The Ghost of Lamartine Street

Boston Globe June 23, 1888

Actions of a Female Spook

Residents of Lamartine Street Surprised at a
Ghostly Apparition that Makes Nightly Travels
Through the Street

Jamaica Plain has had numerous haunted houses and
fabled rendezvous of spooks, but none heretofore
have assumed such reality as the white object that
has for the past few days been the terror of women
and a mystery to the men residing on Lamartine and
Green streets.

As is usual with spooks, it appears only at night,
generally very early in the morning, but it is a
ladylike ghost. It is not up to the pranks of
conventional spirits, but appears always with
dignity, walking noiselessly up the street. This
midnight patroller evidently prepares to retire, for
she appears in night robes, her head being encased
in a fringed nightcap. The brick sidewalks and
cobble stones also evidently tire her tender feet,
for one Lamartine street resident coming early in
the morning found her seated on the stone wall,
panting as if from a hard run.

The ghost made her debut in the vicinity of
Lamartine street a little less than a week ago. The
driver for the Riverdale milk farm was distributing
his cans of milk one morning when he was terrified
and astonished at beholding a white object emerge
from the shade of the trees on the right hand side
of the street. The figure moved slowly up the
sidewalk. The milkman jumped into the wagon and
started in pursuit of the figure. The ghost started
on the run, and so did the milkman's horse, but the
heavy milk team, with its load of cans, was nowhere
alongside of the spook, which was moving in an easy
going trot. She turned up Green on to Elm street,
and when opposite to the Congregational church, the
milkman's eyes protruded from his head as she
daintily gathered up her skirts and disappeared.
Several residents on Lamartine street have seen her
go up the street towards Green, and some have
noticed her returning, but where whe went no one
knows. She usually was seen about 1 or 2 o'clock in
the morning.

Early in the morning, Frank Mahn, the musician, was
returning to his house on Lamartine street when he
observed this spook calmly seated on his stone
wall.

John Follen, a mason, also met her one night on
Lamartine street.

Officers Mou(?)ton and Driscoll of station 13 were
a few nights since walking along this street when
they observed this figure seated on a door step.
The officers looked, and even as they looked the
apparition arose and glided noiselessly and quickly
through the door, which she apparently opened. Last
night Patrolman Braissure with a delegation of
residents, walked about and watched Lamartine
street from midnight until 3 o'clock this morning,
but she did not appear.

An insane woman on Clark place who leaves the house
during the night is thought to be the spook that so
completely mystified and terrorized the
neighborhood.


Happy Halloween!