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The former Charlesgate Hotel is located
at Beacon Street and Charlesgate East in the Back Bay. The hotel was
constructed in 1901, and was designed by J. Pickering Putnam. The building
is of Romanesque Revival style, with a conical tower on the northwest
corner, and beautiful sculpted copper cladding at the bottom of projecting
bay window sections (oriels). The hotel may have been known as the
Canterbury for a short time, and was still a fashionable address in the
1920s.
The building was purchased by Boston
University in 1947 for use as a female dormitory (Charlesgate Hall). B.U.
sold the property in 1973. The building was then a rooming house for several
years, and Emerson College purchased it in 1981 for use as a dormitory
again. The college sold the building in the late 1990s, and it was then
converted into a condominium.
Before writing about alleged haunted
happenings at the old Charlesgate, one has to consider the source of many of
the stories. At age 21, I remember telling ghost stories myself, mostly at
parties or while camping, and often my youthful intent was to gain the
attention of a co-ed. One has to take this into consideration before
believing any ghost stories. Paranormal activists would likely counter that
young people seem to attract spirits, and it is not just their imaginations
gone wild.
In the 1990s, several Emerson
students had reported communication with spirits, mostly while using a ouija
board. Supposedly in one dorm there was a large closet that emitted "bad
vibes," which was eventually attributed to a suicide in the closet at one
time. The most sensational claim was by a student that was nearly entrapped
by a spirit. He was reportedly in the shower, and due to the light
flickering in the bathroom, had attempted to tighten the bulb. A puddle of
water had pooled on the floor, which quickly put him at risk for
electrocution. His buddies were casually using a ouija board in the next
room, and it supposedly spelled out "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha," and then
"ac-dc-ac-dc-ac-dc" when asked why.
When viewing the building myself, I
did not experience anything paranormal in any way. For a brief moment I felt
like someone was watching me, but I usually get that sensation when my
parking meter money is running out, and meter-officers are scurrying about
the neighborhood. |
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