Hollow Hill

York’s Cozy Ghosts at The Golden Fleece

If you’re looking for cozy ghosts, and orbs that seem to feel right at home, make York’s Golden Fleece Inn (and pub) your destination.

The Golden Fleece is where I’ve seen some of the best, most convincing ghost orbs.

Of course, orbs can appear anywhere.

Some seem to be floating or gliding energy forms.

Context is important.

I’ve heard reports from people who successfully asked orbs to move to certain locations for photos.

For example, when someone told the ghost to move the orb to a particular doorway or gravestone… it did.

(Generally, I ask ghosts to manifest however they can, if they’d like to appear in a photo. I’m uncomfortable with ordering them around.)

Predicting Orbs

During many years of studying ‘ghost photos’, I’ve noticed an odd pattern among many orbs. They appear in consistent places. The trend is so predictable, we believe it’s beyond coincidence.

In an unusual number of photos, I’ve seen orbs directly over people’s heads. In most cases, the photos were taken at a significant event (such as a wedding or prom) or a family gathering.

The lighting and setting don’t matter. If it’s a family gathering or major social event among long-time friends or associates, orbs often appear in the photos.

An Odd Orb at the Golden Fleece

At other times, orbs appear – in surprising numbers – over chairs, as if the ghost is sitting there.

What follows is one of my favorite examples.

A group of us – experienced ghost hunters – visited “York’s most haunted pub” in June 2007.

The skeleton and other visual cues weren’t there at that time. It just felt like a nice, cozy pub with delicious food and great prices.

But, after a few minutes inside, the pub had a certain eerie edge to it.

And, as seasoned ghost researchers, we tend to be somewhat skeptical. So, we sat, enjoyed our lunch, chatted, and took a few photos.

One surprised me.

My photo shows an orb ‘seated’ at the haunted Golden Fleece pub in York, England.

Because that restaurant has many shiny surfaces, I discounted other orbs from that casual investigation. Nevertheless, the placement of the one in the photo caught my attention.

Is it a credible photo? I’m not sure. I’d need more evidence.

Is the Golden Fleece haunted? I believe so, and I wish I’d spent more time there. On my next visit to that part of England, I’ll definitely want to spend a night or two at the Golden Fleece. (Haunted Happenings has been among the groups organizing vigils at the Golden Fleece.)

The Golden Fleece is a Different Kind of Haunted

My main impression was: Yes, it has that “spooky vibe” we notice at haunted sites. Its ghosts are well-documented, too.

But there was something else… something I can’t yet put into words. It was a different kind of haunted, if that makes sense.

Usually, when I use a phrase like that, it’s because I’m uneasy. Something troubles me, and it’s the kind of place where I’d take extra spiritual precautions.

But in the case of the Golden Fleece… well, that site really is different.

I’d expect spirits like the cheerful ghosts in the 1988 movie, High Spirits… and perhaps a few truly creepy and unearthly spirits, as well.

In general, I believe the Golden Fleece is one of York’s most intriguing haunted locations. Whatever haunts the site, it’s unusual, even for York, one of England’s more haunted cities.

Haunted York Videos

Here’s a quirky (and slightly silly) four-minute video about haunted York, including the Golden Fleece.

Haunted York

York, England has been called the most haunted city in all of Europe. see more about WTHR’s Scott Swan’s story here: http://www.wthr.com/story/19191664/engla…

That YouTube video of haunted York is at: https://youtu.be/L_0KHH7_6NM

And another video of a Golden Fleece investigation.

YouTube URL - https://youtu.be/Q-GihuTQ3W8

The Orb-Ghost Connection

Are orbs proof of ghosts?

The context is important.

For example, if other odd things were going on, exactly when the photos were taken. Or, if someone – without knowing where an orb was hovering, in a photo or video – directly indicated something else “ghostly” at the exact same place and time.

In other words, orbs may be one of those “you had to be there” phenomena. Out of context, it’s difficult for others to take orbs seriously.

I understand that, and it’s frustrating.

Personal evidence can be the most personally convincing… and have the least credibility when you talk about it later.

So, What Are Orbs?

To be honest, I don’t know what orbs are.

Professionals check for normal, natural explanation. Those include humidity, dust, reflected light, and so on.

