Where ghosts might stay, there's a mysterious light in the window
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewshh/local_story_031094553?keyword=topstory

Thu, Feb 01 2007
Where ghosts might stay, there's a mysterious light in the window
By Mike LaBella , Staff Writer
Eagle-Tribune

HAVERHILL - Who knows what stories have been told there and what people
have passed through its doors. For more than 300 years Kimball Tavern
has stood at a crossroads, mostly unchanged from the way it looked when
it was built in 1690.

It is a piece of history and a source of legend - even the backdrop for
local ghost stories.
History says Benjamin Kimball built the tavern shortly after his
marriage to Mercy Haseltine of Salisbury - whose father was one of the
three
original settlers of what is now Bradford.

Serving at first as a social center and meeting place, it was also a
stop for weary travelers of an old route from Boston to Portland, Maine.
In 1803, 30 members of the Bradford Parish met at the tavern and founded
Bradford Academy - which eventually became Bradford College.
There is folklore about ghosts still frequenting the halls and rooms of
the tavern.
This week the tavern again became a topic of conversation among those
who've passed by and have noticed something strange at night in the
window of an upper floor of the unoccupied building.

Peter Carbone, co-owner of the local EZ Way Cleaners, said he first
noticed a pulsating light through an upstairs window of the tavern while
driving toward Bradford Square last week. At first he thought it was a
warning light indicating the power to the building may have been out.
"I see it every morning and night, and I'm sure others have noticed it
too," he said.
Thomas Spitalere, chairman of the Haverhill Historical Commission, said
he is curious about the light and will visit the tavern this week and
take a look.

"It's probably an alarm system," Spitalere said.
But Spitalere would also like to think something supernatural is taking
place at the tavern, rather than something as uninteresting as an alarm
light.

Andrew Jacobs, director of Angelo Gordon & Company, the majority owners
of the vacant Bradford College campus and Kimball Tavern, said yesterday
he did not know the source of the blinking light but will send someone
to investigate.

"If it was a ghost, it would be a much better story than just a blinking
light," Jacobs said.
While a senior at Bradford College in the fall of 1999 - the year before
the college closed due to financial problems - Spitalere had a chance to
step foot inside the historic tavern. He and other students were there
to present research papers to their professors.

"When I was there giving my presentation, I could sense someone
watching," Spitalere said. "For me, being a ghost hunter, it didn't
bother me."
When Spitalere tried to show a slide show presentation, the slide
projector somehow became unplugged.

"I distinctly remember having plugged it in, and no one was near the
cord," he said. "That was a sign there may have been a ghost playing
pranks."
A fellow student had taken a photograph of Spitalere during his
presentation. When the photograph was developed, it was discovered to be
blank.

"This usually means an entity was either in front of the camera, or an
entity was close to me when the photograph was being taken," he said.

Mark Hayden of Bradford had heard about the ghosts of the tavern when he
was a kid.
"We always thought it was haunted," Hayden said. "When I was 10, there
was a storm and a tree punctured a hole in the roof. I climbed into the
tavern to investigate ghosts but did not find any. I was very
disappointed."