbor Road entrance, I suddenly smelled pipe smoke. My husband also noticed it. We looked all around to see if anyone had recently passed by the area with a pipe and could see no one. Then I remembered a little blurb in the letterboxing clue about the cemetery being haunted. I was just wondering if anyone else had ever noticed anything like that.

By: santucci

santucci — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:33:43 +0000

we are portsmouth locals and have always been fascinated by the stories and folklore we learn.my wife is quite something of a historian and recently has taken a more closer interest in paranormal activity. i am excited to join her as she has also sparked my interest! this was a very intersting article and we plan on going to the cemetery tonight. thank you!

By: Fiona Broome

Fiona Broome — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:56:14 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Nora. I have mixed feelings about bringing children to haunted places. On one hand, children seem to be very perceptive about paranormal phenomena. On the other, they can become frightened at an impressionable age, and that could be a negative influence in the future.

I generally leave it up to the parents to decide. In my opinion, there are far scarier things on TV than in haunted locations, but… it’s an individual issue.

That said, even my teenaged son was startled when he thought that he saw the ghost of a little boy in one haunted cemetery. So, it’s not just little guys who are affected.

If you’re looking for labradorite stones, which are most likely to glow at night, check with the UNH science department. Someone in geology may have some good locations to see that very normal phenomenon, and — after being upset by ghosts — a genuinely fun trip to a cemetery may offset any lingering concerns after the South Street experience.

By: Nora Kesick

Nora Kesick — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:08:43 +0000

When living near Portsmouth some years ago, I brought my two sons to the cemetary just down the road from South Street, following a report that one of the stones glowed in the moonlight due to the type of stone it was made of. We didnt find the glowing stone, but my young son, who was 3 1/2 at the time, saw the ghost of a boy poking his head out of a gravestone near where we parked the car. He was inside the car while my other son and I got out to look for the stone – and he was upset when we came back, describing the boy ghost who was “angry because I am alive and he is not”. My other son, who is never cold, all of a sudden stated he was very chilly, and felt something was in the car with us. Needless to say, we left the cemetary right after that.