As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently took the ferry down to Provincetown for the day.
Provincetown always seems infused with the supernatural to me. It's this hyperactive little beach resort surrounded by the vast coyote-haunted emptiness of the National Seashore, and the even vaster emptiness of the Atlantic Ocean, that is quite literally at the end of the world (or at least Cape Cod).
P-town has a lot folklore surrounding it. Of course it was the first place that the Pilgrims landed before they moved on to Plymouth, but it also supposedly has a haunted restaurant: the Martin House.
According to Thomas D'Agostino's Haunted Massachusetts, the Martin House is inhabited by multiple ghosts. One seems to be the spirit of Captain Tracy, who lived in the building in the 1700's. A misty outline of a sea captain has been seen in the upstairs dining room, accompanied by strange cold spots. The ghost of Mrs. Tracy has also been seen.
The other ghosts may be the spirits of runaway slaves who sought shelter in the Martin House when it was part of the Underground Railroad. A small family of African American ghosts has been seen in a secret passage between two chimneys, and the ghost of a young slave girl has been reported to play pranks on people who sleep in the small upstairs room.
Paranormal investigators don't think the ghosts are malicious, but simply curious. Unfortunately, the Martin House seems to be haunted by something worse than ghosts these days - a bad economy. It hasn't been open for business in a couple years, and is up for sale. If you have the money, you might be able to get a good deal on a famous building filled with spirits.
It's an awful shame that this place closed. This was one fabulous restaurant, though no apparitions appeared when I ate there. Perhaps the food was just too distractingly superb.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the oldest (if not the oldest?) residences in P-Town. Unlike most extant buildings, it's not oriented to the road, Commericial Street, but to the Old Shore Road, as the original "road" here was the beach itself.
I echo your sentiments. I knew the siblings who ran the place, along with the partner of the gay brother. Such wonderful food and ambience. It's a shame that they couldn't settle their differences and keep the place going. I looked forward to multiple dinners ever time I visited P'town.
ReplyDeleteGreat story Peter! I do hope the place is up and running in some form today!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place, a dam shame I would go to p town for that reason alone fireplace and the ambience was awesome
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