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The Evert Van Wickle house was built before the Revolutionary War in 1752 in Franklin Township, New Jersey. In a secluded area surrounded by trees its only access a narrow, curving road.

This 18th century house was built as a wedding present for a young couple Evert and Cornelia Van Wickle, who tragic as it may seem both died on the same day in a fire way before their time on March 3, 1757. They are buried on a hill under some trees on the estate.

The house has a main downstairs the second floor was made into a separate residence and an attic. It was privately owned until 1976 when the Franklin Township officials bought the estate as a historical site.

The property is now owned by the Meadows Foundation an organization which restores and preserves historical homes. They open up the house for community activities and special events. During the restoration an outdoor stage, formal gardens, a canal bridge, wetland boardwalk, program center, nature trail and youth camping site were added.

"The Meadows" has long been known to be haunted. When Ed and Kay lived there from 1975 to 1978 they rented out the second floor to other people. They had moved in expecting peace and quiet but instead found out that the house was rather crowded.

Kay was sitting in the living room and got up to get something. She discovered that on the chair where she had been sitting there was a large puddle of water which seemed to come from nowhere. Walking into the room she saw a doily which had been placed on a chair go whizzing past her head and landed on the floor way across the room. The couples dog and cat would sit together in the living room and they seemed to be looking at the ceiling. The dog would wag its tail but the cat would hiss. There were other disturbances like slamming doors and a radio which would turn itself on loudly during the night.

Kay also heard a woman’s voice calling Ed by name. Ed himself got so upset that he shouted at whatever there was that he would burn down the house it they didn’t cease and desist. The result of this was that one morning Ed woke up to see five misty apparitions. Two were standing at the foot of the bed and three were sitting on the bed. Then they all floated together into the bathroom and disappeared.

In 1978 when the "Meadows" belonged to the Franklin Township Matt and Leslie moved in as the caretaker and the curator of this historical home. After they moved in the knocker on the front door would knock by itself at night. Various objects in the house would disappear and turn up elsewhere or disappear completely. Lights would turn themselves off when people left a room or went outside. They heard unexplainable sounds in the attic and one day when Matt was under the house fixing a conduit a cold, unseen hand touched his shoulder as it to tell him to be careful. Twice Leslie awoke at night to find a middle-aged lady in past era clothing standing at the foot to the bed. She seemed to be a friendly spirit.

Then a new caretaker Harry moved in upstairs in1979. One night he was awakened by a blood curdling scream from a tortured soul coming from under the kitchen window. The next morning he found the potted plant from the kitchen windowsill broken on the floor. In 1980 he heard this horrible scream again. When his daughter came to visit him she complained that someone had been doing the dishes during the night. Banging pots and rattling dishes could be heard.

In all there are five restless ghosts who reside here. Two are thought to be Evert and Cornelia Van Wickle. Sometimes when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly they don’t realize they have gone and try to live out their normal lives. The other three spirits are thought to be other former owners and sometimes when people die tragically they live out their death over and over again which is not understandable for the living.

Southern Mansion Inn at 720 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. is a 1863 American bracket, post and beam villa which served as the summer home of rich industrialist George Allen and his family and descendants for 83 years. George’s niece Ester Mercur and her husband were the last of the Allen family to live in the mansion. When she died her husband Ulysses couldn’t stand to live there without her and sold the house for only $8,000.

The new owners decided to convert the mansion into a boarding house and began by making lots of small rooms. After 50 years it began to fall into disrepair and in the 1980’s the owners had their boarding house license taken from them. The mansion was rescued in early 1994 by the current owners who brought the mansion back into its full glory in just 18 months. In 1996 they added a new south wing with 10 new guest suits, 12 bathrooms, a second ballroom, a gallery, verandah, solarium and two grand staircases.

A well-dressed female entity thought to be Ester Mercur is overjoyed that her beloved house has been restored. Her strong scented perfume wafts through rooms, you can hear her laughter and see her apparition dance about.

The South Jersey Ghost Research did two investigations. They obtained numerous positive photos. They sensed many entities and were touched softly by one or more. In several rooms they felt cold spots. Once a door locked by itself after two members of the investigative team had checked and found it unlocked.

Ester and the others enjoy making this fine mansion their home and don’t mind living side by side with the living.

The Burlington Prison Museum High and Grant Streets in historic Mount Holly, N.J. was designed by Robert Mills and opened as the Burlington County Prison in 1811. The prison has vaulted ceilings of poured concrete with brick and stone walls. It’s fireproof and served as a prison until 1965. The solid building has a basement and two floors and could hold up to 40 prisoners. The warden’s house next door was connected to the prison by a tunnel.

Throughout the prison, cell blocks were organized into units of 4 individual cells, each with a fireplace. Each cell block held people accused of a similar offense/criminal type and sex. Those imprisoned for their debts were kept in the larger rooms off the main hallways. 3-4 men in a room. During the day they could move about and work in the basement workshops. Both men and women were expected to learn a skill they could use when released from prison. The kitchen and dining room were downstairs as well the access to the exercise yard.

The maximum security cell was located in a room in the center of the second floor which was surrounded by small areas for guards or visitors with an iron ring in the center of the floor for the prisoner. It was the only room without a fireplace. Most often it was used for the last night before the condemned would be hung in the yard.

Now the prison is a historic landmark and museum.

During renovation work workmen would hear loud voices, noises and screams. Workers would find their tools missing and locate them in other places as the day progressed.

The South Jersey Ghost Research team went to investigate. An apparition was seen in the shower area and a footprint was found in the dust. The maximum security cell is haunted by those who waited to be hung. Joel Clough was hung in 1850 for murdering his lover. One can hear the sounds of his moans and chain rattling. Objects have moved by themselves and his apparition has been seen sitting in the cell.

David Juliano and his team observed a stretcher next to the maximum security moving by itself and movement sensors were set off by a force inside the cell. Someone is still working down in the basement and orbs have been filmed and voices recorded. The prisoners though released by death still remain here in the prison.