In Pawtucket, in the center of town, there is a cluster of historic buildings known as the Slater Mills Museum. These buildings that are along the Blackstone River are the locations where Samuel Slater had developed a spinning machine, then established the first of many mills, and, thus, became the site of one of the roots of the American Industrial Revolution.
History:
Samuel Slater originated from Scotland. In short, he was under apprenticeship at a mill there, but seeing the low prospects there, he decided to travel to America for better fortunes. He had knowledge of the spinning machines there, and he applied that knowledge and, with help, developed a spinning machine here around 1800. He started a cotton thread spinning mill at the Slater Mill, and years later, more were added in the Blackstone River Valley. The thread mill changed hands over the years and was used for a variety of purposes over the years until it was obtained by the Slater Mill Association in 1921 for the purpose of restoring it and making it a museum. Today, the Slater Mill is joined by the Sylvanus Brown House, which is where Slater lived for a number of years, The Wilkinson Mill, and the Forge Mill.
Life was hard and dangerous working in the mills. A tour with the guides through these facilities underline this. So many of the machines had moving parts that could snag hair, arms, or clothes. Floors were slick with oil. The hours were long; there was no air conditioning, and the windows couldn't opened due to not disturbing the cotton fibers in the air. If that didn't kill them, then the cotton fibers would get into the lungs and cause diseases not unlike black lung that coal miners get. On top of that, young children started work as soon as they were able. Thus, people were often injured or died while working there, and even if they survived, they would likely have shortened lives.
Reported Sightings:
Most of the sightings have been reported from two sources, one from the Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) - which is better known by their TV show, Ghost Hunters. The other is from a ghost tour at the location by two brothers who were once were part of this organization. Beyond that, the only other source I found was Answers.com. I tried some of the other listings, but the mills were not listed.
There were general reports of people hearing noises or the feeling that they were not alone. There was a report of a little girl looking through a window in the Sylvanus Brown house. And there have been reports of a child in the Forge Mill. And there have been sightings of a man in older dress talking to people.
The Ghost Hunters, in their 15th episode of the fourth season, had visited Slater Mill. They had an interesting experience where they used their K2 sensor to interact with an entity. Through a series of Y/N questions where the entity supposedly caused the K2 device to light up for 'Yes', the Ghost Hunters determined that the entity was likely a boy, about 12 years old who worked in the mill. Former members of TAPS continue investigations in their tours. See the web site for specific dates and times.
So, when you tour these old mills and you hear a creak in the floor, or something move out of the corner of your eye, maybe it was by someone would walked these floors long before you did.
Sources:
Sun Chronicle
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Answers.com (Is the forge mill haunted):
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visit link)
Wikipedia (Ghost Hunters Episodes):
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visit link)