1. The Lizzie Borden House
“Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks; when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”
This infamous rhyme comes from the Borden murders. Andrew and his second wife Abby Borden were found bludgeoned and hacked to pieces in their house on August 4, 1892, in Fall River. The prime suspect? His daughter Lizzie. Although she was never convicted, many still suspect she was the perpetrator of this heinous crime. The house has since been renovated and converted into a bed and breakfast that’s supposedly haunted by Lizzie and her parents. Day tours are also given, but you can rent Lizzie’s room for $225 a stay. Are you willing to sleep the night?
2. Spider Gates Cemetery
This ominous cemetery is housed in Leicester and shrouded in darkness. It was built in the 1730s by a group of Quakers who believed that the earth held power. Many rumors also precede the necropolis, including that of a boy hanging himself, a raised bit of land nicknamed “The Altar” where Satanic rituals are held, the trees rustling without wind, and the Legend of Marmaduke’s Grave- an urban legend that says if you walk around Earle Marmaduke’s grave 10 times at midnight and say “Marmaduke speak to me,” kneel, and put your forehead to the stone it will speak to you. Is this real? It’s up to you to find out.
3. The Mill Pond Wizard
The Mill Pond in Easton is the site of a bizarre folk story that might hold some truth. In the 18th century, John Selee built a sawmill and after he died, his son Nathan took over. However, the devil visited him one night and told him to join him. But, a lightning storm scared Nathan so bad he ran back to his house. The devil was still able to convince Nathan to sell his soul and imps showed up the next morning and worked at the mill until it burned down. Locals in the area claim to have heard whispering and laughing in the woods. The only thing that stands at the site is an odd sign that denotes the legend of Nathan Selee, the Mill Pond Wizard.
4. Metropolitan State Hospital
Although the Metropolitan State Hospital has been shut down since 1992, its horrific history still follows. The Metropolitan State Hospital is a mental care facility that had locations stretching from Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont that first opened in 1927. The infamous crime it’s known for came to a head in 1978 when Anna Marie Davee was murdered by her fellow patient Melvin Wilson, who hid the body in three different locations after her death. Despite being caught with seven of her teeth by staff, Wilson and the murder wasn’t investigated until almost two years after her disappearance. Maybe Davee’s body still lingers within the halls, crying out for the justice she deserved.
5. Meetinghouse Cemetery
While most of this graveyard in Princeton is unremarkable, it contains the tombstone of one Lucy Keyes, a girl gone missing and never found again. Lucy Keyes went missing on April 14, 1755, after trying to trail her sisters and ending up getting lost. The kidnapper was never found but some suspect it was a feuding neighbor who confessed it on his deathbed. However, eyewitness accounts claim they saw a white woman living among a tribe of natives that said she used to live near “‘Chusett Hill.” Her grave is next to her mother’s in this cemetery although no body was ever found. Legend has it that her mother’s voice can still be heard in the surrounding forest, crying out for her lost daughter.
(Gravestones from the Meetinghouse Cemetery, including captain Elisha Allen who was inhumanly murdered by Robert Frost, Coronel Benjamin Holden who died at 92, at the gravestones of Martha (Lucy’s mother) and Lucy Keyes. The Keyes’ tombstones are in the back of the graveyard next to each other.)