Category: US – New Hampshire

In April 2013, I visited the Spalding Inn for a ghost hunting event hosted by Jason Hawes.

It had been about two years since I’d last investigated the hotel.

Frankly, my earliest overnight visit to the hotel – in 2008, before the hotel opened – was alarming.

Whatever I encountered there, it wasn’t just ghosts.

I’m in my comfort zone with ghostly phenomena.

BUT… when weird things happen, I get anxious.

So, I generally visited Jason & Grant and their families during the daytime.

I liked sitting on the hotel porch, laughing and chatting about our adventures.

Then, in 2013, I knew that my husband and I were moving soon. So, when invited, I went back to the Spalding Inn for one of Jason’s ghost hunting events.

Things had changed… really changed.

The ghostly energy confirmed what I’d discovered with my NH ley line map, shown later in this article.

But before I explain the ley line map, here’s what happened during my 2013 investigation.

My April 2013 report

The upper floor of the Spalding Inn’s carriage house seemed just as strange, but more had focused energy.

That is, many of us (including me) didn’t encounter the usual off-the-wall weird energy there.

It was… well, the word I’d use is “tidier.”

It was as if whatever’s there had a purpose for being there. 

If you weren’t useful to the ghost, and whatever his or her goal was, the ghost wasn’t around.

However, some investigators experienced profound encounters and spiritual confirmations.

Those seemed to be very quirky – and somewhat conflicted – experiences.

The “hottest” areas were in and near rooms 15 and 17.

Also, the spirits (ghosts, energy, whatever) at the main level (ground floor) of the Spalding Inn’s carriage house were far more responsive to the various electronic devices in use.

Kris was eager to talk about the ghosts

During that 2013 visit, Jason Hawes’ wife, Kris, shared many stories.  They were fascinating, because she was describing encounters that complemented mine.

Generally, Kris seemed more eager to talk about the hotel’s ghosts than Jason was.

But, I appreciated Jason’s decision to say less. As a high-profile ghost hunter, he needed to remain as objective as possible. Or perhaps he didn’t want to prompt visitors, but let them make their own ghostly discoveries.

What happened in 2008

I’d visited the hotel late in 2008. That was immediately after the Ghost Hunters International team investigated, but before the hotel was officially opened.

At the time, I preferred to keep a low profile. Another guest at the hotel was eager to claim the spotlight, and I was happy to let him do so.

In general, I’m fairly shy, especially in a predominantly male setting.

Also, unless asked for details, I usually keep many of my observations to myself. I like to think about them for a few days.

That gives me time to evaluate my experiences, away from the turbulence of the hauntings.

So, I didn’t talk much about what I’d seen and felt at the hotel. It included:

• • An apparition in the coach house
  • An astonishing collection of dead flies in another room in that building
  • And a voice – heard aloud – that mimicked me.

Then there was the figure that was dragging itself along the floor in the main building.

And the haunted mirror on the first floor.

And finally – back in the coach house – the completely unplugged old-school phone with the “call waiting” light blinking.

So, yes, what I’d witnessed in 2008 was very weird. I just didn’t say much about it at the time.

I may write more about this, later.

Oh, I slept soundly at the hotel. But what I witnessed during my investigations…? It was one of the strangest combination of phenomena I’ve ever encountered.

Then, Kris Hawes described what she’d seen

Five years later – in 2013 – Kris Hawes confirmed many of my experiences, without knowing about them ahead of time. After all, I’d never said much about them.

I was delighted. (And a little creeped-out, if I’m honest, especially about the unattractive figure crawling on the floor.)

As of 2013, it seemed like the ghosts were learning from visitors. The ghosts’ responses were more specific, more consistent, and involve more senses.

In other words, the Spalding Inn had become a more useful research location.

Paranormal “hot spots” at the Spalding Inn

In 2013, in the main building, the dining room felt like more of a “safe haven” from intrusive ghosts.

That was a relief. We could get away from the entities… whatever they were.

But, the perimeter of the dining room was odd. It was like walking through spiritual jello, if that makes sense.

The extended corridor (where the sleeping rooms are) was far more active than it had been.

Previously, I’d categorized most of the activity there as fae and perhaps Native American, not ghostly.

Now, several ghosts in that hallway – and sleeping rooms along it – seemed interested in contacting us.

(I’m not sure what words to use for that. Maybe those ghosts were there all along, but fairly silent. Maybe they’d migrated to that part of the hotel, where they had a bigger audience. I have no idea.)

It was time to sell the hotel

As we chatted in 2013, Kris confided that Jason and Grant were thinking of selling the hotel.

The hotel’s massive repairs had cost far more than Grant and Jason had expected. Competing with neighboring hotels – that offered more amenities for seasonal tourists – was a challenge.

And, I think Jason and Grant had started out with a different vision for the hotel.

I told Kris that selling the hotel was a good idea.

I did not tell her that – during that 2013 investigation – the energy at the hotel seemed angry.

It was a somewhat nasty, drain-everything-from-you kind of energy.

This wasn’t just a spiritual attack.

I had no doubt the malicious energy wanted to destroy the hotel’s business, crush morale, and generally tear things up.

I was happy not to spend another night there.

Why did the energy change?

Maybe the ghosts didn’t like the idea of dealing with yet another set of owners.

Or maybe the ghosts had enjoyed the attention of Jason & Grant’s ghost hunting overnights.

