The Spirits of the Quequechan Club
When people think of Fall River, MA, one name immediately comes to mind: Lizzie Borden. Lizzie was accused of murdering her father and stepmother, and many still debate her innocence.
The Lizzie Borden House has become a hotspot for paranormal phenomena, but it’s not the only haunted house in Fall River. The Quequechan Club has a long history of hauntings and a bizarre connection to Lizzie Borden herself.
Want to learn more about haunted Fall River? Book an immersive tour at the Lizzie Borden House today to learn all about the town’s chilling ghosts and hauntings.
Is The Quequechan Club Haunted?
The Quequechan Club is haunted by a woman in white who may have been murdered in the building during the Victorian era. Guests and investigators have also encountered strange sounds and heard disembodied voices that left them thoroughly spooked. Although no one can say for sure how many spirits haunt the Quequechan, they are more than willing to make their presence known.
History Of The Quequechan Club
The Quequechan Club was originally built as a single-family home for Dr. William Mason in 1861. Dr. Mason would call the sprawling Colonial Revival his home until his death in 1892. In 1894, it was purchased by a group that turned it into the Quequechan Club, an elite club for wealthy men in the Fall River area.
The Quequechan Club made several modifications to the building, including the addition of a restaurant, columns adorning the front porch, and the installation of a bowling alley in the basement. There was a bed and breakfast on the second floor of the building, and there were rumors that it doubled as a bordello.
In 1910, the “Priscilla Rooms” were added as a place where women could visit with one another. However, it took until 1972 for the Quequechan Club to allow women to go to the club without a male escort.
In later years, the Quequechan Club was purchased by independent owner Dan Silva. Dan continued to rent out the space for parties, events, and paranormal investigations. The ghostly phenomena at the club apparently made him a true believer in ghosts.
The Lizzie Borden Connection
Many do not realize that the Quequechan Club has a direct connection to Lizzie Borden and her family. Records show that in the months leading up to his murder, Andrew Borden expressed interest in purchasing the building after William Mason died.
One record reads, “Mr. AJB came to us when Mr. Wm. Mason died & wanted the first show at the Wm Mason estate if it came to market, said he was getting older – Then another time while walking by there he asked about it again & said he was getting old & wanted a nice place for his daughters.”
Andrew Borden never had a chance to buy the house since he was murdered not long after Mason’s death. On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden was found bludgeoned to death with an axe along with his wife Abby.
Police almost immediately suspected Andrew’s daughter Lizzie of committing the murders and put her on trial. Although she was found not guilty, many in Fall River suspected that she had killed her father and stepmother in order to acquire a massive inheritance.
Why Would Andrew Want to Purchase The Property?
What is especially interesting about Andrew’s desire to buy the Quequechan Club is that statement about wanting to buy a nice home for his daughters. Although Andrew was a wealthy man, he was notoriously stingy, and the Bordens lived in a smaller, older, and plainer home than the Quequechan Club. It’s been alleged over the years that Lizzie hated the Borden residence and desired a finer home.
One has to wonder if she knew about the potential purchase of this grander home. If she did, it puts a major hole in the theory that she murdered her parents to get the inheritance. After all, she ended up buying a home called Maplecroft in the same neighborhood as the Quequechan Club to show off her newfound wealth.
Hauntings At The Quequechan Club
Voices, footsteps, unexplained tapping, and strange orbs of light are some of the ghostly activity reported at the Quequechan Club. In 2008, the Dartmouth Anomaly Research Team investigated the club in an effort to debunk rumors that it was haunted. As it turned out, they decided the claims were real.
During their investigation, they heard unexplained footsteps while the entire team was standing perfectly still. They also captured an orb of light that they tried to debunk as the reflection from a mirror. However, after taking roughly 200 photos in the same spot, they could not recreate the reflection in the mirror.
The spirits at the Quequechan Club were also accommodating to the investigators’ requests. When one investigator asked an entity to tap twice on the wall, the team heard two distinct rappings in response. Owner Dan Silva later recalled, “I really don’t believe in anything like this. The knock was the one that amazed me.”
During an EVP session, the investigators picked out the phrases, “Call the doctor,” “Stop it,” “Get out of here,” and “Thank you.” It was theorized that the doctor in question may have been William Mason, the Quequechan Club’s original owner.
Although the Dartmouth Anomaly Research Team was reluctant to say the Quequechan Club was haunted, they admitted that “something” was going on in the building that they couldn’t explain.
The Woman In White
Numerous visitors to the Quequechan Club have encountered its notorious woman in white. The ghost appears as a woman in white Victorian clothing and has been spotted near the restaurant bar. Former owner Dan Silva said that a friend of his went “dead white” when he came face to face with the woman in white.
The identity of the woman remains a mystery, but she may be connected to disturbing EVPs captured on the third floor of the club. The EVPs sounded like a woman being attacked, and investigators at the time named this spirit “Marie.” While it remains unclear how the two hauntings are connected, it could be that the woman in white haunts the place where she met her violent fate.
Haunted Fall River
In a town as old as Fall River, MA, it’s not hard to find a haunted house, and the Quequechan Club remains one of the most haunted homes in the city. The spirits there remain active, or at the very least, unable to rest.
If you want to visit a haunted house in Fall River, the Lizzie Borden House Bed & Breakfast offers daily tours along with eerie overnight stays. Be sure to book a tour or room in Lizzie’s old home today! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Massachusetts hauntings.
Sources:
- https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/viewtopic.php?t=6613
- https://www.nightwatchparanormal.com/quequechan-club-fall-river.html
- https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/archive/2008/11/20/it-s-old-haunt-but/38084111007/
