Real Haunted Houses » Massachusetts

The Curse Of Giles Corey

Robin Wright — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:48:29 +0000

The Salem Witch Trials will always hold a spooky part in our national hearts, but as the years go by, many have come to the conclusion that the hysteria that struck Salem Town and Salem Village (now Danvers) was more about greed than the supernatural. The accused often had trouble with their neighbors regarding property rights, livestock, and general issues of jealousy. However, the tale of Giles Corey’s death and the legacy left for the area’s law enforcement is a tale of greed with a liberal helping of the supernatural.

Giles Corey was one of six men who died during the trials that ran from May through October of 1692. He was the only one tortured; the rest were either hung or died in jail. Implicated by Abigail Hobbs, the Corey’s were brought to Ingersoll’s Tavern to be examined. Giles, who was in his 80’s at the time, had at first encouraged an accusation against his wife, Martha. Later he tried to recant when he realized just how ugly and disturbing the trials had become.

It is also believed he realized that his home, land, and all other wealth were in great danger. The sketchy laws of the time supposedly decreed that anyone found guilty of witchcraft would lose all of their holdings, leaving nothing for those who stood to inherit. Once Giles himself had been accused, he knew that pleading innocent would not only lead to his death, but would most likely lead to conviction anyway. To save his holdings for his family (two sons-in-law) to inherit, Corey refused to plea neither guilty nor innocent. In this strange legal twist his recently land could not be awarded back to the colony after his death, no matter how he died.

Although many speculated that Corey refused to stand for trial and place an appropriate plea because of what would happen to his land, it seems he may have done it out of sheer rebellion. According to some sources, neither Massachusetts law nor English law would insist on such forfeiture—the true danger came from the greedy wrangling of the sheriff himself. It appears that Corey’s less than popular stance in Salem society had caused him to create a will deeding his property to his sons-in-law, William Cleeves and John Moulton, even before his arrest. Perhaps he knew something was coming or perhaps a previous run-in with the law had caused him to grow wary. Regardless, heirs were legally able to retain lands that otherwise would have been forfeit in Massachusetts at the time due to certain criminal dealings.

The solution to Corey’s refusal to submit to the court and offer a plea, as perceived by Sheriff George Corwin, the son of Witch Trials magistrate Jonathan Corwin, was to torture him until he did plea. Corwin had been profiting from the Salem Witch Trials, as it was he who was in charge of confiscating property and dividing it among the leaders of Salem. The court ordered Corey a sentence of “peine forte et dure” even though this torture was illegal in the Massachusetts colony. In all of US history, Giles Corey is the only person who was pressed to death by the order of a court. Sheriff Corwin himself watched as Giles Corey was slowly crushed to death in a field just outside old Salem Jail, a field that is now known as Howard Cemetery.

A board was placed upon the old man’s chest and slowly loaded with more and more heavy fieldstones. According to tradition, it took him two days to die beneath the weighted board.

Folklore has it that Corey repeated, “More weight!” when asked to plea. However, there are also tales that Corey actually cursed Sheriff Corwin and the whole of Salem with his dying breath. Buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill, it seems that this curse may have actually been quite effective.

According to local historian and former sheriff of Essex County, Robert Cahill, each and every sheriff starting with George Corwin to himself had either died in office or was forced into early retirement due to a heart or blood ailment. Corwin died of a heart attack in 1696; Cahill left his post after his own heart attack much more recently.

The curse goes beyond the sheriff’s post, however. Whenever a tragedy befalls Salem, people claim to see Giles Corey’s ghost soon after. Could it be that he makes occasional appearances to savoring the suffering of Salem—and the fruits of his curse? Giles Corey’s spirit was supposedly seen even before his death by accuser Anne Putnam who claimed his spectre visited her, trying to entice her into writing in “the Devil’s book.”

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Part of the Family

justin — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 23:24:01 +0000

In a story dating back to 1973, a very old house on 91 Old Sudbury Rd, Wayland MA, was reported to be haunted. The house was originally built in late 17th or early 18th century. The house’s biggest claim to fame was that Lydia Maria Child lived out here final years there. (She was the poet who wrote “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go”). Over the years other rooms and pieces were added to the house. The owners of the house reported that half of the house felt cold and extremely frightening (the living room, family room, front hall, and screen porch). The other half also felt inhabited but by a warm and comforting presence.

