The Haunted Aldrich Farm House

The “Turret Room ghost” has been seen by many of the guests and residents of the Aldrich Farm House. The first sighting was recorded on January 28th, only one week after the death of Bessie Aldrich.  Bessie’s unexpected passing in the dead of winter devastated the close-knit family (she was only 44 years old).  When niece Emma reported seeing a ghostly apparition in the turret room, everyone agreed it was just “womanly grief.” But later that same winter, level-headed nephew Charles saw the ghost. Finally, even Henry saw here.  He told his friend F.D. Voris “…upon entering the room I discovered my dear dead wife standing at the marble sink; then she was simply gone." Future witnesses add one terrifying and consistent detail to these ghostly encounters. The ghost holds her hand to her throat and silently mouths one word: “Revenge.” Then she vanishes. For decades, residents have wondered: Why does Bessie want revenge?  Was she murdered in the turret room? Why does she hold her hand to her throat?  Was she perhaps strangled there?  

 

There is a recent turn in this tale.  Current owners Ron and Elaine Edwards hired a local ghost hunting firm, the “Effingham Effing-Ghost Busters, Ltd.” to investigate the phenomenon. Their research shows that Bessie died from an inflammation of her throat during that cruel and cold winter. She is NOT mouthing the word “Revenge.”  She is holding her hand to her throat and silently asking for a "lozenge.”