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So what ghosts did they find in Pentucket Burial Ground?

By Mike LaBella

Staff Writer

 

HAVERHILL — Do ghosts really haunt the old Pentucket Burial Ground in Haverhill? Experienced ghost hunters who visited the cemetery recently think so.

They say they felt the presence of spirits while standing near the cemetery's 1708 obelisk, which is a memorial in memory of the Bloody Sunday Massacre that took place in Ayers Village some 300 years ago. According to local historians, Abenaki Indians invaded Haverhill on Aug. 29, 1708, and killed Capt. Samuel Ayer, Lt. John Johnson and as many as 30 other early settlers.

"It's as though someone were following you or that you were being watched," said amateur ghost hunter Thomas Spitalere of Methuen.

On Aug. 9, British psychic David Wells and a group of paranormal investigators gathered around the obelisk in hopes of detecting paranormal activity. Wells, who is known internationally for his work with the British television series "Most Haunted," was in town that day to lecture at the Buttonwood Museum.

He was assisted by Welsh medium Gavin Cromwell and Ron Kolek and trance medium Maureen Wood, who are both members of the New England Ghost Project, a paranormal group that investigates haunted locations throughout the region.

Following the seminar, they visited the burial ground, at the corner of Mill and Water streets.

Although many ghost hunters use detection devices such as electromagnetic field readers as well as temperature sensors, Wells relies upon his psychic abilities to sense paranormal activity, Spitalere said.

"At the obelisk Wells sensed that whomever was buried there died tragically," said Spitalere. "He also sensed a man dressed in a military outfit while riding a horse. He sensed these things without having any prior knowledge of the old burial ground."

The burial ground was established in 1660 by Haverhill's earliest settlers. Spitalere says he always gets an uneasy feeling when visiting the burial ground.

"Sometimes you pick things up on camera, such as oddly shaped lights framing a headstone," Spitalere said. "But I have never sensed a horse in the graveyard. That's how much more powerful Wells is."

Ron Kolek, executive director of the New England Ghost Project, brought an electromagnetic field meter with him in hopes of detecting paranormal activity. He said the meter measures disturbances in the electromagnetic field, which may indicate the presence of a spirit.

"We were walking through the cemetery and at one point I got a reading in the area of the older graves and I immediately picked up some kind of activity," Kolek said. "The meter lit up, which is evidence that there may be a ghost, but we needed additional confirmation."

Standing next to Kolek and holding a pendulum was Maureen Wood, a psychic medium with the New England Ghost Project.

"She asked if there were spirits here and it responded by spinning clockwise," Kolek said. "It spins different ways depending on what it is asked."

Kolek said all three psychic mediums sensed there were spirits in the old cemetery.

"They also sense there was a woman who was watching us," Kolek said. "But she did not want to make contact with us."

Searching for ghosts

British psychic David Wells sensed the spirit of a person who died tragically.

Amateur ghost hunter Thomas Spitalere sensed someone was watching him or following him.

Ron Kolek, director of the New England Ghost Project, detected paranormal activity on his electromagnetic field meter.