The Priestley House 138 East Fulton St Canton, MS

 

There are few homes in Mississippi with the grandeur and historical significance that The Priestley Home offers. Located a block south of the center of Canton, this revived beauty offers four stately bedrooms, four bathrooms, a formal dining room, music room, parlor, library, office, sleeping porch, pool, terrace and greenhouse, all in peak condition. Built by Dr. James Priestley in 1852, the original house consisted of the front porch, the grand staircase and four rooms. Various rooms and wings were added throughout the years, including an office, the current library and an examining room for Dr. Priestley (which is now the kitchen). Later additions completed in 1915 included bathrooms, incorporating the kitchen, which had been detached, and a dining room. The current owner has meticulously restored the home to its original splendor, both structurally and cosmetically, going as far as to seek out historically correct hardware and to retrieve the original dining room doors. New piers and a steel beam foundation have been added. Floors, walls and ceilings were replaced and windows were repaired and a long life metal roof was added. Today the home is a classical masterpiece. The grand staircase has been restored, the wide front porch gleams and the relaxing screened sunroom provides the perfect spot for year-round entertaining. The owner has brought back the richness of the home with numerous bookcases and ceilings accented with gilded wallpaper. Each bedroom is spacious and features a working fireplace and abundant closet space. Bathrooms feature clawfoot tubs, separate walk-in showers and varnished wainscot walls. The period kitchen offers today's modern amenities, while keeping a nod to the fundamental style of the home. The landscaped grounds cover an acre and feature lush flowerbeds, regional perennials and mature hardwoods. An established herb garden is located off of the kitchen. A final extensive exterior facelift was completed recently with an extensive repainting, new shutters and replacement hardware. The home was honored in 2010 by the Mississippi Historic Trust for Outstanding Restoration. Extensive photographs and documentation of the restoration are available upon request.

Ghosts

The Priestley House oozes grandeur and historical significance. But there’s much more to The Priestley House than meets the eye. The mansion, which was built in 1852, has long been rumored to be haunted and because of such, has been featured on CBS as well as on websites, like Rocket Homes and Realtor.com.

Taken from a field report of The Priestley House

Channel 12 News

At a glance, you can draw many parallels between the cities of Selma, Alabama, and Canton, Mississippi. Both are popular sites for Hollywood filmmakers. Both are full of historic antebellum mansions. And both seem to contain an abundance of ghost stories.

The Priestley House in Canton is one of these homes where residents say they're living with spirits. Owner Frankie McMillan says, "I did not believe in ghosts before I moved here. I thought they were silly. And it took me a while living here to believe it."

Oil portrait of Dr. James Priestley hanging in home he and Susan Nelson Priestley built in Canton, MS

Dr. James Priestley and his wife, Susan, built the Priestley House in 1852. A prominent doctor, Mr. Priestly died during an epidemic of yellow fever. The current owners, the McMillan family, have lived in the home for several years. And they're quickly discovering they're not alone. McMillan recalls, "I came in (the upstairs bedroom) one night to cut that closet light. And I cut the light off, turned around. I was going back toward my bedroom and she was standing (near the doorway). And I just kind of stopped for a second. Kind of scared me. Then I kind of skirted around her and went and got back in my bed."

Painted by Elise Priestley Hinton.   Madison County Local History Collection, Madison County Library System, Canton Public Library 

Frankie McMillan believes what she saw was the ghost of Susan Priestley. Priestley family members have said that the bedroom where McMillan encountered the ghost was Susan Priestley's room. It is also the room where she died. They, too, have seen her ghostly apparition.

Bruce Baldwin Psychic Investigator (Taken from YouTube)

So, the "Unexplained" investigative team enlisted the help of amateur psychic and ghost hunter Bruce Baldwin. The only thing Baldwin knew of the Priestley House was its location and none of its history. He started his tour of the home and immediately picked up on an energy in this room. "This corner is hot."

The McMillans say candles will frequently fall from their holders. Some Canton residents have reported seeing the figure of a woman in the windows. Indeed, that corner is "hot."

Baldwin moved to the front hall where he examined the piano. "I bet that this piano plays itself sometimes."

We checked with homeowner Frankie McMillan and Baldwin's impression was dead on. "I know I was awake and that piano was playing and nobody was here."

What used to be the "Blue Room"

Baldwin moved upstairs to the Blue Room, the former room of Susan Priestley and the site of her ghostly apparition. Baldwin is immediately overcome with emotions to the point of tears. "This is a sad room."

After our investigation, we asked Baldwin about this reaction. The bedroom upstairs...I don't want to go in that bedroom anymore. It's just...it's like intense sadness in there. I kind of get the feeling like a lot of people have died in that room."

We do know that at least one person, Susan Priestley died in that room and her husband died from yellow fever, although there's no evidence that he died in this room.

And, remember, Baldwin had no prior knowledge of events, which had taken place in the Priestley House. The McMillans say nobody in their family will sleep in this room anymore.

Following Baldwin's investigation, we set up a camera in the corner of the Blue Room along with an observer, Jamie Hamblin of Canton, armed with a digital camera. A Tri-Field meter, a device which detects changes in electro magnetic frequency, sometimes called a Ghost Detector, was also placed in the room. Our unit from Trifieldmeter.com is the best of its kind and paranormal experts have found it's very accurate for detecting paranormal energies.

The Tri-field meter sounded several times, even though nobody entered or moved in the room. And when our observer tried to use the digital camera, she discovered the batteries were dead, even though they had just been replaced.

We put another set of fresh batteries in the camera a while later. They, too, drained in the matter of minutes. Executive Producer Rick Garner says this is the first time he's ever experienced a camera going dead twice, bringing him to the conclusion that something was quite active at the home.

Paranormal investigators believe the presence of ghosts or spirits will drain battery power due to their disruptive presence to electromagnetic devices or even a need for energy.

One more incident of note, investigator Bruce Baldwin used a tape recorder to capture electronic voice phenomenon or EVP's. Baldwin checked his equipment and for the first time, his tape was completely blank. Another indicator to a disruption of the electromagnetic field needed to record sound on the tape - basically, a bulk erase.

In the end, the investigation yielded some interesting results, which were confirmed by the home's residents. They say it's just part of everyday life at the Priestley home.

Frankie McMillan says, "She moved here I'm sure as a young married lady. Her husband died here. She lived through the Civil War. She got so attached to this house that I think she just can't leave it."

• Past owners throughout the years have reported several strange happenings, such as hot spots, objects, like candles, falling for no apparent reason, and the piano playing on its own.
• The ghostly figure of a woman has also been spotted in a doorway within the home.