This isn’t my book, but it includes a few of my Tilton stories. Other regional ghost hunters, including Lesley Marden and journalist Jim Fitzgerald, also contributed their stories to Rue’s book.
Tilton’s ghosts became famous in 2010 when the Ghost Hunters TV series featured Tilton’s haunted 1875 Inn.
After that, many ghost hunters came to Tilton and New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, looking for haunted places.
They found them… Lots of them.
Tilton may seem like a typical New Hampshire town.
After you learn about its ghosts, I think you’ll agree: Tilton is one of the Granite State’s strangest, most haunted towns.
I’m fascinated by the connections between the Tilton family and the Webster family.
Also, the Tilton area – very rural when those families moved there – seemed an odd place for two eccentric, powerful families to settle and, today, to be among the area’s ghosts.
I read this book in one sitting. (Yes, it’s short, but I was intrigued by stories that were new to me.)
For example, the Tilton link to the popular book & TV series, A Handmaid’s Tale, was a complete surprise.
Also, I’ll bet there’s more to Peter Tilton’s story. If two of Oliver Cromwell’s supporters are buried near Tilton’s Connecticut house, in unmarked graves… well, I’d be very interested in investigating there, as well.
Something about Tilton seems… off. Weird. It’s like it’s a little too cute. Too “quaint New England.”
It’s almost picture-perfect… and then the Tilton Inn is so haunted, it’s been featured on Ghost Hunters and other TV shows.
Something doesn’t add up. Maybe the rumored stories – underground tunnels, women locked in attics, and eerie rituals – are true. And maybe their energy lingers today.
Like author Rue Cote, I’m curious about Northfield, too. I’d researched near the abandoned town center, without realizing anything important had been there.
I never knew about the hidden cemetery, either. I’m always interested in haunted sites that have been concealed for, oh, at least 100 years.
Tilton is a sleepy little New Hampshire town off I-93, in the Lakes Region. If you’re going to be in that area, read this book to plan your own unique ghost hunting adventures.
(Also, if you have any Tilton-related ghost stories to share, leave them in comments. I’m very interested in that part of New Hampshire.)
Over a hundred years ago, a woman was locked in the attic of a haunted Laconia (NH) home. She spent years up there, perhaps clawing at the walls and door. She may have died up there, and pieces of her body may still be in the home’s backyard.
These pictures are from a house near Laconia’s Parade Road. It’s a private residence, but in Colonial times, it had been a tavern.
Later, according to stories told by the homeowners, someone was locked in the attic, possibly for years.
I was fortunate enough to be invited – privately – to spend a few hours ghost hunting at this extraordinary site. Even in broad daylight, it was unusual.
And, the ghost stories at that site are credible.
There’s plenty of physical evidence of its turbulent past, including personal belongings from long ago. It’s difficult to tell which had been left there, abandoned by previous homeowners, and which belong to the current residents.
But few attics have so many marks scraped into the walls and door.
The scratch marks in the Laconia home’s attic were among the creepiest things I’ve ever seen, ghost hunting in private homes. Those scratches are reminiscent of hash marks carved into prison walls, and in orphanages and some hospitals.
Here’s the evidence
The first photo shows the wall near the attic door, close to an old-school light switch. I’m not sure if the scratched-in date (near the top of the wall) says 1895 or 1896.
Probably the latter.
Either way, it’s creepy.
Haunted attic in Laconia. Is that date 1895 or 1896?
Next, here are the marks on the inside of the attic door (by someone inside the attic). Some look like they may have been etched with chalk.
Interior of the attic door, in that haunted Laconia house.
Next is a photo you may have seen before (in my article – Laconia, NH’s Ghostly Places) but this is a larger copy. It hasn’t been adjusted in any way, aside from reducing it to fit on this webpage.
Even more hash marks and scratches. Some look almost frenzied.
The fourth (next) photo shows an area just to the left of the previous photo. I did adjust the contrast (and I added an arrow) so you can see the date scratched into the wall: 1892.
The date is clear: 1892. So, was someone up there for FOUR years…?
If the photo at the top of this article shows 1896 scratched into the wood, it’s possible someone was locked in that attic for a very long time. Three or four years, at least. That’s shocking.
You can read more of my Laconia story – and more true, ghostly tales – in Rue’s book.
More ghost hunting opportunities, nearby?
