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Robert Shaw
watercolor New Castle Waterfront (circa
1830).
Reproduced with permission of The Historical
Society of Delaware.
Haunted Dwellings of Old New Castle,
Delaware
History of the town:
The Dutch were the first to found
this city in the 1600's, calling it New Amstel. It wasn't destined to
stay in Dutch hands, however as it was then conquered by the Swedes and
then the British in 1682, who renamed the town, New Castle.
Many of the tall colonial homes found
here date back at least 200 years, and many of the buildings in the town
are home to various ghosts from times gone by. Besides having some of
the oldest homes and buildings in America, the town still has cobble stone
streets, with huge, ancient trees, which together gives the place a strong
historical ambiance which engulfs the visitor.
The most sorrowful event that happened
in this town was the fire which broke out on April 26, 1824, which destroyed
22 homes and buildings, which probably killed some people as well. Luckily,
the hard-working fire fighters from the city of Wilmington, most of the
town was left standing, if a bit cinged.
Haunted Houses:
Battery Park Home - This 200 year
old, privately owned home has at least one apparition, thought to be a
woman, keeping the male owner company.
a) General "puzzling activity"
- An unknown presence(s) likes to strum the guitar, reorganize the dishes,
which sometime fly out of the cubboards, and broke a window from the
inside.
b) Apport activity - the owner found
a sterling silver wedding ring in the middle of the bathroom floor.
This perhaps was a gift from the female apparition as a token of friendship.
c) This unseen presence tried to
help the owner's cleaning lady. The cleaning lady had moved the knickknacks
on the coffee table to one side so she could clean the table. She turned
her back for a moment, and when she turned back around, the knick knacks
were all moved back to their correct places. The cleaning lady didn't
appreciate the help, and quit on the spot.
d) While doing gardening work in
his yard, the owner felt someone watching him. He looked up and saw
a woman , around 30 years old,dressed in colonial dress, who was observing
him. He assumed she was part of the historical event taking place in
the town that day. He looked away for a moment. When he looked again
she had vanished. No one living could've disappeared that fast.
Still Haunted?
Yes indeed.
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