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The ghost of a woman was first reported here in 1925. She was seen by the lady of the house, descending the main staircase. Some time later, someone had reported a hand touching them when they were int he wine cellar. Over the years, there have been various reports of flickering lights, footsteps in the "doll room", and a mysterious woman in black standing in the cupola. An investigation of sorts occurred in the late sixties when some college students attempted to contact the spirits with a Ouija Board. The ghost claimed to be a butler named Charles who worked at the mansion in the 1880's. He said he had two daughters named Joan and Yvonne. His spirit remained at the mansion because one of his daughters was spurned by the son of the owner. There has been no information to corroborate that this Charles ever existed or was employed at the mansion. There is, however, a record of tragedy that could doubtless account for the presence of at least one spirit! Amasa Sprague lived in the old house until New Years Eve, 1843, when he was murdered. His original grave stone is inside the mansion and reads "Amasa Sprague, born in Cranston, April 10, 1798, MURDERED IN JOHNSTON, December 31, 1843 in the 45th year of his life.
His son, Governor William Sprague was a Civil War hero and cotton mill tycoon. During the 1860's, he was one of , if not the wealthiest man in America. Unfortunately he lost everything in the financial panic of 1873 and died in Paris in 1912, completey broken and desolate. He was interred at Swan Point Cemetery with his father and his only son, who had committed suicide when he was 24 years old. The suicide did not take place at the mansion, but in Washington State. In the suicide note, William Sprague blamed his father for his lack of success.
The image of a young woman has been sighted standing before the mirror in the ballroom of the mansion. She is wearing a gown of a style popular during the Civil War.
This is believed to be the spirit of Kate Chase Sprague, wife of Governor William Sprague. She had been a reknowned beauty, and was believed by many to be the most beautiful
woman of her time. Her styles were copied by other ladies. Her most ardent desire was to run the White House as her widowed father's
first lady. This woman, who had been one of the richest and most beautiful women of mid nineteenth century society, died destitute and lonely at her father's
rundown estate in Washington DC in 1899.
Phenomena has been reported up until January 2003, when a visitor to the mansion felt someone grab his shoulder in the wine cellar. In the summer of 2001, another visitor reported
seeing a figure on the back steps of the mansion.
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