For me, the most chilling part of this Laconia ghost investigation was what people said, afterwards.
I talked about this house with several friends in Tilton.
Every one of them had a story about a relative that had been locked in their family’s attic, years ago.
Or, they knew a neighbor or nearby cousin with a relative locked in the attic.
I understand that in the 18th and 19th centuries, mental health facilities could be barbaric. It may have seemed more humane to keep the person at home.
But, in an attic…? And for years…?
That explains a lot about why Tilton and nearby towns are so very haunted. If you’re ghost hunting in NH’s Lakes Region, Laconia and Tilton should be on your must-see list.
After this, I kept hearing louder footsteps on the stairs to the second floor and upstairs, usually at dusk and for about thirty seconds at a time. I ignored them. Old houses make funny noises, I reminded myself.
It’s important to understand that I really wanted my own house after several years in rentals. This house seemed such a great opportunity to buy a house at well below market value, I wanted it to work out.
Besides, I’d lived in a very haunted house in Northern California (which was later the subject of a Fate magazine article). I figured that it was highly unlikely that I’d ever live in a second haunted house.
When I couldn’t explain an odd event in the Portsmouth house, I ignored it.
But small incidents kept occurring.
FILE BOXES REARRANGED THEMSELVES OVERNIGHT
I kept heavy file boxes of papers and reference books near my work area in the dining room, and some mornings I’d find them rearranged.
I asked my family if anyone had been searching for something in my boxes, and they all said no. I wanted to believe them, but I also wanted the simple explanation that someone had been looking for something, and just didn’t want to admit it.
One morning, I found the white ceramic hippo that I kept on the center of the dining table, in one of my file boxes at the bottom of a stack. Annoyed, I brought him out of the box and replaced him on the table.
That did not happen again.
The heavy, paper-filled boxes continued to rearrange themselves overnight, about once every ten days. I never heard this happening, though my bedroom was immediately above the area where the boxes were stored, and without carpeting, sounds traveled easily throughout the house.
A WARNING – THE SMELL OF SMOKE
A few weeks after the hippo incident, in the late afternoon, I started smelling smoke in the dining room, at the corner above the basement electrical box. I rushed to the basement, but the odor was not there. I went outside to see if a neighbor was burning leaves, or if a nearby chimney could account for the odor. The air was crisp and fresh outside.
In a panic, I had my husband check the box and our wiring as soon as he came home from work. He said some of it was old, but nothing looked particularly dangerous or in need of immediate replacement. Nevertheless, he did a little work on the wiring to the dining room, to put my mind at rest.
Soon after this, I paid to have an energy audit of our house, to lower our utility bills. The representative of the power company checked the wiring and said it was fine. He used a couple of devices to check for drafts in the dining room, and found that the area was tight so I probably was not smelling smoke from outside.
I was baffled, and these “little things” were starting to snowball. There were no single, frightening events at this point, but I began to have doubts about remaining in that house with my family. Something seemed not right, though I couldn’t say that a flying spatula, creaking floorboards, or shifting boxes were particularly frightening.
ANOTHER WARNING – DREAMS ABOUT A FIRE
Then I started dreaming about a fire. In my dream, could see the flames reflected in the rear window of the dining room. Sometimes I saw flames in the corner of the room. Generally, it was just heavy smoke and the reflected flames in the window. I don’t usually smell things in my dreams, but this was such a vivid nightmare, the acrid odor remained in my nose even after I woke up.
I mentioned this to my husband, who’s lived with me long enough to know that many of my dreams are prophetic. He looked anxious, but reminded me that there was no logical reason for a fire, and nothing we could do. We had a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, and he re-checked the electrical box and wiring, just in case.
The dreams persisted, as did the daytime smell of smoke from time to time. I started moving our belongings into a storage facility on the other side of town. This seemed silly since our huge attic was less than one-third full, and we also had a basement suitable for storage.
GHOSTS IN THE KITCHEN
I had located my writing area in the far corner of the dining room, where I could look out the window into our backyard, and also see the kitchen over my shoulder.
One early evening as I sat working, I saw something white pass through the kitchen. I looked straight at it, just in time to see (what I thought was) the back of a white shirt go past the doorway.
I thought it was my older daughter, and shouted to ask her if she had a new tee-shirt.
