My family went on a Dead of Night Ghost Tour in Plymouth, it is always so much fun!
First, I have to say that I love Plymouth. I love the history, the architecture, the ocean water, and the beauty of the downtown area...and I also have a strong respect for all of the past that still remain in those buildings and on that land/ocean.
I moved here about 20 years ago, and when I first came to town my friend, who is a Plymouthian from Plymouth Proper, took me and another friend who recently moved there on guided tour rides around the town to learn its storied history, visit the different sub-sections of Plymouth, and basically just get to know our way around. (These rides always ended at one of the many fine eating and drinking establishments in the downtown/waterfront area. I also refer to this group of friends as "the ladies," we've known each other since college.)
It was on these weekend day tours that I started to realize my mediumship skills were going off the charts when I entered some of the buildings. I would walk in and see and hear past events, random people, sparkling lights, or even dark shadows. It was very hard for me to control it back then. On top of that, I wasn't really sure what was happening to me. For instance, the exact building the dead of night ghost tour runs out of used to be an antique shop.
One of the ladies loves antiques, so we would always go into the Curiosity Shop, and quite curious it was! I remember one time my friend asked the purveyor if he had a certain tea set that she had seen the last time in. He, in a very matter-of-fact manner, says, "The items in this store move on their own daily. I have no idea where anything is, ever. Nor do I know what I actually have in stock as it disappears and reappears somewhere else weeks later." In this same visit to the store, I first realized that old photos spoke to me. Like the people in them, their eyes would also twinkle/move and I would be able to understand them through looking at their eyes. It was crazy, I thought I was crazy! Thankfully, my friends could always tell when something happened...well generally because I would literally run out of buildings and wait outside. Any time I was waiting outside, something happened. (They helped me and dealt with me telling them crazy things about places in Plymouth for ten years. Thank God they love me. lol. And the photo reading in the shop, yeah, that was one of my first exercises in a mediumship class.)
The Dead of Night Ghost tour starts at the Curiosity Shop, you check in and get your lantern there. (My ladies and I also went back in the day when you would meet them at a hearse next to Plymouth rock, that was the bee's knees!)
From there you walk past the statue of Massasoit, to the top of Cole's Hill where you stop to learn about the sarcophagus. (Why yes, Plymouth has a sarcophagus atop Cole's Hill. Doesn't every town have one?!?! Cole's Hill is actually the first burial place the Pilgrims used. Yup, lots and lots of dead people on that hill. We need to remember what the Pilgrims endured and realize that kind of energy never dissipates.)
The tour continues on to the oldest street in America, Leyden Street. It was named Leyden Street after the city in Holland that offered the Pilgrims refuge before coming to America. The guide (we had Bob) tells you who lived where and gives a real sense of what it might have felt like in colonial times. He also tells you what the current occupants may be experiencing in the homes now. (Some of the owners have gone on the tour and told their tales.) The homes are gorgeous and full of spirit. (Read Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick to learn more about the colony. It's fascinating!)
As you continue on the tour, you walk through the town square and up into Burial Hill. This is where the tour turns more macabre. At first on the tour, you feel like you are just walking Plymouth at night, it is always kinda creepy cool, for many reasons.
But once you are in Burial Hill, it's dark. You are in a cemetery and a cemetery that is said to be haunted by its inhabitants! (Please note, you are not allowed on Burial Hill at night unless you are on one of the ghost tours. They have permission to take groups up there, otherwise, you may find yourself in the clink for a night.)
You learn of stories of the pilgrims, visit the first site of the fort/hospital and you see where they are laid to rest. Here lyes Governor Bradford.
As you go through the cemetery, you learn about the bride, the crew of the Brigantine General Arnold (see here for the story.), the slave named Sally, and many more. (Bob even brought an EMF reader to show energy action at one of the gravesites! Very spooky fun to see in person.)
Once you descend Burial Hill you are back in the town Square. (The Town Square where legend has it, says the colonists placed King Philip's head on a pike and displayed it for twenty years! Yikes! They also did their hanging there. Double Yikes! and the gallows are still housed in the courthouse! Triple yikes! Interestingly enough, King Philip's Native American name is Metacomet, and he is the son of Massasoit, the first thing you see on tour and friend to the colonists. It is also the most probable spot that the first thanksgiving took place.)
The history here is like an onion, with each layer, there is a new story and seemingly new haunt. One of the courthouse stories says that 170 unnamed and unclaimed brigantine sailors stayed there for the winter after they died, not an uncommon practice in those days. How do you bury the dead in frozen ground? You don't. You wait for it to thaw and bury them then. The sailors are now in a mass grave on Burial Hill. May their souls rest in peace.
There is also the ever-present undercurrent of native Americans throughout the entire area. The King Philips War and the plague before it really did a number on the people and the land. (Again, we need to remember what the Native Americans endured and realize that kind of energy never dissipates.)
You then walk back to the Curiosity Shop to either go on your merry way or continue onto the house tours.
For this latest tour with the family, we left at this point thanks to COVID and a late-in-the-day booking. (I did do the house tour with my ladies and it was amazing! If you can get in it, then do it!)
I wanted to thank the tour guides and the Dead of night Ghost Tours in Plymouth for being there. I am super happy that they have persevered and gone from the hearse at the rock to the Curiosity Shop. It is great to see a local business flourish. Rumor has it, that they will appear in season 3 of Portals to Hell with Jack Osbourne and Katrina Weidman. Go visit them and take in a tour.
As a family experience, the walking tour was great. It was enough history and haunt to keep the teenagers interested and the little ones spooked up. I would highly recommend you try it and wear your walking shoes. (Burial Hill will kill ya in heels. Haha!)
In fact, we enjoyed it so much, the group of us went back the next morning to check it out in the daylight. It was even more delightful by day. The view is amazing and when the fall leaves pop it will be absolutely spooktacular.
It was fun to review all of the information the next day and retrace our spooky steps.
We even got to visit family members while there. And that is a somewhat odd story. We came to the top of the hill where the fort originally was and there was a yokal looking guy there. He asked, "Are you here to visit family?" And I replied, "Nah man, we are just retracing our ghost tour steps from last night." To which we all chuckled. We shared the story of the Brigantine and showed him the mass grave marker. He was in fact there to visit his family and had come all the way from California to do it.
After that brief conversation, we revisited the fort and then realized that we were visiting family. We were standing and chatting with the man literally next to the Warren Family plot. One of the branches on our family tree traces back to the Warren family who came over on the Mayflower, as many people around here do. So I never really think much about it. Maybe we will join the Mayflower Society someday, I would love to tour that home.
My daughter did notice a few things in the windows of the courthouse the next day. (It is also on my list of places to tour.)
Can you see anything in the windows? Hint: Remember the story of the bride and the brigantine. 😱
in the window left of the front door, the top right middle portion seems to show a man that kinda looks like Edward Scissorhands or a sailor perhaps?
and this is the window to the right of the front door, it appears to show a bride in her carriage.....she kinda looks like Helena Bonham Carter if you ask me.
One may never know if this is mere reflection or spirit. What do you think?
I do know that my spidey senses tingle whenever in downtown Plymouth....just as they always do. History is everywhere around us. With history comes the good and bad and the in-between, and sometimes things just remain.
And the remains at Cordage Park, completely different vibe.....til the next blog.
Please be kind.
Hope and light lives within us all.
xoxo
Joyce
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“I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.” ― Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
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