One of the Most Haunted Places in America: Edith Wharton Estate – The Mount

Edith Wharton has been heralded as one of the greatest writers of her time. She wrote ghost stories and has left some very haunting literary characters for generations to enjoy. Interestingly enough, Edith Wharton has now become a possible ghost herself. The Edith Wharton Estate, called The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts could now be one of the most haunted places in America.

Edith and Teddy Wharton built The Mount in 1902 to be a writers retreat. Unfortunately, soon after, their marriage crumbled. Edith left for France and a new love interest as Teddy melted into mental instability. Edith died in France in 1937 and is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.

Paranormal activity wasn’t new to Edith. She has told stories about, as a young girl, that she felt a presence of a dark force. According to accounts, Edith said she felt “some dark indefinable menace … I could feel it behind me, upon me; and if there was any delay in the opening of the door I was seized by a choking agony of terror.”

The Mount was sold by the Whartons in 1911 less than ten years after it was built. In 1942 it would become incorporated into the Foxhollow School for Girls. It was during this time that people started reporting strange noises and sensations while they were staying in the old servant and family quarters.

The school closed its doors in 1976 and The Mount remained empty until Shakespeare & Company took over the building the early 1980’s. It is the actors that use the estate not only a theater but also a dormitory that have reported some of the most interesting ghost sightings and activity.

The paranormal activity started from the very beginning. One of the actresses in the troupe that was the first group to move in the estate warned people to not enter a room (now an office) on the top floor. This is where it is said that there were encounters with a servant girl that once lived in the room. Actors also reported apparitions, dressed in period clothing, asking them what they were doing in the home.

Some claim it is Edith Wharton herself haunting her old home saying they can hear her laugh all around the house. There is also a menacing feeling attributed to her husband Teddy as guests staying overnight have seen a figure in a hood holding them down as they sleep. A third ghost, Henry James, a friend of Edith Wharton and a fellow author, has also been claimed to been seen at The Mount.

There have been stories from Shakespeare & Company of an apparition of an “old-fashioned gentleman standing there in a tuxedo with a pocket watch” and footsteps so clear that people have opened up doors wondering who was there. Add this to the numerous odd sounds, weird feelings and strange noises and it seems you can get more than just a good show at Edith Wharton’s Estate, The Mount.

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3. The Haunted Mount Washington Hotel
4. Paranormal Investigation – Geophone
5. The Haunted Biltmore Estate in Ashevile