8 Most Haunted Hotels in New England
Our picks for some of the most haunted hotels in New England — where to (maybe) see, hear, and feel a ghostly encounter while on the road.
By Aimee Tucker|Jun 27 2022|
The Kennebunk Inn
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Brick Store MuseumDo you believe in ghosts? Haunted New England’s long and storied history makes it home to countless strange and spooky tales, but for those wanting to spend the night with a ghost, a visit to one of New England’s best haunted hotels is an absolute must. While there are too many out there to list them all, we think these are some of the most haunted hotels in New England.
8 Most Haunted Hotels in New England
The Kennebunk Inn | Kennebunk, ME
Built in 1799 as the private home of Phineas Cole, the Kennebunk Inn was converted into a tavern in 1928. Since then, owners have come and gone, but the spirit of a former nightwatchman and auditor, Silas Perkins, has stuck around. By playing pranks on inn employees he doesn’t like and causing mischief (especially in room 17), Silas is considered the inn’s longest (and most entertaining) guest. 45 Main Street, Kennebunk, ME.
See More: The Haunting of the Kennebunk Inn
The Beal House Inn | Littleton, NH
Originally built as a farmhouse in 1883, the Beal House Inn began welcoming guests in 1933. Its ghostly visitors are rumored to slam doors, tromp up and down the stairs, and carry on conversations in unoccupied rooms, but don’t worry…the owners say they’re friendly visitors. 2 West Main Street, Littleton, NH.
Photo Credit : Alyson Horrocks
Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast | Fall River, MA
Haunted New England royalty at its finest. It’s hard to imagine a list of the most haunted hotels in New England without mentioning the infamous Lizzie Borden. One of the most horrific homes in New England history is now a unique bed and breakfast, serving up a healthy dose of the house’s spooky history alongside comfy accommodations. Each stay includes a full tour of the house and background on the Borden family murders that happened there in 1892. 230 Second Street, Fall River, MA..
See More: The Lizzie Borden House | Tour the Macabre
Captain Grant’s B&B | Poquetanuck Village in Preston, CT
This historic 1754 bed and breakfast has a long history, as home to generations of the Grant family, as well as housing Continental soldiers during the Revolutionary War and escaped slaves during the Civil War. Today, the inn’s rooms (the Adelaide room in particular) are rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a woman and her two children, complete with plenty of strange sounds and odd sensations. 109-111 Route 2A, Poquetanuck Village, Preston, CT..
Photo Credit : Photo by Daderot / CC0 1.0
The Deerfield Inn | Deerfield, MA
The word that best describes the reported ghosts at the Deerfield Inn is “mischievous” — and who could be afraid of that? Kid-friendly ghost Hershel has been known to make a mess in Room 148 by rearranging the bedclothes and tossing magazines around. 81 Old Main Street, Deerfield, MA.
See More: Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts | Historic Homes and the Deerfield Inn
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
The Colonial Inn | Concord, MA
The Colonial Inn has welcomed guests and weary travelers since 1716, and with a history that long, there are bound to be a few guests who have decided to stay on a more permanent basis. Its most famous spirit, the ghost in Room 24, was first sighted by a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in 1966, and since then, the inn has drawn ghost hunters and historians looking to experience their own spooky thrill. 48 Monument Square, Concord, MA..
See More: Historic Concord, Massachusetts | Winter Day Trip
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Green Mountain Inn | Stowe, VT
In the center of historic Stowe, the 1833 Green Mountain Inn is not only a top tourist destination, but also home to Boots Berry, the inn’s infamous ghost. The son of an inn chambermaid and horseman, Boots was born in 1840 in Room 302 (then part of the servants’ quarters) and eventually worked at the inn himself — earning his nickname thanks to his fondness for tap dancing. In 1902, Boots rescued a girl from the roof during a snowstorm, but then slipped and fell to his death. Today, guests claim that during a snowstorm, they can still hear Boots’ tap dancing footsteps on the roof. 18 Main Street, Stowe, VT.
