Alicia Diozzi, teacher, tour guide and owner of Salem Kids Tours, typically sticks to telling the tales of the long and diverse history of Salem, Massachusetts.
However, there’s one story Diozzi likes to share about a ghost that haunts First Church in Salem, which also happens to be her personal church. The plot twist: Only children who can see it.
“The little ones, maybe age 4 or 5, will ask about a ghostly presence that they see up in the choir loft in the main sanctuary of our church,” she told TODAY.
They always point to the same spot, and when asked what they’re looking at, children describe a woman in a dark, old-fashioned dress. “The kids will say she’s in a long dress, long-sleeves, and that she sometimes can be heard singing with the choir.”
Tucked away in a quaint New England town since 1836, this church has been the source of mysterious ghostly tales for decades. From as far back as the 1960s, locals have gathered around to share stories of strange encounters and unexplainable phenomena - keeping alive its reputation as one of the region's most haunted places!
She might otherwise have shrugged off the tales had her own son not pointed up to the loft 15 years ago and asked about “the lady who sings with choir.”
Was she chilled? “Yes, definitely,” Diozzi says. “I feel like the main sanctuary at First Church has that feeling, you do kind of feel the presence of the past.” It’s not a bad feeling she said, but rather a history or energy that’s comforting in a way.
