THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The historic Welles House has earned a reputation for unexplained paranormal activity tied to its nineteenth-century past. Visitors have reported apparitions, mysterious footsteps, unexplained voices, and cold spots throughout the building.
The circa-1860 Welles House, built by industrialist Augustus C. Laning, has been compared to the Amityville Horror house. Strange deaths and tragedies followed Laning: His factories burned down and his nephew was killed after a lightning strike began a fire in the barn, trapping him under the body of a horse. To add to it, a man reportedly droopped dead for no known reason while walking in front of the house. From the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, the house was a rental property and saw two suicides and four deaths; as well, residents have been known to have suffered from mental and physical illnesses and alcoholism. Families who lived here in the 1970s described unexplained depression and illnesses along with many other eerie events including bangs, booted footsteps, scurrying sounds, shrieks, moans, bloody spots appearing on living room walls, and the ghosts of a well-dressed man and a young girl. Scratches in threes appeared on their bodies, and a daughter was pushed down the stairs but simply floated to the bottom unhurt.