There was no answer. Then I noticed that she hadn’t turned the light on in the kitchen, and the afternoon light was fading fast. If she was cutting carrot sticks or another snack, I was ready to lecture her on safety.
I stood up to see what she was doing in the kitchen, but no one was there.
What had I seen that looked like someone in white, moving quickly past the doorway? I checked for a reflection from the yard next door, but the blinds at that side of the kitchen were closed. The window to the back was covered by a nice large ficus tree on the lower half. Light streamed in the top of the window, but only a foil balloon could reach high enough to reflect that kind of light,there. I returned to my desk, baffled.
Deciding that I’d been working too long and my eyes were tired, I left my desk and went out to the kitchen to start dinner. Everything seemed normal for the rest of the day.
However, over the next several months, I saw the “woman in white” more often. Many times, I was looking straight at her, and saw the filmy white shape of a woman in a long gown, float peacefully past through the kitchen. She was always going from the front hall towards the back door.
Less often I saw a man, mostly in brown clothing but still translucent as the woman was. He was sometimes on the stairs to the second floor, but usually followed the same path as the woman: From the front hall, through the kitchen, and vanishing towards the back door. Once, I thought I saw him at the window of the attic, but that may have been an odd reflection.
I still told no one about what I was seeing. I didn’t want to scare my children, and my husband was probably more afraid of ghosts than they might be.
THE GHOSTS APPEAR TO OTHERS
Finally, my older daughter announced firmly, “Mom, I saw a ghost in the kitchen.”
We exchanged stories and she had seen the same woman as I had: A filmy white shape in the kitchen, usually floating through the room.
I was relieved that someone else had seen her. But I was also concerned that my children were being affected by the energy–and perhaps spirits–in the house.
In Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries, I mentioned one eerie cemetery in Northfield-Tilton, New Hampshire. (It’s actually in Northfield, but the boundary between the two towns isn’t always clear. Technically, the river divides the towns, but the post office considers both towns as “Tilton.”)
Several graves in that cemetery indicate good activity.
Last night, we took photos of rain orbs for my book, Ghost Photography 101.
Though most of the orbs in this photo are certainly rain, at least one might be something paranormal. I think you can see how different it is from the others, in the photo at right.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to tell “real” orbs from rain orbs in photos, so I’m making no claims. However, we’ve seen consistent orbs around this group of graves.
When we arrived, the cemetery was too quiet. Even the rain seemed entirely silent, though we parked in a paved area. Also, though the area is lit by streetlights and light from neighbors’ homes, the back half of the cemetery always seems darker than it should be… even in the daytime.
I like cemeteries that feel as if you’re stepping back in time. This is one of them, and it always feels entirely separated from the buildings — and era — around it. Some might describe it as “creepy,” but I find it very relaxing and peaceful, despite the activity at some of its graves.
Here’s a “sneak peak” into another area of this cemetery, to check for elevated EMF, orbs, EVP, and so on.
You may be able to use this tip when you investigate cemeteries in your area.
Other researchers and I describe one grave as the “three pointing fingers grave.” You’ll know which one it is, as soon as you see it. Jacob Webber and his two wives are in that plot, and the headstone is unusual, showing three pointing fingers.
A finger pointing up usually indicates that the person ascended to Heaven. A finger pointing down usually suggests the hand of God, ending a life early… but it can mean something less attractive. (It doesn’t take much imagination to figure that out: Heaven: up. Hell: down.)
When we see an adult’s headstone with a downward pointing finger, we immediately add that plot to our list of graves to investigate. Those graves have a higher likelihood of activity compared with other, unremarkable graves.
I’m still investigating the spirits at the “three fingers” grave. I know the second wife feels that she had the “last word” with that gravestone, and her energy definitely lingers. With enough attention, she’s the kind of woman who might appear as an apparition.
There are several other active locations in this rural cemetery, and some may be even more active than the “three pointing fingers” plot. However, this cemetery – Arch Hill Cemetery in Northfield, NH – is near several homes, so it’s difficult to investigate without attracting attention.
The good news is, this cemetery seems to be active during the daytime as well as after dark. I recommend EMF meters and either a psychic, a Frank’s Box, or an Ovilus for research in this graveyard. You could also use a K-II (or K-III) meter for real-time dialogue with the spirits.
Visually, it’s a lovely location, but — so far — it’s been difficult to photograph reliable anomalies due to nearby lights.
