In the summer months of 2012 we kept hearing these weird noises outside. It was after midnight, summer and the windows were open, so it was slightly quieter since most people were sleeping. The sound was a mix of a boom, a warble and some kind of hum, similar to the sounds made by the alien ships in the movie "The War of the Worlds". For the 1st week of hearing these strange noises I just assumed that it was the ships down on the docks at Philly (Delaware River) since they are literally only two blocks from my house. But my curiosity got the best of me and when I did a little more investigating I realized that the sounds were not coming from the direction of the ports, they seemed to be all over, and not in the echo way.
Interesting...over the last 2 weeks I have seen two so called (self labeled) "Humanists"[1] refer to a black man that does not fit traditional stereotypes as an Uncle Tom [2]. Now these two people that I am referring to were white; usually the term Uncle Tom is reserved for blacks to out a fellow black for not being "black enough", the equivalent of white guilt for whites.
For our first in a series of hard hitting reality news stories, FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, we are investigating the claim that many of the news stories concerning a patron leaving a harsh, racist or insensitive comment on a receipt instead of a tip are either false, made up or socially engineered. We secured an interview with the head of a Delaware based Public Relations Marketing firm that states the majority of the stories are in truth the product of backdoor public relations. For obvious reasons the person being interviewed wished to remain anonymous, so she will be referred to by as "Mary".
The Legend: There is an evil place in the backwoods of New Jersey where many people have
died....ummm I mean have been murdered. The area is slowly being developed as it only recently has been paved. The Hanging Tree (formerly known as the "Nigger Tree") was used in hundreds if not
thousands of hangings. Yes, NJ was a "free state", but not everyone went by the laws and instead
followed the rules of the land. Slavery in the Americas ran from 1619 to 1863 and this area has
seen its share of lynchings. (NJ abolished slavery in 1804) The slaves in NJ consisted of
Africans, West Indies and Native Americans from the Carolinas.
DATE: 6.22.11
TIME: 9.50pm till 10.13 pm
LOCATION: Kitchen
In June 2011 we conducted an investigation at a private residence in a location that was reported to have some subtle activity occurring for a few months. The activity was reported to take place primarily under the kitchen table. The residents stated that the young child (2 years old) in the house sometimes acted uneasy while near the table and spoke of a little ghost boy named Jimmy that she would talk to from time to time. It was also reported that doors would often open or close on their own and sometimes it felt as if someone or something was watching you.
The table with the activity
Before we set up for the investigation we took precautions and all windows were closed to minimize outside noise/air and temperature. The central air was also turned off to prevent any air currents. All TVs and electronics were turned off and the house was thoroughly inspected to make sure no one else was in the house and no animals were present.
This location has been shrouded in mystery despite it's history being well documented by historians. It is located on Rancocas Road in Westampton, New Jersey, right off of exit 45 near 295, but for years it had the infamous name of "The 1754 Mount Holly Farmhouse Massacre", but of course it resides in Westhampton and not Mount Holly. Some say this was to fool and mislead vandals and teens away from the location so they do not turn it into a party spot and further destroy this historical landmark.
The location was on the 1681 Woolman tract and was built in 1754 by Asher Woolman, the younger brother of Quaker abolitionist John Woolman. It has not been confirmed, but according to locals they state that the last farmer to reside here was Ed Friend.
Interior view of one of the bedrooms
According to the Courier Post article by Carol Comegno dated July 6, 2014:
"The Asher Woolman farmhouse was the only tri-county site listed in this year's (2014) annual Preservation New Jersey endangered list.
Woolman House in better times, date unknown
"Our goal is to bring awareness to cherished sites that have been a vital part of a community that, without intervention, would fade from existence," said PNJ President Michael Hanrahan.
The Woolman site, vacant since the 1970s, is owned by a real estate developer who declined to sell it years ago to the Rancocas Historical Society. Now the building is enveloped by vegetation; its windows are broken and its roof leaks.
The house, on a hill surrounded by fields along a I-295 ramp at Rancocas Road, replaced an earlier Woolman home built in 1754. A dated stone commemorating the earlier house was incorporated into the present structure.
John Woolman's book
Asher's brother, John, was an influential Quaker preacher and antislavery advocate in Burlington County. "The plight of the Asher Woolman homestead is a reminder that many absentee owners allow valuable historic properties in New Jersey to deteriorate," Hanrahan said."
