Portsmouth house, Portsmouth, NH October 1999, about 11 a.m.
This photo was taken outside a Portsmouth private residence. While living in that house, I saw two ghosts and experienced considerable poltergeist phenomena. I took several photos of the house in late October 1999, to illustrate my pages about this very haunted house.
When I had this film printed and examined the photos, I kept returning to the photo shown above. Something about it didn’t seem “right.” My attention was drawn to what seemed to be window reflections of the old lilac bush in front of the house.
The following day, I decided to enhance the image with my computer, simply making it larger so I could determine what was bothering me about the picture. That enlargement appears below:
Either this photo looks like a man looking to the right, with longish hair and 19th-century dark sunglasses, or it looks like a reflection of lilac leaves. Nobody seems undecided about this photo!
If you’d seen the male ghost in that house, you’d recognize the window reflection right away: That’s our ghost. He has a broken-looking nose, a scar under his right cheekbone, and his hair is thinning on top.
My sketch from memory, and from the photo.
In spectral appearance, he was about 5’5″ tall and stocky. He looked like a hastily-groomed, slightly British version of Buffalo Bill… sort of.
Among people I know in modern times, our ghost reminded me of folk singer Jaime Brockett.
When our ghost wasn’t wearing sunglasses, he had average no-particular-color eyes, somewhat tanned skin, and slightly sun-bleached brown hair. He favored brown clothing, usually wore a suit, rarely buttoned his jacket, and he always seemed in a hurry to go nowhere. When I took this photo, I had the sense that someone was at the window, but I didn’t notice the man’s face.
It seemed reasonable that the current residents of the house might have been peering out at the strange woman taking photos of their house. I don’t put any significance on my discomfort at the time.
It was too easy. In the early 1990s, I placed a notice on a bulletin board, looking for a “nothing down” house to buy near Portsmouth, NH. Several people called within the week, but one house seemed almost perfect: a house within walking distance of downtown Portsmouth.
The owner was eager to leave. Perhaps too eager, but I believed her when she said that her reduced salary (since being disabled) left her unable to pay the mortgage on both an in-town house and her summer home. Also, the two-story in-town house seemed too large since her divorce.
The house was near downtown, in an area that was either on its way up, or continuing to descend into… well, the kind of neighborhood I wouldn’t raise my three children in. Betting on the former, we decided to take a chance. We had nothing to lose, since we were renting on a trial basis first.
The owner was out of the house within three days, and we moved in. I remember how gleefully she laughed as she drove away. It seemed odd, but I thought maybe it was just her relief, since she’d finally rented the house.
The house needed work. Right away, we covered the black, half-finished floor in the kitchen with a white-and-gray vinyl flooring, and painted the yellowing walls and cabinets shiny white. It looked brighter then, but not quite right.
In fact, for the next year we continued to paint, remodel, redecorate and upgrade the old house, but it remained unwelcoming. It wasn’t anything specific, just the feeling that no matter what we did, the house would always need something that paint and wallpaper couldn’t fix.
Maybe the angles weren’t quite straight at the corners. Maybe the floor wasn’t quite level. I should have measured these things, but instead kept redecorating, trying to solve the problem. I had the idea that a vase of flowers here, and a fresh coat of paint there, or a new throw rug, would finally lend a sense of ease to the house. But nothing seemed to make this house a “home” for us.
Still, we continued on a “rent to own” basis, planning to take over the mortgage as soon as we accumulated the down payment.
There were odd noises during the afternoon and towards dusk, like footsteps on the second floor when no one was there. The faucets, particularly in the upstairs bathroom, would turn themselves on. I said to myself, “Older houses have these quirks, especially when temperatures drop in the evening. It’s okay.”
One night, I stopped making “logical” excuses:
It was about four in the afternoon, and the sun had not set yet. It had been a sunny day, and I was in a cheerful mood as I prepared dinner at the stove. It was a jambalaya dish, all made in one skillet. I was sauteeing the onion and sausage when I left the spatula in the skillet, and stepped across the room to get rice out of the cabinet.
