HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
On March 21, 1778, Queen's Rangers bayoneted approximately 20 sleeping colonial militia before dawn at this 1734 farmhouse — visitors report soldier apparitions patrolling the grounds at night.
3 Front Street, Hancock's Bridge, NJ 08038
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No admission fee; donations accepted. Hours vary seasonally — check NJ DEP Parks & Forestry.
Access
Limited Access
Rural historic site with unpaved areas; some interior stairs in 18th-century structure.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1734 · Site of the 1778 Hancock's Bridge Massacre · National Register of Historic Places · New Jersey State Historic Site · Flemish-Bond Brick Colonial Architecture
William Hancock constructed the house at Hancock's Bridge in 1734, using a distinctive Flemish-bond brick pattern. The location on Alloways Creek made it a local landmark in Salem County. The Hancock family were Quakers and prominent landowners, and the property served as a residence for several generations before the Revolutionary War reached the area.
By March 1778 the lower Delaware Valley had become contested territory. British forces held Philadelphia; Patriot militias operated in the New Jersey countryside. A militia company under Colonel William Spicer was quartered at the Hancock House on the night of March 20. The men were asleep when a column of approximately 300 Loyalist soldiers from the Queen's Rangers, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe, crossed Alloways Creek and surrounded the building before dawn on March 21.
Simcoe's men forced entry and attacked with bayonets rather than firearms, apparently to avoid alerting other militia units in the area. Period accounts describe the assault as lasting only minutes. The number of killed is recorded inconsistently in contemporary sources — estimates range from approximately 20 to 30 men. Judge William Hancock, a relative of the builder who owned the property by 1778, was among those who died of wounds. The Patriots called it a massacre; the British characterized it as a legitimate military strike against armed combatants.
The house passed through private ownership after the war and was acquired by the State of New Jersey for preservation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and administered by the NJ Division of Parks and Forestry as a State Historic Site open to the public.
Sources
The paranormal tradition at Hancock House centers on the soldiers who died in the March 1778 attack. Multiple accounts, gathered over decades by local historians and Weird NJ researchers, describe figures in 18th-century military dress appearing on the grounds at night — moving along the perimeter of the house as if on watch. Witnesses describe the figures as visually coherent enough to be mistaken for reenactors before disappearing.
A secondary category of report involves auditory phenomena: sounds described as screaming or shouting heard near the house at night, which witnesses associate with the pre-dawn bayonet attack. These accounts are difficult to evaluate independently but have been consistent enough across separate witnesses to appear in multiple documentary sources.
The house's function as a state historic site means it does not host commercial paranormal programming, and the supernatural tradition is carried primarily by local lore and paranormal journalism rather than organized investigation. The combination of a documented mass killing, an intact historic structure, and a remote rural setting has made Hancock House one of the more cited haunted Revolutionary War sites in New Jersey.
Notable Entities
The 1734 Flemish-bond brick farmhouse is a New Jersey State Historic Site preserved by the NJ Division of Parks and Forestry. The house and grounds are freely accessible during posted hours. Interpretive signage covers the March 1778 attack and the building's architectural history. The interior is occasionally open for guided programs.
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