Something Was Building People Inside the House

The front door was unlocked. A piece of black mourning cloth hung from the handle, and furniture upstairs had been moved around. Reverend Eliakim Phelps had been away at church with his family.

He thought someone had broken in. But as he searched the rooms, he noticed that nothing valuable seemed to be missing. Whoever had been there had been doing something much stranger than stealing.

Someone Had Been Rearranging the House

It was March 10, 1850, in Stratford, Connecticut. Phelps was a retired Presbyterian minister who lived in a large mansion on Elm Street with his wife and children.

The family had gone to church that Sunday morning, leaving the house locked. When they returned, doors were standing open, chairs had been placed on beds, and belongings were scattered around an upstairs bedroom.

Phelps searched for an intruder but couldn’t find anyone. The family began checking the other rooms, wondering what else had been disturbed.

That’s when they discovered something they hadn’t expected.

Eleven People Were Sitting in a Room

In one upstairs bedroom, someone had arranged eleven human-shaped figures using the family’s own clothing. Dresses and other garments had been stuffed with pillows to make bodies. Some figures were kneeling beside beds, while others appeared to be praying or reading.

Several had open Bibles placed in front of them. Their arms had been arranged to make it look as though they were pointing at passages in the books.

One looked like a small person wearing an odd assortment of clothes. Another had somehow been suspended above the others, giving the appearance of someone floating in the air.

Whoever had made them had spent a lot of time putting everything together. The clothing had been stuffed, shaped and arranged to make the figures look like people going about their business.

Phelps couldn’t understand how someone had managed to create the whole display while the family was away. Even stranger, it happened again. Rooms that had been empty were later found with more figures sitting or standing inside them, made from whatever clothing and household items were available.

Knives and Forks Started Flying

The figures weren’t the only strange things appearing around the mansion. Before long, everyday objects began moving on their own.

Knives, forks, spoons and pieces of wood reportedly flew across rooms. Nails dropped from unexpected places, and small objects moved while people were watching.

Phelps said he witnessed hundreds of these incidents himself. Sometimes things shifted just a few inches, while others travelled all the way across a room.

One account described an umbrella suddenly flying about twenty-five feet. Windows were broken, clothing was torn, and furniture moved without warning. The family became so used to hearing crashes that they would hurry from room to room looking for whatever had fallen.

Phelps started writing down what he saw. He also contacted newspapers, hoping that someone might recognize what was happening and offer an explanation. His account eventually appeared in the New York Observer, and people outside Connecticut began hearing about the strange house in Stratford.

Messages Began Appearing

One day, Phelps was sitting alone at his desk when he turned away from a blank piece of paper. When he looked back, the sheet was covered in writing.

According to his account, the ink was still wet. He hadn’t seen anyone enter the room, and he couldn’t explain where the words had come from.

Other strange messages appeared around the mansion. Pieces of paper floated down from above, and unusual marks were found on walls and household objects.

Some messages seemed to be jokes. Others contained symbols that nobody in the family understood.

There was even a story about a large turnip that turned up covered in mysterious markings. Phelps began wondering whether whatever was moving things around the house might also be able to communicate.

The Knocking Started Answering Questions

In the 1850s, Americans were becoming fascinated with Spiritualism. People were holding gatherings where they asked questions and listened for knocks they believed came from spirits.

Phelps knew about these stories, so when knocking began inside his own house, he and his visitors tried asking questions. Sometimes the knocks seemed to arrive in response. The people listening began to believe that something inside the mansion could hear and understand them.

As word spread, visitors came to see the strange activity for themselves. One was Andrew Jackson Davis, a well-known writer and lecturer involved in the Spiritualist movement.

Davis became interested in Phelps’s eleven-year-old stepson, Harry. The boy seemed to be nearby during many of the incidents, and Davis wondered whether the activity had something to do with him. Harry was already having a terrible time in the house.

The Trouble Followed Harry Away

Harry’s belongings were repeatedly damaged, and strange noises often occurred around him. One account even described his bed catching fire.

Phelps decided to send the boy away, hoping he would be safer somewhere else. Harry went to school in Philadelphia, far from the mansion and all the strange activity. But the trouble reportedly followed him.

His books were damaged, his clothing was torn, and unexplained noises began disturbing the school. Eventually, the situation became too difficult for the people looking after him.

Harry was sent home. The family also noticed that the disturbances sometimes eased when Harry and another child were away. Once they returned, the strange activity often started up again.

Phelps was becoming increasingly worried about his stepson. Flying objects and damaged clothing were frightening enough, but something happened to Harry that was far worse.

Harry Was Found Hanging in a Tree

One day, Harry went missing. The family searched the house and the surrounding property, trying to find him. Nobody knew where he had gone, and they were frightened about what might have happened.

Eventually, they spotted him outside. According to accounts of the haunting, Harry had been left hanging in a tree with a rope tied beneath his arms.

He was frightened but alive.

Nobody could explain who had put him there.