Bara-Hack
the Village of Voices
Part I: BACKGROUND HISTORY
Little is known of the villages actual history. Tradition holds that its founder was one Obadiah Higginbotham, a deserter from the British army that had fled
Some time later, the inhabitants had created a stone dam that provided water power for the Higginbotham Linen Wheels mill, a factory that created spinning wheels and looms. This factory continued in operation at least as late as the Civil War. Apparently, the Randall family had slaves that worked the fields and barns. Local legend has it that it was among these slaves that the first reported hauntings were witnessed, sometime in the early 1800s. They claimed to have seen ghosts at dusk among the branches of the cemeterys elm tree.
The village economy steadily declined after the Civil War. Larger factories forced the little mill out of business, though some of the fields were still cultivated for a while afterward. Some of the villages residents were buried as late as the 1890s, but by the 1900s the place had become a ghost town. Most of the residents probably packed up and moved to larger and more prosperous nearby communities.
The little ghost village would have faded into obscurity if not for naturalist Odell Shepards 1927 autobiographical publication, The Harvest of a Quiet Eye. In his book, Shepard describes sounds that can still be heard among the crumbling ruins; the laughter of children, the voices of mothers, snatches of song, and the rumbling of heavy wagons. He is the first known to use the term
Various legends and paranormal evidence, mostly in the form of photographs, have persisted. Most particularly haunted, according to traditional legends, is a certain elm tree at the north wall of the cemetery, in the branches of which spirits are seen to recline.
Sources:
DAgostino, Thomas. Bara-Hack: the Village of Ghostly Sounds. Fate Magazine, January 2005, p. 61-65.
Part II: THE INVESTIGATION, week 1
On
After a short quarter mile hike, including the crossing of a stone and concrete bridge over the very shallow brook, we arrived at a cluster of stone foundations. This, we realized with great relief, was Bara-Hack at last. Throughout our brief stay, Matt and I heard none of the infamous voices or sounds of the ghost villages former residents, only the wind through the trees, the chirping of birds, and the babble of Mashamoquet Brook. We felt none of the depressive sorrow that other writers have mentioned, in fact the area seemed quite calm and peaceful. I remarked that it would be a nice place for a picnic.
The first foundation of stone walls we found to the left of the trail (what was probably a road in its heyday), which we labeled Location #1. This appeared to be the stone foundation of a homestead, in an L-shape that may indicate a side room or chimney area. Three standing stones that had probably served as bases for support pillars stood inside the enclosure. There was no sunken cellar inside these walls, raising the possibility that the stone walls formed an enclosure rather than a home foundation.
A little ahead of Location #1 and to the right of the path, we discovered the most impressive of the foundations, Location #2. This was a large and deep square cellar hole with a very large square pillar of stone that probably served as a chimney support. The cellar was about six feet deep. Nearby was a small round well hole, perhaps three or four feet deep, that had obviously filled in. Inconsiderate partiers or thrill-seekers had obviously been here, based on the Coors beer cans strewn about.
Back across the old cart road, a little ahead of Location #2 and to the left of the path, was a three walled enclosure that may have been an enclosure for livestock, or a garden. It is possible that it had once been a homestead, though only three of the four walls remain. We labeled this one Location #3.
Ahead and to the right we found Location #4. This was another L-shaped foundation, with a small crawlspace in one wall that may have been intentionally crafted by the builder. The remains of a chimney could also be seen here.
After photographing the area and taking copious notes, as well as simple diagram map of the foundations, we proceeded up the path in search of the cemetery. We found the path branched further up. We had a choice of continuing straight ahead or taking the left branch. We first took the left branch, traveled for a ways, then retraced our steps when we began to doubt we were heading in the right direction. A similar trek up the straight-ahead path yielded similar results.
I would not find out until our return, that we had been too impatient. In doing a little online research, I discovered that it is, in fact, the left path that leads to the cemetery. Had we continued upon it for 2 to 2 ½ miles, we would have come to the old burial ground.
Oh, well, it seems that Matt and I are destined to never find the cemetery of a ghost town on our first try out (I recalled that we had also failed to find the cemetery at the Gay City ghost town until our second visit). We left the
Upon our return, and reviewing our data, we found nothing paranormal in our daytime photographs, video, or voice recordings. Still, as Matt pointed out, we had not yet investigated the place at night. We would follow up with another daytime hike, then bring Gail for the final visit, once we had mapped out the important sites.
