If you want a scare, or are simply seeking an unusual experience, you can usually find one around Burlington, Vermont. Between haunted college dorms and spirits lingering on covered bridges, there’s a thrill for everyone.
American Flatbread, formerly the Carburs Restaurant, on Saint Paul Street is said to be haunted by a former employee who shot himself in the basement. The bullet went through his skull and into a wall – you can even see the bullet hole in the basement to this day. It is told that most encounters happen in that same basement, which is home to the kitchen and kegs under the bar. Employees have reported strange incidents: skirts being lifted from a cold wind, breaking glasses, plates suddenly flying off of counters and unexpected temperature increases. Doors also slam shut, trapping waitresses in the basement’s walk-in. Today, waitresses are told not to enter the basement at all. One of the most memorable reports is that of a female bartender who claims she turned her back for a moment and a pyramid of glasses appeared on the bar moments have she had put them all away.
If you plan on attending Champlain College, you can be sure to experience at least one freaking encounter. In Aiken Hall, there are an abundance of thin corridors and seemingly hidden rooms. As a dorm, it is jam packed with students who have felt and heard strange occurrences during their stay. The upstairs rooms give an uneasy feeling, as electronics sometimes turn on and off at will and cold spots are scattered about the top floor. Additionally, many residents have experienced spirits playing with their hair and touching their shoulders. Voices keep students up at night, seeming to come out of nowhere and last for hours. While it is a beautiful dormitory, it is safe to say your stay may be a bit peculiar.
The University of Vermont is home to its fair share of paranormal activity. It is said that a ghost resides, but does not bother anyone, in the university’s farm house used for agricultural studies on Spear Street. Another agricultural building, the Bittersweet House, also hosts a female ghost seemingly dressed in attire from the late 19th century. Another notable poltergeist is that of a former student who committed suicide in Converse Hall who is known to turn radios on and off and interacts with other electrical equipment in the building – the catch is that he electrocuted himself back in 1998. Coolidge Hall dormitory has several spirits, as well as one who frequently wakes up residents by staring at them. The Grasse Mount House, Millis Hall, Redstone Hall and Simpson hall are among other UVM buildings that have a history of paranormal behavior.
If the haunted places in Burlington aren’t enough for you, there are plenty of other towns in Vermont to satisfy your need for the strange. If you were to venture south to Castleton College you would find an abandoned building with untouched museum pieces that somehow get rearranges even though there is no entrance to the building. Rumor has is almost ever building at Castleton is haunted in some form. Norwich University is also known for its strange happenings. Alumni Hall has a room that is boarded off because a cadet hung himself, and a few years later his brother attended Norwich, stayed in the same room, and hung himself as well. Hawkins and Random Hall are riddled with reports of cadets who have woken suddenly in the night and been unable to move, speak or breathe. And at Goddard College, several prospective students have come across a man playing a piano in the manor who seems to vanish before their eyes.
Beware of your accommodations in Vermont, as well. Room 346 in the Equinox Hotel in Manchester is haunted by a man who will stack all your belongings during your stay. The Norwich Inn is home to the ghost of a woman who seems to stay in Room 20, and frequents the dining room wearing a dark formal dress, but never disturbs the customers. The Comfort Inn in White River Junction seems to be haunted by a woman in Room 112 – while she’s never been seen, you are consumed by an extremely eerie feeling like someone is watching you.
Colleges and other enclosures aren’t the only haunted places in Vermont – the outdoors are just as creepy. For example: in West Hartford, a railroad bridge is haunted by the lingering smell of smoke where a train caught fire and killed eight people in the 1800’s – the bridge spans the White River and Route 14. There have also been sightings of a little boy ghost playing in the river.
If you dare drive your car across Emily’s Bridge in Stowe, you’re likely to find yourself with a damaged vehicle. A 19th century girl had plans to elope with the man of her dreams and meet him at this bridge. He never showed up, and she was so distraught that she committed suicide. Now, if you drive your car across the bridge at night, she will sometimes call out to you for help and scratch your vehicle as you pass through.
Glastenberry Mountain in Bennington, Vermont was deemed “cursed” by Native Americans and used strictly for burying the dead. There have been over thirty unexplained disappearances on the mountain over the years, and the fact that the trails stop partially up the mountain are a clear sign that no one dares reach the top. The forest on the mountain is completely silent – it’s as if the animals even know not to occupy the woods at Glastenberry.
Vermont is filled with haunted mansions, eerie buildings, and occurrences that no one dare speak of. Take a couple days in Burlington and venture about the state to experience some of the most haunting moments of your life – if you dare.