In 2013, after several years of intense study, I concluded that humidity, dust, reflected light, and other apparently reasonable explanations rarely cause convincing orbs in photos.

But, for over 10 years, I claimed that most orbs were the result of natural phenomena, reflective objects, and so on.

Well, they’re not.

Yes, that’s an embarrassing admission. I wouldn’t admit to it, except my tests have shown, conclusively, that most convincing orbs really are anomalous.

So far, ghost hunters recognized that:

Orbs appear in haunted places in dramatically higher numbers.
Orbs seem to appear in areas where EMF levels spike.
The actual orbs may contain higher levels of energy.

But are they ghosts? I’m not ready to claim that.

Some People See Orbs

A small – perhaps gifted – minority of researchers are able to see orbs in real life. However, the orbs that they see don’t usually appear in photos taken at the same time.

In most cases, researchers don’t see anything before, during and after taking photos that – when viewed on the monitor or printed – reveal orbs.

I’ll admit I’m still astonished when investigators see vivid orbs in photos, though we saw nothing unusual when the photos were taken.

Sparkles and Ghost Orbs

Years ago, I was the first ghost hunters to use the term ‘sparkles‘ to describe an odd visual effect that occurs with some cameras.

When people see sparkles, we usually find orbs or other photographic anomalies in our pictures.

Are Orbs Aware of Us?

Ghost hunters aren’t sure if orbs are related to spirits that are aware of us and can respond to the people around them.

However, we’ve seen enough ‘ghost photos’ to know that orbs often appear in similar locations, as if they’re comfortable among us.

Whether they’re posing for group photos or sitting comfortably in a favorite chair, the placement often seems deliberate.

York, England, is just one of many haunted places where orbs seem quite at home. When you research there, be sure to take photos of chairs, stools, benches, and so on.

To me, it seemed like the orbs were pulling up a chair and joining the party.

Stratford-upon-Avon – The Falcon’s Haunted Bedroom

Here’s my experience…

The Falcon Hotel (Stratford-upon-Avon) – now the Hotel Indigo – was haunted when friends and I stayed there in 2007. It’s one of Warwickshire’s most charming hotels, with 20 rooms in its haunted 16th-century wing, and 64 rooms in the more modern wing.

In June 2007, several Hollow Hill investigators spent the night in the haunted wing of the Falcon. It was comfortable and quiet, even though our rooms overlooked the street.

Though we had a good night’s sleep, we encountered a variety of low-level paranormal phenomena. Odd noises, unexplained chills, creaking floorboards with no one there… it was routine for a cozy, haunted hotel. And, it was fun!

However, we’d heard that one room at the hotel is especially haunted. It’s a corner room in the 16th century wing.

It was one of the silliest hauntings I’ve seen in awhile… but, the UK is like that. It has the widest possible range of ghostly phenomena. (I absolutely love investigating in the UK, and especially in England.)

We were lucky to have brief access to the hotel’s most haunted room.

The room with the “broken air conditioning”… that wasn’t

Our adventure began when I was in the lobby and overheard a guest talking about how chilly his room had been.

He complained that he couldn’t find the air conditioning controls.

The hotel moved him to another room, and his previous (chilly) room had been prepared for new guests.

But…

One of the hotel clerks quietly explained to us why the guest couldn’t find the a/c controls: There was no air conditioning in that room.

We rushed to see if the door to that room was still vacant, and if the door had been left open.

It was.

A five-minute investigation

Our team had just a few minutes to explore the room. It seemed elegant and very comfortable.

Our EMF readings and pendulum work – as well as our ‘gut feelings’ – indicated that the bed was the focal point of the hauntings.

The bed seemed to have a ‘hot spot’ over the center of it.

It’s unlikely that the bed itself is haunted. But, if that’s an antique bed frame, the bed (not the mattress) might have its own ghost.

(If anything tragic happens in a bed, such as a death, hotels generally replace the bed immediately. Some even close the room for a week or so, as a precaution. The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas went to extremes with one room they sealed up for years.)

Also, in Stratford-upon-Avon’s Falcon Hotel, an earlier bed in the room might be where something – or several events over the past 400+ years – left an imprint.

Just as ghosts don’t always realize that time has passed, they may not realize that the current bed is different from the one that they slept in, centuries ago.

And so we took photos

We each took photos of the bed. I took several with my film camera and at least a dozen with my digital camera.

