Drive-By
Exterior viewing on WPI campus
View the Tudor Revival exterior on the WPI campus. Interior access requires a booked alumni or event function.
- Duration:
- 20 min
Haunted House / Historic Home
Higgins House
A 1923 Tudor Revival mansion at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, modeled on c. 1525 Compton Wynyates Castle and the locus of WPI's most-told campus ghost stories.
100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Active university administrative building; no general public admission.
Access
Limited Access
Historic mansion with multiple stair levels.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1923 · Tudor Revival mansion designed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury · Modeled on c. 1525 Compton Wynyates Castle, Warwickshire, England · Donated to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1971 · Now home of the WPI Office of Alumni Relations
Higgins House was built in the early 1920s as the private residence of Aldus C. Higgins, an industrialist with the Norton Company in Worcester, and his wife Mary (May) Higgins. Architect Grosvenor Atterbury designed the 29-room Tudor Revival mansion as a smaller-scale replica of Compton Wynyates Castle (c. 1525) in Warwickshire, England, and many of the building's materials were imported from the UK and France, including lime-cured lumber in the ceilings.
The house is notable architecturally for its concealed doorways, hidden stairwells, crawl spaces, and a secret parlor window that Mary Higgins reportedly used to peer down at arriving guests so she could choose her outfit accordingly. Hand-painted panels in her dressing room remain a feature of the interior.
Members of the Higgins family lived in the home through Aldus Higgins's death in 1948 and until the property was donated to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1971. Since then it has served WPI primarily as the home of the Office of Alumni Relations, and the building functions as a high-use event venue for alumni gatherings, weddings, and university functions.
The campus connection to the Higgins family is layered: Aldus Higgins's brother John Woodman Higgins founded the Higgins Armory across town, and Aldus served as president of the Norton Company. Higgins House remains one of the most architecturally distinctive buildings on the WPI campus.
Sources
- https://www.wpi.edu/news/haunted-higgins
- https://www.wpi.edu/news/mysteries-castle
- https://thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2015/10/worcesters-haunted-colleges
Bloodcurdling scream heard late at night (per WPI source)Apparition in a second-story window with no decorations during 2011 Haunted Higgins eventSounds reported near the hidden servants' staircase
Higgins House is the focus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's most-told campus ghost stories. WPI's own news article 'Haunted Higgins' recounts that the late Nick Mondor '12, then chair of the Student Alumni Society, told of arriving at Higgins House late one night to retrieve something from the SAS office and hearing what he described as a bloodcurdling scream.
The same WPI article describes a 2011 incident in which guests at the annual Haunted Higgins community event praised what they thought was a clever effect: 'the ghost in the second-story window.' According to Rick Baruffi, a former SAS chair quoted in the piece, the staff had not placed any decorations in that window. Baruffi himself notes he has 'never experienced anything out of the ordinary there,' while acknowledging he has 'heard many stories involving alleged ghosts.'
The figure most often named in the lore is Mary (May) Higgins, the home's longtime mistress. The Pulse Magazine's 2015 'Worcester's haunted colleges' summary repeats the campus tradition that Mary is responsible for the activity, framing her presence around the hidden servants' staircase and second-story spaces she frequented in life. Available sources tie the lore to Mary as a character rather than to a specific documented death-on-site incident.
WPI does not market the building as haunted; the Office of Alumni Relations runs the Haunted Higgins event annually as a community gathering. The campus folklore here is unusually well documented by an official university source compared to most college-ghost stories.
Notable Entities
Mary (May) Higgins, longtime resident
Media Appearances
- WPI News: 'Haunted Higgins'
- WPI News: 'Mysteries of the Castle'
- The Pulse Magazine: 'Worcester's haunted colleges' (October 2015)
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experienceSources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Higgins House family-friendly?
Active campus building; visit is family-friendly when an event is open or during the annual Haunted Higgins program. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Higgins House?
Active university administrative building; no general public admission. This location is free to visit.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, reservations are required.
Is Higgins House wheelchair accessible?
Higgins House has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Historic mansion with multiple stair levels..