Blackstone Valley Xpress February 12 Issue

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16 The Blackstone Valley Xpress, February 12, 2021Tales from beyondThe Ghosts of Pachaug State ForestBy Thomas D’AgostinoThe ghosts of Pachaug arewell documented and haveattracted the curious andparanormal enthusiasts foryears.As the shadows grow longand darkness envelopes theterrain around Pachaug StateForest in Voluntown, Connecticut,unearthly shriekspermeate the wooded domain.They are the shrieksof an Indian girl who waskilled by British soldiers overthree centuries ago. The onceflourishing village that is nowdeserted thicket is host toseveral creepy entities fromcolonial soldiers to the wraithof a little girl. There is even ablack misty figure that stalksthose who hike the trails androads of the forest.The ghosts seem to fallneatly into the history of theregion. Pachaug is Indianfor “bend in the river.” TheNarragansett, Mohegan, andPequot tribes inhabited thearea. Towards the end of the17th century, the colonistsbegan to settle there and convincedthe Mohegan tribe torid the others from the land.After they had gained thehelp of the Mohegans in successfullyremoving the othertwo tribes, the colonists thenturned and pushed them outas well.Around 1700, a six squaremile expanse of land was givento veterans of the IndianWars. They named the newsettlement Volunteer Towndue to the fact that they hadbeen volunteer soldiers duringthe conflict. In 1721, theyshortened the moniker to Voluntown.A community wasquick to spring up along thefast flow of the Pachaug River.This tributary runs throughthe forest from Beach Pondto the Quinebaug River. Millsbegan to dot the river as earlyas 1711. Nearly every brookhas some remnant of themany mill ruins in the forestpreserve.Like many other smallNew England farming andmill communities, progressand technology became theirenemy and soon the smallvillage of Pachaug was on thedownward slide. By the GreatDepression of the early 20thcentury, the village was nothingbut overgrown roads andcrumbling homes. The mills,long dormant, had also falleninto disrepair and were soonconsumed by the ravagesof time and nature. All thatremained among the forestwere the ghosts that still holdtheir vigil to this day amidthe ruins of what was oncetheir home.There is a section of theforest called Hell Hollowalong a road and pond of thesame name. The name is notnecessarily derived from thedemonic forces that thrive inthe area. The settlers namedmany parts of Connecticutwith prefixes like “devil” or“demon,” as the area gavethem the feeling that therewere supernatural forces atwork. In the case of Hell Hollow,the land was rocky andpoor. Farming was brutal andthe area was prone to flooding.Such names have carriedon through history. If theyare haunted at present, it onlyadds to the mystery of the locale.A rock formation knownas “Devil’s Den” can be seennortheast of Hell HollowPond, on the southwest sideof Flat Rock Road along theQuinebaug Trail. This maynot be of ghostly significancebut tends to reiterate the factthat the settlers were probablya bit superstitious.Visitors to this patch ofthe forest have witnessed adark entity that rushes out ofthe woods directly in front ofthem. The strange mist is reportedto be about fifteen feetlong and hovers a few feet offof the ground as it makes itsway across the road. Hikersand hunters alike have giventestimony to the strange fiendthat lurks in the dark bowersof the forest. Many alsoget a fearful feeling of beingwatched while traversing thetrails of the Hell Hollow sectionof the forest.Another haunting in theHell Hollow area is that of anIndian girl. In the late 1600s,an Indian woman was slainby English soldiers near thepresent Hell Hollow Road.Since then her vengefulscreams of murder and brutalityhave saturated the airin a tormenting aria that eerilyreplays over and over. Thescreams send even the bravesthunter on his heels formore hallowed ground. Thelocal hunters will not venturefar into that area according tothe few I have talked to. Theywished to remain anonymousfor fear of ridicule but as onesaid, “When you hear thatpiercing scream come outof the woods, no one careswhat anyone might think.Your hair stands up on theback of your neck and youare out of there!”The ghost of a colonial soldierstill makes his roundsat a section along BreakneckHill Road. Locals have encounteredthe vigilant spiritmany times over the yearsas it marches back and forthalong the side of the road.Some have actually almosthit the wraith as it crosses theroad, still on eternal duty.Author David Trifilo encounteredthe ghostly soldieronce while traveling alongthe thoroughfare. He wroteof his experience in his bookentitled, “The Hauntings ofPachaug Forest.” The authorwas