See More: A Holiday Visit to Stowe, Vermont
The Orleans Waterfront Inn | Orleans, MA
This Cape Cod inn has, to put it briefly, a past. It’s believed to have been a brothel during the 1920’s, where a woman, Hannah, was murdered. Today, guests report opening doors, flickering lights and candles, and mysterious cool breezes that are all attributed to Hannah. She has also appeared as a ghostly apparition in photographs, making her one of the more popular ghosts in New England. 3 Old Country Road, Orleans, MA.
Have you stayed at one of the most haunted hotels in New England or have another haunted New England destination to share? Let us know!
This post was first published in 2012 and has been updated.
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This was a fun read!
Thanks, mgw! We are always glad to have the positive feedback! 🙂
How about The Spalding Inn in Whitefield, New Hampshire owned by Ghost Hunters Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson…It’s been checked out by teams of Ghost Hunters and all have had experiences with the ghosts there!!! http://www.thespaldinginn.com/ Loved reading all the info you have on these places…I have been to a few of them and I must say, I’ve had to question myself a few times, “Did I hear that or did I really see that??” LOL!! Loved the article 🙂
Highgate Manor in Highgate, Vermont.
http://www.vermonter.com/haunted-vt-inns-Highgate-manor.php
🙂
I’ve been wanting to stay at the Kennebunk Inn and now I have a reason too.
The Hawthorn hotel in Salem, Mass., check it out!!!
My wedding reception was at the Hawthorn Hotel (Salem) and I grew up in Marblehead. This is a beautiful Hotel and full of all kinds of mysteries. Of course this is the best month to go to Salem be safe my fellow readers.
There is also the Colonial House Inn, in Yarmouth port Ma. My mother had a rather odd experience there . The owner apparently hasn’t had any encounters of the paranormal kind himself , but does keep a ledger of the experiences of his guests and staff. He reports that certain rooms have activity that is consistently reported by the many people that have stayed in them over the years. Including one story of a rocking chair that no matter where it is placed , always moves to face the wall where there once was a window.
The Green Mountain Inn in Stove VT , happens to share the exact same story or one oddly similar story to one at The Greensville Inn at Moosehead Lake ME.
I’ve been there twice and the story even appears in an edition of a Ghost Hunters book they keep at the Inn. Are you sure you’ve got the place right??
Hi Aimee,
I too had a ghostly stay at the old Captain Bearse House Inn on RTE 6A in Yarmouthport. I was living there before it became an Inn. I believe the Sea Captain that owned this property at one time, still lives there in spirit !
By the way, my family name is also Seavey.
Nice read shared here. Thank goodness I receive Yankee Mag. Our wedding guests stayed at the Colonial Inn in Concord, MAJuly 1989 and I wish my son had known of the ghost then. He is a huge fan of ghosts! Thanks.
I stayed in the Whitefield Inn, in Whitefield, NH and had an odd experience. I knew nothing of any ghost history, so when I told the owners my experience I was very surprised !! So on the day we arrived, I was walking around, and I walked by the kitchen. It was not in use at the time, and no one was around. So the two big silver kitchen doors were open, and as I walked by, I felt a very angry presence, like I was being watched, and whoever it was did not want me there!! So I thought that was odd, but a minute later I heard someone whistling really loudly a song I never heard before. Later, I told the owners, and they knew who it was! Their resident ghost! The owners told me slaves used to work in the kitchen, and their ‘owners’ made them whistle to make sure they were not eating the food!!!!
Since the oldest inn in Whitefield dates to 1865, that’s rather unlikely.
I’ve lived in CT most of my life (recently moved to Maine) and I’ve never heard of a town called “Poquetanuck”. Where is it?
Hi Marianne. Poquetanuck is a village in the south-eastern town of Preston. We’ll update the post for clarification. Thanks!
