Welcome to episode 25! This week Sandra talks about Belcourt Castle located in New Port Rhode Island. This mansion was originally designed to be a summer cottage for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont. Construction began in 1891 and was completed in 1894. This mansion has been passed over to different families and has been abandoned and refurbished a few times since 1894. While it was owned by the Tinney family stories started circulating about haunted artifacts, and ghosts walking among the grounds. Today it is owned by Carolyn Rafaelian, the owner of Alex and Ani. She is currently renovating the mansion to bring it back to its former glory. However, people wonder if it is still haunted.
Later, Danielle talks about the surprising connection between famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and the slaying of his mistress, Martha “Mamah” Borthwick. Taliesin was built by Wright as a type of hideaway for Borthwick and her children. One day this ended abruptly in tragedy when a disgruntled handyman retrieved an ax and gasoline when everyone, but Wright, was at home having lunch. Seven people were killed and two survived the brutal attack. Carlton, the murderer died a few weeks later after a failed attempt of poisoning himself.
Sandra's Sources:
https://www.belcourt.com/history.html
https://www.thenewportbuzz.com/ghost-hunters-investigate-belcourt-castle/4471
Book: Spooky America: The Ghostly Tales of New England. Carie Juettner.2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belcourt_of_Newport
Danielle's Sources:
https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/famous-murders/taliesin-massacre-frank-lloyd-wright/
https://www.history.com/news/the-massacre-at-frank-lloyd-wrights-love-cottage
https://newspaperarchive.com/divorce-clipping-feb-26-1912-139219/
