There is a place in New Jersey filled with a great and mysterious force so bone chilling that even the history of the place before it was visited by spirits is disturbing. Blairsden Mansion is famous not only for the macabre massacre that took place there in its distant past, but for the multiple beings that have taken up residence there living between the walls in a reality borrowed at once from the past and mankind’s most fevered nightmares.
The mansion was originally built by Clinton Ledyard Blair, a simple man who had grown extraordinarily rich on the stock market and a series of shrewd investments. In some tellings of the story he was the first to die within its walls, but looking back this was likely of natural causes. It wasn’t until a few years later when the mansion was purchased by a group of nuns that the story truly turned terrifying. It’s said that the nuns opened their doors and brought orphans in to take care of them. They lived happily and peacefully for years in quiet isolation until one day when they were visited by a boy delivering supplies.
Some accounts of the story suggest what happened next was the source of the ghosts. Local legends tell the story of a mother superior driven mad by an undefined ancient evil force residing somewhere in the area. After she murdered everyone at the commune, leaving those who escaped to the harsh winter New Jersey environment, she disappeared into the woods never to be seen again. At least that’s what some accounts suggest. Others say she eventually found her way back to the mansion, although she was somehow different – changed by the force she had contacted and forever now living in the deeply furrowed veil between the real and the unreal.
But these accounts rarely give a name and almost never give dates. And in fact the true history of the mansion has been traced, and barring a cover up aimed at protecting the historical site, it doesn’t appear to be a place where any murders have ever taken place. But that doesn’t mean it’s not haunted. Police are constantly responding when they discover trespassers here, and they take the problem very seriously. After all, the building itself is worth an estimated eight million dollars.
Despite the legends, the mansion is indeed owned by a group nuns who – as nuns traditionally are, despite the legend – are quite benevolent and law abiding. They fear primarily for the safety of those visiting instead of a single paranormal entity which may lead them to death – and for the damage that might be done to the house with trespassers. And abandoned properties are generally notoriously unsafe for visitors without the assistance or guidance of authorized individuals. But of course being off limits unfortunately often simply adds to the mystique of the location as police continue to find trespassers looking to catch a glimpse of the surprisingly elusive ghosts within Blairsden.