The Walloomsac in Old Bennington! Not a functioning Inn anymore, but owners do live there and the imagination soars when you stand in front of it, at dusk, a few dim lights on…!!!
Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA
Nice to know info re: Green Mountain Inn! Stowehof has a ghost or 3 esp above the offices — (unless redone, mwah haha) The {old} Lodge @ Mtn & Toll House Inn def has/had ghosts. This is funny tho, one sunny day I came out of work ready for the Matterhorn, my car wasn’t in the parking lot. Another close friend had a car which was a near lookalike to my own, so he stuck his keys in & it started! Being smart-arse, he moved it under the shade trees @back of the lot. I was THIS close to walking waaay back inSIDE the place to find the pay phone, it must have been 5 miles uphill….. anyhow. ha ha It wasn’t really entertaining back then but just thinking of it today- I nearly fell off my… rocker. 😉
My wife, daughter, and I stayed at the Nonantum in Kennebunkport about 20 years ago. We made reservations but when we arrived there was no record of them. We asked if any rooms were available. They showed us one room but it wouldn’t work for the three of us. They then said “but we have a room on the second floor but we normally don’t rent this one (?)”. We looked at it and was perfect so we took it. At breakfast the next morning we all commented on how noisy the people were as they were leaving at 5:00 AM talking loudly and dragging their suitcases. We mentioned at the front desk about all the noise. I said it sounded like a bus tour was leaving. The desk manager replied, there was no one else staying on that floor. We have no bus tours booked. We said but there was a lot of noise on the floor at 5:00 AM. They didn’t know why.
Latter in the day we stopped at the bookstore in Kennebunkport and found a book on haunted hotels in New England. Low and behold there was a story about the Nonantum Hotel. It discussed the second floor in the section of the building we stayed in. It further mentioned that people had commented over the years of loud noisy people leaving early in the morning when no one else was staying on the second floor in that section of the building.
We couldn’t believe what we read. It sent shivers up and down our spines as we read it. We have related this story many times since it is so real to us and so memorable.
A
We had a very similar experience at the Whitehall Inn in Camden Maine years ago. Also another time there my daughter very carefully put her clothes on a chair next morning they were very carefully placed on the floor same as she put them.
Very cool, Sandra. I’ll be staying there soon and I’d love to hear more. Thanks, Allison! ajornlin@gmail.com
Sad to hear of so many places occupied by ‘ghosts’…or earth bound spirits. Instead of viewing them as something to be entertained by, one needs to recognize that these spirts need to be crossed; to be helped to transition to the other side where they are met by their loved ones who are waiting for them. Often, these spirits do not ‘go to the light’ as they are afraid they will be judged harshly for their ‘sins’. They don’t realize that there is no one who will judge them; that there is only love waiting for them when they cross. So please see them as they truly are; spirits that are ‘living’ in a state of fear. They are not entertainment for us, but instead
need our love and understanding.
Thank you Sandra for getting the truth out. Spirits who hang around may not know it is ok to go home. They need our help and it is no entertainment
Do any of these hotels allow ghost hunting ?
I’m a housekeeper at the Crafts inn in Wilmington Vermont. I often hear the stories from the guests. Just this last weekend we had a report of the cabinet doors opening. I often hear strange noises when I’m alone. I hear doors opening and closing while no one is around. And my coworker felt someone blow on her neck but no one was there.
I spent almost twenty years in management at The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch, NH … there is no doubt that spirits inhabit its environs … many guests have independently confirmed this over the years… there is the woman with long white hair who floats over the bed… the man in the tuxedo who sits on the end of the bed and appears to be wet (perhaps a musician who once drowned in the lake)… sounds of people walking and talking in hallways when there are no guests in the hotel… alas The Balsams is closed, but I suggest that the rooms remain inhabited…
Really wish I would be able to go to at least one of the haunted hotels!!! Maybe some day!!!!!
I’ll bet there are a lot of haunted restaurants around too! We ate at one in mystic, CT reputed as a very haunted place. The food was terrible; the atmosphere lacking. I wish we had experienced a haunting because at least we would have gotten something positive from the evening.