I picked up the pink-trimmed Tupperware container of rice, and turned around just in time to see the spatula make a mid-air twirl as it flew across the room and landed on the floor at the opposite wall.
Always choosing the rational explanation first, I decided that a slice of sausage must have cooked in just the right way to release a burst of air and propel the spatula. And to prove it to myself, I washed the spatula and put it back where I’d left it, and then hit the handle with my fist to deliberately send the spatula into the air.
It rose about two inches and then fell on top of the stove, next to the skillet.
I repeated my experiment about fifteen times, trying to find a way to replicate what I’d seen when I’d picked up the rice. Different angles. Different ways of hitting it. Nothing worked.
Still dismissing the obvious poltergeist answer, I continued cooking. Once again, I stepped away from the stove for more ingredients, and again, the spatula was airborne. This time it landed about five feet from the stove.
I resumed my experiments to make the same thing happen, but couldn’t figure how to do it. Nothing seemed to work.
I continued cooking, feeling very uneasy. The rest of the meal was without incident, but I told my (mechanical engineer) husband about the flying spatula, and he said there was no logical–or scientific–way it could happen.
He wanted to believe me, but my story didn’t make sense.
I thought about this, and decided not to make anything of it.
Schoolhouse Cemetery, Nashua, NH 31 October 1999, about 8 p.m.
Fiona’s comments: After my camera refused to work on Halloween night at Blood Cemetery in Hollis, I visited Schoolhouse Cemetery in Nashua, NH, to prove to myself that there was nothing wrong with my camera or the film.
Schoolhouse Cemetery never felt very haunted. I’ve heard no local tales about it. Frankly, it’s on busy Daniel Webster highway, across the street from Bickford’s, with a large apartment complex in back of it.
Generally, I stay out of it to because I’m concerned about the living, not the dead who might be there. The cemetery has no light in it at all. The deeper you go into it, the creepier it gets. But I can’t say that it’s a really “haunted” feeling–just creepy.
On Halloween night, the highway was nearly deserted. I knew I could take photos at the entrance to the cemetery, without risking intrusion, flares, or reflections from apartment or shopping center lights. As you can see, it was very dark that night.
The orb surprised me when I picked up my prints. When I show my “ghost photos” and negatives, this is the one that impresses most professional photographers.
At right is the second photo I’d taken. (It’s my habit to take two photos in a row, as quickly as possible, without moving or even breathing between the pictures.)
As usual, these two photos were taken within seconds of each other from the same location.
The schoolhouse is boarded up. There are many headstones in the cemetery, but only one shows in the photo.
Camera: Olympus AF-1, point-and-shoot
Film type: Kodak Gold ASA 800 color film, 35mm
Negative shows: Same image. No splash of chemicals, no marks on the negative.
Developed and printed by: Shaw’s Supermarket overnight photo service
This article is from June 2002, and it was a simple update about what was happening at Gilson Road Cemetery, as the surrounding landscape changed and a subdivision moved in.
The old Gilson Road Cemetery sign.
We visited Gilson Road Cemetery in June 2002, to check the cemetery and update the rest of the team.
This was when Tanglewood Estates was just starting to move in, across the street from Gilson Road Cemetery.
Three of us visited the cemetery at dusk. The Gilson Road Cemetery sign had been cut off with a saw. A new iron gate was on the uprights at the entrance.
New gate at Gilson Road Cemetery, already vandalized.
What else has changed:
Cold spot observed slightly above Joseph Gilson stone, with compass anomalies moving from the headstone towards the NW (to the next headstone).
More slightly visible anomalies. We’d worried that the subdivision was going to drive away the ghostly anomalies. So far, it hasn’t.
The “movie” was playing again, with some changes, if you’re psychic. (See our pages about Gilson Road Cemetery – November 1999 for more about the battle, or “the movie” as we later called it.)
Woodland animals were chattering and noisy in the surrounding area. We didn’t hear them that much before the subdivision moved in. I got the idea that they weren’t happy about being displaced from their previous homes and hunting grounds.
Don’t take my word for it: See the October 2000 (Halloween week) article in the Nashua Telegraph for this phenomenon, as reported by a skeptic.
