Post by spriskeptic on Dec 20, 2005 16:18:13 GMT -5
Over the Dec 9-11 weekend, Robin and I visited Newport, RI, to tour the areas beautiful mansions that date back to America's Gilded Age, when names like Astor, Vanderbilt and Rothschild were chief among the financial and political families and who summered in this area.
On the whole, the mansions (technically; cottages, but I don't consider 60 to 70 rooms a cottage) were amazing examples of art, architecture and expense. It was incredible to tour these buildings that were once the summer homes of the inconceivably wealthy! It was also a bit disheartening to learn how much these vacation homes cost to build, knowing that we probably won't make the cost of one of them in our lifetime. Oh well, no use crying over spilt cash.
We planned this trip just to tour these wonderful places, but imagine our surprise when we found out that one of the mansions, Belcourt Castle, conducted ghost tours. We were nearly immediately disappointed to hear that the ghost tours are not held during December, but we went to see Belcourt Castle anyway.
While on our tour, our guide, Ed, asked if we had any questions about the Castle or its history. I figured there was no harm in asking, so I asked if the ghost tours that they conduct had to do with the castle itself or if they were just stories of the Castle's time. Ed told us that though the Castle's distinguished inhabitants (Oliver Belmount and Alva Vanderbilt Belmount) were very much in love, both with each other and with Belcourt Castle, the Castle is not haunted by them.
In 1956 the Tinney Family purchased Belcourt Castle. At the time of the purchase, the Castle was in disrepair and no longer had any of the original art or furniture. The Tinneys began a massive restoration project that took years to complete. Part of the renovation was refurnishing the Castle with art and antiques that they had acquired from all over the world.
Ed went on to say that it is within these antiques that we have our spirits. He told us that no less that 8 pieces have been identified to have some sort of spiritual presence associated with them, including most notably, the monk. The small statue of a monk inhabits one of the rooms and over the years many tour guests have seen a full sized ghost-like monk standing in the room where the statue lies.
Sadly, we saw nothing paranormal, but Belcourt Castle was an incredibly beautiful building and well worth the trip.
We would like to thank the Tinneys for their loving restoration of America's past and Ed (whose last name I cannot remember), our tour guide, for his knowledge and his incredible gift for relaying the stories of times gone by.
I have been on hundreds of tours in our travels and I have found that it is "your guide" that can make or break your experience. Our tour of Belcourt Castle was made into a special experience by Ed, and was certainly the best guided tour of the properties we visited.
If you would like to learn more about Belcourt Castle, please check out their website:
www.belcourtcastle.com
On the whole, the mansions (technically; cottages, but I don't consider 60 to 70 rooms a cottage) were amazing examples of art, architecture and expense. It was incredible to tour these buildings that were once the summer homes of the inconceivably wealthy! It was also a bit disheartening to learn how much these vacation homes cost to build, knowing that we probably won't make the cost of one of them in our lifetime. Oh well, no use crying over spilt cash.
We planned this trip just to tour these wonderful places, but imagine our surprise when we found out that one of the mansions, Belcourt Castle, conducted ghost tours. We were nearly immediately disappointed to hear that the ghost tours are not held during December, but we went to see Belcourt Castle anyway.
While on our tour, our guide, Ed, asked if we had any questions about the Castle or its history. I figured there was no harm in asking, so I asked if the ghost tours that they conduct had to do with the castle itself or if they were just stories of the Castle's time. Ed told us that though the Castle's distinguished inhabitants (Oliver Belmount and Alva Vanderbilt Belmount) were very much in love, both with each other and with Belcourt Castle, the Castle is not haunted by them.
In 1956 the Tinney Family purchased Belcourt Castle. At the time of the purchase, the Castle was in disrepair and no longer had any of the original art or furniture. The Tinneys began a massive restoration project that took years to complete. Part of the renovation was refurnishing the Castle with art and antiques that they had acquired from all over the world.
Ed went on to say that it is within these antiques that we have our spirits. He told us that no less that 8 pieces have been identified to have some sort of spiritual presence associated with them, including most notably, the monk. The small statue of a monk inhabits one of the rooms and over the years many tour guests have seen a full sized ghost-like monk standing in the room where the statue lies.
Sadly, we saw nothing paranormal, but Belcourt Castle was an incredibly beautiful building and well worth the trip.
We would like to thank the Tinneys for their loving restoration of America's past and Ed (whose last name I cannot remember), our tour guide, for his knowledge and his incredible gift for relaying the stories of times gone by.
I have been on hundreds of tours in our travels and I have found that it is "your guide" that can make or break your experience. Our tour of Belcourt Castle was made into a special experience by Ed, and was certainly the best guided tour of the properties we visited.
If you would like to learn more about Belcourt Castle, please check out their website:
www.belcourtcastle.com