A Light in the Attic

Many years ago when I was in my teens, my family moved to Meriden, Connecticut, from New Hampshire. We moved into a house and lived on the second floor, where I could get an excellent view of a huge mansion sitting on a hill further up the street. I remember looking out of my bedroom window one night just before going to bed and noticed a light coming from the attic of the mansion. I never really paid much attention to what was across the street until that one night when I saw that light.

I got together with some friends the next day and told them about the light I saw coming from the attic of the mansion further up the street. They told me a story about that mansion that had me on the edge of my seat.

The mansion was originally built in 1929 for Captain Alex McDermott and his wife Ruth. He was at sea eight months out of the year and always returned each September. The mansion was enormous, consisting of nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two dining rooms, a large kitchen, a living room, a family room, a private lounge, and a sewing room. The mansion had three floors not including the basement and attic with numerous secret passageways leading in and out of the mansion. The reason for all of those rooms was that he and his wife planned on having many children.

The story goes on to say that on a February morning in 1935; he gave his wife Ruth a farewell kiss as he set off for another eight months on the high seas. As in all previous times, the captain always returned in the last week of September. But this time it was different, the captain did not return. After waiting several weeks for his return, Ruth sent a letter to the headquarters of the shipping company to inquire about her husband’s whereabouts. Several weeks went by when she finally received a letter from the shipping company with the bad news that the captain’s ship had sunk in the Atlantic.

She did not believe what the letter read and decided she would wait up for him. Many weeks, months, and years went by, and still no word from the captain. She felt lonely in that enormous mansion and decided to move up into the attic where she could get a splendid view upon his return. Each night before going to bed, she would place a light by the window so he could find his way to the mansion. Sadly, she could not go on any longer and hung herself in the attic.

In 1957, a doctor and his wife purchased the mansion with their five children. Three years later, in the last week in September 1960, the police investigated a disturbance at the mansion. What they found was very disturbing; all the family members were found strangled, and the case was never solved.

The mansion stood empty for a number of years until it was bought by six nuns in 1962 to convert it into a convalescent home. However, one year before it was to be completed, a bizarre event occurred inside the mansion. People close to the nuns were concerned since they had not seen or heard from them in over a week. The police were called to investigate, and upon entering the mansion, found all six nuns dangling from a rope in the middle of the hallway entrance. There was no explanation whatsoever.

The mansion was put up for sale, but no one was interested in buying it. People said that the mansion was haunted by the spirit of Ruth making sure that nobody would ever set foot in that mansion again. Apparently, the light that I saw that night up in the attic was her spirit still waiting for his return. A year later, the mansion was torn down to make room for a new nursing home.