Pottsville - Schuylkill Ave.
February - March 1921
Purchasing a new home is an exciting endeavor. All the possibilities of a new beginning and enjoyable future abound. But what would you do if your joy is overshadowed by another’s possessive nature? How would you react if the possessive nature is by a ghost that will displace you out of their home at all costs?
In March 1921, a beautiful structure in the heart of Pottsville lay vacant for some time. The house was large and in a nice location within the city. So, the reason why no one had scooped up the house after the owner died was a bit perplexing. The home eventually was put on the market by the sheriff after three years of unpaid balances. It seems the stately structure was never willed to anyone. There were no family members to pass it along to. Yet, the structure seemed destined to stay in possession of the former owner even after his death.After about three years an out-of-towner came into Pottsville looking for a house to make his home. The man’s name was Dory Brown.
Dory Brown was a steel worker by trade and he fit the stereotype of the profession, tough, no nonsense, and hardened by life and grueling work. Brown searched for a location to call his own for weeks with no success. However, when he was about to give up hope, Brown heard city residents discussing a prominent mansion going up for sheriff’s sale. Intrigued, Brown inquired about more details. The former owner had passed away and the mansion just sat. Initially the house was unoccupied. Time passed. Taxes were not paid. And now the Bunker Hill mansion was going up for sale very cheap - a steal by all accounts. And there was an interested buyer - Dory Brown.
Brown purchased the Schuylkill Avenue mansion at a very reasonable price. He immediately began moving in his belongings and making the structure into his home.
Several days passed and slowly the mansion took on Brown’s style. He rearranged long-left furniture. He made renovations as he saw fit. As the moving process progressed, Brown found himself in the structure’s basement. He noticed something he never previously experienced even though he had been in that area of the house numerous times before. A smell that was nauseating, putrid, and pungent engulfing the underground dwelling. Covering his mouth and nose, Brown attempted to find the source of the rancid smell. He was unsuccessful aftet searching and gave up hope. Slowly, the homeowner noticed the smell began to dissipate and eventually was no more. Confused, but not overly concerned, Brown left the basement to tend to the rest of the chores within his new home.
Daily responsibilities and obligations occupied Dory’s attention. He worked hard and in his small amount of free time he was focused upon renovating the house. The days went by fast and the nights were filled with peaceful, well-deserved sleep. One evening after a hard day’s work, Brown adjourned to his sleeping chambers. He extinguished his light putting the room into darkness, closed his eyes, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The late night’s silence was broken with a shuffle followed by sliding. Brown’s eyes sprung open as restful sleep was torn from him. Lying in the darkness, Brown listened trying to rationalize if he was indeed awake or in the midst of an over-tired nightmare. The sound of wood being slowly dragged along the wooden floors echoed through his home. Brown sat up in the darkness and focused on the peculiar sound. The wooden movement resembled the sound of a chair being pulled out so an unearthly visitor could rest. Slowly the homeowner rose, lit a candle and made his way to investigate. No man would enter his home uninvited. Brown had developed a reputation as a bruiser even in his short amount of time in the city. Brown walked though his home and took notice to several pieces of furniture out of place as though the rearranging of a room was interrupted by the homeowners awakening. He stood trying to make sense of it. Perhaps it was a dream. He was still organizing his home. He could have easily adjusted the furniture and simply forgot about it. His body and mind were exhausted from a tedious day. Certainly the sounds could have been his imagination. After reassuring himself there was nothing to be concerned about, Brown walked back to his room with a briskness to his step. He extinguished the candle, laid back down, and fitfully attempted to fall back to sleep.
The next morning Dory Brown awoke and went about his business. He had a job, responsibilities, and bills to pay. There was no time to fixate on a bad dream. The day was normal as was the night. This predictable pattern continued for some time with no indication that anything odd had taken place.
