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New Hampshire (USA) is a gold mine of haunted locations. I discovered several in 2011, around Tilton and Laconia.
(Also see Ghosts of Tilton’s Mystery Tunnels and Webster Place.)
Ghosts in nearby Tilton, NH
Scouting locations for a TV show, I found – and investigated – a series of great haunts in or near Tilton, New Hampshire. (Tilton may be best known for its outlet mall, the Tilt’n Diner, and the haunted Tilton Inn where Ghost Hunters filmed an episode.)
Among the most interesting haunts:
- Hall Memorial Library, Northfield-Tilton, NH.
- Tilton Mystery Tunnel, Tilton, NH.
- Two buildings and a cemetery at Webster Place, Franklin, NH
- Daniel Webster’s birthplace, Franklin, NH.
(Several of my stories were included in Rue Cote’s book, Ghost Hunting in Tilton, New Hampshire.)
Here are the locations I found in Laconia and vicinity.
Ghosts in Laconia, NH
Laconia turned out to be a gold mine of weird stories and possibly haunted places.
My Laconia adventures started when people learned that I was scouting locations.
Almost immediately, I was invited to tour a private residence and hear its history.
It was startling. If I were to list all the things I look for in a haunted house, this home ticked most of them.
From the start, I saw evidence of the home’s Colonial history. In the kitchen, I climbed down to a room that had been part of the Underground Railroad.
In the basement, I saw – and photographed – a shadow figure. (You can learn more about the basement, at my 2018 article, Photos from the Haunted Laconia House.)
We checked every possible explanation for the figure, and found none. And, while I watched, he walked away… and vanished.
Then, climbing stairs to an attic, I saw hash marks walls and the inside of the door, indicating that someone had been locked in, up there. (That’s a photo of it, below. From the number of hash marks, someone had been up there a very long time.)
As if that weren’t enough, the owners told me about the petrified bodies that used to be in their backyard. (The bodies had been dug up and moved to downtown Laconia.)
The wife explained that “something” seemed to be in the backyard, at night, so she sometimes went outside with a shotgun… just in case.
However, the owners of the home assured me that they had no ghosts. Absolutely none.
I still don’t know what to think of that. From what I saw and heard, there’s no way that house isn’t haunted.
The next day, I returned to that area and found several other sites worth investigating:
- Tavern 27 at the Mystic Meadows, 2075 Parade Road, Laconia, NH, and the gift shop behind it.
- The former site of the Anti-Pedo Baptist Church of Meredith, NH, which was burned to the ground on behalf of a neighbor, Mrs. Morgan. (Maybe it was. I’m not sure the real explanation was arson.)
- Mead Cemetery (433427N / 0712936W) and Round Bay Cemetery, Laconia, NH.
If you’re looking for the petrified bodies, they’re in the Folsom graves at Laconia’s Union Cemetery (between Garfield and Academy Streets).
If I’d had more time, I’d have scheduled nighttime investigations at some of those locations. However, my schedule was already overloaded.
My point is: you may have a large number of haunts in your area, but don’t realize it. It’s easy to assume that nothing familiar to you is haunted.
Take a second look.
How to find similar, haunted places
Even if you don’t live in New Hampshire, here’s how to find similar haunted locations:
1. Ask people if they know any local, haunted places.
2. Follow your instincts. Drive around, look at maps, and — psychic or not — pay attention to your “gut feelings.”
3. Research history! Look for patterns — geographical or historical — that connect locations that seem odd to you.
4. Ask more questions. Collect more stories. Research anything (and everything) that holds your interest.
No matter where you live, you’re probably within a few miles of a great, haunted location.
I came across this site while doing some research after my boyfriend told me a story from when he was 8 or 9 years old and his Mom lived in Laconia on 21 Lincoln Street. I am curious if this address is close to the places you visited? I live in NH but have never been in that part of Laconia. He was exploring his mothers home when he was this age(some 25 years ago) and found some of the hidden tunnels and rooms(He found a door inside a closet that led to a small room where he found an old lantern, bedding that looked like a sleeping bag etc) but what was more weird was the story of the house next to him. Too long of a story to type but you may find it interesting to log for your journies or maybe you can help me find out more about the family that lived in the house that was on Lincoln Street.
thank you.
Sarah,
The sites I’ve written (and talked about, in podcasts) are usually around Parade Rd, at the northwest side of Laconia.
However, the Lincoln Street location may relate to some other phenomena. I’m especially intrigued by your descriptions, in connection with an address very close to two huge Laconia cemeteries. Thanks for sharing that information!
To start with, make sure the street hasn’t been renamed or the house numbers changed at some point in the past 150 years.
Then, find city directories from before the telephone era, and look up the names of people living at that address.
Then, start with routine genealogical research into their histories.
If that doesn’t turn up anything quickly, the next step is probably to go to whichever town or county office keeps the old deeds to the property, and see what you can trace, there.
This is a very simplistic overview of the procedure — and it reminds me that I really need to finish my Paragenealogy book, to explain exactly how this works — but it might be enough to locate the information you need.
Cheerfully,
Fiona
I’ve lived in an apartment for 5years and on night 1 I seen shadows and heard noises the entire time I was there.
One night while lying in my bed watching TV I felt a hand on my arm I froze for a second and looked at my room door when I saw a black shadow person who turned around and smiled at me then walked into the hallway. In those moments there were no fear I felt love.
Andria, that’s an astonishing description. My question is: How did you know the person smiled? Could you see his/her face? (And, if he/she was that visible, and a sense of physical contact, were there any era cues, like hairstyle, grooming, wardrobe?)
I’m very interested in first-person reports about shadow people, especially when the encounters don’t see sinister.
How do I rid of. Them the same ones keep appearing
Bridgette, what do you need to be rid of? What are the “same ones”? Write in your first/home language and I’ll use Google Translate to see if I understand and can answer your question.
Ever hear anything about bay street? If not do I ever have a story for you.
No, but I’m interested. I’m pretty sure Lesley Marden would like to know more, too.
Hey Fiona I lived in the Laconia area 30 plus years until I moved up here to Berlin nh. While you were in Laconia you should have headed to the weirs beach area there is a lot of paranormal activity there. I worked at the Halfmoon arcades and we would have stuff thrown at us we had stacking of our alley hoops balls also I have been touch out back. Also the Winnipesaukee marketplace has its fair share of ghosts as it used to be a hotel it was built back in 1860. If I tell you more it would be a book lol
Great information, Tanya, and perhaps some other readers – currently around Laconia – will share their insights, too. Thank you so much!
Laconia prison is closed now but as it was an old insane asylum I’d say it’s pretty haunted. Inmates used to report seeing a nurse orderly in 3rd floor window.