Tanglewood Estates, a shiny new subdivision built across the street from Gilson Rd. cemetery.
We recommend arriving shortly after sunset, and using a fairly slow film (200 ISO) without a flash. Linger awhile and you may photograph some orbs as well!
To capture the best orbs in photographs, point your camera towards the back left corner of the cemetery (if you’re standing at the gate, looking in), or in the vicinity of Helen & Rufus Lawrence’s headstones.
I haven’t tested this cemetery for EMF, but even in daylight, this is one of the eeriest New England cemeteries I’ve ever visited. The cemetery’s “ghost stories” may have been created by students. Locals swear that it’s all nonsense. However, this site is well worth a daytime visit.
Andover is on Route 11 between Routes 89 and 93. [Google map]. Route 11 becomes Route 4, also called Main Street, in Andover.
Hollis – Pine Hill Cemetery, Nartoff Road
Take Exit 6 (Rte. 130) from Rte. 3, go west to Nartoff Rd., and then travel north on Nartoff (which jogs right and then left) to reach this very haunted cemetery. Locals call it “Blood Cemetery” for its most famous ghost, Abel Blood, whose headstone reportedly changes at night so the finger on the stone points downward instead of heavenward. Pine Hill cemetery is closed dusk to dawn; the police patrol steadily, especially around Halloween.
This is one “haunted” site that produces reliable needle-swings on the compass, day or night. I recommend visiting this lovely old cemetery during the daytime.
If you’re sensitive to psychic energy, you’ll feel something approaching in the woods, starting shortly before noon each day. The Gilson Road area was reportedly the site of several vicious battles among Native American tribes from as far away as Maine and Connecticut.
Gilson Road is off Main Dunstable Road, Nashua, near Hollis. We travel west on Spit Brook Road (Exit 1 off Rte. 3/Everett Turnpike) and follow it west as it changes name, finally becoming Ridge Road which meets Main Dunstable Rd. Turn right on Main Dunstable, and Gilson Road is the second left.
If you get lost, look for signs to Tanglewood Estates, the subdivision directly across the street from the cemetery. (It’s about 3.7 miles from the Rte. 3 intersection, to Gilson Road.) After you leave Main Dunstable Road, the cemetery is about 1/3 mile ahead on your right, behind a stone wall.
You can also reach the cemetery from Exit 5, off Rte. 3, if you approach it from the other end of Gilson Road. Or from Rte. 111 if you’re coming from downtown Nashua. Check this with an up-to-date map.
The cemetery is posted against vandalism, and patrolled by the police due to drinking parties in the woods behind the cemetery. The neighbors are also protective of this lovely old graveyard.
A gentleman ghost with a hat appears at the main building of this college. He has been seen by many people — including me, in broad daylight — and by others — day & night — for many years.
Also see my report about a haunted cemetery in nearby Andover, NH, above.
Milford – on Rte. 101A, Unitarian Universalist Church
The basement of the old section of this wonderful church has a few areas which seem haunted. Most notably, there is an old wooden staircase that is haunted by the ghost of a male.
There is a slight cold spot in front of the doors marked “not storage.” Pendulum activity suggests that it is haunted by a ghost that is guarding something there.
Finally, there seem to be two portal-type energy-openings: One is in an unfinished area with many stones on the floor; compasses in this area swing erratically, and digital photos produced orbs. The corresponding (exit?) portal seems to be in a small, closed room that is set up for sitting on the floor, with signs indicating a reading area, a writing/journal area, and so on.This seems to be an active haunting and affects some people more than others.
Nashua – 452 Amherst St., The Country Tavern
Now a restaurant, this house–actually two Early American buildings combined–may be haunted by the ghost of Elizabeth Ford, who was murdered with her baby by her jealous sea captain husband. This ghost moves things, mostly in poltergeist style, such as making patrons’ dishes move and causing cups and saucers to fly across the room.
The ghost has also made appearances, most often at a window of the barn section, where she is seen gazing back at the tree where at least one victim may have been buried.
She is usually described as being about 5’7″ with a white gown and long white hair, and she is usually opaque, not transparent.