Just a few days after his hallucination of moving furniture, Brown was once again getting ready to settle in for the night. He changed out of work clothes and prepared to lie upon his bed when a loud crash thundered downstairs. Initially, his inclination was to protect his home from am unwise intruder. Brown rushed downstairs. As he reached the base of the stairs, another large crash pierced the silence. The intruder was in the kitchen.Brown hurriedly moved towards the kitchen prepared to protect the sanctity of his home. He entered the room and threw on the lights. To his amazement there was no one in the room. However two dishes were smashed in a hundred pieces all over the floor. Looking up, cabinet had been thrown open as though by some unseen force. Confused, Brown studied the cabinet then the shattered china. He was too deep in thought to take notice to another plate propel itself out of the cabinet and land near his feet breaking into several large pieces and dozens of shards. Brown stepped back stunned. His gaze turned to horror as a fourth plate was thrown and shattered upon the floor by an unseen force. Fearing for his safety the staunch steel worker ran for his life outside his home.
Standing in the frigid March night, Dory Brown attempted to calm his breath and decipher what he had just witnessed. After a short amount of time the answer came to him - he had no answer or explanation. The man had no choice but to go inside.Full of anxiety, Brown tried to go upon living his normal life. He went to work, ran errands, but every time he unlocked his door and walked within his home he was on edge. Over a short span of days the house was still. Gradually, Brown became comfortable and began to return to his non-anxiety ridden self.
One evening Brown arrived home after a long day. He washed, ate dinner, and prepared to adjourn for the night. As he lay upon his bed the events he experienced the week before were the farthest things from his mind. He extinguished the light and closed his eyes. At first the sound was barely audible. However over the course of several minutes the dragging sound became louder and more pronounced. Brown’s eyes shot open. He sat up in his bed peering into the darkness . He could hear wood dragging across the floor. Items rattling and moving. A faint whimper sounding like a human voice. Sitting there in the darkness, Brown’s hair began to stand on end as the room grew colder with each passing second. The homeowner looked towards his door and to his astonishment there stood a wispy form seemingly moving by some soft, unfelt breeze. Subconsciously a shriek bellowed out of Brown’s mouth destroying the silence. The wispy apparition slowly faded away into the darkness, almost as though being satisfied by making its presence know,Brown, horrified by the presence he now knew occupied his home, sat frozen in fear. The man was incapable of sleep as his heart and mind raced beyond his control.
Over the next three days, Brown went to work but did not sleep a wink. His body kept him on guard to protect himself and his home. After the third day, the lack of shut-eye was taking its toll. A neighbor saw Brown walking slowly towards his home and hesitate before he reached the porch. Almost as if dreading the task of opening the door to his home. He approached the weary homeowner and inquired if everything was alright.Perhaps due to exhaustion or relief someone asked about his well-being, Dory Brown began to tell the man about his odd experiences over the last two weeks. The neighbor’s eyes grew wide as the blood-curdling details were revealed. Brown, seeing the neighbor’s reaction, stopped recounting some of the details and grew quiet. He did not want his neighbor, or the rest of the neighborhood, to develop a negative impression of him. However, what his neighbor told him shocked the startled man.
His neighbor told Brown how before he purchased and moved into the residence a former owner occupied it for many years. The former owner was very possessive of the mansion and even though he lived there alone refused to move. As time continued on, the former owner’s health began to deteriorate and his body began breaking down. He refused to sell the structure and stated the home was an important part of who he was. The former resident then said something that stunned his neighborly friend. He stated he would reside in the Pottsville mansion during his remaining time in life afterwards in death if the mansion was sold. Brown’s eyes grew large upon realizing who he was sharing his home with.
Dory Brown knew then he had a problem. Begrudgingly, he contacted the city and told the unbelievable tale that his home was indeed haunted. At first, the police department was obviously skeptical. However Brown was adamant. He invited the police in to experience the paranormal activity for themselves. The police arrived one evening ready to prove to the homeowner the paranormal experiences were all in his mind or pranks. Within a small amount of time, to their astonishment, they also began having experiences they could not explain. Furniture moving, voices being heard, items moving…with no logical explanation. The police left that evening with no concrete answers except the house could be indeed haunted.
Word leaked out about the poltergeist activity within the Mansion over the next few days. The activity had become so extreme Dory Brown left his home vowing never to return. The apparition began manifesting itself more often causing enormous mental strain on Brown. The public opted to become involved. It was not uncommon for there to be upwards of one-hundred people outside the mansion hoping to get a glimpse of the activity within or the apparition of the former owner. The choice was made to put the city’s coroner in charge of heading up an investigative group.