rounding a sharp bendof the road when he encountereda threadbare colonialsoldier carrying a long musketover his shoulder. Theentity marched into the roaddirectly in front of Trifilo.When he hit the brakes, theghost vanished into the void.The sightings of the soldierhave been frequent over theyears. Paranormal investigatorand writer Lauren Neslusenhas heard of others whohave been startled by theghostly guard as it crossedthe road in front of them. Motoristshave actually driventhrough the specter. Somehave stopped for a momentto reflect on what they hadjust encountered while othersdo not stick around for asecond meeting.The ghost of this soldier hasbeen witnessed for centuries.The first sighting recordedgoes as far back as 1742. Thedescription is the same asthe present day witnesses accounts.The spirit is dressedin a tattered uniform holdinga long musket slung over theright shoulder. He marches silentand dusty along the bendin the road, sometimes crossingas if looking for somethingon the other side. The date ofthe first sighting definitelyplaces him well before theAmerican Revolution. Perhapshe is a remnant of KingPhilips War (1675 to 1676)or Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), which was the secondinter-colonial war betweenFrance and England. Someclaim he is from the Frenchand Indian War, yet that conflicttook place from 1754 to1763, several years after theinitial sighting of Pachaug’ssentinel ghost.Another spot of spectralrelevance is an area of the forestcalled Maud’s Grave. Theoriginal site of her burial wason a rise next to the remainsof the Reynolds home at theSterling/Voluntown border.Maud was the daughter ofNew England’s Premier Clean-Out Company.New England’s Premier Clean-Out Company.New England’s Premier Estate Clean-Out Company.ESTATE CLEAN-OUT SPECIALISTS“We buy Comics, Gold, Coins, Jewelry, Artwork,Collectibles, Cars, Guns, Toys Highest Prices Paid!”Maud Reynolds’ grave marker.Breakneck Hill Road where soldier’s ghost is seen.Hell Hollow Road.Gilbert and Lucy Reynolds.She died just before her thirdbirthday after choking on anapple from complications dueto diphtheria. The parentsfound her on the morningof October 12, 1886, with theapple by her side. They preservedthe apple in alcoholbecause it had the impressionsof her baby teeth in it.She was the third child ofthe Reynolds to die within afew years, but she was notburied in the family cemetery.Mrs. Reynolds was sotaken aback by the death ofher daughter, that she buriedher close to the home whereshe could see the cross thatmarked the grave. It is in thisspot that her ghost is seen,perhaps trying to find herfamily or wondering why sheis not at rest with her brothers.No one has an answer, asPrayershe has never spoken. Evenafter she was laid to rest in thefamily plot, her ghost has continuedto wander the groundswhich were once her home.In 1965, a relative moved theremains of Maud to the familyburying ground on the top ofBare Hill. A cross was fashionedfrom bricks over hergrave and her original markerwas taken to the church thefamily once attended and putin a closet. It remains there tothis day as a reminder of oneof Hell Hollow’s most famousghosts.------------------------------------------------------Thomas D’Agostino and hiswife Arlene Nicholson areseasoned paranormal investigators,authors, and co-organizersof Paranormal UnitedResearch Society. You can findout more about them by visitingwww.tomdagostino.com.Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thyname, thy kingdom come, thy will be done onearth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, ourdaily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as weforgive those who trespass against us, and leadus not into temptation, but deliver us from evil(intention), Amen.If you pray three times a day, three consecutivedays, you will receive your intention, no matterhow impossible it may seem. Praise and Thanksgiving pleasethe Heart of God. Believer
end.please fix auction section-please haveit read see leo for upcoming field auctiomin june (no sale )Ad is BEAUTIFUL!!Q & A with The Car DoctorJohn Paul is AAA Northeast’s CarDoctor. He has over 40 years’ experiencein the automotive businessand is an ASE certified mastertechnician. He will answer reader’squestions each week You can findthe Car Doctor podcast at www.johnfpaul.podbean.com or otherpopular podcast sites. Email yourcar questions to jpaul@aaanortheast.comFollow John on Twitter @johnfpaul and friend him on facebookmrjohnfpaulQ.This seems like a simple question but I’m getting differentanswers. My car calls for 33 pounds of tirepressure. Sometimes it will reach all the way up to39 PSI. Do I have to adjust for those times and what is thedetriment if I don’t?A.I commend you for checking