If you’re interested in Arch Hill Cemetery, or you’re ghost hunting in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, some of my stories were included in Rue Cote’s book, Ghost Hunting in Tilton, New Hampshire.
Rue’s research and ghost stories include Tilton, Northfield, and Franklin, New Hampshire. She also lists several haunts that are within an hour or so of Tilton.
One haunted grave at Vale End Cemetery, Wilton, NH.
Ghosts and demons are two different things. Demons are generally spirits that have never been human, and they are characterized as evil… perhaps pure evil, if there is such a thing.
They are very rare at hauntings. In over 20 years of research, I’d never encountered one before.
As I paused at what seemed to be an invisible force field at haunted Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, NH, I knew that I was right next to something profoundly evil and wholly without a conscience. This was an entity that had never been human, and he viewed me as prey.
I was certain that the Grover guys – I could now see what seemed like dozens of them – worked for this entity. They weren’t evil themselves, but had a, “Sure, why not?” kind of attitude. I have no idea why I thought that or was so certain of the hierarchy.
This experience was so foreign to me, I can remember thinking, “Okay, I’m going to take a few photos and then get out of here.”
I’m not someone who runs away from ghosts, and I didn’t plan to abandon this vigil without taking a few more photos.
Demons, caught on film?
As I raised my camera and looked through the viewfinder, the red Grover guys seemed to multiply. When my camera clicked, I saw three of them clearly outlined by the flash. They were emerging from behind Mary Ritter Spaulding’s headstone, and I swear they looked like they were doing the “walk like an Egyptian” dance.
Yes, my sense of humor kicks in at the weirdest times, and this was one of them. I said to my friends, who were standing – wide-eyed with fear – far behind me in the cemetery, “Good. I’m sure that I’ve got them on film.”
That’s when I realized that I was in danger. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck feet from me. I ran for my car and didn’t even put on my seatbelt until I reached the gate. I floored it, to get away. My friends followed suit.
I was about ten miles away before I felt that whatever-it-was had stopped following me. And, I was terrified, because I didn’t want to die.
Is that what killed Noreen?
I may never know if this is what my friend, Noreen, experienced. She was dead less than a week after she encountered whatever-it-is. (It was a sudden and mysterious death.)
This remains the only time I’ve been truly frightened during hundreds of ghost hunts.
Obviously, I survived this experience. But, the story doesn’t end there.
Blank, black photos… except one
When my film was developed, every frame but one was black. I had been so sure the Grover guys would show up, I was baffled by the all-black pictures.
On the one photo that had an image, I saw a vivid red shape, the same color as the Grover guys. I thought it was just a strange design.
Another researcher who’d been with me that night, looked at the photo and raised an eyebrow.
She turned the photo 180 degrees. Then, she said that it looked like the classic image of Satan.
She was right. Oh, I thought that was a slight stretch, but I could see why she seemed so certain.
A couple of days later, after a series of odd events connected with the film and the photos, I gave the negatives and prints to someone who was eager to own them.
I wanted the film, the prints, and everything connected with it, to stay far away from my family and me.
The evil lingers
On subsequent trips even near Wilton, I could feel that same evil presence nearby, menacing. This feeling continued for two years and then – for no particular reason-stopped.
Other researchers heard about my experience, and confirmed their similar encounter with whatever’s at Vale End.
And, oddly enough, at a ghost conference, I heard that there’s a spirit at a haunted prison (in Ohio?) that’s described as a Grover-type figure.
But, what really alarmed me was when I met demonologist John Zaffis, and saw some of his startling photos. One of them contained the exact same red, satanic image.
I have no idea what to think of all this. At the time, I didn’t believe in demons in the traditional sense. I’ve never seen anything like the little Grover guys since then, either. Were they “demons,” too? That’s outside my field of study.
I no longer scoff at the idea of demons. And, I stay far away from anything related to them.
Two more visits, with one big scare
Obviously, I’m still ghost hunting. And, I did return to Vale End twice more, but only during daytime hours.
Once was to show another team of researchers where different events had happened. They did not have a similar encounter, and their investigation was inconclusive.
Another time, I was filming a segment for a regional TV show. I’m not sure what the cameraman saw through his eyepiece, but – whatever it was – it terrified him. He jumped into our van, started the engine, and floored it.
