Historic Pelham: The Poltergeist of Pelhamdale

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There is a lovely historic home located at 45 Iden Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor. It is known as "Pelhamdale." Portions of the home including the rear basement with entrance and massive fireplace are believed to pre-date the Revolutionary War. The home once was owned by American Patriot David Jones Pell. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home has been significantly altered since the eighteenth century.

The home, known also as the Old Pell Place and the Old Pell Home, is located today on a triangular tract bounded by Carol Place, Iden Avenue, and the Hutchinson River Parkway. The plot on which the home sits was part of a large 18th and 19th century farm that once was bounded by today's Colonial Avenue (the Old Boston Post Road), the Lane that became known as Wolf's Lane, today's Boston Post Road, and the Hutchinson River.

Col. Philip Pell III (1753-1811) owned an adjacent farm, the farmhouse of which once stood at the intersection of today's Cliff and Colonial Avenues. Col. Pell was a son of Philip Pell II who, in turn, was son of Philip Pell who was a son of Thomas Pell (so-called Third Lord of the Manor of Pellham). The original farm cottage that forms a portion of today's "Pelhamdale" at 45 Iden Avenue was built by Philip Pell II around 1750-60.

Philip Pell II was the father of Col. Philip Pell III (often referenced, oddly, as Philip Pell, Jr.) and David Jones Pell. Both the sons were American Patriots. After the death of the elder Pell, his son David Jones Pell became owner of "Pelhamdale." David Jones Pell's brother, Philip Pell III, built his adjacent farm and farmhouse. That farm included the land on which today's Pelham Memorial High School stands. A memorial marker and date stone of the home built by Col. Philip Pell III stand next to the front entrance of the high school.

After the death of David Jones Pell in 1823, Pell's widow sold the farm to James Hay who owned it until his own death in the 1850s. Hay extensively expanded and renovated the home, giving it an appearance similar to the home's appearance today. Apparently during the expansion of the home, James Hay embedded in the north wall of the home a large block of sandstone on which is carved in relief the Hay family coat-of-arms.

As one might expect, with a portion of the home now nearly 270 years old, there has been a long succession of owners and tenants who have lived in the home over the years. Also, as one might expect, the home is associated with a number of entertaining and important Pelham ghost stories. One of several such stories associated with the home is that of the poltergeist of Pelhamdale.

Mrs. Garnett Mabel Winslow was visiting Pelhamdale, the stunning home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Le Roi Layton Elliott, some time ago. After a pleasant Friday evening with the family, Mrs. Winslow retired to an upstairs guest bedroom where she slept soundly in the supremely-appointed bed.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, before the sun had risen, Mrs. Winslow was startled awake by the screech of furniture being dragged on a floor. It took her a few moments to clear the fog of sleep from her mind until she heard the banging of chairs and, again, the dragging of furniture above her bedroom.

Mrs. Winslow loved her daughter and her son-in-law, but it was a little annoying so early on a Saturday morning that they had chosen to rearrange furniture in the room above her as she slept. To make matters more annoying, the sounds suggested that furniture was being dragged from one side of the room to another and then back again, repeatedly!

As the banging and scraping grew more frantic, Mrs. Winslow realized that she was wide awake and unlikely to slip back into sleep. She lay in bed awake as the bumps and scrapes continued until the sun rose and dawn crept into her room. At that moment, the noise from the studio above ended. Mrs. Winslow got up, dressed, and wandered downstairs for coffee and to visit with her daughter and son-in-law.

When she made it downstairs, not a soul was there. Pelhamdale was quiet. Neither her daughter nor son-in-law was downstairs. Thinking it odd that they would work so hard in the third-floor studio overnight then return to bed, Mrs. Winslow shrugged, made the coffee herself, and waited for pair to come downstairs.

Soon Le Roi Elliott and his wife wandered downstairs. Still sleepy, they were surprised to find Mrs. Winslow and a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. The trio sat to enjoy the morning together when Mrs. Winslow remarked that the work in the studio in the wee hours of the morning must have been exhausting since it sounded as though her daughter and son-in-law had been rearranging furniture for much of the night.

Mr. and Mrs. Elliott stared at her in disbelief, then glanced at each other. “Mom,” Mrs. Elliott said, “we just got up. There was no one in the studio last night.”

Mrs. Winslow felt a chill run up her spine. She knew better. Someone had, in fact, been in the studio last night. That someone, it turns out, was the poltergeist of Pelhamdale. . .