Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by Neil Rawles, Netflix’s ‘True Haunting: Eerie Hall’ truly lives up to its title by chronicling the way Geneseo College student Chris Di Cesare allegedly experienced the paranormal. He was leading a typical college life in 1984 until he claims he started getting haunted in his dorm hall by an entity that kept calling out his name before moving on to attack his friends too. As per the show, such ominous incidents only escalated until he identified the alleged ghost – Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, who died during the Revolutionary War – and then faced him head-on.
Thomas Boyd Was Sadly Tortured to Death at a Young Age
According to reports, Thomas Boyd was born around 1757 into a respectable yet middle-class family residing in Washingtonville, Pennsylvania. He was of average height as he grew older, but his mannerisms were impeccable, he was socially agreeable, and he had a strong physique that made him rather good-looking. However, it was his decision to enlist in the army without any hesitation during the American Revolutionary War that made him very notable in his society. His leadership skills, coupled with his seeming hard work, only propelled his reputation further.
Therefore, by the time the late 1770s rolled around, Thomas was a seasoned soldier who had not only survived the Battle of Wyoming but also witnessed many British officials’ surrender. By May 1779, he was serving in a rifle company in New York, where his responsibilities included displacing Native Americans, destroying their villages, and removing any threat to settlers. It was thus no surprise when he was ordered to take a party to an area near Geneseo called Chenussio for observation and possible displacement on September 12, 1779, driving him to select 26 soldiers to lead.
As per records, it was the following morning when Thomas’ patrol reached an abandoned village that they believed to be Chenussio, resulting in him sending 4 runners back to camp with details. He soon decided to return with his remaining party too, unaware they would stumble upon enemy lines helmed by British Major John Butler and his allies from the Indigenous group of Seneca. That’s where 14 of Thomas’ men were killed while he, as well as Sergeant Michael Parker, were captured and dragged to Chenussio to be interrogated; the other soldiers fortunately managed to escape.
According to reports, Major John Butler left following the questioning, so it was the Seneca Chief and his people who subsequently tortured the two soldiers for hours as a form of revenge. Sergeant Michael was allegedly beheaded in a blow, but Lieutenant Thomas suffered a fate far worse as he was reportedly slashed across the abdomen and tied to a tree using his organs. He was then exhausted, had his mouth enlarged with a knife, mutilated all across, decapitated, skinned, and left to be found alongside Michael with a pole and a knife stuck into his remains. He was 23 at the time.
Chris Di Cesare Wholeheartedly Believes He Was Haunted By Thomas Boyd
While Chris had no idea why he had allegedly started sensing an entity in late 1984, he always thought it was a pained spirit since he could feel it in their ominous presence/voice. The entire purported ordeal terrified him to no extent, leading him to quit his passion for running, enlist the help of friends, his father, as well as a pastor, and even sleep in common areas, but to no avail. As per the aforementioned show, though, he never expected that the spirit he thought had attached itself to him would soon escalate things to physical attacks. The haunting essence reportedly tried to pull one of his friends’ mouth wide open, pushed another down to the ground, and then brutally scratched Chris while he was in the shower. It was then that he called his father for help, who took him for a run in the morning.
That’s when Chris discovered the Boyd-Parker memorial, following which he researched it and realized the two soldiers were allegedly killed in the woods where he used to go on a run every morning. In fact, per his accounts, he used to pass the tree Thomas Boyd had reportedly been tied to, and he and his friends were being attacked the same way the Lieutenant was tortured. Thus, he wholeheartedly came to believe it was the Revolutionary War soldier who had been haunting him, only for it to stop the day he decided to face him head-on.
According to the show, Chris went into the woods in the spring of 1985, faced the entity, and told him he was forgiven while asserting he needed to go into the light, following which the essence disappeared for good. The then-college student initially distanced himself from this incident when everything was over, but after decades of not discussing the matter, he found another connection with Thomas. As per his accounts in the show, it turns out one of his ancestors from his mother’s side, Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hubley, was among those who found the remains of Thomas Boyd and Michael Parker. So, Chris thinks this was likely another reason Thomas’ spirit could have been supernaturally drawn to him in the hopes of finding some solace and finally being free of his torment.
Read More: True Haunting: Where Are They Now?
