A Haunting at Highland House

Join Adam Berry from TLC’s Kindred Spirits and Syfy’s Ghost Hunters for a lecture and paranormal Investigation of the historic Highland House Museum. For more information and to purchase tickets: http://www.ptownghosthunt.com

The Highland House Museum occupies one of Truro’s best known landmarks, the old Highland House, a hotel built on the Highlands in 1907. Located near the Highland Light in North Truro, it is a classic example of a turn-of-the-century summer resort hotel.

For decades visitors to the museum have questioned volunteers on whether or not the old hotel is haunted. Some have said that they have seen a woman in period attire wandering the property. Others have mentioned feeling the presence of that same female on the second floor of the hotel.

From Adam Berry:
We are uncertain as to who is roaming around the Museum but on our initial visit to this historic location we had an experience almost immediately upon arrival. We had walked to the second floor to check out where we would be investigating. The museum has had so many people having experiences that they finally asked for help in figuring out who might be there. As we were exploring I said out loud to any wandering spirit “I know you see us talking about how we plan to come back in August and find out who you are. We travel to lots of places and reach out to someone like you. We can’t see you and it’s very hard to hear you sometimes. That must seem frustrating…” It was at this very moment that a loud dragging sound could be heard coming from an adjacent room. We FROZE. Could this already be activity? So quickly? We discovered that a plastic tarp that was covering an antique for the winter had moved all on its own creating a sound to get our attention. There was no wind, no breeze, no animals… nothing could have caused this. Chills went down the spine!! Whoever it is that inhabits this location was so eager to talk that they didn’t even let me finish my explanation as to why we were there and already wanted to communicate. I am overjoyed that we get to go back and possibly solve who is haunting this location.

You can come with me this time! You get to help the museum and possibly bring some peace to the ghost that is still there.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Truro Historical Society and Highland House Museum.

The Cobb Archive houses maps, charts, books, photographs, family memorabilia, and other historical documents. This 1912 building was designed in the Arts and Craft style and originally served as the town’s first public library. Located in Truro Center, the Cobb Archive is accessible to the public for research.
Open by appointment, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 AM-12 PM
13 Truro Center Road
508-349-0200
To schedule an appointment, send an email to [email protected].

A joint project of the Truro Historical Commission and the Truro Historical Society, this guidebook was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in Cape Cod Bay in 1620 and is an update of the 1984 guide that celebrated the 275th anniversary of the founding of Truro.

Click here to download the guidebook: Historic Truro Tours

This program was supported in part by a grant from the Truro Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Funding for printing was also provided by the Truro Chamber of Commerce, Truro Part-Time Resident Taxpayers’ Association, and Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod. Chuck Steinman, Editor and Graphic Design, Truro Historical Commission.

Our Support for Racial Justice

The Truro Historical Society (THS) supports the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice that is taking place in the United States and around the world. “Liberty and justice for all” means justice for Black and Indigenous populations, and for all people of color.

Museums and archives are not neutral spaces. Because we interpret history, we have the responsibility of presenting the past as fully and accurately as possible, including painful and uncomfortable aspects. The past feeds into the present, and when a community actively engages with its past, it can use its understanding to make a better society.

Truro was founded on land that had been inhabited by Native People for thousands of years, but these people were displaced by English settlers. There were enslaved people and indentured laborers enduring near-slavery conditions in Truro. In 1754, the town’s first minister, Reverend John Avery, bequeathed to his children three African-American enslaved men and “my Indian Girl Sarah.”

After reflecting on the “settler privilege” that most of us enjoy, the THS decided in late 2019 to mark the 400^thanniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival with a decolonial exhibition celebrating Truro’s first inhabitants, the Wampanoag Nation, from its origins to today. During the postponement caused by the coronavirus, the THS will continue to consult with Indigenous scholars and community members. We will increase our commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a token of our commitment, the THS wishes to share the Land Acknowledgment we have prepared in consultation with members of the Wampanoag Nation. This statement will stand at the entrance to the Highland House Museum’s permanent exhibition about the Paomet and the Wampanoag peoples.

Land Acknowledgment

The Highland House Museum stands on the traditional homeland of the Paomet Tribe, members of the Wampanoag Nation, who have inhabited Cape Cod for more than 12,000 years and who knew this part of Truro as Tashmuit. The Truro Historical Society acknowledges the displacement, suffering, and forced assimilation of the Wampanoag and other Native Peoples caused by European contact and colonization. We honor the struggles of the Wampanoag, People of the First Light, and support their resilience, and we ask museum visitors to reflect on our shared responsibility to maintain social justice.

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