Paranormal Plymouth: The Spooky Side of America’s Home Town

Much of Plymouth’s history has been preserved through old buildings, guided tours, restored historical areas, and the countless urban legends and ghost stories that pass the lips of the locals. Many of the towns residing in Plymouth county are also seated in the heart of the Bridgewater Triangle. The history of the Pilgrims crossing with the violence and blood shed of the King Phillip’s war creates a breeding ground for legends, myths, and paranormal activity. 

Some of these urban legends and experiences can be witnessed via guided, professional ghost tours, historic tours of Burial Hill, and the walk way of talking information panels discreetly planted along downtown Plymouth and the Waterfront. The most common and perhaps most detailed accounts of paranormal activity, however, come straight from the source; the witnesses themselves. As tourists walk the streets taking pictures, they may not realize that they are walking amongst the ghosts and spirits of those who paved those trails. Listening and watching closely makes it easy to read between the lines and pick out the things that may not have made it into the history books. 

Chapter 1: The Churchyards 

Directly to the East of the Plymouth Center lies the small community of Carver, Massachusetts. When Governor John Carver of Plymouth Colony passed away, a portion of the colony was separated from the rest and named “Carver.” This town developed on its own, but still boasts the same amount of history and legends as its predecessor. One historic location is known as the Union Church of South Carver. As a brief history, “this beautifully restored Gothic style church building was erected in 1855 as the first nondenominational church in America. It is now maintained by the Union Church Society, but is open only twice a year for services” (waymarking.com, This Old Church). Nondenominational Christianity took rise in the United States in the 20th century by means of independent churches that distanced themselves from the creeds of traditional Christianity.  (Roger E. Olson, The Mosaic of Christian Belief). Spouting from this original building, non-denominationalism flourished throughout the years by creating many more brick and mortar churches, and also giving rise to the “mega churches” that are often portrayed in the media in the present day. 

With so much history tied to the land, and a historic religious movement, it would be a wonder if this property was not affiliated with any type of otherworldly experiences. The now closed grave yard surrounds the massive church, enclosed by a rusty fence. Mixed into the spacious field, which projects far to the left and back of the church, there are monumental tombs that are covered with creeping ivy. Crosses that stand at least ten feet tall, pillars, and several large tomb houses adorn the yard. The property has an air of curiosity and anyone driving by would be intrigued by the old architecture lying on Route 58. Two such Carver residents were so intrigued that they decided to visit the property at night and see if they would find some ghostly companions. 

“We had been leaving a party late at night, just the two of us and we decided to stop and see if anything paranormal was going on there” Elizabeth said of herself and her friend, Francis. “We were stupid college kids, and often ran around in cemeteries looking for anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes we found things, sometimes we didn’t. That night we definitely found something” Elizabeth said.

She goes on to recount the tale of hot July evening in the summer of 2014. She and Francis were traveling home on Route 58 when they decided to stop at the church and poke around a little bit. They pulled into the circular driveway of the church and got out, cellphone cameras in hand. Both of them immediately felt a chill. 

“It was one of those feelings you get when you just know that you’re not alone. Something was telling me to leave, but I fought it and decided to stay. We both experienced the same feelings. I walked over to the yard and the fence. The closer I got to it, the stronger the bad feeling got. I gripped the gate but there was no way I was setting foot in there. This was as far as my feet would bring me. I turned around and my friend snapped a few pictures of me. On the screen, a bright, blue orb appeared floating near my right shoulder. He took a picture of me again in another spot, closer to the car, and the orb appeared again.”

Another photo in another part of the driveway revealed Elizabeth’s figure, but she was entirely shrouded by what appeared to be a mist. There had been no temperature change, no condensation on the lens, and no mist surrounding Elizabeth at the time the photo was taken. The orb did not appear in that photo. 

Elizabeth continued, “My phone at the time had a pretty terrible camera in it so I took Francis’s and started snapping photos of him. The orb appeared near him as well. It seemed that wherever we pointed the camera was where the orb would present itself. We started to get a really bad feeling and decided to leave. When we got in the car, while we were headed up 58, I had a strange feeling that we hadn’t left everything behind that we expected to. I took out the phone again, aimed it at my feet and snapped a picture. Sure enough, the orb was there. It was in the car with us while we moved away from the church.” 

Elizabeth went on to describe the progression of their trip home as bothersome and scary. She kept snapping pictures of her feet and the orb kept appearing, although in each picture it became progressively dimmer. Finally, she turned the camera on Francis, who was driving at the time, and took a picture of him. The orb appeared, very blue and very bright. Elizabeth turned and snapped a photo of the backseat. The orb was there, it appeared to have moved off of her friend and further back into his car. It was very faded. She snapped another picture of herself, her friend, and the backseat. The orb appeared in none of them. 

“I kept taking pictures even after it had disappeared because I was so afraid that whatever it was had attached itself to one of us. It didn’t appear any other time though and we made it home without incident” Elizabeth said. 

