Massachusetts’ Most Haunted Mansion Is Now For Sale in Gardner

GARDNER (WBSM) — The most haunted mansion in Massachusetts can now be yours, a beautiful Victorian home that comes with nine bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and more than a few ghosts.

The real estate listing for the S.K. Pierce Mansion in Gardner leans fully into the home’s haunted history, which is no surprise considering it has appeared on television programs such as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, and has been a destination for paranormal enthusiasts for years.

The $1.2 million price tag might seem steep, but when you consider how much house you’re getting for that – and newly-renovated at that – it’s practically a steal in today’s real estate market. Not to mention, the business potential if you’d like to operate it as a bed and breakfast, Airbnb or other commercial venture, since it is zoned for business use.

It also comes mostly furnished, too, except for a few pieces that belong to the current owners and the former caretaker, but other than that, it’s ready for you to host historical tours or a night of ghost hunting.

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The History of the S.K. Pierce Mansion

The S.K. Pierce Mansion was built in 1875 by Sylvester K. Pierce, the wealthy owner of S.K. Pierce & Sons Furniture Company at a time when Gardner was known as “Chair City.” It was a dream home for his wife Susan, and the Pierces designed every little detail of its nearly 7,000 square feet.

However, just weeks after moving in, Susan mysteriously contracted a bacterial illness and died. Pierce later married Ellen, a much younger woman. Ellen Pierce inherited the house when Sylvester died in 1888, and when she passed away years later, Pierce’s three sons bickered constantly over who had ownership of the great mansion and the family business.

A Meeting Place for the Beautiful People

During its heyday, the mansion was host to the likes of former President Calvin Coolidge, famous pool player “Minnesota Fats,” actress Bette Davis and legendary showman P.T. Barnum. Norman Rockwell is even said to have worked out of the house for a time.

It was also a well-known meeting place for the Freemasons.

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The Mansion Fell on Hard Times Following the Great Depression

But the Great Depression came and all but killed the furniture business. Eventually, Sylvester’s youngest son Edward took control of the mansion, but it fell on hard times as Edward tried to make money by turning it into a boarding home. Drinking, gambling, prostitution; the once great mansion became a den of sin. Some even say there were murders in the home.

Edward eventually lost the mansion in 1965, gambling it away in a poker game. The new owner allowed him to stay, but he had to live in a small room in the basement, where he died two years later.

The Haunts of the S.K. Pierce Mansion

A dark, brooding shadow entity haunts the basement to this day, and people feel it is Edward Pierce refusing to leave his family’s great mansion. Multiple other members of the Pierce family died in the house as well, including Sylvester.

Another of the supposed ghosts is that of Finnish immigrant Eino Saari, who was one of the boarders in the home in 1963. Saari died in a fire, as a result of smoking in bed – although strangely, there were no burn marks on the walls, leading people to believe that he may have actually spontaneously combusted. People visiting the mansion today often report smelling smoke in this room, and hearing phantom screams.

Another sordid tale involves a prostitute killed in the mansion’s Red Room, strangled to death. Both she and her killer are believed to haunt the room.

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Be the Next to Own the History and the Hauntings of the S.K. Pierce Mansion

In 2009, Edward Gonzalez and his wife Lillian purchased the S.K. Pierce Mansion – then known as the “Haunted Victorian” – in order to refurbish it into their dream home.

However, within two years, the hauntings forced them from the property, and they eventually ended up selling it to a New Jersey couple, Rob and Allison Conti. The Contis were able to completely renovate the mansion into the beautiful home it is today, and make all the necessary adjustments to turn it into a site that can host overnight guests and tour patrons. It opened for public tours in 2022.

Now, the Contis are putting the home on the market in the hopes that the next generation of stewards for this historic and haunted property can usher it into its next phase. That could be you – if you’re brave enough.

Watch when paranormal investigator Amanda Millette (aka Spooky New England) "goosed" a ghost at the S.K. Pierce Mansion: