The Barnstable House
THE BARNSTABLE HOUSE IS KNOWN AS “THE HOUSE OF 11 GHOSTS” AND IS REPUTED AS ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTED LOCATIONS ON CAPE COD
Early records indicate that this house was owned and probably built by James Paine (1665-1728), grandfather of Robert Treat Paine a participant at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. At the death of James Paine, his widow Bethia, inherited one half of the house (the western half) and one half the land thereunder. The remainder of the property went to his other heirs.
There are said to be a total of eleven ghosts who inhabit the Barnstable House. Perhaps the most well known is the entity of a young girl, known as Lucy.
The Barnstable House was originally constructed in Scituate, Massachusetts circa 1713 and then transported by barge to its current location in 1716.
The most notorious entity of The Barnstable House is Lucy, a ten year old child. It was common in colonial days to build your homestead over a fresh running water source or spring. It is said that Lucy was playing with a blue ball in the cellar which rolled in to the spring running beneath the property. Trying to retrieve her ball, Lucy tragically drowned. It has been reported that Lucy has been seen both skipping around the dining room when the property was a restaurant, while others have reported seeing her with a blue ball.
Lucy’s Mother was remembered as being hopeful about her child’s return. She apparently still waits quietly, rocking back and forth in her rocking chair. While some reports have witnessed a chair rocking on its own in what was formerly known as the “blue room”, the New England Society of Paranormal Investigations recently recorded an EVP of a woman softly humming in the third floor attic.
Edmond Hawes was a onetime owner of the house who hanged himself after losing his entire fortune with the conversion of Continental Currency to our modern day dollar. He shortly thereafter, hanged himself from a nearby try and the presence of his ghost has been felt by some.
Perhaps the experience witnessed by most was a woman, known as Martha, who is remembered as being dressed in a flowing white gown with a high collar. In the 1970’s a fire broke out in The Barnstable House and smoke was billowing from the third floor windows. Three fireman claim to have seen her in the window, went to rescue her, and she was nowhere to be found. Another witness reported seeing her standing toward the rear of the parking area after the fireman searched for her.
Captain Graves was yet another sea captain to reside in The Barnstable House. The cause of his death is unknown but there have been reports of his presence in the cellar.
* Listing information and/or photos were researched on the Internet and provided by a third-party, article or property owner's website and is deemed accurate, but not guaranteed, to the best of our knowledge.