Spirits roam Wharton's The Mount - don't they?

Edith Wharton, author of such classic novels as “The House of Mirth†and “Ethan Frome†was also a renowned writer of ghost stories. Her celebrated remark about spooks, “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I’m afraid of them …,†sums up the feelings of many recent visitors to her former home,  The Mount. The Lenox, Mass., house has been hosting Friday Night Fright, a ghost tour, since June.

It all started with the show “Ghost Hunters†on cable television’s Syfy (formerly Sci Fi) channel. After years of rumors flying around about spooky things happening at Wharton’s former home, the producers of the show obtained permission to check it out. “Ghost Hunters†visits sites of supposed hauntings and tries — with the aid of some high-tech equipment — to disprove the possibility of supernatural activity. Often “the things that go bump in the night†turn out to have a logical explanation — but not always.

The “Ghost Hunters†team spent four days and nights camped out at The Mount. Their findings were aired in spring 2009 in an hour-long show devoted entirely to the historic 1902 property.

Ryan McLaughlin, one of The Mount’s tour guides, said visitors to the fright night run the gamut from literary fans to ghost-buster sorts, from psychics to the merely curious.

“Once I had a woman on one of my tours who stopped in the kitchen and was having a full-on conversation with someone who wasn’t there. She was under the impression it was Edith Wharton’s housekeeper.â€

 Others have experienced “a flick on the cheek, a brush on the collar, a cold shiver†as they’ve passed through one of the known “hot spots†in the house, she said.

According to Molly McFall, the guide of a recent Friday Night Fright, the level of supernatural activity, sightings and reports of strange, unexplained events has increased since the tours started. Apparently this is not unusual in the world of the supernatural; ghosts are reputed to respond to continuity and activity.

This may be why the people who most frequently encounter spirits are those who have lived or worked at The Mount.

Indeed, the stories of hauntings can be traced back at least as far as when The Mount was owned by the Foxhollow School in the 1940s and 1950s; and from the days in the 1960s when Shakespeare & Co. was using the house as a theater. Stories abound of encounters; students and actors said they heard footsteps in empty hallways or saw figures in period dress.

There are of course theories as to why a house or an area would be haunted — and it is no surprise that these tales are often attached to tragedy.

There are unconfirmed reports of a servant girl’s suicide; the man who bought the house from the Wharton’s died there; and then there was the Whartons’ own sad story. Their marriage was an unhappy one, even though The Mount was Edith Wharton’s dream come true. She designed the house to her ideal and she loved the land and the area. Yet the majority of the time she spent there was marked by strife with her husband.

Henry James, a good friend of Edith Whartons, was visiting one time when he was witness to a frightful argument. Teddy Wharton burst into his wife’s bedroom and there was a loud and violent fight. This was during the time when they were working out their separation agreement. The marriage had completely collapsed by then.

The tour guides share these tales, and offer possible explanations. McLaughlin described that fight as the basis of a residual haunting. “A space absorbs the intensity of an emotion and the house carries it — as though it is locked in there.â€

McFall quoted Wharton: “For the ghost should never be allowed to forget that his only chance of survival is in the tales of those who have encountered him …â€

Quite a few tour visitors  claim otherworldly experiences while walking through the estate’s  stable or the house. Often ghosts show up, not to the naked eye but in photos. In fact, there is a photo of a “ghost†taken by a tour participant that stands on an easel in the drawing room.

Sometimes photos will also reveal orbs. Perfectly spherical, they look like dust on the lens but often are in a triangular pattern. They are commonly thought to be indicators of paranormal activity.

So, are spooks or paranormals haunting The Mount? The tour guides let the visitors decide for themselves.

For more information about Friday Night Fright and tours of The Mount visit online at edithwharton.org.