That’s when this story turned silly.

Only one of my digital photos of the bed shows the bed. That’s it, above.

All the rest show random corners of the room… the kinds of photos I take, but not in the volume that showed up when I had time to go through my camera’s files.

(I routinely take “extra” photos, in case an orb is hovering in a corner. But, in a case like this, every moment was important. I wasn’t going to waste time. Almost all of my attention was on the object most likely to be haunted… and that was the bed.)

The following represent nearly every digital photo from that room. (The film photos were dark or weird, and pretty much useless to me.)

Falcon Hotel, another corner of the haunted room

Falcon hotel - one corner of the room

I know took five or six photos of a team member using a pendulum. At the time, I was sure I was being annoying, insisting, “Wait… wait… just one more picture…”

Also, in at least one photo, I focused on my own hand (holding an EMF meter). In that one, I’d made sure both the meter and the bed were in the frame.

But… my pictures showed almost everything but the bed.

It’s not a dangerous haunting.

It’s not a malicious haunting. What happened – the camera anomalies – are typical of a prankster ghost, possibly a child.

It was certainly an unusual experience. Annoying at the time, because – when I had a few minutes to review the photos and saw what had happened – we couldn’t return to the room. The housekeepers had locked it as we left.

I wouldn’t hesitate to spend the night in that room, and I’m fairly sure that I’d get a good night’s sleep.

However, I’d be sure to have enough blankets on the bed, in case the room seemed as chilly as described by the previous guest.

That guest’s innocent comments about the air conditioning convinced me that the room is haunted.

In fact, in early June 2007, the Falcon Hotel didn’t have air conditioning. The guest was describing a large ‘cold spot’ around the bed.

(Of course, if it’s a sultry night, that’s probably the room you’ll want to be in. So, ask the concierge for information about the hotel’s most haunted room.)

This is a good example of how ghost hunters sometimes find haunted locations: We listen (overhear) others’ conversations about odd and unusual things. If it’s something that could be ghostly – like a “cold spot” – we follow-up, if we can.

Next time I’m in Stratford-upon-Avon, I’ll be sure to follow-up and – I hope – spend at least one night in that same room.

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Houston, TX – Haunted Bear Creek Bridge

Haunted Patterson Road in Houston, Texas, is next to Bear Creek Park between Highway 6 and Eldridge Road. [Google Maps: Patterson Road – Bear Creek Park]

Ghosts of Bear Creek Bridge It follows the route used by Civil War soldiers. The battle took place in the southeastern quadrant of Bear Creek Park.

According to folklore, those soldiers’ ghosts still march along Patterson Road at night.

If you stop on the road, they’ll tap on your car.

That’s the legend.

Of course, YOU SHOULD NOT DO THAT.

This area was once a farming community of German immigrants and their descendants.

Today, it is part of Addicks Reservoir and Bear Creek Pioneers Park, in Harris County, Houston.

There are two bridges on Patterson Road by Bear Creek Park.

One is Langham Creek Bridge, near Eldridge Road.

The other is Bear Creek Bridge, closer to Highway 6.

Are the legends true?

Bear Creek Bridge isn’t supposed to be haunted.

I disagree.

In daylight, Bear Creek Bridge feels far more eerie than the other bridge on Patterson Road.

In May 2005, using the “sparkles” camera, two of us – during an informal evening of ghost hunting – saw visible anomalies at the Bear Creek bridge.

We saw none at Langham Creek on that same evening, though we did capture some strange mists in our photos.

This orb is probably an insect.

I took this photo at Bear Creek bridge. As you can tell from the grain in the photo, it was a very dark evening. To see anything in the picture, I lightened it considerably in Photoshop.

I’ve included the image – and some trees around it – in case anyone else captures a clear anomaly in a ghost photo at that same location.

Likely insect at Bear Creek bridge

After, we paused on that bridge, testing the “tapping Civil War soldiers” legend.

This is important: We only paused.

You should not stop there. You probably shouldn’t even pause on that bridge.

Definitely do NOT turn off your engine or your car’s headlights.

Tapping on my car

With my car windows open, I heard three rapid, distinct and clear taps on the car, immediately below my outside mirror.

The tapping sounds was like metal on metal, similar to my car antenna tapping my car roof when I’m driving on a very bumpy road.

