Baker Mansion Experience

by Robb
(Morrisdale)

My wife is really into the ghost stories and haunting stuff. Myself, I don’t really get into the stuff, or like to watch the ghost story shows. Tonight, she was watching some ghost hunter and TAPS shows on TV, and it brought back a memory that occurred so many years ago. It happened on a Halloween tour of Baker Mansion when I was young. I started searching on the net for information about Baker Mansion and found this site. After reading some of the stories and experiences that people have posted on here, I decided to share my experience.

I don’t remember what year it was, or even how old I was when it happened. I remember we were living on the Tyrone Pike outside of Philipsburg, so I would have been in 4th or 5th grade at the time. So I would guess I was around 9 or 10 years old, so this would have taken place in the early ‘80’s. It was around Halloween time, and my sister who is two years older than me was having a slumber party at our house. My mom, and one of my other sisters who is about 18 years older than me decided to take the girls to Baker Mansion for a Halloween tour. I went along, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I am, and always have been a self described wimp when it comes to ghost stories and stuff of that nature. We arrived at the Mansion shortly after darkness had settled in and got in line to wait for a tour guide. There isn’t a whole lot that I remember about the tour, but some things do stick out. I remember the girl that was our tour guide, she was young, and had long blonde hair, and was very pretty as I recall. I remember there were people dressed up as the Bakers, and one really stands out. Sylvester was the name of the man, and he talked to the group at the same time the tour guide was talking. I remember thinking how hard it would have been to be the tour guide, trying to talk and do the tour while having to ignore the actors and actress’s that were depicting the Bakers.

Sylvester took a liking to one of my sisters friends. Her name was Gina, and she was a very pretty girl. She was always my favorite friend of my sisters. Sylvester talked to Gina, and the group got a good laugh out of him picking at her. As we were walking down the stairs after leaving that room, Sylvester yelled out, “GINA!” At different times during the tour, we would hear Sylvester call out Gina’s name, and the group still laughed each time he did it.

So far, the tour hadn’t been very spooky or scary for me, but that changed as soon as we were led into the room with the Wedding Dress. We were lined up around the walls of the room, and I can’t remember if there were chairs or a small bench that lined the walls but I remember standing there feeling very scared as the girl told the story of the dress, and how the dress would sway or the slippers would move from one place to another from time to time. She was telling us about one night at the Mansion and just then, something, or someone pulled me by my hips into the bench or chair, what ever it was that was along the wall. I had been standing between my mom and my oldest sister, and they both jumped a bit when I “fell” onto the seat. I tried to stand, but couldn’t lift myself up, as if someone was holding me in the seat. My sister reached her hand to mine, and as soon as she touched my hand, it was like whatever was holding me let go, and I was able to stand up. The girl that was doing the tour had stopped talking and was looking at us with a look of shock on her face. She asked if everything was OK, and my sister said yes, everything was fine. Without finishing the story she had been telling, she stepped to the doorway and said, “Let’s continue on with the tour. As we walked out of the room, I remember her eyes were wide open, and she touched my shoulder as I walked by and nodded at me. She didn’t smile or say anything. I was shaking like a leaf, and was scared to death. My mom and sister said I must have backed up and fell into the chair, but to this day, I am positive that something pulled me into the seat. There had been no one behind me, just my mom and sister on either side of me. I wanted to leave right then, but I finished the tour with the group, all the time feeling that something was right there with me.

As we walked out of the mansion at the end of the tour, I saw the girl that was our guide talking to another woman, at the door, and she pointed at me. The woman nodded and then shook her head up and down like she was agreeing with something. I remember the guide standing there looking like she was shivering. The other woman put her hand on her shoulder and gave a small shake and a smile.

It was a scary experience, and I had nightmares about that place for several years. I don’t think about it very often anymore, but any time someone starts talking about ghosts or spirits, that memory comes right back. To top the entire evening off, as we were walking back to the car, one final time we heard Sylvester, “Good Bye Gina,” he said as we left.