A Button, A Story, and a Touch of Time Travel
May I present to you: A Tale of Two Buttons. If you enjoy time travel stories, vortex tales, or haunted Providence history, this one is for you.
Last year, I bought a Civil War soldier’s uniform button from the regiment once deployed from the Benefit Street Armory. For a while, I carried it with me on some of our Providence Ghost Tours, showing guests how even the smallest artifact can bring the past to life.Every time I held it, I told myself: Courtney, you really need to attach this button to a chain or ribbon—you’re going to lose it.
The Vanishing on Benefit Street
On one walking ghost tour in Providence, early in the summer, I heard a tiny tick at one of our stops. I looked around but saw nothing. The tour moved on. The next night, I went to pull out the button… and it was gone. I retraced my steps along haunted Benefit Street, one of the most famous haunted places in Providence. I searched every corner of my costume closet, even emptied my car. Nothing. Gone.
I joked with my tour guests that maybe the button had slipped through a vortex, traveling back in time to rejoin the Civil War soldier who once wore it. Strange disappearances like this often become part of our ongoing Providence ghost stories.
A New Button, A New Beginning
Months later, I treated myself to another antique: a larger button, also from a Civil War uniform of the same regiment. After a tour, I made a little video showing it off. (I never posted it—messy hair, loud street, juggling too many things.)
Determined not to lose this one, I secured it to my chatelaine, promising myself it would stay close.
The Button Returns From the Past
Then came the twist.
One morning, on my way to my job, I hopped into my car and reached for the gear shift. And there it was.
The original button.
It sat calm as can be in the space behind the shifter, a spot I regularly clean. I’ve vacuumed there. I’ve wiped it down with makeup remover countless times. There is no logical explanation for how that button could have been hiding there for three months.
Which leads me to believe: perhaps the soldier returned it.
Providence’s Haunted Threads of History
Stories like this remind me why the Providence Ghost Tour exists. Haunted objects, unexplained returns, whispers of the past—they’re not just stories, they’re experiences that blur the line between history and the paranormal.
Providence is full of mysteries like this. From antique buttons to vanishing pocket watches (yes, one disappeared the same week!), our city’s haunted history is stitched together with the inexplicable.
These are the stories that transform our haunted tours in Providence into more than entertainment—they become living history. Guests don’t just hear about apparitions and unexplained noises; they often become part of the story themselves, stepping into a place where time folds and history lingers.
Why Haunted Artifacts Fascinate Us
Objects carry energy. Whether you believe in spirits, echoes of the past, or simple coincidence, items like these buttons remind us that history is alive. Every relic has a story, and sometimes, those stories refuse to stay buried.
On our paranormal tours in Providence, people often ask why they feel sudden chills, hear phantom footsteps, or sense they’re not alone when holding an antique. My answer is simple: objects connect us. They bridge the gap between our world and whatever lies beyond.
The button story isn’t just a quirky tale—it’s proof that Providence holds mysteries waiting to be discovered.
Share Your Paranormal Vortex Stories
So now I wait for the Edwardian woman of the past to kindly return my missing pocket watch.
Until then, I ask you: do you have a ghost story in Providence, or a strange vortex tale of your own? We’d love to hear it.
Come join us on a Providence Ghost Tour, explore the haunted streets of Providence, and maybe even experience your own encounter with the past. From family-friendly ghost tours in Rhode Island to spooky fall activities, you never know what you might discover.
Because in Providence, even a single button can unravel the fabric of time.
