9/19/07- New Developments

So far there hasn't really been much going on in the world of Chester and Grace but I haven't really been idle as far as they go. As I continue to write the book, I have received some new documents that pertain to Grace from her grandnephew, Robert Williams on July 11 of this year. Among the new pieces of information is a detailed account of Grace's ancestry that dates back to the Mayflower. This information will be in my book, which at press time is called The Murder That Will Never Die: The Murder of Grace Brown. I am still hoping to get the book done and out by the end of the year.

On August 25, almost a year to the day that I went down to Cortland and South Otselic, I finally went up to Big Moose Lake for a day trip. I went on a tour boat ride and went out to the scene where Grace was murdered and it was really lovely up there. The road up to the Adirondacks appeared to be virtually unchanged from when Chester and Grace went up there by train 101 years earlier. I wrote an account of my trip on my other site. And just for the record, I did not see Grace's ghost up at the lake, even though there is a photo of her on this page. The photo of Grace's ghost comes from the famous Unsolved Mysteries episode from 1996.

I am still waiting on several pieces of information but otherwise, as far as the book goes I am in pretty good shape.

10/27/06- Ghosts

Since this is the time of year for stories about ghosts and haunted places, I figured that I would tell a little ghost tale today. Ghosts have more commonly been associated with historic events including wars, disasters, and of course murder cases. So it is only natural that ghost stories have emerged about the Gillette case.

For years after the famous murder of Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake in 1906 and the trial and execution of Chester Gillette in 1908, ghost stories have emerged about the case in locations that related to the case, including the courthouse and the 1834 Jail in Herkimer as well as Big Moose Lake itself.

The Gillette-related ghost stories started as early as 1909 and it also tied in with the sudden disappearance of the boat where the murder took place. It had been sitting in the courthouse since the trial ended and suddenly it was gone. One of the stories that surrounded the disappearance of the boat is that one day, people claimed to have seen ghostly images of a man and a woman in the boat and suddenly the ghostly man attacked the woman, who let out a loud shriek. Then they disappeared. Whether or not people had seen a ghostly reenactment of the murder remains a mystery.

And of course you all have heard the story of Grace's ghost at Big Moose Lake, right? It is one of the most famous ghost stories in New York State history. Over the years, people who have gone to Big Moose Lake have claimed to have experienced some unusual activity and sometimes claimed to have seen an image of a young woman in Victorian-era garb floating around the lake. Many have experienced a really strong feeling of sadness from the spirit, as though the ghost was mourning the circumstances that led to her death.

The most famous encounter was in 1988 when two women claimed to have seen Grace's ghost. That encounter led to a segment of the TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" that aired in January 1996.

Even today, the ghost stories of the Gillette case capture the imagination of the public as much as the love letters, Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy," and the film "A Place in the Sun" have done. It keeps people guessing and it is always open to speculation. People believe what they want and it is always interesting, especially since this is Halloween season after all.

Oooooooooh...