Year later, she still passes the church everyday on her commute to and from work. Every time she passes by the church she is reminded of that night, she tells us. She returned once in the day time, and still had an eerie feeling, but nothing happened. The church is opened twice a year candle lit vigils. There is no electricity in the building. 

“I drove by a little while ago and it looked like they were exhuming a grave in the far back of the cemetery. Otherwise, it’s just an old church” Elizabeth finished. 

This was not the only encounter that Elizabeth and Francis had had with the churchyards in Carver, however. After the fear from the incident in the Union churchyard wore off, they were both left with intrigue and curiosity about what more they could find. 

“None of our other friends really believe in this stuff” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “That’s why whenever anything interesting happens, it’s always just us.”

Elizabeth detailed another night in late August of that same summer when they went to the protestant church in town. Adjacent to that church was the Central Cemetery, where every year on memorial day, flags were placed on the grave of the veterans buried there, and a small ceremony was performed in their honor. Showing the cemetery’s age, some of the decorated graves belong to soldiers who fought in the American Revolution. 

“We parked the car in front of the church and walked into the yard” She began, “the further we walked down the main path, the colder and darker it got. I think it must have dropped ten degrees when we got near the gazebo in the center of the graveyard. We still were not very far in but the streetlights and noises of 58 seemed to have almost disappeared behind us. It felt like we were totally alone, almost in a detached world. My eyes had adjusted to the light after a few seconds and I saw something glide over the top of a grave stone and disappear. I couldn’t see much of it, but for some reason when I looked at it, I felt that it was woman and she was not happy that we were there. As I started tugging on Francis’ shirt to tell him what I saw, there was suddenly a flash in the high tree line towards my left. I pointed at and said “Did you see that?” While Francis asked the same question at the same time, but was instead pointing up and over towards right. While I was still trying to process what had just happened, a bat appeared out of thin air and swooped so low that we both ducked to avoid getting smacked in the face. That was it. I grabbed his hand and we sprinted all the way back to the car, not daring to look back. Something wanted us out of there and no way were we sticking around to find out what.”

Elizabeth continued on and said that when they reached the car, the noise, and safety of the streetlights, they were both sweating. She immediately noticed that the air was hotter, and denser than it had been in the grave yard. They got in the car and went home. 

“I could write a whole book on the weird things I’ve experienced in this area just by myself. Those two encounters are the ones I remember the most vividly though” She stated.

Francis has moved since then, and Elizabeth is working full time, leaving little opportunity to go seeking more spirits.

Chapter 2: The Forest

Myles Standish State Forest is another location in Plymouth county that emits an air of mystery and intrigue. The 12,000 acre forest is one of the largest in New England and boasts a rich variety of plant and animal life (Mass DCR). The giant white pine trees tower over the forest floor and create a canopy of leaves that covers the lush pitch pine and scrub oak that fill the underbrush. The forest survived a blazing fire in 1964 that destroyed hundreds of acres of brush. The pines are so strong and old, however, that they were able to withstand the flames and survived. There had been so many other fires leading up to that one that the fire department even suspected foul play at one point, but nothing ever came of the investigation (1000 Flee Forest Fire, Boston Globe, May 24th 1964).

The 12,000 acres of forest stretch itself between the towns of Plymouth, Carver, and Wareham. It is home to three private scout camps, a minimum security prison run by the Mass DOC, and countless campgrounds and recreational facilities. All of this activity and overlap of communities leads to mystery and speculation surrounding the forest and what goes on within it. According to posted signs, the forest is closed to public activity from dusk until dawn. It is the “activity” that takes place during this time which is the most whimsical and interesting in nature. 

Hidden on a private property in Myles Standish is Five Mile Pond. It is situated in the center of a reservation that is privately owned and operated. The naming of the pond has always been somewhat of a mystery, as nobody seems to know how it originated. The pond is neither five miles wide, nor five miles deep. In another part of the reservation is the pond know as Little Five Mile. This also indicates that the name is not associated with any measurements of the pond itself. There is much speculation as to how the pond got its name, but a widely accepted one has to do with the history of Plymouth colony. Allegedly, during the colonial era, people who were accused of witchcraft were banished to the woods. They were not allowed within five miles of the town they were sent from. Interestingly enough, the three towns that contain the forest, Plymouth, Carver, and Wareham, all have well preserved historic districts, which all happen to be exactly five miles away from the pond. While there is little peer-reviewed research on which to base these finding, rumors and murmurs are enough of an explanation for those who camp near the pond. This may also explain the site in the reservation known as The Witches Circle. So was the pond named after the distance of banishment? Was it named by those who were sent there? Did witchcraft or occult activity take place at this location? Unfortunately, it is hard to know for sure. Most ideas about unrecorded history require filling in the blanks with imagination where the text of the history books leaves off. 

