The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Spirits in residence
‘Ghost Hunters’ drawn to the supernatural at Hartford’s Mark Twain House
The Mark Twain House was already one of Connecticut’s best known attractions before crews from TV’s “Ghost Hunters” visited.
Reports of paranormal activity — including sightings of a lady in white — have led to multiple investigations inside the Hartford residence/museum.
And then there’s the smell of cigar smoke.
“I have smelled cigar smoke in several spots in the house. Not surprising since Twain smoked constantly. Up to 40 cigars a day,” said Grace Belanger, assistant manager of interpretation at the cathedral-like mansion, where Twain lived from 1874 to 1891.
Of course, smoking isn’t permitted in the former home of celebrated author Samuel Clemens, aka Twain, so what’s going on?
This Tiffany-decorated mansion, where he wrote such beloved works as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” is gorgeous but slightly spooky, with its dark wood and ornate carvings. Featured on the Biography Channel’s “My Ghost Story,” as well as on the Syfy Channel, it’s getting even more attention now that its “Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours” are running through Oct. 31.
“The lady in white, as well as one in black, have both made appearances and may be mentioned on the Graveyard Shift Tours,” said Belanger, one of the guides. Tours run Fridays and Saturdays, and occasionally on Thursdays. She shared more via email.
“The Graveyard Shift Tours are not a ‘haunted hayride’ but rather a look at the spiritualist movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s, which Twain and his family often came in contact with, including attending seances and performances with mediums of the day...” she said.
Tragedies that led to Twain's belief in the supernatural are also touched on, she said, as well as “investigations into paranormal activity that has been experienced in the Mark
Twain House by staff and visitors.”
Each tour is different, as trained “historic interpreters” share details about what has happened in the house, as well as their own experiences. Belanger, who was on “Ghost Hunters,” said investigators from TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) from the original “Ghost Hunters,” visited three times.
The first visit, in 2009, involved several days of taping. The second time was to film their “Ghost Hunters Academy” episode, and the third was for a Christmas special.
“The crew was wonderful to work with, and they were thrilled to be at the Mark Twain House,” she said. “The most challenging thing was the hours our staff had to put in to assist with the filming. Overnight filming in the house is often draining on our staff.”
So, does Belanger believe in the paranormal? “Yes, I have had multiple experiences in the Mark Twain House & Museum, some of which are spoken about on our Graveyard Shift Tours, but the most striking experience was one that I witnessed someone else having.” Here’s what happened:
“After the first time we
were featured on ‘Ghost Hunters’ we started giving the Graveyard Shift Tours. They were so popular we started giving them yearround. It was fascinating to speak with the people who wanted to come and experience ... (them). Early in the summer of 2010, I spoke with a gentleman named John, who was a non-believer but was scheduling a family vacation for his wife and sons to visit sites the ‘Ghost Hunters’ had investigated.
“I am not sure how many they had visited, but when John and his family arrived, he was still a non-believer. I was the person scheduled to give the tour he and his
family were taking. After the tour was over, John came to me and asked who had been in a section of the house as we were outside, before our tour entered the building.
“I had to tell him no one could have been in the room he was speaking of, as the previous tour was already departing the Mark Twain House as we stood outside, and the room in question is roped off to all visitors and staff, though people can look in from the nursery (a room where much activity has been reported).
“John was insistent he had witnessed a man opening the window. He even made the motions of the way the man was opening the windows. I laughed and said that isn’t possible. He was so insistent and as it was the last tour of the evening, I took him back into the house to show him that the room was not accessible. He left that second visit to the house a believer, as I showed him no one could have been in the room in question.”
It’s no secret Twain was interested in the supernatural, a subject discussed on the tour. Belanger said he often spoke “of the ‘power of the mind’ and told a story about the death of his younger brother” and his own experience related to that horrible incident.
“Twain’s own mother talked about how her son was born in 1835 with Haley’s Comet in the night sky,” and although “he was born sickly,” the comet was an omen he would do great things. “As Haley’s Comet returned in 1910, Twain spoke of the return and how he was destined to leave this world as it passed. He died April 21, 1910, with Haley’s Comet in the night sky.”
Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours, recommended for ages 10 and older, follow social distancing guidelines and masks are required. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For details: