Also called the Carey Mansion, Seaview Terrace is a 40,000-square foot mansion on the Cliff Walk in Newport (the fifth largest of the Newport Mansions).The mansion was originally built by the Bradley family–who made their fortune selling whiskey–in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. At the time, it took up much of a city block. The mansion was then disassembled and rebuilt in 1923 when the family decided it wanted to relocate to Newport. The mansion was built in the Elizabethan Revival style, and some of its 63 rooms were relocated fully-intact from France. Original 16th-century stained glass was incorporated into the house, along with a whispering gallery and an Estey organ (which is in a hidden room near the chapel, accessible by trap door). After the Bradley family lost the house in 1942, it served as officer’s quarters in WWII and then as a school. In 1974 it was purchased by Martin and Millicent Carey, and remains privately owned to this day. The facade of the building was used in the TV show Dark Shadows in the 1960s.
Some claim it is the most haunted mansion in Rhode Island. Reports of the paranormal at Seaview Terrace include people whispering or walking up and down the stairs. Some report hearing organ music, perhaps by Ms. Julia Williams Bradley, the original owner, who reportedly started playing the organ immediately after her funeral in the chapel in 1929. Ghosts have been reported to interact with people, causing them to feel the presence of the paranormal. Reports of the hauntings probably began during the time the home was used as dormitories. The mansion has appeared on Ghost Hunters and has been investigated by the Atlantic Paranormal Society, though it is not open to the public.
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