It didn’t sound unearthly.

I have no explanation for the tapping, since the car window was fully open and I could see the side of the car easily.

In fact, I looked out of the car right away, to see what caused the noise. I saw nothing unusual at all: No insects, no animals, and nothing brushing against the car.

It was too loud to be the car or the bridge settling.

I was in the driver’s seat, so my door was towards the center of the bridge.

There was no likelihood of shrubbery, vines, or branches hitting the car.

I had no explanation.

In my experience, most paranormal encounters are very different from anything “normal.”

That’s why it took me awhile to accept that something so loud (and apparently mundane) could have been ghostly.

The taps sounded entirely real, normal, and I wanted to know who’d tapped on my car with something like a metal baton.

It probably took me close to five minutes to realize that there was no normal explanation for what had happened.

I did exactly what I’m telling you NOT to do: I stopped on a road at night.

It was a spooky experience, but incredibly stupid as well.

Don’t be another “weird” statistic.

Since writing this, I’ve learned that there are an unusual number of car accidents in that area, and not just among ghost enthusiasts.

Some people speculate that there’s “bad energy” around Bear Creek Park.

I’m not sure about that, but I can confirm that something taps on cars on Patterson Road.

Don’t try this yourself. Please, just take my word for it.

Or, park farther up the street.

Hike to a point where you can safely observe the bridge. And then, pay attention to cars passing over it, and any anomalies you notice.

Houston, TX – Haunted Patterson Road

Patterson Road in Houston, Texas may be haunted. This road borders Bear Creek Park and runs between Highway 6 and Eldridge Road. [Google Maps]

Haunted Patterson Road, Houston, TX It’s a lovely location. Arrive in the afternoon and plan a picnic or barbecue in the park. Visit the zoo, read the historical markers, and get a sense of the landscape and its heritage.

Some of Bear Creek Park’s ghost stories are related to Civil War activity.

Others are from 1900, when the infamous hurricane displaced an entire community. After that, county workers literally changed the landscape to prevent future disasters.

Homes were lost. Landmarks and memorials vanished. The area was safer from future floods, but at a terrible cost.

After a heavy rainstorm, this location still floods before other areas. Always check road conditions before driving to Bear Creek Park.

Marching in the woods

Much of Bear Creek Park is overgrown with dense foliage. At night, frogs make noise too loud to ignore.

You’ll hear other sounds in the woods, too. They’re probably woodland animals, but they are very odd noises.

To some, they sound like people marching or trudging. Lots of people, and heavy steps. Soldiers…? People fleeing the hurricane that came in from Galveston?

No one knows.

That’s why, one evening in early May 2005, two of us investigated Patterson Road.

First, we visited it during the day, to check it for EMF, and so we’d be familiar with anything odd – but easily debunked – after dark.

Compass anomalies at Langham Creek bridge

Right away, we saw anomalous needle swings in excess of 30 degrees on the right side of the Langham Creek bridge as you’re facing Eldridge Road.

That’s significant. The most likely explanation was EMF, but we couldn’t find a logical source. That area is very rural.

Most of our daytime photos were normal, except at this location:

Patterson Road, Langham Area — Photo at Langham Creek. Everything’s crisp except a white mist in the upper left corner.

Close-up Langham Creek mist — Arrow points to white mist in my photo, similar to a mist in others’ photos, taken at the same time. (Photo lightened for this website.)

The sun was quickly setting when I took this photo with a digital camera.

There was no light to create that “misty” effect at the upper left corner of the photo. There was no fog, no rain… nothing to account for that mist.

Could it have been breath? Possibly, except that others have captured a similar white mist at that same stand of trees.

So, we have no reliable explanation.

I have no idea if any “hanging tree” legends exist at that location.

One friend – more familiar with the area – said he’d heard that kind of legend, related to a soldier who wanted to desert his military group. But he wasn’t certain of the exact location.

Langham Creek soldiers?

Langham Creek, Houston, TX — Signs at Langham Creek, Houston, Texas

Langham Creek bridge has the most haunted reputation.

According to local legends, ghosts of Civil War soldiers tap on your car if you park on the bridge with your lights out.

**I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!**

Patterson Road is busy at night with sporting events at nearby Bear Creek Park. Traffic is intermittent, and some people drive faster than they should.

