| The Ventura Street Ghost ~ Springfield Massachusetts |
| Located at Eight Ventura Street in Springfield, Massachusetts was a large, stately old home that Jim's parents owned for a short period of time in the 1960s. Jim was born in this house. The home was very large, boasting three floors with 26 rooms, the third floor having eight bedrooms and was unused by the family. There was also no electricity or heating on the third floor, but still had long unused victorian era gas lights on the walls. Among the apparitions seen in this house included: A very small form undetermined in shape. Playful and harmless, it took delight in lifting Jim from his crib and would often stay close by him. This apparition was fondly named "Puff", by the family. A blonde haired Swedish-looking man, dressed in work clothes who would be seen in the basement, puttering around as if doing some work. It is believed he was a handyman at one time. An elderly woman who dressed in the period of the early 1900s. Grey haired, tall and thin, the family members who saw her claimed that her eyes emitted a stare that was beyond dead, something that made everyone very uncomfortable. She was often seen drifting down the grand staircase in the main foyer of the house. The ghost of a dead soldier, whom Jim's family nicknamed "soldier boy." The previous occupant of the house lost a son in the Korean War, and sold the house a few years after the son's death. It was obvious that he had returned home in spirit form, looking for his mother and familiar surroundings. Sometimes he would be seen in his uniform, bloody and torn from the wounds that had killed him. Other times he would be seen in the uniform, bearing no wounds. The ghost of a 1930s traveling Hobo once came to the door, asking Jim's grandmother if she had something to eat. The woman graciously complied, giving him a bowl of homemade soup and bread, which he ate on the front porch steps. When the hobo finished eating, he thanked Jim's grandmother and disappeared into thin air. On the third floor of the home was a bedroom that had been located at the far side of the house, as if it had been forgotten. In this room is what Jim's parents felt what housed "The family shame." At the turn of the century and earlier, it was common for families who had a mentally ill or mentally challenged relative to shut that family member into a room where no one would bother with them. This room, while empty, housed a bed frame that was built into the wall, with ropes instead of bed slats. On each post of this old oak bed frame were embedded large metal rings. None of Jim's family ever went into the room after that first visit, since they always sensed a horrible, frightening presence of something evil. The room was always cold, even on the hottest of summer days. In 1968, Jim's parents sold the house to a church who had plans to demolish it and make a parking lot. The day the legal papers were signed giving ownership to the church and payment was made to Jim's parents, the entire house went up in flames. Naturally, a full arson investigation was conducted, Jim's family was interviewed and dismissed of any wrongdoing. The fire was thought to have been started in the never-used third floor, and an exact cause could never be determined, so it was concluded that the fire must have been electrical. Very odd since there was never any electrical wiring on that floor at all. For years after the fire, a chain link fence was constructed around the vacant property. In doing online research recently, we have found a photo of the property, as shown in the Google Earth image above. It is still a vacant lot as of 2008...40 years later. Contact Us copyright 2000 - Infinity, Texas Hauntings Society and Massachusetts Hauntings Society, all rights reserved |
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| Jim's home was located at the top right corner of this photograph, in the grassy dirt area (Photo courtesy of Google Earth) |