Ghost hunters tell tales of Fearing Tavern

There are ghosts in Wareham's Fearing Tavern. They like to knit and rock and play dress-up. One of them wants Wareham author Tim Weisberg to shut up. Another boasts of having killed "Grandpa Ash."

Believable? Weisberg and his loosely affiliated group of "paranormal investigators" think so. They presented findings of their three tavern investigations to the Wareham Historical Society on Monday, and talked about the techniques and electronic equipment they use to capture messages from the spirit world.

The Fearing Tavern, located on Elm Street, just off Main Street, dates to 1690. Now owned by the Historical Society, it was previously a tavern, stagecoach stop, temporary jail, private residence and -- legends have it -- a hiding place for Hessian soldiers seeking refuge from  rebellious colonists during the Revolutionary War and a stop on the Underground Railroad used by slaves escaping to freedom.

Just the kind of place paranormal investigators love. Here's what they report finding:

Carlston Wood (day job: Wareham Animal Control Officer) was touring the tavern with his then-12-year-old daughter and her friend more then a dozen years ago. As they ducked into a "secret passageway," the girls noticed a woman in Victorian dress sitting in a rocking chair knitting in the room they were leaving. Assuming she was some kind of museum piece herself -- like the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation -- they asked about her at the end of the tour. The guide was puzzled. Other than those on the tour, she was the only person in the house.

Mike Markowicz of East Bridgewater uses specially adapted microphones and recording equipment to capture "EVPs" (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) -- spirit voices that come through on the recordings even though they are in a frequency (or something) not heard by those in the room doing the recording. He played some on Tuesday.

Interspersed with the conversation of investigators are the soft words of a young man: "I killed Grandpa Ash . . . Consider it  . . a gift." ("We don't know who these people are," Markowicz noted.)

In another, the recording captures the clanging of a metal grate and the soft words "Christ did penance."

On a lighter note, a little girl asks: "Want to play dress-up?"

Getting a laugh from the crowd was Weisberg's attempt to interrogate a spirit in the attic. There's a rat-a-tat-tat almost like a machine gun and, repeatedly, "Shut up."

Want to see a ghost? Matt Moniz, one of Weisberg's colleagues on WBSM radio's Spooky SouthCoast and UFO editor of FATE Magazine, has recordings from a tavern room now used to display antique toys. In one, a bright light -- the investigators call it Tinkerbelle -- moves from a wall to a doll. In another, a large orb moves across the screen.

If there were skeptics in the crowd Tuesday, they were staying quiet. But there was clearly interest in learning more. Historical Society President Carolyn McMorrow had to stifle an effort by Weisberg to organize an impromptu late-night tavern tour.

If you want to learn more:

Weisberg's just-published book, "Ghosts of the SouthCoast" includes some tales of "The Fearing."

Markowicz's book, "EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices," comes with a CD of ghostly recordings, including several from the tavern.

One of the ghost videos can be seen below.

Lots of material on local ghosts can be found at the Spooky Southcoast website.