Haunted Vermont

/ Haunted Vermont

VERMONT’S HISTORIC HIGHWAYS OFFER ROUTES FOR EXPLORING HAUNTED SITES

Travelers can follow Vermont’s historic highways exploring haunted sites from the southwest “Bennington Triangle,” where a number of hikers mysteriously went missing between 1920 and 1950, to Lake Memphremagog on Vermont’s northern border where the ghost of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne has been spotted, and many mysterious places in between.“Ghosts have been part of the Vermont landscape for hundreds of years, marking each phase of Vermont’s historical development,” says Joseph Citro, Vermont’s official Ghost-Master General, in his book The Vermont Ghost Guide. “Across all corners of the state, vengeful vagrants, lovelorn ladies, and lonely lads lurk in Vermont’s eternal shadows.”

A road leads through forests with bright orange, red, and yellow leaves on trees in the fall. The sky is overcast, lending the image a haunted feeling.

Travelers hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these elusive figures can follow Vermont’s intricate highway system, which connects one haunted location to the next. Starting in the southern part of the state in Bennington, visitors can drive North on Route 7 to The Equinox off exit three in historic Manchester Village where the spirit of Mary Todd Lincoln is rumored to haunt the third and fourth floors of the resort’s south wing.

Continue north to West Castleton off exit four, where Irish immigrant slate workers enjoyed crossing Lake Bomoseen to visit a tavern on the opposite shore. One particularly gloomy evening three men did not return and despite a painstaking search, were never found. Residents today claim that during a full moon, a dark, vacant and ghostly rowboat can be seen drifting silently across the lake.

MORE GHOST STORIES

Visitors to central Vermont will enjoy many haunted locations, several accessible by exit ten off Route 89. At the Old Stagecoach Inn in Waterbury, the innkeeper was baffled when an unfamiliar couple came downstairs saying they had been admitted by an older woman. No such employee existed, but it did sound exactly like the hotel’s former owner – the long-dead Nettie Spencer.

Further north, Stowe is home to numerous ghosts, including Boots Berry. Born in 1840 in the servant’s quarters of The Green Mountain Inn, he was a local hero before he was dismissed for excessive drinking. He eventually drifted back and saved a little girl stuck on the Inn’s roof during a snowstorm before slipping and falling to his death. During severe winter storms, Boots can still be heard tap dancing on the third floor of the hotel.

A covered bridge in the fall with yellow leaves in the foreground.

Stowe’s Gold Brook Bridge is also known as “Emily’s Bridge” as it is haunted by the ghost of a lovelorn Emily who died on the bridge after being stood up on her wedding day. Visitors to the bridge have reported scratch marks appearing on their cars and strange noises such as footsteps, ropes tightening, and screams.

Along Route 91 in eastern Vermont is the Golden Stage Inn in Cavendish off exit six, where the innkeepers have become familiar with a young friendly spirit they’ve named George, who appears dressed in a traveling cloak and some say bears a remarkable resemblance to Robert Redford.

Off of exit nine between Windsor and Woodstock, a solitary rider dressed entirely in black is spotted from time to time splashing along the rotted timbers of an old plank road built through Snail Swamp. No one knows who he is or why he patrols Snail Swamp, but he always travels towards Woodstock.

Vermont’s Haunted Places

Mist winds around a reportedly haunted 19th century castle and slanted windows traditionally built to keep witches out adorn old houses. Discover round churches, bridges with haunting stories, and beautifully kept cemeteries as you explore Vermont during spooky season.

Wilson Castle

Built in 1885 by a Vermont doctor for his English wife, Wilson Castle contains two turrets, 84 stained glass windows, a parapet, and a balcony. The reportedly haunted castle is open for tours, including by candlelight in September and October.

Green Mount Cemetery

Detailed funerary art amid rolling hills makes Montpelier’s Green Mount Cemetery an inspiring place to walk and reflect.

Timothy Clark Smith Grave

A Vermont doctor, terrified of being buried alive, created an elaborate grave for himself featuring a window in Evergreen Cemetery in Newfane.

Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard

Some graveyards bring goosebumps onto your skin. The Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard is more mouthwatering than spine-shivering, highlighting discontinued flavors from the Vermont-founded dessert brand.

Stones to Bones at the Old Stone House

Helping clean gravestones at Brownington’s Old Stone House can help connect with lives long ago lived, as well as offer the chance to appreciate funerary art. This annual event also features crafting a seasonal harvest doll.

Rutland Halloween Parade

Since 1960, this annual parade has brought Halloween-decorated floats, music, and fun to the streets of Vermont’s third-largest city.

Wampahoofus Trail

Wampahoofus Trail was named for a Green Mountain mythical creature reported to have died out long ago. Hike the trail for beautiful views from Vermont’s highest peak.

Great Vermont Corn Maze

New England’s largest corn maze sprawls across 24 acres of land on a hill, featuring three unique sections for all ages. Discover surprises like an underground tunnel and 100 feet of bridges.

Freedlyville Quarry

This deep, arch-shaped cavern is dug directly into a mountain near Dorset, Vermont. A large pond inside the abandoned quarry freezes solid in the winter, allowing ice skaters to explore pathways inside the cavern.