This past October, I went to a wedding for a family member. The day was wonderful...beautiful weather, beautiful setting, and a beautiful bride in a stunning wedding dress.
How many of us have dreamed of our wedding since we were a young child? Did you have your wedding dress ideas picked out for years? Did you find it on the day you went to the boutique...trying on "the one" and it's an immediate YES!?
My wedding plans didn't go as I had dreamed. Ended up at a quick ceremony at a lawyer office. I did buy a nice dress from a local store, but never had the big wedding and picked out "the wedding dress". My wedding day was special in its own ways, though. Sometimes things just work out the way they do.
What happens when you find the perfect mate and the perfect dress...and your dad says NO!? According to Anna Baker, you spend the rest of your years by yourself, never marrying because your dad said the gentleman was not good enough for his standards. Who is Anna Baker? Let's go back to Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania, mid 1800s.
In 1836, Elias Baker and his cousin, Roland Diller, bought the Allegheny Furnace in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania. The men made a huge fortune from this due to the rich amounts of iron deposits in the area.
Elias moved his wife, Hetty, and their two sons, David Woods and Sylvester, from Lancaster County all the way to Altoona, into a home near the furnace. Shortly thereafter, their daughter, Anna, was born and then another girl, Margaretta, in 1839. Unfortunately, Margaretta died after just two short years.
In 1844, Elias bought out his cousin’s share in the furnace, and then in 1845, construction began on his new home – The Baker Mansion, which was completed in 1849.
To say that Elias was a stern man would be an understatement. He ruled his family in such a way that basically no one was allowed to disobey him. He sounds like an asshat to me! Seriously, dude...get over yourself. Alas, Elias would not get over himself. Instead, he would just ruin everything. Anna had met the man of her dreams, they talked plans of marriage, and she purchased her dress. Her father caught word of who the lucky guy was...and he said NO! Only because the young man was a low man on the totem pole worker in a steel mill; Elias claiming the young man was just not good enough for his daughter. Although I think it had more to do with how worried Elias was about how it could possibly destroy his reputation. Again...asshat!!!
Shortly after her dad throwing a fit, Anna and her beau rode off into the sunset and got married miles and miles away and lived happily ever after. HAHAHA! I'm sure you have figured out by now that this blog is not about happy stuff.
So...what is the point of this story? Do you believe that a wedding dress could be haunted?
Anna decided to live the rest of her life single, even after her dad kept trying to introduce her to new men. Seriously, what is wrong with this guy? (rhetorical question)
At one point in time after Elias' death, Anna did try to get a relationship back with her previous love, but he had moved on and was married to someone else. Ouch! Anna stayed in The Baker Mansion until her death in 1914. She kept her wedding dress and it is reported that she would put it on sometimes and dance through her house, sometimes pretending to have a wedding. According to reports, people thought she slowly lost her mind; her servants even stayed away from her for the most part.
The Baker Mansion was turned into a museum for Blair Country Historical Society in 1941. Anna's room has been preserved and, for a long time, her wedding dress was on display. Because of everything that Anna went through, many believe that the wedding dress is haunted. A haunted wedding dress...how interesting is that? Would you say YES to a haunted wedding dressing?
Over time, it has been reported that the case that holds the dress has shaken violently with no reason being found. Sometimes the dress has been seen to move inside the case. It has been seen to sway back and forth even though no draft has been discovered. Sometimes these movements would correlate with a music box of Anna's that would start playing on its own.
Overall, there have been many reports of The Baker Mansion being haunted. People have seen apparitions...perhaps Anna, herself, trying to get to her wedding dress; maybe Hetty Baker or Elias or her brother, David. Some visitors have complained of headaches, dizziness, and nausea after viewing the wedding dress. Museum staff started draping the glass case with cloth in the hopes to control the perceived effects.
The museum ended up removing the dress from permanent display in recent years due to trying to preserve it from sunlight and air pollutanSo, is the wedding dress of Anna Baker truly haunted? I'm not sure what I think about that. I believe it could be possible, but still a bit skeptic about this one. I do believe the house, itself, is probably haunted. I mean, with the negative energy of Elias, how could it not be? The house is open for tours. so even if the dress is not out on display, you could still check out the house and see what you think. You might catch Anna trying to partake in the wedding that sadly never happened. Maybe the energy of the dress is able to be felt even though it's put away.
Be careful of what you buy next...it could be haunted!
--Audre
The Baker Mansion Museum
Sources:
thescarechamber.com
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