The Morgan House and the Sound of Footsteps
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
A fellow historian, Patrick Duquette, shared with me a first-hand account relayed by a close friend and coworker. Both men were employed at the Monsanto Chemical Company plant in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield during the late 1960s. Patrick began working there in the spring of 1968, and over the following decades became well acquainted with stories told by his coworker Ronald, who purchased the historic Morgan House in Wilbraham in 1965.
The property is situated along one of Wilbraham’s earliest transportation routes. The road predates the town’s incorporation in 1763, when the area was still part of Springfield. Laid out in 1739, it was commonly known as the “Middle Road,” one of three principal north–south corridors in the region. It connected the historic Bay Path, an important colonial route linking Boston to Springfield and points west, with settlements along the Connecticut River valley.
The house itself is believed to have been constructed circa 1830 by Jonathan Ely, a farmer and shoemaker. Federal census records from 1830 through 1850 list Ely as a shoemaker, though like many rural tradesmen of the period, he also maintained agricultural operations. By 1860, at the age of 82, Ely’s occupation is recorded primarily as farming. He is also associated with a small shoemaking shop operated across the road with his son, Dixon Ely. By the mid-19th century, Jonathan Ely had relocated to another nearby dwelling, later known locally as the Ely House, which was destroyed by fire in 1888.
By 1850, William Morgan and his wife Mary appear in census and land records as residents of the property, and an 1856 map confirms their occupation of the farm. The Morgan family maintained agricultural use of the land through the nineteenth century. By 1880, their son William F. Morgan and his wife Arnice are also documented as living there, indicating continued generational use of the homestead. Over time, the house was expanded and modified in keeping with the needs of a working farm family.
It is within this extended family occupation that local oral tradition begins to describe unusual and unexplained occurrences associated with the property. These accounts are not part of formal historical record but have been preserved through later testimony and community storytelling. Despite awareness of these traditions, Ronald and his wife purchased the home in 1965. According to Patrick Duquette, Ronald described their experiences in a straightforward manner, presenting them as lived events rather than speculation.
One of the earliest reported incidents occurred in 1969, when the family reportedly heard footsteps descending the main staircase while all occupants were gathered in the living room. No one was on the stairs at the time. This event marked the beginning of a series of experiences described over the years.
Among the figures described in local tradition is Mary Morgan, believed to be Alfie Morgan’s great-grandmother. Family lore holds that Mary died in the house on June 15, 1888, the same date recorded for Alfie Morgan’s birth. Within oral accounts, Mary is often associated with continuing domestic routines, particularly activities such as weaving rugs in the living room, as she was said to have done during her lifetime.
Ronald’s family also reported behavioral reactions from household pets during certain periods. On some occasions, the family dog would reportedly stand in the hallway outside the living room and refuse to enter, sometimes exhibiting signs of agitation such as growling or raised hair. More consistently, the family noted that no dogs or cats would enter the basement, regardless of effort or circumstance.
Another frequently referenced figure is William B. Morgan, described in tradition as a former owner and strong presence associated with the farm. Reports describe him as appearing most often in the autumn, during harvest season, sometimes wearing a dark hat and work boots. On at least one occasion, Ronald and his wife reported seeing a figure matching this description moving through the dining room. In another instance, a visiting psychic reportedly identified impressions associated with William B. Morgan while inside and outside the home, though such interpretations remain subjective and unverified.
Over the years, Ronald’s family described a range of unexplained auditory and environmental experiences. These included sounds of furniture movement on the first floor while occupants were elsewhere, and footsteps heard in empty areas of the house. In one instance, Ronald reportedly heard what sounded like furniture being moved while he was in the bathroom. When he went to investigate, the noise stopped, and no one else in the household was active at the time.
Ronald also maintained a workshop in the cellar, where he occasionally reported the sensation of being observed while working. He described fleeting visual impressions, such as brief flashes of light seen out of the corner of his eye, which he interpreted as presence rather than physical cause.
The family also attempted informal audio documentation. On one occasion, a tape recorder placed near the family parrots captured a recording in which one bird appeared to repeat a telephone number later associated with a cemetery where William B. Morgan was reportedly buried. While intriguing in family accounts, the recording has no independent verification.
Additional domestic reports included the sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen after the family had gone to bed, despite the kitchen being untouched the following morning. A subsequent review of a recording reportedly captured the sound of glassware being stacked in cabinets.
Their daughter, who was involved in musical performance and practice recordings, also reported unusual playback phenomena. On at least one occasion, a faint secondary voice was heard singing along with her recorded practice. Family tradition associates this with a young female presence believed to be linked to a child who died in the home at approximately 12 years of age from rheumatic fever. This figure is often referred to in local accounts as a shy or intermittent presence, occasionally associated with subtle auditory or visual impressions.
Several incidents are consistently described across family testimony. One such event occurred when the daughter and her friends, during a sleepover, observed a light moving inside an upstairs window. Upon returning inside, both parents were found asleep, and no physical explanation for the light was identified.
Another reported experience involved a guest being awakened by knocking sounds and bed movement in a room associated in family lore with the previously mentioned child. These accounts are part of the oral tradition and cannot be independently verified.
Certain areas of the house have long been described as having unusual environmental conditions. The upstairs hallway and bathroom are frequently cited as locations of noticeable temperature variation and subjective unease. Reports from occupants include knocking sounds at the bathroom door when no one was present in the hallway, as well as a sudden loud noise described variously as a structural impact or the sound of heavy force above the ceiling.
A recurring nightly sound, described as a loud impact at approximately 11 p.m., likened to someone striking the front door, was also reported for a period of time before it eventually ceased.
Seasonal and unexplained odors are also part of the family accounts. In January, occupants repeatedly reported the scent of lilacs throughout the house despite the absence of flowering plants. On another occasion, a strong odor described as resembling a hospital environment was detected by the family. It was later noted that a nearby individual had died in a hospital at approximately the same time the odor was experienced, though no causal link can be established.
Some family members also reported three distinct knocks on a bed’s headboard before the death of elderly relatives, interpreted within the family as an unexplainable warning pattern.
Footstep sounds were among the most consistently reported phenomena, often described as moving between floors or hallways when the house was otherwise empty. In some cases, occupants reported hearing movement on one floor while standing alone on another. Additionally, sounds resembling the front door unlocking and opening were reported, though upon inspection, the door remained locked and undisturbed.
Subsequent owners of the property are also said, in local tradition, to have reported similar experiences, though these accounts remain anecdotal and part of oral history rather than documented record.
Today, the Morgan House stands as a tangible piece of Wilbraham’s nineteenth-century agricultural history, with a documented lineage of ownership through the Ely and Morgan families. At the same time, it remains a subject of enduring local folklore, where historical record, family memory, and reported personal experience continue to overlap within the community.
Comments