Whispers, rumors, legends and stuff we heard

By Erin Manning
HippoPress.com

-How about the story of Sister Mary, a Catholic nun who taught at what is now St. Joseph Junior High School? Rumor has it that at a school dance, Sister Mary fell off the balcony in the school's auditorium. She died immediately and presently roams the school's hallways and classrooms.

-Rock Rimmon has its legends beyond the famed high school parties. A poem in the Mirror and American indicates the paranormal-an Indian princess with a "wealth of raven hair" committedd suicide, jumping off the cliff that overlooks Manchester. Her spirit haunts the steep cliffs.

Looking for some death-themed entertainment? Try visiting the following places that have been rumored to be haunted:

-"Haunted Lake"-this body of water is two miles east of Francestown on Route 136. A map of the area calls it Haunted Lake on the map, but to many it is known as Scoby Pond or Scobie Lake. It is here that, in the early 18th century, two campers on their way to Hillsborough spent the night on the lake's edge.

The two men are said to have argued, and one of them was murdered. Years later, the man's skeleton was discovered by loggers. To this day, loud moans and shrieks can be heard by those few people who live on Haunted Lake.

-Goffstown Historical Society Building-this structure built in the 1800's was turned into a general store and run by a John Parker. His grandson remembered in Norm Gauthier's book, Guide to New Hampshire Haunted Places you can Visit (1988), that his grandfather would walk around the home, turning lights on and off and chanting.

Living in the cottage right behind the Historical Society, John Parker's grandson had seen, at times when the building was closed for the night, the same blinking of lights and chanting. Neighbors report similar sightings, and when police cruisers arrive, the lights shut off. The Goffstown Historical Society is two miles beyond the center of Goffstown.

-"Cemetery with no Graves"-located on Rt. 3A, a cemetery can be found that has headstones-but no graves. The cemetery used to be located behind the Litchfield Presbytarian Church, between the road and the Merrimack River. Each spring, when the river overflowed, the bodies and coffins were washed away with the water. Town officials in 1843 decided to move the gravestones to a different site.

These sights were listed in Norm Gauthier's book, which can be found at the New Hampshire Room at the Manchester Public Library.