| hear fiona broome talk about gilson road cemetery |
Gilson Road Cemetery is one of the most unsettling and fascinating cemeteries in southern New Hampshire.
It features very old graves, flickering lights, paranormal energy fields at the back of the cemetery, and more-than-average anomalies in photographs, even under difficult conditions.
In other words, it’s an ideal location for paranormal research.
Although one book reported otherwise, Gilson Road Cemetery is still very haunted, day and night.
Hollow Hill was the first website to report ghosts at Gilson Road Cemetery. We’re very proud of our original research, and this has been one of our largest projects.
GILSON ROAD CEMETERY INVESTIGATIONS
- Odd hole in a headstone at Gilson Road Cemetery
- 5 Nov 1999, our earliest visits
PHOTOS
- Photo of purple-streaked anomaly
- 26 Nov 1999, experimental photos on a damp night
- Fiery color above cemetery leaves, with a few disturbing asides.
- Eerie, swirling mist…but is it an anomaly?
- Mist rising from a grave, just creepy enough.
- What IS this…? Baffling, swirling mist and…? One of our most popular photos online.
- It was too humid to claim that these two photos show ghost orbs at Gilson. Sorry.
- Orbs at Gilson, 21 May 2002.
- Orbs continue, 18 June 2002.
RELATED PHOTOS – NOT GHOSTS
- Flowers tied to Gilson, 20 Apr 2002 – Prank orsomething else?
- But these are natural wildflowers at Gilson in the springtime.
RESEARCH MAPS
- Scan of a sketched map of anomalies at Gilson (with one error in the name at a grave)
PODCASTS
Fiona has talked about Gilson Road Cemetery’s ghosts in two podcasts:
- Ghosts of Gilson Road, Nashua, NH – Part 1
- Ghosts of Gilson Road, Nashua, NH – Part 2
To read more offline:
See the Nashua Telegraph newspaper article about Hollow Hill, Gilson Road Cemetery, and local haunts, 27 Oct 2000.
Note: One section of Gilson Road–not part of Gilson cemetery, as erroneously stated in one ghost book–has been on the Federal hazardous waste Superfund list.
Another note: Gilson Road Cemetery is the usual name of this haunted site. However, we’ve seen several people calling it “Gilson cementery” or “Gilson cementry” or even “Gibson cemetery”.
For the best results, search at this website for “Gilson Road” or “Gilson cemetery” or “Gilson Road cemetery.”
My friends and I recently went to gilson but we didn’t encounter anything of the paranormal, however we did find an old pair of childrens underwear sitting in front of what might be a tombstone. It’s not that significant but it was creepy.
Thanks for the update, Derek. That’s far creepier than any ghosts we’ve encountered there.
I used to go here very stoned with my friends at night. we’d would get all freaked out and leave after a few minutes. the further towards the back you go, the creepier (which is understandable, haunted or not) i went there by myself about a week ago, in the rain, in the middle of the night. i sat by the baby gilson’s for a few minutes. it felt really good. and then i left. i don’t really believe in lingering spirits, but I do find cemeteries to be fascinating. they’re good places to go and think about life or get freaked out.
If anyone wants to visit a haunted cemetery than this is the one. I use to do some ghost hunting (didnt have anything fancy,just camera and tape recorder) and this is the one with the sounds (children laughing in the woods at 11:30 at night in March,angry mob sounds,rocks smacking together),temperature change(like a tropical wind blown upon you in March),and the 2 strange photos of what looks like a mist type ghost looking into my camera in 2 different shots.Plus that feeling of being watched. Hollow Hill is right. There’s plenty going on here.
Sean, thanks for the review of Gilson! I love hearing others’ reports about that cemetery, and your encounters sound like the kinds of things we regularly encounter at Gilson. It’s one of my favorite places for research!
I just wanna say I was at a cemetery last night taking pictures. This “mist” looks exactly like the cigarette smoke that came up in my pictures. If you have email I can send you the pictures and you can compare this “mist”. I call bluff. Sorry. Im a huge believer in paranormal. Ive experienced many things in unusual places. But those pictures are easy to debunk.
Jenna,
You’ve commented at the general Gilson index page. I’m not sure which photo or photos you’re commenting about, and claiming are a “bluff.”
I’m in the process of completing a book, Ghost Photography 101, and it shows what people can expect from cigarette smoke — both cloves and regular cigarettes — as well as cigar smoke, incense, and many other factors that can result in false anomalies.
Until you’ve completed similar, lengthy tests, a one-time visit to a cemetery is probably not sufficient foundation to debunk a professional’s photos.
No one was smoking when I took any of my mist-related photos. I am very careful about that, and always have been; and, that’s not just because I’m allergic to smoke and highly sensitive to the slightest waft of it.
I also verify weather conditions, including humidity and dew point.
If you’re talking about my “what is this…?” picture: Just three of us were in the cemetery. No one was smoking. Further, we’d been in the cemetery for over two hours, so I would know if anyone had smoked in the area shortly before the pictures were taken.
