Welcome to Spooky Martha's Vineyard Have you ever been to Martha's Vineyard It's an island six miles off the coast of Cape Cod Massachusetts where lots of people love to spend their summers The Vineyard is known for many things Beautiful beaches and stunning cliffs Charming inns and fancy shops Salt marsh creeks and elegant seaside mansions There are nature trails and wildlife sanctuaries where you can hike explore and paddle to your heart's content And when you get hungry from all that exploring you'll find plenty of yummy things to eat like buttery lobster rolls and quahog chowder Or as the locals say chowdah BUT There is something else the Vineyard is famous for Something spooky p.s. Before we go any further you may want to grab your flashlight Got it Good Because you guessed it Martha's Vineyard is full of GHOSTS That's right Though this charming island destination may look as pretty as a postcard below the surface you'll find hundreds of haunted tales Which isn't all that surprising since many of the Vineyard's buildings and homes date back centuries even as far as the 1600s With places that old and mysterious there are bound to be spirits or supernatural forces lingering Like Helen a spirit who is still
waiting for her husband to return from sea and she's been waiting a loooong time Or the inn where a man happened upon a group of British redcoats enjoying a lively party Or the Tisbury School which just so happens to be haunted The island's history goes way back beginning with the Wampanoag the first known people to live on Martha's Vineyard For over ten thousand years the Wampanoag People inhabited the area their culture and economy centered around fishing farming and whaling Then in 1642 the first European settlement was established on the island Settlement founder Thomas Mayhew named it Great Harbor Today it is known as Edgartown When the Europeans arrived an estimated three thousand Wampanoag lived on the island Within one hundred years however due largely to the spread of new diseases introduced by settlers only a few hundred of the island's original residents remained Though many died during this time some people believe their spirits live on still haunting Martha's Vineyard to this day
But that is only one chapter of the island's spooky story Despite being relatively small Martha's Vineyard is just twenty miles long the island has played an important part in American history When the American Revolutionary War started in 1775 the isolated island outpost was neutral in the conflict That means it did not take sides But when the British Royal Navy arrived on the island's shore their behavior made the residents reconsider their stance in the conflict between the American colonies and King George III British soldiers stole sheep food and weapons from the island's residents and invaded their homes Soon Vineyard patriots banded together to protect their homeland from the British redcoats And some of those redcoats apparently never left
