Page 48 - North Haven Magazine Issue 25 Autumn 2022

by Susan A. Iverson
A HAUNTED HAVENVEN??
A HAUNTED HA

Author's note: Volunteering at the North Haven Historical Society and Museums allows me to meet lots of interesting people. Sometimes
visitors to the society are seeking information about the history of their properties in the hope of explaining unusual happenings in their
homes. The following stories are some that I've heard over the years; I have excluded certain details to protect the privacy of the storytellers.
Remember, these are stories I've been told - you decide what to believe!

There were several taverns in colonial North
Haven; they provided refreshment and some-
times a room for long-distance travelers. Locals
would also frequent the taverns because neigh-
bors could meet and exchange news. One of
these taverns was on the outskirts of town - here
North Haveners could broaden their knowledge
of the world when meeting travelers from oth-
er parts of the state. During the Revolutionary
War era local residents were mostly patriots, and
had little patience for those proclaiming them-
selves to be Tories, or loyal to the British crown.
Just like today, customers at the tavern would
have a little too much ale or cider, and fall in to
the trap of discussing politics. Apparently one
of these patrons proclaimed that if he heard one
more person pass through who proclaimed to
be a Tory, he would shoot him dead. A little boy
working in the tavern didn't understand the se-
riousness of the threat, and parroted that he was
a Tory - and was promptly shot dead! His spir- Esther Bradley Headstone Grace Dickerman at home
it is rumored to haunt the tavern, as he walks
around at midnight and slams a door closed. Sometimes stories of hauntings puzzle owners and histori-
Many years later the occupants of the tavern re- ans alike; there is no traumatic event in history that would
moved the door from its frame - and the tavern trigger activity, no famous (or infamous) individual linked
is now quiet at night! to the property, no human tragedy or ordeal associated
with the haunting. The following story is one of these.

Not all hauntings are related to very old build-
ings - our little town was featured on TV recent- There is a house, near the center of town, that was lived in
ly as paranormal investigators tried to figure out by two generations of the Dickerman family. The house
why a newer home here was exhibiting signs was built around 1900, a handsome home with a big
of ghostly activity. According to the program, porch. The last member of the family to live there was
residents of this house observed objects mov- more than 100 years old when she died, having spent her
ing about, apparitions, even the appearance of entire life doing good work for the town of North Haven.
blood on the floor. The investigators concluded She left no descendants, so the home and surrounding
that the activity was linked to a murder that had acreage was sold and a large complex of apartments was
been committed nearby in 1853. According to built on the property. The first floor of the house was
newspaper articles archived at the North Hav- used for offices, but rooms upstairs were furnished as
en Historical Society, a woman by the name of bedrooms and provided a place for people to stay while
Esther Bradley felt ill and decided to stay home considering relocation to one of the apartments. The
one Sunday morning while her husband Barzil- home was in need of some repairs, so the property man-
lai and sons Ellsworth and Titus went to church. ager visited the historical society for advice about pro-
ceeding appropriately with the renovations. While chat-
A farm hand identified as Michael Jennings, ting with her, she disclosed what had become a common
thinking no one was home, broke into the house occurrence at the home. Visitors staying there often
to rob it. When he saw Esther, he panicked and complained of someone pulling the blankets off them in
stabbed her multiple times. Jennings was appre- the middle of the night! Upon waking, the guests would
hended soon after the murder, and was convict- see no one there, but the experience was quite unsettling.
ed the following year of murder in the first de- There was nothing unusual about the history of the Dick- Grace Dickerman's
gree. Apparently ghosts can wait for many years erman family who had lived there - perhaps their spirits Headstone
before deciding to show up! are just puzzled as to why strangers are in their beds!

48 North Haven Magazine - Autumn Issue 2022