In other words, it’s a dangerous place to stop your car.

But, yes… on that evening, we did pause on the bridge after dark. (Our headlights remained on.)

At that bridge, we heard tapping noises.

All of it could be explained by the car settling and the bridge shifting slightly under the weight of the car.

So, please do NOT pause your car on Langham Creek bridge, or on any road, with your lights off.

Our next stop was Bear Creek bridge and that’s where things got weird…

ghostbat

Ocean-Born Mary: The Truth – Henniker, NH

(WARNING! This spoils the Ocean-Born Mary legend)

Ocean Born Mary - the true story Ocean-Born Mary is one of America’s most famous ghosts. However, only a few parts of her legend are true.

Here is the actual story, according to Henniker records that I researched, on-site.

Ocean-Born Mary really was born in 1720 aboard a ship, the Wolf. Also, her life was spared by the pirate Don Pedro, just as the story claims.

Mary’s father, Captain James Wilson, died soon after they landed in Boston, and his widow, Elizabeth, took Mary to Londonderry, NH, where she claimed the land Capt. Wilson had been granted.

Elizabeth married a second time, to James Clark (great-great grandfather of Horace Greeley, the man who said, “Go West, young man.”). She died about 1732.

1732 was also the year that the Wallace family, originally from Scotland, arrived in Londonderry, NH after living in Burnt Mills, Northern Ireland. (Burnt Mills is not on modern maps, but this is the town mentioned in historical accounts.)

Mary’s Happy Marriage

Thomas Wallace married Mary Wilson on December 18th, 1742.

And yes, she was actually six feet tall, with red hair. And, true to the legend, she wore a gown made from the silk given to her parents by Don Pedro.

The “Ocean-Born” Mary and Thomas Wallace did, indeed, have a daughter and four sons: Elizabeth, Thomas, Robert, William, and James.

However, “Ocean-Born” Mary wasn’t widowed early in life. In fact, Thomas Wallace, Sr., and his wife Mary lived a long and happy life together, until his death on October 30, 1791.

He is buried in Hill Graveyard, in Londonderry, NH.

More family history: Their daughter Elizabeth married Major (later Deacon) Thomas Patterson of the NH Militia; he was the son of Peter Patterson. They had at least one child, Robert Patterson.

Thomas Wallace, Jr., was a distinguished Revolutionary War hero.

Sons Robert, William, and James married sisters, respectively, Jeanette, Hannah, and Anna, all daughters of Robert and Mary Moore of Londonderry.

Mary’s Later Life

“Ocean-Born” Mary Wilson Wallace moved to Henniker on July 6, 1798 at age 78, and spent the rest of her life with her son, William, about a quarter-mile from one of her other sons, Robert Wallace.

Robert is the one who built the mansion that, today, is supposedly haunted by Ocean-Born Mary.

But… William’s journals and the census records suggest that Mary never lived in that house.

Mary died in 1814 and was buried in William Wallace’s family plot, as described in the legend, in Centre Cemetery. (That’s a little odd. Why wasn’t she buried with her husband, back in Londonderry?)

The romantic tale of Don Pedro cannot be documented after the encounter outside Boston Harbor.

So far, I haven’t found a land grant giving him 6,000 acres of land around Henniker. Though it’s unlikely the grant was that large, I can’t rule it out, either. The problem is: the grant was probably in his real name, not given to “Don Pedro.” So, I’m not sure if I’ve overlooked a record of his land grant.

However, Robert Wallace, who built the mansion, was considered a wealthy landowner with a deed to 300 acres surrounding the home. Even 300 acres is a very large piece of land, and could include a significant area around Henniker.

The silk wedding gown was very real, and worn by several of Mary’s descendants at their own weddings. Pieces of the gown remain, in the D.A.R. Museum in Washington, D.C. and in the public library of Henniker, NH. It is a lovely faded teal green silk, in a brocade style, with small teal flowers and white stripes through it.

Where Mary Lived – and Where She Didn’t

The home that Mary actually lived in was reported to be haunted and – after it was abandoned for a few years – the town purchased it in 1844.

It was turned into a poorhouse, known as “Wallace Poor Farm.”

In later years, it was reportedly destroyed by vandals. (The history of that house is just odd enough to make me wonder if it really was haunted… perhaps by Mary. Maybe, as the story was passed from one generation to the next, people confused the brothers’ houses.)