The coroner’s group was selected and assembled to go into the bewitched house one evening. Their senses heightened, and their minds were skeptical as they entered the barren mansion. Each man was equipped with a firearm for personal protection. They were sure pranksters were the cause of the activity and their firearms would deter any of them from pranking any homeowner like this again. The men took to their investigation. They traveled throughout the home taking notes of locations, creaks, and groans. Their travels eventually took them into the bowels of the mansion in the dark, dreary basement. The men spent several uneventful minutes within the dark area. Then they began to notice a foul smell. It resembled a sulfuric smell. The trio immediately tried to find a source. They came up empty after a time searching. It was as if the scent was coming from the ground under their feet.The men then made their way from the basement and split up to check the home. Searching every nook and cranny to find the pranksters,again the investigators came up empty. The choice was made to adjourn for the night.
Each man took a separate location to see if they had any odd experiences. The two city residents took to bedrooms while the coroner stayed downstairs. The night became ominously dark and cold as the men huddled beneath blankets for warmth. The bewitching hour came and passed with all being quiet within the mansion. One investigator within Brown’s former bedroom stretched out on the bed. The room was comfortable. He then paused and became still noticing his nose and finger tips felt frozen to the bone. Opening his eyes, he noticed a faint light near the door. The investigator was struck by the light’s odd shape. It was large and circular . There seemed to be no source producing the light from the hallway or from outside the window. It seemingly was appearing literally out of nowhere. Then, to his absolute astonishment, the light began to collect and increase in size. It took on the form of a person as it made its way towards the bed. Stunned, the investigator lay paralyzed with fear. The apparition approached so closely it nudged the investigator’s arm. It was as if ice had been placed against his skin. The man began to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes felt like they were bulging out and his breath was taken from his lungs. He cried out as his heart raced to the point it felt as though it would erupt out from his chest. The experience seemed to last for an eternity, but within seconds it was over. The apparition disappeared into thin air and the room was dark once again.
The sound of a shot exploded in the house. The investigator, still reeling from what he had just witnessed, staggered to his feet and opened the bedroom door. There he saw the second investigator in the hallway pistol drawn. Smoke was billowing from its chamber. The second investigator claimed he had witnessed the apparition of a man in the hallway. Instantly he drew upon it and fired. The bullet had no affect at all and traveled directly through the apparition. Almost as though mocking the man, the whitish apparition slowly faded into the darkness.
The coroner arrived barreling up the steps to the two investigators. The proof they anticipated was not what they had experienced. The men refused to stay within the home any longer and left that night vowing not to return due to concern for their health. Word circulated through the city like wildfire.
Spiritualists descended on the Pottsville mansion from New York and Philadelphia. Their goal was to see if they could communicate or dispel the spirit. Newspapers from Pottsville to Gettysburg to Cincinnati, Ohio reported about the activity within the haunted house in Bunker Hill. The Pottsville Miner’s Journal even offered to have their entire staff camp out within the home to record definitive proof of the afterlife. The offer was refused.
Hundreds of people waited outside the Pottsville Mansion to witness the haunting for themselves. Police chief Morgan Skidmore, who was well-respected within the city and county, offered to stay within to rid the mansion of its spirits and give peace to the city.
Dory Brown never entered his home again and sold the structure at a discounted price. Ultimately the mansion, like many other city structures, was razed due to a lack of a buyer. However, before its untimely destruction, the mansion was used for public functions, such as dances and meetings for a period of time. One common dare amongst those within was to ascend to the bewitched second floor. For those brave enough to venture forward, they may witness firsthand the restless spirit of the former owner. Many dares were issued, however few were accepted. Most individuals who accepted the dare ascended about halfway up the staircase. Then, common-sense and a sixth-sense seemed to take over and escort the once brave thrill-seeker hurriedly back down to the first floor and often out the door.
Location-wise, the description in the newspapers was fitting. The mansion was described within all the reporting newspapers as being just a stones-throw away from a large cemetery.
Whether the spirit of the former owner still walks the grounds and heckles prospective home buyers in the neighborhood is unknown. However, the next time you travel along Schuylkill Avenue and a cemetery is nearby keep your eyes peeled. You may catch a glimpse of a whitish-apparition peering out a second story window or tossing china at your vehicle attempting to ensure you are not looking to buy.