Travel Day Trips presents Searles Castle
Just outside of Great Barrington in Massachusetts, traveling north on Route 7 lies a unique grand house called Searles Castle. Built in 1888, it is one of the remaining grand mansions of the French Chateau Period. And indeed as you drive past its sturdy gray stone walls you are immediately drawn to the mysterious estate. Now a Prep School called the John Dewey Academy, the estate is up for sale. And if you have the money, the 40 room mansion could be yours. It has carved wood ceilings, ornate fireplaces and a room clad in wood from a long ago sailing ship. It is named after the interior decorator who later married the very wealthy widow, Mary Hopkins. http://www.luxist.com/2008/02/06/searles-castle-estate-of-the-day/
But the place is also said to be haunted. Some say by Mr. Searles or Mary or a young boy who had ventured into one of the secret passageways on the estate and died after the passageway collapsed. Seems that the place contains a lot of hidden staircases and passageways, some leading out toward the back to a building resembling a Greek temple. The Castle is only open to the public on special occasions such as the Antiquarian Book Sale that holds its event there. That is the time to go and enter the building and see for yourself the faded but still magnificent decor and take a tour of the grounds. That is what I did one summer day. I took the opportunity to see for myself this building having passed it many times. I did find it a bit creepy especially the long vast empty acreage in back of the building. There is just something about the view from the back patio stairs as you look at the Greek temple building that reminds me of a scene from the movie, The Turn of the Screw with Deborah Kerr. I half expected to see a spectre float over the ground.
I will be writing about another grand old mansion in the Berkshires in upcoming blogs and where I had a personal paranormal experience. The Berkshires are never boring and a great day trip destination.
Travel Day Trips
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