Vermont has a rich history of haunted places and the ghosts who live there, and the tale behind the Hayden House is truly terrifying. What makes the story behind this place so scary? It could be due to the many mysterious illnesses, or maybe due to the unmarked graves, or perhaps it’s because it all leads back to a curse rendered by a bitter mother-in-law. Here is the story behind Vermont’s most haunted house that will give you nightmares.
The old Hayden House still stands on the outskirts of Albany, Vermont, in the Northeast Kingdom. The Hayden Family is thought to have perished under the vengeful curse of William Hayden’s mother-in-law, Mercie Dale.
The story begins in 1806 when a man named William Hayden moved with his wife, Silence, and her mother, Mercie. His mother-in-law was widowed and very well off financially, and she wanted to help her daughter jump-start her life.
You see, Mrs. Dale tried to be a good mother-in-law and lent her daughter's husband large sums of money to go towards the family's business. Instead, Hayden Sr. squandered it away supporting his lavish lifestyle and refused to pay the money back.
Things went from bad to worse when Mrs. Dale suspected her son-in-law was poisoning her. Legend has it that on her death-bed in 1806, she cursed her party animal son-in-law and his family, saying that the third generation would be the last of the Hayden line.
William and Silence had 5 sons, and all but one, Will Jr. died young. In 1854, William Hayden Jr. built the red brick mansion that still stands today looking the same as it did more than 150 years ago.
He is thought to have been as much of a party animal like his father as plans for the ornate home included a spring-suspended dance floor on the third floor to add a little bounce to his ballroom dances.
Mercie's curse from the grave came true because by 1927, according to various accounts, the entire Hayden family had gradually died due to an assortment of inexplicable illnesses. The curse was now complete.
It is also thought that the lantern lights could be the spirits of the illegal laborers smuggled in by William Hayden Jr., who buried the bodies of the workers in unmarked graves in the fields behind the three barns as they died.
Perhaps the most important lesson here is: Always pay back your mother-in-law.
To get to the Hayden House, follow Route 14 north towards Albany. The house is on the left, a mile south of the village. Please note that the Hayden House is now a private residence. Please view from the road.
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