You did not mention RI ghosts. The Naval War College museum in Newport can be quite spooky especially at dusk. I also have personally seen a spirit at the Cliffside Inn.
The Norumbega Inn has the ghost of a little girl in their library suite. She was in evidence multiple times the weekend of my 50th birthday party in 2007. Showed herself to a very “clear” friend, and scared the bejeebers out of her roommate!
I worked at the Kennebunk Inn when I was a kid as a chambermaid. The hotel was going through a down on your luck period, renting to old men of questionable reputation. Strange things happened there all of the time. Odd voices, shadows, a pinch or a pull….slamming doors….we used to talk to him. Asking him to stop!
The hotel on Star Island ?
What Sandra writes above about “ghosts” being earth-bound spirits who for whatever reasons have not crossed over into the spirit dimension after they died. I’ve read about this in numerous books. This is a somewhat related personal experience I had that’s often referred to as an astral visitation. 9 days after the love of my life of a sudden, totally unexpected heart attack 3 days after we celebrated his 54th birthday, he appeared to me. It was 5:30 am & I suddenly felt his presence in my room; it was unmistakably him. I felt a palpable physical energy course through my body & the covers wrap around me then felt like I was rising or being lifted off my bed. I looked up & he was standing at the foot of my bed next to my feet. He was very distorted like a blurry, out of focus picture. He was wearing a light blue short-sleeved open-neck pullover shirt & long dark pants. His head was turned to his left shoulder & a throw-pillow appeared on the ceiling with a very bright, sparkling red & pink star as if it were embroidered on the beige fabric of the fringe-rimmed pillow. I called his name out loud & everything vanished as instantly as it happened. The whole experience couldn’t have lasted more than 10 seconds but it was as real as I’m sitting here writing this. This is closest thing to proof I’ve ever experienced in my life that our spirit or consciousness continues living after the death of our body.
I spent a week at the venerable Wentworth Hotel in New Castle, NH. The staff told of a couple of frequent spirits. One was a little girl. We didn’t experience any.
Your articles truly are a pleasure to read. I appreciate the interesting information and has given me an incentive to travel North!
These ghost stories will both increase and decrease interest in staying at one of these hotels. Overall, I think it will be good for business
My own ghost story, though not from any New England Inn…my wife , Nana and I lived in a home on Stearns Road in Ogunquit, Maine The home had been a summer home , rental of Katherine Hepburn , always known , as the Hepburn hoiuse…Two, next dimension things occurred, in the livving room we had a hutch, on top of the hutch were two 12″ taper type candles , in proper holders, our cat, Snowdrop, jumped up on the hutch , Nana and I saw him do that ….the two candles fell off the hutch, onto the floor…they were never found, then the second thing…late one night , we heard something fall into the clawfoot tub, adjacent to our bedroom…we went to the bathroom , Nama’s hairdryer , hanging from a double screwed in hook on the back of the door , had fallen into the tub…the hook , was strill there , b ut was now [then ] upside down…..
Do you suppose Ol’ Katherine , had paid a isit, we would like to think so…..
I have lived in New England my entire life. I am a 13th generation Nutmegger who now lives in ME. Having travelled extensively throughout N.E. my experiences of spirited encounters have varied. My favorite and most intense was at a small B&B in Mattapoisett, MA. I was travelling alone and happily settled in to a lovely room with a view of the harbor. I fell into a deep sleep around midnight only to be awakened(?) at 3am by a very young , cold, girl child crying and clinging to me. I comforted her and went back to sleep. At breakfast the next morning the host asked how I had slept and I told him about my experience, He was not surprised. He said this little ghost often sought out young women to comfort her. It was all so very real to me I was happy he validated my vision.
I am surprised that The Jared Coffin House on Nantucket was not on your list. I had heard of, and experienced, many spirited visits there
I enjoyed this article a lot