Ghosts at the Mount
The Mount was never a happy home. It was designed by Edith Wharton as a partial antidote to an unhappy marriage. The marriage failed anyway and the sensitive author found the house foreboding.
Wharton had long experience with extrasensory experiences. As a girl, she claimed to be "haunted by formless horrors," and even in her 20s, she could not bear a book with a ghost story in it to be in a house where she was to sleep.
Fascinated by the genre, however, she would read ghost stories then burn the books. Later in life, she, herself, went on to write some paranormal tales.
Did her receptivity to the paranormal invite unseen energy to her house? Following Wharton’s ownership of the property, it passed to Foxhollow School and later to Shakespeare and Company. Over the years, residents and visitors have reported unexplained noises, odd sensations and an occasional encounter with a spectral figure dressed in old-fashioned clothing.
The reported phenomena even captured the interest of The Atlantic Paranormal Society which sent investigators in 2009 to film an episode of the Ghost Hunters television show.
Never ones to pass up a good story, The Mount’s administration offers Ghost Tours during the summer months and will mark the Halloween holiday with continuing tours on Friday and Saturday from 5:45-7PM and Halloween from 8-10PM.
The two-hour tours start at the Stable and end at the Main House and include prizes given for best costume, cider, doughnuts and surprises from the pages of Wharton’s stories. The spooky tour is not recommended for children younger than 12.
Participants should arrive 15 minutes early and dress appropriately for the weather. The tour is not suitable for wheelchairs and includes about a half-mile walk with some steep areas.
Advance reservations are required. For more information, please visit the link below or call 413-551-5111. If tickets are sold out for a particular evening, email info@edithwharton.org to be added to a wait list. The Mount is located at 2 Plunkett Street in Lenox MA.