Part II: THE INVESTIGATION, week 2
On
Gails first impression upon approaching the village, was of animal spirits. These were not livestock but household pets that had apparently had freedom to roam about the village. Upon reaching Location #1, she felt scenes of domestic life. Women had performed domestic chores in the buildings heyday, while men entered and left the building with meat. She pointed out the smaller squared-off section of the L-shaped foundation and told us that meat had been smoked in that area. The building served a communal function, she said, as a gathering place while women performed kitchen tasks and men preserved meat for winter holds. Several different families used the area for these purposes. The kitchen, smokehouse, and gathering areas all served separate and distinct functions for the community. She also sensed that there had been a nearby pantry where food was stored for the winter.
We moved on to Location #2. Gail walked about the small well and deep central foundation area. While she silently absorbed sensations of past presences, Matt took the EMF reader inside the cellar hole and I took my GPS receiver to the village center to get latitude and longitude coordinates. I rejoined Gail afterward to hear what she had to say about this remarkable foundation.
Unlike the Location #1 foundation, which had been more of a communal building used for specific tasks, Gail said that Location #2 had a much stronger feeling of ownership about it. She felt a male presence by the name of Clive or
Gail immediately felt that women lived in Location #3, not livestock or a family of mixed genders. This was an interesting observation, though I did not tell her so at the time. The fact that she felt a group of people were segregated by gender, may indicate separate lodgings for the male and female slaves that had belonged to the Randall family. She described the residents as having been hard-working.
At Location #4, Gail identified the small opening in the far wall (which I had dubbed a crawlspace before) as the entrance of a hearth. This, of course, made more sense than my crawlspace theory. Curiously, she also said that the building had been a place for sleeping, as opposed to Location #2 which had been used primarily for utilitarian purposes. A designated sleeping place in which she felt multiple persons had been lodged, could also indicate slave quarters.
We then proceeded toward the cemetery. This time, we knew to take the left path directly after the village center. Our online directions had indicated the trek would be between 2 and 2 ½ miles. This proved inaccurate, as the walk was only about a third of a mile from the village.
Long before we actually reached the cemetery, Gail felt that presences were there waiting for us. The feelings she got were not necessarily hostile, but she felt an underlying threat in the sensations and an intuition that we should proceed carefully. We reached the cemetery at
As we hustled toward the entrance, Gail warned us not to rush right in. Trusting in her warning, Matt and I stopped outside the entrance stones of what had probably once been a gate. Gail felt a presence blocking the entrance to the cemetery, which she described as male and very large. She referred to him as the Guardian. We waited while she silently spoke with him, asking permission for us to enter. Gail assured the Guardian that we were not there to do harm, that we came to help if necessary and to record what we could of those who may still linger within. When we asked Gail if the Guardian had a name, she said all she could sense was a capital H. Could this Guardian, I wondered, be old Higginbotham himself?
Whomever the Guardian may be, he granted us access only after Gail promised that none of us would touch anything within the cemetery. I first made my way to the center of the cemetery to gain the GPS coordinates, while Matt set up his video cameras with night vision. Gail felt drawn to the headstone of Dorcas Higginbotham, wife of Obadiah. She felt that Dorcas was the most powerful presence within the cemetery walls (which is understandable since the woman lived to be 100 years old, and was the matriarch of the village).
At one point, Matt had the feeling of someone running up behind him. Gail felt that many of the spirits of those past still lingered here. None of these were hostile or overly sad, she said, though many watched us with curiosity.
Some of the headstones I recorded were:
Sally, his 1st wife, died
Mary, his 2nd wife, died
In addition to which, were many smaller, unreadable or blank stones, possibly those of children or black slaves. Gail said that many more bodies had been interred here than there were stones for. This made sense, given the open areas in the cemetery devoid of stones. Also, many of the stones appeared to have been broken at some time, though some had been resurrected and reinforced by unknown hands.
Matt and I photographed and videotaped the surrounding trees, in case the baby apparition in the haunted elm tree appeared. We would get no such photographs from the surrounding trees, however. Matt would obtain some interesting video, of small globular lights that whizzed around us. We did not notice these things at the time, however, and the possibility remains that they were insects of some kind (view the video on our website to decide for yourself). Matt at one point made the mistake of touching one of the headstones, despite our promise. Gail later told us that the spirits had been aware of this and complained to her hes touching things! Gail had reassured them that his mistake was unintentional and not intended to deface anything or disrespect the souls of those interred. When we left the cemetery, Gail asked if we had anything to leave behind as an offering for the spirits. Matt offered his holy water, which she accepted and sprinkled upon the entrance stone where the Guardian had stood.
The most exciting parts of our journey back were a bat that swooped past Matts head, numerous frogs that hopped across our path, and one very loud owl that continued to hoot at us ever since leaving the cemetery. We departed Bara-Hack around
Though we experienced none of the auditory phenomena that have crowned Bara-Hack with the nickname
The following GPS coordinates should be useful to anyone seeking the
Cemetery ELEV: 680 ft. N 41*53.458 W 072*01.474
Create a free website at Webs.com