Most of my Gilson photos were taken when Gilson Road Cemetery was surrounded by woods, years before the subdivision arrived. There were no nearby houses, and no wood fires.
When we’ve seen paranormal evidence of torches in the woods behind the cemetery, we do not see mist in our photos.
Smoke was not a possibility in my photos.
Ghost photographs are only as reliable as the expertise and integrity of those who took them. If you don’t trust my expertise or integrity, you’ll probably enjoy other websites more than this one.
Any ghost photo can be “debunked” by someone who wasn’t there to verify the conditions under which the relevant photos were taken.
Expertise and integrity are the bottom line in terms of ghost photography.
I have a arsenel of mist and orb photos from this cemetary. We also heard foot steps when we were out in the woods. The place is haunted no doubt about it! When we first entered the cemetary my camera kept turning on and off so i replaced the batteries. It contuned to do that the whole time we were there and the pictures I did get are filled with orbs, not just one or two but the Whole Screen! There is lights that move and this wierd mist thing that is creeping through the woods. Freaky enough for me to want to leave quickly
Me and my girlfriend we travel all over new england to find haunted places, We have stumbled on a few places that showed signs of activity some pretty intense but most of the time nothing crazy. But I will tell you that I can not wait for us to head here, This is our next spot to do some research. I really hope we get some good activity so we can share it with the world. I will keep you guys updated on what goes on.
-Peter Pandora
I’m actually quite interested in going to this place, how ever how is the area it’s in? Like is it a safe neighborhood? I know Nashua is not all crime but as a female I like to be aware of my surroundings. I’d have my boyfriend with me. But I know that places like this attracted kids who do wreck up things and such.
Beanie, it’s completely safe there. It’s across the street from one of Nashua’s more upscale subdivisions, and — except for part of downtown Nashua — the area is pretty much 100% safe.
I’m actually quite interested in going here, so i was looking around on Google maps to see if i could figure out where it was, and i noticed that there is some sort of sign posted, you can’t read it on google maps, so thinking maybe its a posted no trespassing sign? Any idea if they still allow people to go here, and if so is there a way to double check?
D,
It’s just a sign about not leaving litter in the cemetery, etc.
You can still visit it, at least during daytime hours.
Sincerely,
Fiona
thank you so much for your reply. I went earlier today to check it out since i’m a part of a paranormal research group and i wanted to make sure i could find the place (I live in Merrimack myself). And it was a lovely place, nothing showed up in any of the photos i took, but i did get the feeling of being watched as well as being pushed out of the cemetery. My group would love to go and investigate a little, they love what i experienced and wanna check it out, do you think we should ask permission to the cops? Since im sure it might be during the day, but would be interesting to see what happens at night.
D,
During the daytime, that is a public place so no permission should be necessary.
After dark, I can’t recommend visiting because most cemeteries are closed between dusk and dawn. I’m pretty sure that’s the law in Nashua, but I’m not certain.
I’m not sure about the nearby paved, walking paths. I’ve seen local residents walking those paths after dark; the paths are popular when people have returned home from work and want to get some exercise. So, I think they’re open to the public, 24/7.
Generally, I arrive at sites shortly before dusk and stay as late as seems appropriate. That varies with each visit. Sometimes the police have brought my attention to the late hour, and I’ve left immediately and cheerfully.
However, since I never plan to break any laws, it doesn’t seem necessary to ask permission.
In some communities, where the site is isolated or potentially dangerous, I may alert the police that we’ll be there. That’s for our protection as well as informing them about odd lights that might be reported there: They’re our cameras and flashlights.
However, a couple of our regular investigators are associated with the police. They’re off-duty, of course. When we have a legal question, I let them make the decisions.
My best advice is to visit sites during the hours they’re actually open. I can’t recommend breaking the law, and — particularly at this time of year — I doubt that the police will give permission, except for an extraordinary and very good reason.
Sincerely,
Fiona Broome
It’s cool to read about your excursions to Gilson and what you’ve experienced there. As well as from others who have been there and seen/heard stuff as well. I live in Nashua and have yet to check this place out, but i definitely will now. My wife and I have done the Salem, MA nighttime stuff, but havent even explored our own backyard.