The “Ocean-Born Mary” house, as her son Robert’s mansion is known today, was owned by several families before it was bought in 1917 by Louis Maurice Auguste Roy, author of The Candle Book.

The Roys and Mary’s Legend

Mr. Roy and his mother purchased the house and restored it, after hearing rumors of a ghost.

Soon after completing work on “the Ocean-Born Mary house,” the Roys opened their doors to the public.

They charged admission, and Mr. Roy told colorful tales about Mary Wilson Wallace and the ghost which his mother claimed to have seen many times.

So, it’s possible the Robert Wallace’s house was haunted.

However, Mr. Roy’s stories were laced with fiction.

For example, the phantom rocking chair was never Mary’s, and it rocked because Mr. Roy placed it over a loose floorboard that extended the length of the room. By shifting his weight on it, from the other side of the room, Roy could make the chair sway.

Then, Mr. Roy enticed visitors with his story of the lost fortune of Don Pedro, still buried somewhere in the garden where the pirate had died.

And – as if he didn’t seem enough of a charlatan at that point – Mr. Roy rented shovels to the tourists, for 50-cents each, so they could dig for treasure in the back yard.

The descendants of Mary Wilson Wallace were not amused.

Despite that, Ocean-Born Mary became one of America’s best-known ghosts. After all, the public love stories of adventure, romance, and real-life ghosts.

The ‘Ocean-Born Mary House’ in Recent Years

Mr. Roy died in 1965. Subsequent owners of the home, while intrigued by the legend, have done everything possible to discourage curiosity-seekers from trespassing.

They even moved the road in front of the house, blocking tourists from invading their privacy.

The house last appeared in Yankee magazine in September 1996, where it was in the “House for Sale” section, listed at $875,000.

If that house is haunted – and it may be – it is probably not Ocean-Born Mary who walks there.

The first half of the story – in which the pirate spares the life of the crew and passengers, when the baby is named for his mother – is romantic enough to spark legends. The rest of the Don Pedro story appears to be made up by Mr. Roy.

Oh, “Ocean-Born Mary” may still haunt at least one house in Henniker, NH, and appear in locations around town, especially at Halloween.

Remember, October 30th is when her husband, Thomas Wallace, died. That kind of anniversary – plus any spectral energy at Halloween – could explain why stories of her ghost appear at that time of year.

If You Visit Henniker, New Hampshire

Henniker is a lovely town and it is home to New England College and Pat’s Peak skiing area.

Henniker’s Centre Cemetery is a classic New England graveyard, and perfect for picture-taking, if you like stark and eerie images. Mary Wilson Wallace is buried there.

A Henniker grave marker — Grave marker at Henniker’s Central burial ground.

However, the Ocean-Born Mary ghost story is clearly drawn from Green Lady traditions (because she haunts a house, not a family), and the story of appearing on a horse-drawn coach is straight out of Irish legends.

Mary Wilson Wallace is probably not haunting her son’s home, but she may still haunt Henniker.

Here’s my podcast about Ocean-Born Mary

If you’ve encountered her ghost, I hope you’ll leave a comment and share your story.

Special thanks to Colleen D. of Henniker’s public library,
for her time and assistance in locating materials about Ocean-Born Mary.

Also thanks to Mike Wallace, one of Mary’s relatives,
who provided useful information for our research.

Ocean-Born Mary – Her Ghost in Henniker, NH

“Ocean-Born Mary” is among America’s most famous ghosts.

Her story begins just off the coast of old New England. Her story includes adventure, romance, and – of course – a classic ghost or two.

Here’s what I discovered in my research in the town of Henniker, New Hampshire, at its public library, and during a visit to Mary’s grave.

The Legend of Ocean-Born Mary

Mary Wilson was born at sea on July 17th, 1720 (according to the old calendar), soon after her parents set sail from Londonderry, Ireland, aboard the ship, the Wolf. (If you’re going to investigate, the modern calendar anniversary of her birth is July 28th.)

As the ship neared Boston harbor, it was boarded by pirates, led by the ruthless – but very young and handsome – Don Pedro.

Don Pedro learned that there was a newborn aboard, and offered to let the ship and its passengers continue their voyage, unharmed, if the Wilsons would name the baby “Mary,” after his beloved mother.