The children were in the dining room one day. There was a door that was always kept open that led to the front hall. In a modern house such a door would probably seem out-of-place as openings from one common room to another are usually doorless, however, in this house there was a door between the two rooms. Suddenly this door opened then violently slammed closed. This happened about four or five times. Then, as if two invisible people were fighting, the door slammed back in forth very fast for about 10 or 15 seconds.

Thing of this sort, as the family tells it, happened so often that they became regular. Strangely enough, one of the children later reported that when he moved out of that house, he always felt his new dwellings empty without his family ghost.

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Quaker Cemetery

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:07:10 +0000

Called Spider Gates because it has eight gates, this cemetery is said to be very dangerous. Starting at the first gate it is said that one will hear whispers and notice leaves moving around when the wind is calm. As one gets closer to the eighth gate, it is said they will feel the sensation of someone brushing against them. Others have reported seeing people walking aimlessly around graves. As one gets closer to the eight gate, the sensations and images become so strong that most people faint. No one has ever made it to the eight gate. It is said that some have suffered massive heart attacks and died because they were over come with fear.

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Joshua Ward House

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:06:55 +0000

Built on the foundation of the former sheriff that was responsible for hanging witches during the infamous Salem witch trials’s house, many reports of hauntings in the house have been reported. The sheriff used an old English law that allowed him to crush a suspected witch with rocks to make him plead guilty or innocent. The man eventually died, but he did so, he “cursed” the sheriff. The sheriff died 5 years later of unknown causes. Candles have mysteriously been taken out of their holders and melted, trash cans have turned over, it is always cold in the corner of one room, alarms are set off for no reason, one guest has seen an elderly ghost sitting by the fireplace, and a picture has been taken of one of the ghosts

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Daniel Burgess House

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:06:10 +0000

This house, which sits across from a cemetery, is said to be located on the site of the first Massachusetts hanging. There have been various reports of a child wailing and singing erratically and without melody in the attic. Keys and wallets often turn up missing never to be found again. Throughout the house, there are said to be many hot spots in which the temperature is several degrees above normal.

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Pass the Jack

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:05:27 +0000

It is said that on St. Patrick’s evening, 1874, an intoxicated man was walking alone. So inebriated was he, that he stumbled over the cliff. His remains were never found; only a bottle of whiskey was located at the site of the accident. It is said that on the evening of every St. Patrick’s Day, the man can be seen drinking a bottle of whiskey.

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A Pirate’s Revenge

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:04:31 +0000

A former owner of this house was the captain of a sea-faring vessel that was credited with sinking a pirate’s ship. A year after this battle, the captain disappeared. The house has changed ownership several times since then, mainly due to the hauntings the house possessed. In 1993, which was exactly 200 years after the disappearance of the captain, the son of the house awoke to get a drink. In the hallway, he encountered a scrawny pirate with four pistols dueling with the sea captain. In the morning, blood stains were seen on the couch. Other strange occurrences include loud bumps in the night, the sound of swords clashing, and strange growling noises. While adding an addition to the house, workmen discovered a glass bottle with a blood-stained ship inside. After this find, the hauntings ceased.

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Curious Blonde

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:03:56 +0000

This house, built in 1850 by a carriage maker, is home to a young, thin blonde girl. The girl has been spotted numerous times while seeming curious, and wearing an off-white dress, which has a few dirt spots, as if she had been playing outside. This girl was supposedly the daughter of the original owner of the house, and died of an illness. It has also been reported that the girl moves various objects around the house.

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Fort Warren

justin — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:02:49 +0000

Used as a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War, Georges Island is said to have many ghosts. It is reported that one ghost may be heard playing “John Brown�s Body” on the harmonica. In another story, one woman dressed as a man to get into the island to see her lover, a rebel prisoner. Subsequently, she was hanged in a black dress given to her by the warden’s wife. It is said that the woman may still be heard screaming today.

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