Raynham Hall

I had never heard any of the legends about the Townsend house. In late 2000, myself & a Companion were in the parking lot of the Masonic Temple & Museum next door. My friend - an NYPD officer who now denies any of this - asked me, "hey; do you see that?" He pointed towards the 2nd floor window of Raynham Hall that looked out upon the parking lot of the Lodge. I looked up, and clearly saw a woman's face looking down at us, while her hand held one of the curtains open. When she saw us (or so it seemed), she backed away from the window, but her hand still held the curtain open. But then that hand withdrew, as well.

We looked at each other; he was thoroughly spooked, while I was feeling "how cool!" It was only after this that I did some research and learned the story of Sally Townsend -- it was, indeed, the window of the "western room". It may well be that these spirits have an attraction to the Masonic building next door (home of the Lodge [#805, F&AM, NY] that, over a century later would welcome Teddy Roosevelt as a member), since there were so many Freemasons on both sides of the Revolution -- including Simcoe, Andre, and even Benedict Arnold himself! Perhaps it is fitting - in an oddly tortuous way - that the proud Masonic Patriots, as well as their British Brethren, are a draw to the attention of Sally Townsend up in that western room.

June 2021