LOCATION:

The Cristy Mansion can be found on Lake Street, in Waupaca, Wisconsin. It is privately owned, so please respect their privacy.

DESCRIPTION:

Described as an 1893, Queen Anne-style mansion that is beautiful, roomy and elegant, it is known locally as the Cristy Mansion, named after a family that had lived in the mansion, from 1907 to 1967, and continued to own it until 1981. However, it was originally built by Calib Shearer, a Waupaca attorney and lumberman with an eye for beauty and high artistic standards.On the outside of this 2 story mansion, (plus basement and attic), one can see two round turrets, and fish scale and shingle ornamentation. The outside front yard and backyard are large and an old carriage house is still there in the back. Inside this work of art, one sees "stained and beveled glass, burled wood in several rooms and intricately carved stairways and mantels, at the mansion's 3 fireplaces". A wide, central staircase connects the first and second floors. The attic was originally designed by Shearer to be a ballroom, but it was never finished, and has always been used for storage.

HISTORY:

In 1907, Joseph T. Cristy and his large family moved into the mansion. For many years, the Cristy's made the mansion a fun, lively place to be living or visiting at, filled with children and with many happy occurrences, experiences and occasions. From 1967 - 1981, (14 years), no one lived in the mansion, though both the mansion and it's property were well maintained and looked after.

MANIFESTATIONS:

In June of 1981, Gloria and her 3 children, (11, 12 & 15), moved into this lovely mansion, unknowingly joining unseen entities already residing there.

2) The next morning, Gloria dove into the monumental job of unpacking the moving boxes and finding the right spot for each piece of furniture.While working in one room, she tried to pull up an old roller shade to let in the bright sun. When the whole shade came loose and fell down on top of her, Gloria heard an unseen, male presence's distinct, sharp laughter ring out from somewhere behind her.

3) At noon, that same day as the laughter, Gloria's 11 year old daughter and 12 year old son went down to the basement to take their showers. While her daughter waited patiently in the adjacent laundry room for her turn, she was badly scared when something invisible hit her glasses off her face, shattering one of her lenses. Her brother looked out of the shower in time to see the flying glasses shatter. Both kids flew out of the basement, in a terrified state.

4) Soon after, at night, the family started to hear an invisible walker who would start at the grand entrance hall, travel up the central staircase to the 2nd floor.Then the footsteps would walk the entire length of the 2nd floor hallway, and then go back down the central staircase. During the first time of this occurrence, Gloria thought that one of her kids was up and she went to see of anything was amiss, but all were asleep. As she passed the top of the central staircase on the way back to her own room, she was suddenly enveloped with a freezing cold air draft, which caused her to scream, as she felt an unseen presence, close to her. She told her then awakened children that she had just tripped on the rug, not wanting to scare them any more than they already were.

5) Late one night, Gloria was awakened by noises in the attic, right above her bed. She heard the sounds of someone pacing back and forth, a heavy box with chains being pushed back and forth, and indistinct human voices. All these various noises slowly faded away during the next couple of hours.

6) The kitchen door would open all by itself as well as the swinging door out of the kitchen, that led to the front hall way.

7) After the kids would go to school, Gloria would often hear the footstep routine during the day as well.

After awhile, Gloria and her family stopped being afraid as they began to sense a feeling of acceptance coming from their unseen house mates, and they in turn accepted the fact that they were sharing their house with unseen presences, and learned to ignore the entities' idyocentric habits and all the continued oddities, that one doesn't normally encounter in a spirit-free house.

Unofficial Psychic Research:

The 15 year old son decided to let a tape recorder run one night, to see if any of the noises they had been hearing would be recorded. The recorder was set up in the downstairs living room.

The noises recorded were:

B) Squeaky, rocking noises coming from Gloria's rocking chair, like someone was sitting in it and using it.

C) Occasional rappings, as if someone was "holding a pipe and tapping it on the table".

The only normal, expected sounds recorded were the grandfather clock chiming every 15 minutes, and an occasional truck going by.

Still Haunted?

Probably yes.