I’m glad Jason & Grant and their families sold the hotel. I wish the new owners very good luck with it.

And yes, I’d cheerfully return there, out of curiosity. I’d love to see if the ghosts and other entities remained there.

My northern New Hampshire ley lines map

For the 2013 event, I’d created a special information sheet that featured ley lines at and near the Spalding Inn.

It also showed “hot spots” in northern New Hampshire in general.

The illustration on this page is just part of that map.

If you draw these lines on a larger map, you’ll see where they extend into other states. All locations along these lines are worth exploring.

The ghost figures indicate locations where ghosts have been reported. The star-in-circle marks indicate other paranormal reports (UFOs, etc.) and anomalies.

If you’re researching in NH, check sites on either line.

Choose the northern one if you’re interested in ghosts. Choose the southern one if you’re eager to find Bigfoot (yes, there are reports along that line) or want to see UFOs.

Two different ley lines. Two different kinds of phenomena.

The Spalding Inn is on the more ghostly line.

And, in my opinion, it’s still haunted… and perhaps by more than just ghosts.

The Spalding Inn in Whitefield, New Hampshire is the kind of location that every ghost hunter dreams of.

For several years, the hotel was owned by ghost hunters Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (famous for TAPS and the Ghost Hunters TV show) and their families.

Since we’ve been friends for many years, I’ve spent happy days and nights at that hotel.

Parts of the Spalding Inn were – and possibly still are – delightfully haunted.

During my informal visits, I concluded that the Spalding is similar to Louisiana’s Myrtles Plantation… but perhaps differently haunted.

Similar to the Myrtles Plantation, the Spalding Inn seems to transform after dark.

The carriage house at the Spalding Inn

From my investigations, the Spalding Inn’s most active area is the carriage house, shown in the photo at left.

It’s not heated, so that part of the hotel is opened seasonally.

Each guest room in that building has its own odd energy.

Upstairs may be more haunted than the ground floor.  Room 17 is especially active, but Rooms 15 and 16 are also interesting for ghost hunters.

(I detected intense male energy in Room 16, and later discovered that my uncle and his wife had stayed in that room in 1978.  So, I might have been hypersensitive to his residual energy.)

Even when the building is empty, apparitions and odd shadow figures have been seen in the upstairs windows… in broad daylight.

After seeing the shadowy figure of a woman in one of the carriage house windows, I commented that all I could see clearly were the pearls in her necklace.  They seemed to catch the light, though the rest of the figure was a vague shadow.  I later learned that a former owner of the Spalding Inn – who may haunt Room 17 – always wore pearls.

To encounter something paranormal, spend the night in the carriage house.   The rooms are very comfortable, and vintage decor adds to their charm.  Each room is “en suite” (has its own bathroom) and offers a view of the hotel, the surrounding mountains, or both.

If you stay in the carriage house, be sure to ask about the haunted telephone and the ghostly message that seems lost between the worlds.

The main building

If the carriage house isn’t open, or if all of its rooms are full, you can still encounter spirits in the Spalding Inn’s main building.

Several (but not all) guest rooms are haunted.  One of them is Room 33 where other guests have described eerie activity that woke them up.

I’ve spent the night there and enjoyed the room.  Perhaps it was the clean, mountain air or the luxurious bed, but I slept very soundly and woke refreshed in the morning.

In fact, Room 33 is my favorite, since it’s far from any noise around the lobby and it adjoins a sitting area with its own ghostly energy.

The sitting area

At the west end of the main building you’ll find a group of comfortable chairs, and windows on three sides.

Spend some time sitting there, quietly, after dark.  Watch the corridor that leads to it.  Several of us noted visual anomalies.  One was similar to the distortions above pavement on a hot day, or the mostly-invisible creature in the Predator movies.

It’s an unusual phenomenon.  I’ve seen it before, in just a few locations such as the upstairs hallway at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Ghosts… and faeries?

While most of the paranormal energy at the Spalding Inn seems to be residual, some of what I encountered may not be ghostly.

In the first floor corridor of the main building – where the sleeping rooms are – I saw an odd, hunched figure moving slowly across the floor.  It reminded me of Caliban, a character in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest.

It was there… and then it wasn’t.  It didn’t look like a ghost.

I’ve discussed this with a few other paranormal researchers, some of whom have been to the Spalding Inn.  They agree that I may have seen one of the traditional faeries; they’re larger entities (and sometimes very dark beings) recorded in early folklore and legends.

It’s too early to say if the Spalding Inn is a good location for studying fae entities and ghosts, but that may explain some of the unusual energy at the hotel.

A bonus

If you’re interested in – or at least amused by – a wide range of paranormal mysteries, be sure to stop at Exit 33 (off Route 93) on your way to or from the Spalding Inn.

Fill your gas tank or buy some munchies at the Irving gas station and convenience store, close to Route 93.

While you’re there, visit their rest room.

You’ll see one of the most impressive displays of information about America’s first documented alien abduction, the Betty and Barney Hill story.  Apparently, the abduction took place just a few hundred yards from the gas station.

So, when you stay at the Spalding Inn, don’t just look for ghosts… look for spaceships, too.

In general, the Spalding Inn is a wonderful hotel whether you’re there for a good night’s sleep… or a “good scare.”

UPDATE: Since it’s under new ownership, the hotel’s name may change. If it does, ask anyone in Whitefield; they’re sure to know what you’re talking about, and how to get to the hotel.