“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
-Robert Frost (both quotes)
On June 10th of this year (2025), my wife and I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Bennington, VT. Our intention was to visit the Jennings Music Hall at Bennington College but we encountered a couple other peculiar places while we were there, such as the Bennington Monument and the Bennington Centre Cemetery where the poet Robert Frost is buried!
Bennington College has a strong drama/theater program, but we went there to see the functioning music building up on the hill. Jennings Music Hall, which is a little bit of a walk from the main campus or an even shorter drive, has a reputation for being haunted. It was supposedly the inspiration (or one of the inspirations) for the 1959 book written by Shirley Jackson and the subsequent 2018 Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. Jackson’s husband was a professor at the college, presumably while her book was being written. While it remains unclear about the origins of the building’s supposed hauntings, there have been many accounts of strange things occurring, such as creaking floors, locked windows flying open by themselves, footsteps heard when the building was otherwise empty, etc., as stated in this article.
My wife and I were allowed to walk through the building when we arrived. We took the stairs down to the basement and checked out the main level and upper section. What we found were a lot of pianos in the rooms upstairs, old woodwork, and an odd placement of some of the windows. We found one sole paned window built into the ceiling and a long hallway that also had windows built in, panes and all. I had never seen that in my life in that fashion, and I wonder why they chose to do it like they did. We found the basement to be naturally creepy, and with a locked door into a section that I would’ve loved to investigate. We also walked around to the back of the building and found a short walkway to a wall, purpose unknown. It was a worthwhile experience, to see the inspiration for the novel firsthand.
Our next stop was the Bennington Monument, which was completed in 1891 to commemorate the Battle of Bennington, a victory that occurred against the British army on August 16th, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, led by Brigadier General John Stark. This obelisk is the tallest manmade structure in Vermont, standing at 306 feet, 4.5 inches.
In the gift shop at the Monument, we were informed that Robert Frost’s grave was just up the road at Bennington Centre Cemetery, so naturally we needed to go there and walk around. I have to say that of all the cemeteries I’ve been to, this one was at the top regarding who was in there and how everything was laid out. Special people (more than just Robert Frost) who contributed to society in good ways have been buried there. As an extra treat, Robert Frost’s location had two markers, which included a list of a lot of his relatives.
All in all, it was a worthwhile trip with unexpected benefits! I’m glad we went to understand a few pieces of history a little more.
Next week, we’ll travel just up the road to Manchester, VT, where we went three years ago in 2022. Hildene is where the estate of Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son of President Abe Lincoln, is located.
Justin
Saul Bellow is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Bennington.