Haunted Stories: Tales of Ghostly Encounters in Providence's Neighborhoods

The infamous Lizzie Borden House in Fall River
Halloween is just around the corner, and if you ask us, the Providence area is one of the perfect places to celebrate the holiday. With an abundance of 19th and 20th century historic properties (and a few from the 18th century as well), this small city is saturated with ghostly energy–the kind that make for great haunted house stories around the campfire.
So without further ado, here are some haunted stories shared by the Geo team and friends. But be warned: some of these homes are right around the neighborhood, or even worse, you may be living in one of them!
“I used to live in a late 1800’s Victorian in the Armory District. One night I awoke to find a figure standing at the end of my bed. Dressed in antique clothes, his features and attire were easily distinguishable. On other occasions I would find the chess pieces on my chessboard carefully rearranged, moves made during the night while I was asleep.” ~ GP
“I had the irresistible opportunity to stay in the infamous Lizzie Borden house one night in Fall River with my daughter. I could on forever about the terrors that ensured that night, but the thing that really threw me over the edge was something that we did not even notice until the next morning. Upon waking, we looked around the room and realized that over the course of the night, all of the picture frames in the room had been reversed. We will never stay there again!” ~ HK
“I was awoken in the middle of the night in my East Side home to the feel of someone’s hand in mine. Thinking that it was my significant other, I looked over at him affectionately, only to slowly realize that he was on the wrong side of the bed and nowhere near my hand. I, very slowly, let go of the “other” hand. I never looked over to see who it was attached to!” ~ RDS
“I previously owned an adorable historic home on Williams Street in Fox Point. My daughter and I would frequently return home to find ALL of our faucets running on full blast, hot water steaming up the entire house. Our ghost certainly had a jerky side…” ~ HK
“I was staying at my sister’s house for the night on the East Side. As I was falling asleep, I heard loud running and banging on the third floor above my room. Thinking that my sister and her boyfriend were staying up late and using the pool table upstairs, I ignored the sounds. The next morning at breakfast, my sister and her boyfriend asked me what the heck I was doing on the third floor so late into the night. I NEVER stayed there again.” ~ MC
“I had just moved in to this two-story house off of Hope St. on the East Side. Most of my guests would constantly mention that the energy was “off” upon entering the home. I took it with a grain of salt since I didn’t feel like relocating because of some questionable energy, but I didn’t feel entirely welcomed at the same time. A few days after moving in, I went to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, and as I was drinking I noticed something shiny at the bottom of my glass. In it was a old thumbtack. Till this day I cannot explain how the thumbtack had gotten into my cup, as there weren’t any on the walls, or cupboard around the sink. The incident that threw me over the edge happened one night while I was sleeping. I was awoken by my own heart beating rapidly, as if I was stressed or anxious about something. Then I felt some warmth and tingly sensation around my neck and cheek. Let’s just say I didn’t even go back to pick up my old mail.” ~ SI