The legend and lore portion of this location is as follows: Many years ago a family lived here at this location. One of the children was mentally deficient and was the bane of the area. Then one day when the disturbed youth was a teen, he snapped pre-Columbine style and bludgeoned his family to death. He even took his infant brother and bashed him against the bricks of the chimney. When the townsfolk discovered what he had done they ransacked the house and beat the teen to death in the backyard. Legend has it that the ghosts of this family still haunt the grounds.
We traveled to this location on two separate occasions and acquired video and photos to document the house before it falls into decay and Nature reclaims it. The house apparently has been used by squatters over the winter since we found some blankets, bottles, trash and other artifacts to indicate this. While venturing through the house I was unsure if we were alone and I had the feeling that behind one of the doors awaited a homeless person or a junkie. We carefully proceeded to enter all the rooms and even venturing into the dirty, dark, dank basement proved that we were alone. Maybe it was the disturbed spirits of the family that lived here all those years ago?
Despite all the stories that center around this location, our end conclusion is that we did not come across any ghosts, we didn’t hear any screams nor did we acquire any EVPs; also all the photos were free from orbs.
(1) source Courier Post Carol Comegno July 6, 2014
(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)
It seems that just about every town in New Jersey has some sort of lore and urban legend associated with them. Mantua New Jersey is of no exception; off of Route 45 there is a little side road named Boody Mill Road and has a gruesome story attached to it.
The partially flooded road
The day we visited this location it was a sunny day with blue skies and huge billowing clouds overhead, the previous few days were rainy and over cast, so this was a welcomed change. Traveling down the road, we passed several nice homes on a very twisting and narrow road, yes, truly a one laner.
Back in 1989 there was some controversy started:
"......The road served as a dam for the lake. When the heavy rains poured into Gloucester County July 5, the old spillway pipe under the road cracked and gave in. The road's gravel, sand and blacktop caved in around the break, and the lake poured over it. Now, in place of the road is a gully 40 or 50 feet deep though which a stream rushes." (Excerpt from Philly.com August 16th 1989)
A few hundred yards in we hit a dirt road that went on for several hundred more feet, and we started encountering deep mud puddles and didn't want to get the car stuck so we got out and continued on foot. After a short hike we found an opening on the side of the road and entered. Several bags of trash and hundreds of beer cans greeted us....along with several shelter shacks and shanties..looked more like a homeless hang out or a teenager party spot. The legendary house in the stories was gone, the trailer also. Not much here was left other than what looked like a party spot for wayward teens. One of the eeriest thing about this place was the lonely baby car seat left behind...
The lone baby car seat, one wonders how it found it's way here
THE HISTORY/LEGEND:
Back in 1992, a guy and his wife got into an argument which resulted in her leaving him and his kids behind. He reportedly went insane over this new arrangement, so one night while his kids were sleeping, he torched the house with them inside of it, killing them all, and then went out back, sat in his truck, and shot himself in the head. Ever since this incident, the torched house supposedly remained haunted. Legend has it, everything in the house was burnt to a crisp except for a table with a bible sitting on top of it.
Narrow dirt section of the road
The bible is a little blackened, but in no way burnt up as you would expect in a fire, and still is legible. Across from the charred house is an open field, and if you park your car on that field at night and face it towards the house, you will see things. Supposedly if you are quiet, you can hear the sound of little kids playing out in that field, but why would young kids be playing outside past midnight? Sometimes you will hear something tapping on your car, and other times you might get a quick glimpse of somebody's face in your rear view mirror.
A video concerning Boody Mill Road
The remaining structure
Of courses as stated above, most of the components of this story no longer exist so we did not experience anything told in the tales. Have you been to this location? Have you any stories to tell concerning this legend?
Google Map, red X marks the location
Since we released this story a few years back many people contacted us asking us to retract the story since they live on the street and are tired of the endless sightseers that trespass on the property and are not respectful to the residents of the street. We ask that whenever you venture anywhere to please respect the privacy of the people that may live in the area. Take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints.
Here, The Cursed Website, we have more photos concerning Boody Mill Road along with other locations filled with Legend, Lore and History.
(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, 2 rats named Phantom and Opera, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)
