Growing up, the nobel-prize winning playwright Eugene O’Neill spent the majority of his summers at a beach home (now the Monte Cristo Cottage) his father (James – an aspiring actor) bought. The home was purchased in 1884 as a gift for his wife, Mary Ella O’Neill. With time the family added on to the tiny home, adding a second floor, a front porch and a small tower. It was here that Eugene would write some of the best plays ever written, while his father continued traveling the country for his role in “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Yet, what seemed like the perfect family was far from the truth. James and his oldest son Jamie were heavy drinkers; Eugene was ill with tuberculosis; and Ella became addicted to morphine resulting in multiple trips to the local sanitarium.

Beyond this the family put varying amounts of effort into fixing and maintaining the home. For example, the ground floor is large, with high ceilings while upstairs feels cluttered and tight. It is upstairs that the hauntings occur. It was said that when Ella took morphine, it would cause her to break out into fits of laughter and crying. After she died in 1922, visitors to the home would hear these sounds upstairs, always changing between loud laughter and hysterical crying. As time continued and until this day, visitors also claim to hear footsteps pacing up and down the steps during the middle of the night. If you come out from your room to see where the noise is coming from, you have a good chance of running into Ella yourself.

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Haunted Places, Legends and Ghosts

Monte Cristo Cottage : New London, CT

Monte Cristo Cottage : New London, CT

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