Once we were a few miles outside Wilton, he said he’d seen something through the viewfinder that just wasn’t possible. And, after saying that, he refused to talk about it.
He was a news cameraman, for heaven’s sake. He’d seen lots of horrifying things.
But something at Vale End scared him badly. I haven’t forgotten the color of his face and the look in his eyes as he said he’d never go back there.
Stay safe
Ghost hunting is supposed to be fun or at least interesting. When it starts being scary and the fun goes out of it, it’s time to do something different.
I’m glad that the police patrol Vale End Cemetery steadily after dark, to prevent others from visiting it. And, I firmly recommend that no one go there for a ghost hunt.
Yes, there are ghosts in that cemetery, including the alluring Blue Lady.
However, in my opinion, the risks aren’t worth it. Look for ghosts elsewhere. Something at Vale End is not a ghost, and it could be lethal.
Note: I spoke about Vale End at Dragon Con 2007. Other than that, I prefer not to discuss the subject. I’m not an expert on demons and I’m reluctant to use that term to describe anything… even the chilling entity at Vale End.
Frankly, I still think the Grover-guys looked hilariously funny. In any other context, I’d recommend the cemetery, in case you might see them, too.
Skeptics, joke at your peril
I am aware that another New Hampshire “ghost hunter” – more of an entertainer than a serious researcher – has gone out of her way to ridicule my experiences at Vale End. (You don’t need to email me about this. Someone first told me about it about a year after the critical post appeared.)
Her main criticism…? Things that had changed in the 10 years between my report and when she visited the cemetery. The parking area has been moved. Really, that was her leading attack on my research…?
Wow.
Then, she misrepresented what I’ve said about Vale End, the Grover guys, and so on.
She’s not the first to try to use my name as a career-booster. That’s okay. She’s having fun being a self-parody.
Most people can tell the difference between that and serious, academic research, and there’s plenty of room is this field for both.
All I can say is this: I hope she never has a reason to regret treating Vale End lightly.
Is this a real ghost at haunted Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH?
This “ghost photo” was taken at Nashua’s Gilson Road Cemetery when we were researching ghosts and hauntings. It’s one of my favorite “What is this?” pictures.
I took this ghost photo with a $6 disposable Fuji camera. On that night, a group of us were testing inexpensive cameras to see what an amateur could expect when taking photographs at random in a haunted location.
By the time I took this photo, the fog was just starting to roll in. We could see clearly without a flashlight, and many of our cemetery pictures were normal, but the mist became a factor later in the night.
We took two identical shots at every spot, and the photo immediately before this was almost entirely black and crisp. (You can see it at my article about the strange mist that night.)
The photo after this one was also sharp. It looked identical to the first of the three. There was no photographic evidence of humidity or fog, just a few orbs. It’s typical of what we see in photos from Gilson.
No one was smoking. There were no houses nearby when this picture was taken, so there was no risk of wood smoke from a fireplace, either.
(Since then, a subdivision has been built immediately across the street from this cemetery.)
What is this weird, swirly mist…? Is that a gravestone to the right?
It should be, because that’s what the camera was pointing at.
We’ve had dozens of letters from readers, suggesting everything from a ghostly finger to the Virgin Mary. This is our most popular real “ghost photo.”
Whatever it is, it’s weird. And cool. And yes, this is real. It’s not altered from the original film print in any way at all.
I don’t think that it’s scary, but some people do. In fact, it reminds me of an old InfiniteFish background, in a way.
Camera: Fuju disposable Quicksnap, 800 ASA Developed at: One-hour processing, Shaw’s Royal Ridge, Nashua Location: Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH When: 26 Nov 1999, about 5 p.m.
2012 update: After testing photography techniques, I’ve realized that this might be the result of exhaling while taking the photo.
However, there’s a problem with that theory. The orbs in this photo… they’re not consistent with other false anomalies (with the same camera) from exhaling.
That’s part of debunking: Not just saying “it might be ___,” but also confirming that it’s consistent with the new theory.
Is Tilton the most haunted town in New Hampshire?
Last night, we took photos of rain orbs for my book, Ghost Photography 101.
Other researchers and I describe one grave as the “three pointing fingers grave.” You’ll know which one it is, as soon as you see it. Jacob Webber and his two wives are in that plot, and the headstone is unusual, showing three pointing fingers.