your vehicle tires asoften as you do. You should check the tire pressuremonthly and adjust the pressure when the tires arecool. Driving will raise the tire pressure and that is built intothe pressure calculation. Set the tires at 33 PSI and checkthem again each month before you drive any long distancesthat would warm up the tires.Q.My friend has a 2012 Nissan Juke that she boughtused about five years ago. Almost as long as shehas owned the car the check engine light has beenon. Occasionally it will go off but lately it nevergoes off. Carol has brought the Juke to numerous mechanicsand it has been hooked up to all forms of computers. Shopshave replaced sensors but otherwise the consensus is thatno one knows what the problem is. However, this year thecar would not pass inspection because of the light and shedid another round of mechanic visits. She was told no onecould figure out the problem. The last mechanic told her sheneeded to replace her engine. The car runs fine, no knockingor noises and it doesn’t blow smoke from the exhaust. Iam wondering if you have any suggestions of the next stepshe could take. She is retired and can’t afford a new car or toreplace an engine but without it being able to pass inspectionshe is at an impasse.A.I think your friend should start by finding a differentrepair shop. Saying they do not know what is wrongor it needs an engine without a reason, tells me thatthey just don’t know how to fix it. Most states that requirevehicle inspection have financial hardship exemptions. BeforeI pursued that route, I would find a repair shop that candiagnose, and depending on the result, repair the car. Youwill need to have this work performed prior to applying foran exemption. In most cases the repairs or diagnosis needsto be performed at a state certified repair shop.Q.I heard you on your radio show podcast talkingabout the Ford Mustang Mach-e, but I was confusedif you liked it or not. In the next year, maybetwo, I’m thinking about an electric car and theMustang intrigues me.A.Perhaps it is my age, but to me a Mustang shouldhave two doors, a V-8 engine and snarling exhaust.Then I drove the Mustang Mach-e, it was fast, handledwell, nicely designed infotainment system and veryKEARNSKCOLLISIONRepairFREE ESTIMATES • QUALITY SERVICE1734 Providence Rd., Northbridge, MA • 508-234-5211Thomas F. Colonair Jr.www.kearnscollision.comThe Blackstone Valley Xpress, February 12, 2021 17good ergonomics. The hatchback was handy as was the usefulfront trunk. During my road test, I got the most responsefrom Tesla owners who all gave it a thumbs up. There wasnothing about the Mustang Mach-e I did not like, well maybethe name.Q.I have a 2019 Lexus RX 350. The navigation hasa weird problem that Lexus hasn’t figured out.When on a highway the screen will show rest areas,it will not show highway exits. It completelyskips it and shows the next non-highway exit. Any idea whatthe problem is?A.I agree that this is weird. I have checked for a technicalservice bulletin specific to the GPS and mappingand found none. The first thing I would do isdrive the same route with both the factory GPS and at thesame time using maps on a phone and see how they compare.I have seen that occasionally the mapping data is justwrong. If the phone and the GPS do not agree then I wouldsee if Lexus can update the software in the unit. Accordingto the database that I use, Lexus used two different systems(depending on the infotainment system), one used a harddrive the other used an SD card. I would see if the dealer iswilling to add new software updates or send the hard driveout for new software.TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTS& AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES(508) 476-3926Classic Car Serviceand Repair151 Davis St,Douglas MA(508) 476-3926• Brakes• Tires• Shocks• Exhaust• Alignments• Tune-Ups• All GeneralRepairsSpecializing in TransmissionsLocated 1.5 miles off of Route 146exit 3 on Route 16 in DouglasCOMPLETE AUTOGLASS SPECIALISTS• Chip & Crack Repair• Windshield Replacement• FREE Mobile ServiceMOBILE AUTO GLASS SPECIALISTInsurance Company Preferred Shop.• Certified technicians to your location• Foreign & domestic auto, truck, bus,motor home, windows & sunroofs• Construction equipment, heavy duty vehicles• Fabrication of flat glass• Vehicles equipped with convertible or vinyl roof• In-shop service • Free mobile service• Saturday service• Free pick-up and delivery within a 10 mile radius• Quality workmanship guaranteed• Customer safety and satisfaction is our first priority• Servicing customers for over 25 years201 W. 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Blackstone Valley Xpress February 12 Issue

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