Resting in a dense New Hampshire forest are the stone ruins of a lavish dream. Madame Sherri’s “castle” lies lifeless and silent, but you can almost hear the laughter of socialites softly lilting through the trees that surround the site of the former party house. What’s left of the lonely structure is now a mere whisper of its onetime glory.

Madame Antoinette Sherri, born Antoinette Bramare in 1878, was larger than life. She was no stranger to the stage when she made her way from Paris, France to New York City in 1911 with her husband, Andre Reila (born Anthony Mecaluso). The couple enjoyed great success – she as a costume designer, he as a vaudeville performer. They became fixtures in New York society.

After Reila’s death in 1924, his grieving widow abandoned New York for good. She purchased some 600 acres of forestland near Chesterfield, New Hampshire and built the castle there in 1929. The three-story house was uniquely styled, “reminiscent of a Roman ruin and a French Chalet,” according to the Chesterfield Historical Society. Grand as it was, she seems to have used the castle strictly for entertaining and lived in a farmhouse across the street.

Her party attire matched her behavior – a healthy mixture of excess and flamboyant pageantry. Her lifestyle was largely funded by Charles LeMaire, a former assistant and fellow costume designer. LeMaire’s career in Hollywood spanned 37 years and eventually included three Academy Awards. Unfortunately, Madame Sherri’s legacy did not age as well.

Once she no longer received checks from LeMaire, the parties stopped, too. A widow with a vanished fortune and an empty house, Madame Sherri entered a life of poverty. Her work long forgotten by New York society, she turned to old friends and moved to Vermont. She returned to New Hampshire in 1959, only to find her home vandalized, and she never returned. The structure burned down in 1962, leaving nothing but stone and forgotten memories. She died in 1965.

The most prominent feature of the remaining structure is the staircase leading to empty sky – an apt and poetic tribute to its former owner. Other than the stone steps that loom as a monument to Madame Sherri’s eccentric life, the chimneys and foundation are all that remain today.

The ruins of Madame Sherri’s castle are just a short hike from a parking lot in a 513-acre public forest that bears her name. You can find an address here. The road to this forest trail is unpaved, but if it is any comfort, my VW Beetle named Lady made the journey with minimal peril. The land is owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and is free to access. There are several different trails if you are interested in further exploring the forest and any of the stranger-than-fiction secrets that lie within.