History of Halloween
By Mari D. Dattolo
Seventeen years ago, some “visionary spirits” gathered together as members of the Township of Hamilton’s Historical Society and brainstormed on how they could share the history of our county’s seat with the public. Hearing about a candlelight walking tour in a historic Pennsylvania hamlet, President Joan Cradock and Dottie Kinsey realized the same concept could be an enticing event to host in Atlantic County. After all, there had been no shortage of eerie sightings or paranormal activity in the historic district of Mays Landing. The idea caught on and for dozens of families, has grown into an annual Halloween tradition.
With a rich history dating back to the 1750s, Mays Landing is a great place to begin a haunted tour. Many of the more adventurous spirits, live on in the homes, businesses and cemeteries of our South Jersey neighbors. These ghostly characters will often make their presence known by way of unexplained sounds, manipulating electricity or energetic fields; emitting a distinct scent; moving objects and sometimes even appearing as an apparition.
One such location is Atlantic County’s own courthouse building on Main Street in Mays Landing. Built in 1838, it has been renovated and expanded many times, (no longer used as a courthouse), but it’s timeless residents live on. At least three that have been documented. The one most famously retold is the sound of a woman crying long after hours in courtroom 2.
She is believed to be either the mother of a murder victim, or the mother of the convicted murderer in the crime, William O’Mara, who had been sentenced in November of 1891. Both women were said to have wept, through the entire trial. Other paranormal reports include “someone” seeming to ride the empty elevator late into the night; lights going on and off and footsteps heard in empty courtrooms, documented by frightened witnesses.
New to the Ghost Walk this year is the unveiling of Mays Landing’s days as a “Whistle-stop.” A hidden gem off the beaten path, the railroad station harkens back to a time when trains were the major mode of transportation into the new resort of Atlantic City. The first railroad came to Mays Landing and the line at Egg Harbor City in the 1870s. In August of 1880, 1400 members of the St. Ann Literary Society of Philadelphia, chartered two trains to Atlantic City for a day on the beach. On the return trip, as the first train reached Mays Landing, the second train carelessly hit the back of the first train. The rear of the train was on the peninsula leading to the bridge over the Egg Harbor River when it was struck by the engine of the second section. The impact caused the boiler to explode with massive amounts of boiling water and steam, hurling passengers into the river. Joseph Bartlett was a conductor on the Egg Harbor City line who rushed to the scene of the wreck to offer assistance. Casualties included 25 deaths and dozens of severely injured passengers. The townspeople of Mays Landing opened their homes and hotels to take in the injured until a special train could be arranged to take them to the nearest hospital in Camden, New Jersey. Today, people claim to occasionally hear a train whistle and the screams of a female passenger, only known as “Mary.”
Mays Landing’s most notable treasure, designed in second Empire style, is the Victorian mansion, the Abbott House. Built by the native lawyer of the town, Joseph E.P. Abbott and his wife Adeline in the 1860s, overnight guests may come across more than just Belgium chocolates on their pillows!
Two additional “guests” have taken up permanent residency, apparently on the third floor. Images have been photographed in windows and in the decorative cupola adorning the rooftop. Their presence on the property has been documented by the South Jersey Ghost Research Organization, practicing psychic mediums and countless witnesses. Although no one is reported to know their background, records indicate a young man in his teens and a young girl have been reported to bounce balls, throw books off of bookshelves and appear as shadowy figures in windows and mirrors. Findings from the paranormal investigation, include 28 events on video; 46 positive images on film and four electronic voice phenomena (EVP), indicating that there is in fact – ghostly activity!
Join the Township of Hamilton Historical Society for the 17th Annual Ghost Walk, Friday, Oct. 20th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Mays Landing Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
This article is in memory of Dottie Kinsey, who passed away this year. She was the founder of the Historical Society & Museum and created the ghost walk.