I just came across this website so I figured I’d post up my experiences at Gilson Road Cemetery. All I can say is this place is the real deal. I don’t even consider it just a regular old haunted cemetery, it’s more like a portal, to another world. During my first trip to Gilson Road Cemetery (which was my most intense encounter with the ‘residents’ of the cemetery) one of the first things I noticed was the intense energy that I felt. It reminded me of when you’re like 10 feet underwater and you feel an intense pressure on your lungs and your head. It was quite overwhelming for me and the 3 people I was with. Then the 2nd wierd thing happened, I walked over the “baby” graves and I almost blacked out. Everything just went black for a second and I kinda spaced out (I wasn’t drunk or stoned or anything like that) and then I snapped out of it. The whole time I was there I felt like there was a very very angry presence all around us at all times, almost like it was screaming “GET OUT OF HERE” right in our faces but we couldn’t hear it, we could just feel it. The third extremely bizzare thing that happened was when I was standing next to the two tall graves that are on the right side of the cemetery near the entrance. I was standing in front of the left one just staring at it and then out of no where I had this vivid image in my head of a young man laying on the ground, dying in extreme agony. It wasn’t a hallucination, it was just an image in my head, but it was clear as day. Like imagine if someone described a person to you, to the point where you can picture in your head exactly how they look, thats how it felt. That was more or less all the wierd stuff that happened to me. One of the guys I was with claimed that something walked right behind him and brushed against him and when he turned around there was nothing. I have dozens and dozens of orb pictures from the cemetery. One thing I like about my Gilson Road orb pictures is that the amount of orbs in the pic usually dependent on how many graves are in the pic. For example my pics that have 1 or 2 graves normally have 1 or 2 orbs and if theres 5+ graves in the pic than theres 5+ orbs. My two favorite pics are one really creepy mist pic, where you can see what look likes the face of an old native american man and also someone riding a horse. And the other pic has perfectly clear and defined orange orb. Theres some other ones I like a lot too, like one where I jokingly told my friend to shake hands with a ghost so he put his hand out and I took a picture and in the pic theres 2 orbs directly in front of him, like maybe a ghost actually came over and shook his hand without him realizing it.
But anyways, I just wanted to share my Gilson Road experiences. I havent been in a year and half and I’m trying to go back soon. My only advice to anyone who hasn’t gone there yet… you’ll be a believer when you leave, thats for sure.
I lived most of my life in Nashua, NH. I always hated that cemetery. I always got horrible chills and the feeling of evil emitting from it. I am an empath and also pagan, so I tend to be very intune with the spiritual realm. I am 31 yrs old and I still remember the feeling I got from that place and my skin crawls even now thinking about it. My first experience of that place was seeing a photo one of my parents friends took of one of the gravestones. The picture contained a cloudy mist that resembled the shape of a person. There was no swirling and the cloud and gravestone were about 20 to 30 feet away. The most activity seems to been on nights of new moons and full moons. There is something there.
In August of 2010 my brother, my sister, and i went to gilson with a few of our friends. We have pictures of unexplained things(i can try to post them). The second we walked passed the gates we could feel the temp drop about 10 degrees. We walked around for a little bit and noticed the headstone with the hole through it. as i was standing in front of that gravestone i felt as if someone and touched my ponytail. my brothers friends walked to the back of the cemetery only to hear absolutly nothing, in that case we thought was eerie. He had his phone as a recorder and asked mulitple questions. About a month ago he texted me saying that he had enhanced the audio and heard after asking the question “What happend to you?” he thought he heard a young chaild say “Fire” As creepy as it was, im definately going back.
My family and i are really excited to vistit the cemetry. My aunt and uncle live up the street and my uncle has been there once on halloween, i dont think he saw anything, but if we decided to go what time would people suggest to go at. I am really excited and i will let everyone know what happens!!
Hi Allison,
If you return to Gilson Road Cemetery, it’s most active at any time between about 11:30 in the morning, through the afternoon (some lulls then) and then it picks up again at dusk.
It’s a great location to explore!
Cheerfully,
Fiona
Hello,
Me and my small crew go ghost hunting all the time at Gilson. We get very good EVP’s and clear orbs and other things that are unexplainable. Last week I sent a letter to Ghost Adventures to get tips and see if they’d like to check Gilson out.
Is there any specific areas in or around the cemetery that is better than others, like evidence wise? Is the dark hooded figure in the woods still around? Is there any other good cheap equipment I could get other than an Evp detector, ghost box,and a camera?
Thanks,
Owen
I live about a mile from the cemetery and have been there numerous times, day and evening, most often with my dog. NOTHING has ever happened. I’ve stood around for 15-20 minutes at a time, gone to the back near the woods, gone to the eeriest tombstones — absolutely nothing.
Hi Jo,
One of my children, a firm believer in ghosts, has had the same disappointments at Gilson Road. I have no idea why it’s so active for some people and not for others.
When it’s intense, it’s really intense. But, for people who’ve tried to encounter something there, repeatedly, and never have… well, I wish I could be more helpful.
Don’t give up, and certainly don’t quit looking for great haunted places. Though Gilson may never seem active for you, other sites might.
Sincerely,
Fiona
I went for my first visit to Gilson Road Cemetery this past Friday (9/23/2011) and I must say, I was throughly impressed. I felt…wobbly and almost drunken while walking through the cemetery. My chest felt incredibly tight and there were moments when it was difficult to catch my breath. When I journeyed over to the back left corner, I smelled smoke-but it was a wet and drizzly day-too wet to be having any kind of campfire, and the smokey smell didn’t really remind me of a campfire; it had an odd smell to it. I also felt as if the eyes of many were watching me from near or far–I went by myself at about 2:30 in the afternoon, and I didn’t feel like I was alone at all during my visit.
I left after about 30 minutes because I felt a bit dizzy and I suddenly began to feel very tired (I believe the visit was psychically draining). I can’t wait to review my recoreder and hope to bring a few other people with me next time I go, but it’s difficult because I just moved to the area and I’m still meeting people. =) Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!