Sure, you’ve been to haunted houses at amusement parks and heard a few ghost stories. Why not take a chance to see if ghosts really do exist! New England has a long and rich history, dating back to the Native Americans to the arrival of European settlers. It seems that in some places, the past is still very much alive, especially at these haunted spots.
Spend a night – or a weekend if you dare – in what many consider to be some of the most haunted hotels around. We can’t guarantee that you’ll meet a ghost, but it’ll be fun to try. It’s not just about ghost hunting either; it’s a way to step into the past to experience a piece of historic New England.
Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs – or ghosts – bite!
Mount Washington Hotel (Route 302, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire)
When Joseph Stickney designed this majestic hotel for wife Carolyn, he spared no expense. There is a secret, hidden perch in the balcony above the main hall, which allowed Carolyn to spy on arriving dinner guests so she could dress to outdo them all! In 1903, Stickney passed away unexpectedly leaving Carolyn so devastated that in her own will she instructed a mausoleum to be built where she and her husband could be reunited. It seems that Carolyn hasn’t left the hotel. She’s been heard knocking on doors and visiting the maple four-poster bed in room 314 that she once shared with Joseph. For more information, call (800) 314-1752 or visit www.mtwashington.com.
Green Mountain Inn (18 Main Street, Stowe, Vermont)
Boots Barry was born in room 302 in 1840, and it seems that he never left. The evidence is the singing and the clicking of tap shoes. Boots grew up at the Inn and took over his father’s job of caring for the horses. One summer, he stopped a runaway coach and saved the passengers, earning a medal for his heroism. Boots began drinking heavily and lost his job, eventually moving to New Orleans and landing in jail – where he learned to tap and earned the nickname “Boots.” After his release, he returned to Stowe and saved a little girl at the Inn who was trapped on the roof during a violent snowstorm. Tragically, Barry slipped on the ice and fell from the roof over the room where he was born. For more information, call (800) 253-7301 or visit www.greenmountaininn.com.
Hawthorne Hotel (On the Common, 18 Washington Square West, Salem, Massachusetts)
It comes as no surprise that there’s a haunted hotel in the city known for witchcraft. Those who stay in suite 612 have reported that they felt as if someone was pacing all over the room. Other guests reported seeing a woman gazing at the door to room 612. In another instance, a guest who stayed in a two-room suite complained about sharing the bathroom with another guest, insisting that the person had shut the door, left the sink running and turned on the television in the other room. After being shown that no one could access his bathroom besides him, the guest said that he had no problem sharing his room with a ghost – he just didn’t want to share it with another guest! For more information, call 9978) 744-4080 or visit www.hawthornehotel.com.
Lighthouse Inn and Resort (6 Guthrie Place, New London, Connecticut)
Originally built in 1902 as the grand summer home of steel magnate Charles S. Guthrie, Lighthouse Inn was originally called Meadow Court and became an inn in 1927, renamed for the nearby New London Harbor Lighthouse. The story goes that in the 1950s, a bride, descending the grand main staircase, tripped and fell, breaking her neck. Her spirit still paces up and down the stairs, practicing her walk, and she is known to visit the honeymoon suite, turning the television and lights on and off. Some honeymooners have even wakened to find that the ghost bride has pulled up the covers and tidied the bedclothes! For more information, call (888) 443-8411 or visit www.lighthouseinn-ct.com.
Sleep well!
