Sam Baltrusis - Ghosts of the American Revolution

Author SAM BALTRUSIS is a sought-after lecturer who speaks at dozens of paranormal-related events scattered throughout New England. He appears on several television shows including, The Curse of Lizzie Borden and Fright Club on Discovery+. He is also the producer of the MASS ParaCon and hosts Paranormal Rewind and the Haunted Hotels with Sam Baltrusis podcasts. Visit SamBaltrusis.com for more information.

Doppelgnger? Author Sam Baltrusis specializes in historical haunts and has been featured on several national television shows sharing his experiences with the paranormal. Photo by Frank C. Grace

If a ghost is history demanding to be remembered, then the spirits rumored to hang out at Old North Bridge where the American Revolution first erupted on April 19, 1775, are in hibernation.

Yes, theyre taking a boo break.

During a series of off-season visits where the shot heard round the world was fired, I was surprised that many of the historical locations in Concord and Lexingtonlike Buckman Tavern and the Battle Greenhad very few reports of ghostly activity. One tour guide in Lexington supposedly spotted an apparition of a colonial-era woman on the Buckman Taverns second floor and another person swore they heard phantom footsteps at the Sanderson House.

Apparently, all of the nearby Revolutionary Wars spirits headed over to Concords Colonial Inn, which seems to be the areas most haunted location. Yes, its a ghost hotel where spirits check in, but dont check out.

The shot heard round the world was fired at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. Courtesy Deposit Photos

On a whim, I spent one more overnight at the haunted inn as I finished up writing this book. After checking into Concords Colonial Inn in early March, I decided to take a midnight stroll down the street to the Old North Bridge, the location where the first shots were fired that ultimately ignited the powder keg known as the American Revolution.

The full moon over Concord made the evening visit creepier than expected. As I approached the historic site, I heard what sounded like heavy footsteps marching over the bridge as if they were walking over to me. No one was there. What was even more strange with the situation was that the phantom footsteps stormed right by me as if they didnt even know I was there.

Residual redcoats? Yes, Concord has them.

Based on my encounter at the Old North Bridge, theres no denying that an inexplicable energy continues to linger where it all began. Based on several reports and my first-hand experiences, however, the spirits seem to be residual in nature.

According to Brian J. Cano, these types of playback hauntings fade over time, but can be exacerbated by the living. Were constantly expending energy and leaving bits of ourselves behind, Cano told me. These sorts of things are the basic building blocks of an echo.

When Revolutionary War performers replay the Battles of Lexington and Concord every April, Cano believes it could stir up the sleepy spirits. Reenactors are very dedicated to their performances, he said. When theyre in uniform, they are out for blood and that energy can be left behind. The battle is replayed over and over again and I believe the spirits are reenergized because of it.

Im grateful for all of the people I interviewed for this book in addition to Cano, including Joni Mayhan, Gare Allen, Peter Muise, Michelle Hamilton, Geoffrey Campbell, Christy Parrish, Tim Weisberg, Vicki Noel Harrington, Bill Pavao, James Annitto, Mike Ricksecker, Joe Jiggy Webb, Ellen MacNeil, Michael Baker, Gavin Kleespies, Christopher Rondina, and Richard Estep. Special thanks to Roxie Zwicker for penning the books foreword. I would also like to thank the staff and front desk supervisor Zachary Trznadel at Concords Colonial Inn for their continued hospitality while writing Ghosts of the American Revolution.

Photographers Frank C. Grace and Jason Baker deserve a supernatural slap on the back for capturing the eerie aesthetic of the main haunts featured in this book. I would also like to thank Amy Lyons from Globe Pequot for her support during the process of putting Ghosts of the American Revolution together.

Thanks to my mother, Deborah Hughes Dutcher, for her investigative work uncovering our familial ties to the Revolutionary Warera hero General Israel Putnam and my friends for their continued support.

Ghosts of the American Revolution is dedicated to my stepfather, Paul Dutcher, who passed on December 26, 2018. His love for American history and adventurous spirit lives on.

My goal was to give a voice to our founding fathers, unsung heroes, and, in a few cases, the British Loyalists featured in this book. Ghosts of the American Revolution is for them. I hope I do them justice.

Years ago when I first started giving ghost tours in Boston, I spotted a Benjamin Franklin look-alike walking through Boston Common late one night in October. He was heading toward the gold-domed Massachusetts State House and seemed to be in a hurry. When I looked again, he was gone.

I initially shrugged it off as the Freedom Trail tour guide known to dress in Franklin-esque garb until I was contacted by a reader from Utah in July 2013 who visited the citys Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, swears she had a face-to-face encounter with the legendary founding father.

When I was in Boston, I saw the ghost of Benjamin Franklin walk through the cemetery, the woman told me via email. At first I thought it must be a reenactor, and I thought it was strange because it was at 10:00 p.m. and he was alone. Then I noticed he was all gray looking and looked exactly like the real Benjamin Franklin. As soon as I told my friends to look, he was gone, she wrote.

After doing some digging, it turns out Franklins family is buried in Granary Burial Ground. There was an attempt to rename the cemetery dating back to 1660 the Franklin Cemetery in honor of the founding fathers family, but the effort was dismissed in May 1830. Of course, many of the big names of the American Revolution are buried in Granary including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and the five victims of the Boston Massacre. There are reports that Reveres ghost, sometimes upon the horse on which he made his famous midnight ride, appears near his gravestone.

But no Franklin. Maybe his ghost was merely visiting his family plot in the afterlife?

My quest to find the spirit of the countrys first postmaster general led me to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On a whim, I headed to the City of Brotherly Love one chilly weekend in November 2019. After visiting many of the historic sites synonymous with the bespectacled founding father and chatting with several Philadelphians, I was told Franklins spirit has been spotted all over the city.

Yes, his ghost apparently gets around.

My first stop was Christ Church Burial Ground with a history dating back to 1719. The graveyard is the final resting place for several signers of the Declaration of Independence including Joseph Hewes, Francis Hopkinson, George Ross, and Benjamin Rush. Franklin and his wife Deborah were also interred at the cemetery, which attracts around a hundred thousand tourists each year.

I chatted with two docents manning the information booth at the burial grounds entrance. When I asked the volunteers if Franklins spirit had been spotted around his memorial, they both nodded. A psychic-medium picked up on his lingering energy after standing over the inventors grave marker.