The Haunting of The Proprietary House

The Proprietary House — Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey

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The stately Georgian mansion standing in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, may look like a slice of colonial elegance — but behind its dignified brick façade lurks a haunted history that refuses to be forgotten.

Built in 1764, the Proprietary House was intended as the official residence of the royal governors of New Jersey. The most infamous of these residents was William Franklin, the estranged Loyalist son of founding father Benjamin Franklin. As tensions rose between Britain and her colonies, William remained loyal to the Crown — a decision that ultimately tore his family apart and sealed his fate. He was arrested in 1776 and imprisoned by Patriot forces, never to return to the house again.

But something of William’s spirit may have stayed behind.

After the Revolutionary War, the mansion passed through many hands — serving at various times as a private residence, a hotel, a retirement home, and eventually, a historical site. But no matter how many renovations or restorations took place, the energy inside the Proprietary House never quite settled. Visitors, staff, and paranormal investigators have reported a wide range of eerie activity that suggests the house is still very much alive with unseen forces.

Some have heard disembodied footsteps pacing the upper halls when no one is there. Others have seen flickering candlelight in rooms that were dark only moments before. Perhaps most chilling are the frequent accounts of shadowy figures, particularly that of a man in colonial attire believed to be William Franklin himself. Witnesses say he appears most often near the grand staircase, his expression solemn — as if still weighed down by betrayal, duty, and regret.

Another spirit is said to be that of a mourning woman in gray, often spotted in the gardens or gazing out the upstairs windows. Some believe she is the widow of a former occupant, endlessly waiting for a husband who never returned from war.

Over the years, paranormal investigators have captured EVPs, cold spots, and unexplained electromagnetic disturbances throughout the house. Lights flicker without cause, and locked doors are found mysteriously open. Even skeptics admit that the Proprietary House has an unsettling presence — one that cannot easily be explained away.

Still, the mansion continues to open its doors to the public. It is currently managed by the Proprietary House Association, which offers historical tours and special haunted events throughout the year. But be warned: those who visit after dark often leave with more questions than answers — and a lingering feeling that something followed them out.

Location:
The Proprietary House
149 Kearny Avenue
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861

Phone: (732) 826-5527
Website: proprietaryhouse.org

Note: Photography is allowed in most areas. Paranormal tours may have limited space, so reservations are recommended.

📰 Ghostly Gazette: Charleville Castle: Netflix’s Wednesday Meets Ireland’s Most Haunted Keep

Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland

Charleville Castle—a towering Gothic Revival fortress near Tullamore—has stepped back into the spotlight as a key filming site for Wednesday season 2, while retaining its long-held reputation as one of Ireland’s most haunted places. Recent coverage confirms the castle provided Nevermore Academy interiors as the production moved from Romania to Ireland. 0

From Romania to Offaly: Nevermore’s New Halls

Season 1’s Nevermore exterior was Romania’s Cantacuzino Castle; for season 2, crews filmed in Ireland, using Charleville Castle for key interior sequences and additional Irish locations for exteriors and set builds. Location features highlighted the match between Charleville’s arches, staircases, and woodwork and Nevermore’s moody academic vibe.

“Harriet on the Stairs”: The Castle’s Signature Ghost

Charleville’s most famous spirit is Harriet Bury, the eight-year-old daughter of the third Earl of Charleville, said to have died after a fall on the grand staircase in 1861. Visitors and guides still speak of childlike footsteps, cool spots near the stairwell, and fleeting giggles in the nursery wing. 

Ranked Among the World’s Haunted Destinations

This October, travel and local outlets noted Charleville’s inclusion on lists of top haunted places to visit—timely recognition as fans arrive for filming lore and stay for spectral stories. 

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Visitor Information

Location: Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Ireland

Tours: Guided access is limited and often volunteer-run; schedules can change. Always check the castle’s official site or local listings before traveling.

Notes for Fans: Filming access is not available during productions; interior sets and dressing vary from what appears onscreen.

Spookfest: 1692-1693 Salem Witch Trials- Part 3

Gallows Hill: Death in the Name of FearFour Seasons Spookfest — October 17, 2025

There’s a hill in Salem where the trees grow still and heavy. Where wind carries voices long gone, and silence speaks louder than the leaves.

They call it Gallows Hill — a place where fear wore the mask of justice.

From June to September of 1692, nineteen people were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, accused of witchcraft by neighbors, strangers, and former friends. Their crimes? Speaking out. Owning land. Being different. Being too poor. Too rich. Too female. Too foreign. Too inconvenient.

The executions were public. The hill became a spectacle. Townspeople gathered like it was theater, not murder. They watched as the carts arrived. As ropes were tightened. As souls left bodies in silence.

But make no mistake — this was not justice.

It was politics. Greed. Religion twisted into fear. It was mass hysteria, fueled by personal vendettas, false visions, and a broken legal system that allowed spectral evidence — dreams and accusations — to outweigh fact.

And it left a stain on the land that lingers even now.

Many visitors to Salem speak of a heaviness in the air around Gallows Hill and Proctor’s Ledge, now recognized as the likely site of the hangings. Some say the trees themselves remember — that the earth recoils from what happened.

People report:

• Sudden chills that strike even on warm days.
• Footsteps in the gravel behind them when no one is there.
• A strange, pressing silence that falls the moment they approach the ledge.
• Unexplained emotions — grief, fear, anxiety — as if they’re carrying someone else’s sorrow.

And always… the sense that they’re not alone.

Gallows Hill is not just a haunted place.
It’s a sacred one.

Not because of what stood there,
but because of what fell there.

Not because of ghosts,
but because of the lives unjustly taken — and the names we still speak.

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✨ Dedication to the Lost — Salem, 1692 🕊

They called them witches. But they were mothers, fathers, grandparents, daughters, sons, neighbors, and friends.

They were people.

And they died not for what they did — but for what others feared.

We remember their names:

⚰️ Hanged at Gallows Hill

June 10, 1692
• Bridget Bishop

July 19, 1692
• Sarah Good
• Rebecca Nurse
• Susannah Martin
• Elizabeth Howe
• Sarah Wildes

August 19, 1692
• George Burroughs
• George Jacobs Sr.
• John Proctor
• John Willard
• Martha Carrier

September 22, 1692
• Martha Corey
• Mary Eastey
• Alice Parker
• Ann Pudeator
• Margaret Scott
• Wilmot Redd
• Samuel Wardwell
• Mary Parker

And on September 19, 1692
• Giles Corey was pressed to death beneath stones.
His final words: “More weight.”

To their families, who lived with broken hearts and empty chairs —
To every soul silenced in the name of fear —

We see you. We speak your names. And we will not forget.