The Cocoanut Grove fire and its ghost stories
The Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston on 28 November 1942 killed 492 people. Later ghost stories about the site are told as local legend.
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The Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston caught fire on 28 November 1942, and 492 people died. It remains the deadliest nightclub fire in history. The club ranked among Boston's favourite nightspots, drew celebrities, and was owned by Barnet Welansky. A young employee told investigators he had replaced an extinguished bulb in the dim basement lounge, lighting a match to see by, on a club manager's instruction. A survivor, who was 18 at the time, also recalled a man striking a match to swap a bulb just before the flames began.
The ghost stories came later. The Boston Globe reports that the dead are said to hang about the site and the Revere Hotel close by, and that shadowy figures in scorched clothes have been spotted wandering there. A dance teacher who once had a studio next door says she has videotaped glowing shapes moving along with her. These are claims reported by the Globe, and nobody has verified them.
"In an interview with Boston fire investigators, the young employee described how he had replaced an extinguished light bulb in a corner of the dimly lit basement Melody Lounge. Presumably, a couple seeking privacy had removed the light bulb from its fixture. Tomasewski, acting on a club manager’s directions to replace the light bulb at once, lit a match in order to see his surroundings, replaced the bulb, and extinguished the match."
- Are these Boston spots haunted?, The Boston Globe
- Cocoanut Grove fire, Wikipedia
- 75 years later, Cocoanut Grove fire still haunts, The Boston Globe