The prison camp has been a subject of controversy in the surrounding communities, though it does not appear to be linked to any sort of paranormal activity in the trees. The Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center, MASAC as it is know, has called Myles Standish home for over 60 years. Historically, the inmates provided municipal conservation work to the forest itself and the towns surrounding it. The facility was created originally as a re-entry program for inmates preparing to rejoin the community and was minimum security. The prison has come under fire, however, for escaped inmates, allegations of guards harassing hunters, and complaints of lack of security.  According to an article in the Patriot Ledger about the facility, “Officials say there were few problems at the camp in its first 65 years, despite its lack of security measures. But there was one major exception: In 1991, two inmates escaped the camp and broke into the home of an 85-year-old Plymouth woman, whom they threw to the ground and gagged while ransacking the house. The woman was not seriously injured and the fugitives were later caught” (patriotledger.com/news). 

In May of 2017 the correctional facility was used as a response to the opioid crisis that was crippling southeastern Massachusetts. 200 civilly committed men were relocated there from Bridgewater State Hospital for forced treatment of alcohol and substance use disorders. This caused the facility to struggle to change gears between a low profile, re-release program and a detoxification center for unwilling patients. Since then, there have been 13 recorded escaped inmates from the facility. None of them have lead to violent crimes, but an inordinate amount of reverse 911 calls were enough to rouse the civilians living in the area. There was even a community meeting held by those who regularly utilize the forest to discuss what do about the prison. To their dismay, there is not a whole lot that civilians can do to fight the state. This did not prevent them from starting a witch hunt for those who operated the prison. 

Things had quieted down some due to the cessation of known escapees and most people in the area had kind of just forgotten about until a post appeared on a public internet forum describing one hunter’s encounter with the corrections officers, or “rent-a-cops” and he called them. 

The hunter alleged that he had legally parked his car near the prison but not actually on property. He claimed that he was approach by aggressive corrections officers who searched and threatened to arrest him. He claimed that the new superintendent and her administration were to blame for the maltreatment he claims he received. Some suggested that he contact the state representative, while others suggested that he look into the laws more and determine whether or not he could press charger. Regardless of what action the gentlemen either did or did not choose to take, he managed rekindle the fire of anger around the civilians who live near the forest and the prison. 

Any unknown “happenings” in the woods are now grounds for people to point their fingers at MASAC and take shots are the huge target that they have on their backs. Of course, with no witnessed around it is almost impossible to confirm or denying anyone’s stories and accusations but hearsay is enough for some to formulate heated opinions.

Chapter 3: Respect for the Dead

Tom has been a resident in Plymouth county for his entire life. At the age of twenty six, he has witnessed several incidents of paranormal activity that he cannot explain. The most prominent of these incidents took place at the summer camp that Tom ran and a ghost that he had befriended. 

During the summer camp season, a gentle, happy soul named Harry was the head chef in the kitchen. Harry was known for always having a friendly word and for being invested in the camp’s impact on the kids and teens who attended every year. Sadly, Harry eventually passed away of pancreatic cancer and the kitchen has not been the same since. 

Harry was gifted a plaque of honor on the wall in the dining room commemorating his years of service and dedication to the camp. Eventually, the other staff at the camp began noticing strange things happening in the dining hall. Tom described unlocking the doors occasionally to discover that fork or spoons had ended up on the table, that were not there the night before. Being the first one in and the last one out everyday, Tom started keeping track of these things. He noticed more and more that he would find small things askew in the kitchen and dining hall, and that when photographing Harry’s plaque orbs would appear. Tom did not feel anything dark was in the camp, he sensed that Harry’s spirit was still around and wanting to communicated. He and the other staff started the tradition of greeting Harry when they walked by his plaque and the morning and saying good night to him on their way out. Being one of the younger staff members when Harry passed and now one of the oldest, most of the other staff never met Harry and are unsure why everyone greets his plaque. Of this, Tom says “Those of us who still remember Harry talk about him to the younger staff to explain why we talk to him sometimes. They don’t always participate but so far everyone has been respectful of this tradition and of Harry’s memory. I’m sure some people don’t believe in it, but they let us have our conversations with Harry in peace.”

Tom spoke of a second, unrelated incident that had occurred years earlier while he was at the Plymouth water front. “There is a flight of these old stone stairs leading from the sidewalk up to Burial Hill.” He begins, “I was standing there on a tour, listening to a story being told about that location when all of a sudden I felt something hot on my mouth and on my face. I had no idea what it was but I seemed to be the only person experiencing it. Right when this was happening, the group tour guide started telling the story of a young woman who used to wait on those steps for her lover to return from sea. He never came back, and she essentially died waiting for him all those years. Now, it is rumored that her ghost sometimes appears on those steps, still longing for her lover and that she has been known to approach young men and see if they are her beloved.”

Tom went on to described how the strange sensation had felt like a kiss, and like someone was touching his body. While there could be millions of other explanations to what he experienced, Tom believes that the ghost of the young woman had acquainted herself with him, perhaps longing for the intimacy of her lost sailor. 

Another Plymouth county resident who did not wish to reveal personal information told a story of how she discovered unexplainable activity on the Carver/Middleboro line in Plymouth county. Her father had gone out of town for the week and asked to come over and check on the house. She had always had a strange feeling that there was something else afoot in the house and remembers hearing footsteps on the roof when she would spend nights there as a teen.