The Wilsons eagerly agreed, so Don Pedro honored his promise and let them continue to Boston.

However, before his own ship of ruthless (and now unhappy) pirates sailed away, Don Pedro returned to the Wolf with a length of Chinese silk. He told the Wilsons that the fabric should one day be used for Mary’s wedding gown.

So, many years later – just before Christmas in 1742 – when Mary and Scotsman Thomas Wallace married, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, her wedding gown was made from that silk. (You can see a piece from it at the Henniker Public Library, and a larger piece in a museum in Washington, D.C.)

Mary and Thomas Wallace had a happy marriage, and their family quickly grew to include a daughter and four sons.

Sadly, Mary was widowed soon after the birth of her last son.

Word of the tragedy reached Don Pedro. Though he was still a relatively young man, he was eager to settle far from the call of the sea. During his career as a pirate, he’d earned – and saved – a fortune.

He ordered his men to row up the Contoocook River to the 6,000 acres of land he’d been granted by the King of England.

Apparently, “Don Pedro” was actually an English nobleman, previously the “black sheep” of the family, but now his wandering days were over.

Don Pedro had his ship’s carpenter build a fine mansion on a hilltop in what is now known as Henniker, New Hampshire. Even today, the house is known for its beams and detailing. They’re uniquely like a ship.

When the house was completed, Don Pedro went to Londonderry and begged Mary to live with him – as his housekeeper, since she still mourned her late husband. According to local legend, Don Pedro supported Mary and her children in grand style for many happy years.

However, the fortune that Don Pedro had earned was also the cause of his death. One night, men came to the Henniker mansion under the pretense of visiting with their old friend, Don Pedro.

Mary and her children went to bed, unaware that tragedy would soon strike.

Mary heard a curse from outside her window, and then a groan. Recognizing the voice of Don Pedro, she rushed to the garden and found him alone, dying with a pirate’s cutlass in his chest.

Before he died, he told Mary where he’d hidden his gold. Then, he asked her to bury him beneath the hearth in the home they’d shared so happily.

She honored his wishes. After that, Mary lived a long and comfortable life, never leaving the Henniker home. Don Pedro’s fortune had been so large, Mary left most of it where he’d hidden it. According to stories, it’s still somewhere on the property. (But, before you grab a metal detector and start looking for the treasure, remember this: Don Pedro’s land grant was 6,000 acres. The gold and jewels could be almost anywhere around Henniker.)

One of Mary’s hobbies was painting, and the American eagle and stars she painted over the front door of the home, can still be seen there today. Inside, her landscape murals decorate many rooms in the home.

Mary is Probably a ‘Green Lady’ Ghost

After her death in 1814, her spirit remained in the house, as a “green lady” ghost. That is, she protects the home and the people in it.

In the early 20th century, the home was opened to the public. Visitors often saw her rocking chair sway gently as she let them know she welcomed them.

Mary has been sensed near the hearth she tended carefully, after it became the final resting spot of Don Pedro.

In more recent years, two NH state policemen saw her one night, crossing the road in front of her house.

Hans Holzer, the famous ghost expert, has conducted two different (and apparently successful) seances to contact Mary. As recently as 1963, Mary helped put out a blazing fire in the house, while the owners watched in amazement.

Mary’s Halloween Ghost

On many Halloween nights, Mary rises from her grave in Henniker’s Centre Cemetery (twelve rows back from the front gate, and marked with a special plaque), and rides a magnificent horse-drawn coach to her home. (Her grave is shown in the photo, below.)

Ocean Born Mary's gravestone — Ocean-Born Mary’s gravestone, in Henniker, NH

Many people have seen Mary’s ghost. They always comment on her red hair, green eyes, and magnificent stature, at about six feet tall.

Even as a ghost, she’s an astonishingly beautiful woman. Her home is privately owned and definitely NOT open to visitors. Please respect the owners’ privacy.

Ocean-Born Mary remains one of America’s most famous and beloved ghosts. Many people around Henniker will tell you about their encounters with her, especially around Halloween.

That is the legend, and it is a wonderful story. Unfortunately, only half of it is true.

If you want to know more about the real Ocean-Born Mary, read The Truth about Ocean-Born Mary’s Ghost. It is not nearly as romantic as the ghost story, but it’s still fascinating.