The Baleroy Mansion

One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries

Laurah Norton

Paranormalpodcast, History, True Crime, Paranormal, Mystery

4.6 • 763 Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Chestnut Hill is a desirable neighborhood in the deliciously weird city of Philadelphia. But there’s very, very old American history there, too – so is it all that big a surprise that a mansion there is haunted? The real question is: between the death chair, the ghost boys, and the screaming parrot… who would film a music video there? Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at checkout! Hosted by Laurah Norton Researched by Maura Currie and Anna Luria Written, Produced and Engineered by Maura Currie This episode previously appeared as Premium Episode 52. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories and baffling mysteries that made headlines. Dive into our Episode Mystery Archive — a curated, topic-organized source for documented hauntings, UFO sightings, cryptids, folklore, and bizarre true mysteries. Check it out here! https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/episodes-by-topic-mystery-archive Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon for early release and ad-free episodes, exclusive stories, and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OneStrangeThing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onestrangethingpod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/One-Strange-Thing-114307627035607 Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@onestrangething We work with Amplitude Media Partners (AMP) to power our advertising and grow with the right sponsors. Contact AMP with any ad inquiries; sales@amplitudemediapartners.com. All Rights Reserved The Fall Line® Podcast LLC/One Strange Thing 2026 Works Cited Bill Hayden, “Ghosts of Ney and Milton…” The News Journal, 1973. Claire Huff, “The ghosts of Chestnut Hill,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 1976. NA, “A high-spirited evening…” Philadelphia Inquirer, 1989. Kevin Feeley, “My Neighbor’s Chestnut Hill…” BillyPenn/WHYY, 2015. Beverly J. Smith, “A Magical Mystic Tour,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 1973. Ron Avery. “Squire revels in domain…” Philadelphia Daily News, 1991. Kaitlyn Foti, “Chestnut Hill’s Baleroy…” Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy Patch, 2011. Philly Ghosts Chestnut Hill, PA Ally Mullen, “Interview: Sean Pecknold,” Urban Outfitters Blog, 2012 (via Wayback Machine)

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Lauren Orton, and this is one strange thing, the show where it's always sunny and always deliciously strange.
0:31.7	We would expect nothing less from the stomping grounds of Gritty, an honorary cryptid if there ever was one.
0:39.2	He scares us, if we're being honest, but in a way where we're also kind of excited.
0:45.2	It's complicated.
0:47.3	Anyhow, we're particularly concerned with a Philadelphia neighborhood known as Chestnut Hill,
0:53.2	which Wikipedia describes as a,
0:55.1	quote, historic and affluent part of the city. It existed before the United States did,
1:00.8	as a village in colonial Pennsylvania. Eventually, it became part of the city of Philadelphia.
1:06.6	Per the neighborhood's website, it was a coveted spot for early Philadelphians, because in the
1:11.8	summertime, its higher elevation meant significantly cooler temperatures than the city center.
1:18.2	So as Philly grew and changed throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, this neighborhood remained
1:23.9	popular with the high-income families who spent lots of money building beautiful
1:29.1	homes there and hiring famous architects to do it.
1:33.9	This is an interesting setting for a haunted house story, being both urban and old money upscale,
1:40.8	but a haunted house story is indeed what we're bringing you.
1:44.1	The house in question is the Ballroy Mansion, which, according to the blog PhillyGhost.com,
1:50.2	was built around 1911.
1:52.5	We say around because it's not actually clear whether the mansion itself or its carriage
1:58.0	house was finished that year.
2:00.2	As far as we can tell, one of them was, and the other
2:03.2	one was completed either shortly before or shortly after. Yes, we are hedging, but hey, this is a
2:10.2	podcast and not a history book, and even those guys hedge sometimes. The other thing that we have to hedge is when and why the mansion got its name, because
	...

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