Comments on: Bill Beatty and the Hills Haunted Phareloch Castle

By: Susan L James

Susan L James — Sun, 19 May 2024 00:06:48 +0000

Fantastic story saw ur unsolved mysteries

By: Scott Branham

Scott Branham — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 14:57:03 +0000

I am the grandson of William Beatty… my mother Jane often reminisced fondly about her time in the castle and her father. I now live in Alaska but someday I would love to visit. Thank you for the article. Scott Branham

By: Annette Smith

Annette Smith — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 14:29:03 +0000

I am so intrigued with this castle. I purchased an Afghan hound from Don and Carol. I remember driving up that very long driveway. I have ALWAYS wondered “how far” they got with the restoration. I then rem seeing it on Unsolved Mysteries! I wish the current owners would let us know if the restorations are completed etc…? What state it was in when The Burlingame had to sell? I remember that they lived in Costa Rica as well. SO INTERESTING!

By: Paul Beatty

Paul Beatty — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 05:23:48 +0000

It was great to find your site and some wonderful background on the castle. I’m a great-grandson of original builder Bill Beatty and have been delighted to visit many times throughout my life. The Feldsteins are doing a wonderful job restoring it and are terrific hosts! I would like to offer a few friendly corrections to the story. Bill actually didn’t design the castle based on an ancestral home– it was just a style that captured his imagination; he sketched prototypes for years until he had the resources to actually build it. The Beattys were actually Scottish in ancestry, and have no known connection to the family of Clyde Beatty. The three children in the photo you showed were actually Bill and Sarah’s grandchildren (Bob, on the left, was my father). They lived in the castle until around 1940. The quote that you attribute to Burlingame is actually from Gene Melville, who was an employee there for several years and reportedly saw the ghost on one occasion. My great-grandmother held a number of seances at the castle, and reportedly they included some spooky noises, but they were widely regarded to be shams. However, there were quite a few other ghost sightings. One of the most credible was around 1938, when Bill’s daughter-in-law was apparently visited by an apparition in the middle of the night. I appreciate your interest and am grateful for your summary of the years after the castle left our family.

By: Diane Hilmer Ludlow

Diane Hilmer Ludlow — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 16:45:17 +0000

My dad, Herb Hilmer, who is 96 years old, was friends with Hank (Franklin) Beaty, the nephew of Bill. Dad and Hank visited the castle and threw 10 cent balsa wood airplanes off of the balcony into the great room.

By: Avis Gardell - Feldstein

Avis Gardell - Feldstein — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 21:53:41 +0000

It’s actually quite a marvelous story riddled with sadness and joy. We are working diligently on restorations and hope to update the website with our progress! I am also currently working on a novel which will bring to life both fiction and non- fictitious characters while weaving together my husbands and my current life. The castle had not been sold. It was withdrawn from the market and so it seems to have a mind of its own when choosing its owners. Phareloch will celebrate its 100 th birthday this year!

By: Molly Hoffman

Molly Hoffman — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 18:51:55 +0000

The link to the Unsolved Mysteries I saw years after I had been there is below.
They had I believe 8 Afghan Dogs, I was not aware of the cats. If I remember correctly, they also had a bunch of goats and I would put the dogs in the pen with the goats.
My parents had a historian at that time come to our house and tell some history of the property. It was believed to have an Indian Burial ground back there but not sure where on our property. There was a rock wall that went through out property and continued on that they said was a retaining wall built by George Washington’s troops. They also figured that he slept in our barn, which was the original house. I was scared of the barn and I think it was haunted. There’s a lot more history to that property. 20 acres of our property my parents donated to NJ Conservation Foundation so it couldn’t be built on. Not sure if that’s still the case, but I would hope so. I haven’t lived there since probably 84 or so.
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Beaty_Castle

By: Mr. Local History

Mr. Local History — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 18:33:04 +0000

In reply to Greg Toombs. That's what I'm seeing as well. We'll see if they reply to my email requests. What a terrible story!

By: Greg Toombs

Greg Toombs — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 16:09:43 +0000

Brooks, the tax records show the Feldsteins have owned the property since 2000. No recent sales, so in answer to your question above, it’s not been sold and the listings merely Withdrawn according to the MLS. Cheers!

By: Dennis Corcoran

Dennis Corcoran — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 10:59:13 +0000

My dad was maintenance man for Chartwell Manor boarding school. Mr Lynch was headmaster,His wife Judy and Mrs Stimpson ran he kitchen and did Laundry. He went with them to the Mendham location. Amazing place, bathroom hidden behind wall panels, Slate floor in dining room, amazing tower staircase and the basement had many rooms like a catacomb maze. Very creepy.