Get ready to dive into the eerie history of our own backyard with “Murder & Mayhem in Metrowest Boston“ by James L. Parr and Kevin Swope. Thanks to our friends at the Framingham History Center, we’re embracing the spooky spirit this season with a chilling look at the darker side of New England’s past. The authors take us beyond the picturesque beauty of our towns and into a world of mystery, scandal, and unsolved crimes that shocked communities and continue to captivate imaginations today.
One such tale is from Framingham in 1902, known as the Caller in the Night.
On Saturday, May 17, 1902, eleven-year-old Beatrice Emery was in her upstairs apartment on Hartford Street in Framingham around 8:00pm, when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly ran downstairs to answer, not wanting to disturb her mother, Josephine. The Emery family had moved to Framingham just two years before in an effort to improve the ailing Josephine’s health. A surprise visitor on a Saturday night would do nothing but aggravate Mrs. Emery’s already fragile nerves.
When Beatrice opened the door, she was surprised to see what appeared to be a young girl around her own age or even slightly younger. But as Beatrice looked more closely in the darkening night, she realized that the visitor, despite being only about three and a half feet tall, was not a young girl but a woman in her twenties or perhaps older. The woman asked to speak with Beatrice’s father, thirty-two-year-old Andrew Jackson Emery Jr. Beatrice replied that her father had ridden his bike to the village and should be home shortly. The visitor told Beatrice that when her father returned, he was to go and speak with his neighbor Mr. Dunn about an important matter. She then turned and left, and Beatrice went back upstairs to tell her mother.
Nearly two hours later, the doorbell rang again, followed by a loud commotion that woke Beatrice from her sleep. As she rushed to the stairs, she was startled by the unfamiliar, unexpected yet unmistakable sound of gunshots coming from the front door at the bottom of the stairs. The scene Beatrice witnessed as she came to the top of the stairs was horrifying. Her mother was standing on the stairway screaming. Her father lay crumpled in his nightshirt at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding from his chin and midsection…
 The House on Hartford Street, where Andrew Emery was shot, 2020. Photo by author |
 The salacious details of the Nina Danforth story made it front-page news around the country for weeks. This illustration from the Boston Globe ran the day after the murder. Boston Globe, courtesy of newspapers.com |
Ready to uncover more chilling tales? Grab your copy of Murder & Mayhem in Metrowest Boston today, and prepare to be captivated by the hidden stories lurking in the shadows of our beloved New England towns.
Be sure to check out the Framingham History Center for more ways to explore the area’s fascinating history, and let this book be your gateway into the spooky spirit!
