Story & Photos by Marianne Salza
Stranded in an inoperable car on the Southeast Expressway, Ellen MacNeil and her passengers felt helpless. They were invisible, huddled without lights in a heavy rainstorm; and could have easily been struck from behind by an oncoming vehicle. Instead, they were nudged to the side of the highway, safe.
“It was a horrible experience,” remembered MacNeil, who believes that it was the spirit of her late Vietnam War veteran brother who protected them and guided a State Trooper to their aid. “He [the officer] says, ‘I don’t know what happened here. You’ve got a guardian angel that just saved you. I had no idea you were there. Something made me get right behind you.’ Crying, he said, ‘I never felt anything like that, but I had to be there.’”
Although MacNeil has never seen her brother’s apparition, or felt his hand on her shoulder, she senses his love all around her. His spirit is what sparked her curiosity in the paranormal.
“I held onto grief for over 50 years because I had no one to talk to, and didn’t know where to reach out. Weird things happened after he died that I can’t explain,” shared MacNeil, who buried her brother on her 18th birthday. “I couldn’t talk to my parents because they were grieving. Each one of us grieved separately, which is the worst thing you can do.”
The story was one of the phenomenal encounters that Winthrop Improvement & Historical Association member, MacNeil, described during her October 19 ghost lecture in the Deane Winthrop House barn. For 15 years, MacNeil and her paranormal investigation team, SPIRITS of New England, have been examining abnormal activity, predominantly in residential homes.
“We’ve been on many TV shows. We’ve had incredible experiences,” said MacNeil, Founder. “Nothing makes me happier – except The Rolling Stones tickets – than to share these experiences with you. We have had amazing cases. I want to help people figure out what is going on in their house. I want people to feel comfortable with us.”
SPIRITS of New England has appeared on programming such as “Haunted Case Files,” “Paranormal Survivor,” and “A Haunting;” and maintains friendships with their clients, like Winthrop resident, Dawn Mahoney, who contacted MacNeil describing a full-bodied apparition of a Native American in the living room of her Bartlett Road home.
SPIRITS of New England were able to validate Mahoney’s claims after town historian, Dave Hubbard, revealed that a Native American burial site had been located in French Square; and that the bones had been relocated to Harvard University.
“They found a friend in you. They trust you,” MacNeil recalled about her report to Mahoney. “We have Indian souls walking around here. They walked up and down your street, probably on the land your house is on. They know they’re welcome. I was happy to be able to help her. Dawn is one of the most loving people that I have ever met.”
Psychic, Terri Jamros, described a cordial encounter with a Civil War soldier, who she sensed was hiding in the crawl space of Mahoney’s attic, where Civil War instruments were being stored. Jamros noted that the soldier was standing behind her, calling, “Miss, miss, I’m over here.”
“In the moment, when you’re trying to connect and communicate, you don’t really hear anything with your ears,” explained Jamros, who helped the spirit cross over. “But when you play it [the voice recording] back, you can pick up voices in a different sound spectrum.”
Voice recorders are one of the main tools the SPIRITS of New England utilize during paranormal investigations. MacNeil’s daughter, and lead investigator, Sarah Campbell, explained other equipment used, such as a K-II EMF reader, which detects electrical emissions, radar, cameras and video recorders, a laser grid, and motion-activated, illuminating cat ball toys.
“We try and do science-based investigations. We don’t go in and present what we felt in a place. We like to present tangible proof that something is going on,” said Campbell, who is sensitive to electro-magnetic frequencies, which can cause nausea, headaches, and dizziness.
Campbell asserted that their job is to prove or disprove of paranormal activity in a home. She believes that a person is the most important piece of equipment because he or she can sense if a space does not feel right. Trust one’s instincts, Campbell insisted.
“When you start getting multiple devises interacting, that is compelling evidence that we’re interacting with something you can’t see,” said Campbell.
SPIRITS of New England presented audio and video recordings from the USS Constitution, the Deane Winthrop House, private homes, and the Fairbanks House, built in Dedham, around 1641. The video recordings revealed shadow figures running past windows, with one, tall figure, moving slowly.
“What’s fun about this video is we tried debunking it,” exclaimed Campbell. “A few nights later, we went back, driving our cars up and down the street, highbeaming ourselves, shining light through the window and walking by it, trying to disprove the video.”
The house’s caretaker described the figure as likely being Clarence, the first caretaker of the house in the 1800s, who stood at 6’7” tall.
Following the presentation, SPIRITS of New England conducted a paranormal investigation of the Deane Winthrop House. Proceeds from tarot readings, as well as ticket, Halloween accessory and decoration sales benefited the 17th century home.