Other phenomena have occurred in what is reportedly one of the most haunted rooms in the restaurant: the ladies’ rest room downstairs.
We have investigated this restaurant and it is profoundly haunted by a sweet, slender woman in Colonial garb. She has long blonde hair (not white, as earlier reported) and a sense of humor. She is somewhat shy, but she’ll still play pranks if there is an opportunity to startle you.
I filmed an episode of “Chronicle” (New England TV series) at the Country Tavern and the ghosts were very obliging. They kept blinking the lights on and off while the cameras were on, and we couldn’t replicate the effect, no matter what we tried.
More information is in the 24 Jul 1988 article by Joann Goslin in The Nashua Telegraph and in Norm Gauthier’s guide to more New Hampshire “haunted” places you can visit!
(Source: Myers, The Ghostly Gazeteer…,” p. 170.)
Whitefield – The Spalding Inn
Among my favorite New Hampshire haunts, the Spalding Inn has unusual phenomena. Ghost Hunters stars Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, and their families, once owned the hotel.
See my articles about the hotel’s ghosts, at this website.
Wilton – Vale End Cemetery
The Blue Lady grave is towards the back of the cemetery, on the right (NNW) side. I’ve had more first-person stories about this ghost, than any other in this part of New England.
8/01: Vale End is now closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. We’ve advised against visiting the cemetery, and this new curfew makes it even more foolish to visit Vale End at night.
3/06: After many years of keeping silent about what happened at Vale End, I’ve restored them to this website. My silence hasn’t kept people away; perhaps my true stories will prevent foolhardy ghost hunters from risking their lives at Vale End.
Several sources have reported ghosts at the “Ocean-Born Mary house.” The house — a private residence — may be haunted, but Ocean-Born Mary never lived there.
On the other hand, her grave is in a wonderfully eerie, haunted cemetery in the middle of town. It’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Franklin – Webster Place
For a surprising encounter with very obvious activity, check the Franklin Historical Society on Webster Place in Franklin.
While you’re there, wander down the dirt road to the Webster family cemetery, too. (Yes, that’s Daniel Webster’s family.)
The site was where both Natives and settlers met in a couple of bloody attacks. But that’s not all. There’s the awkward history of the orphanage, plus the ghostly nuns that still haunt at least one building.
Derryfield
Historian Eva Speare reported that the early Scotch-Irish settlers in Derryfield believed in a faerie named Neto. Neto was responsible for the safe passage of Hannah Dustin and the boy captured by Indians, when the pair escaped and returned to their homes. Neto prevented another settler, John Stark, from being harmed by bullets.
(Source: Speare, Stories…,” p. 244.)
East Kingston – 47 Depot Rd. (Rte. 107)
Someone has been closing the doors, turning the lights on & off when no one is at home, and rattling pans in this house. It may be the ghost of Eva Philbrick (d.1920) whose will specified that the house should never be sold at auction (it was, 1987), or the ghost of previous residents Arnold O’Brien or his mother, Edith.
(Source: Myers, The Ghostly Gazeteer…”)
Manchester – 915 Elm St., Bob Shaw’s Italian Sandwich Shop (formerly Psaris Bistro)
A popular restaurant with outstanding food, and a ghost that the previous owners called “Avery.” Mild poltergeist phenomena, plus classic ghostly events: Names called by no one, shadows flitting across the mirror, etc. Avery is a gregarious, cheerful ghost who wants attention now and then. Quietly say hello to him if you feel that he’s nearby.
Merrimack – The Common Man Restaurant (formerly Hannah Jacks’ Tavern)
A man in “old” clothes haunts the restaurant, and there’s an Indian spirit in the basement.
Wilton
This town seems to have more ghosts per capita than most towns, dating back to Colonial times. Check the history of the town in The Meetinghouse Tragedy by Charles E. Clark, illustrations by John W. Hatch, UNH. (Thanks to reader, MH, for this info.)
Wilton – Laurel Hill area
A local investigator reported that a cemetery described as “across the street from Laurel Hill cemetery” is providing photographic anomalies at night. This visitor reports a purple streak in a videotape, similar to the image at our first purple streak photo. (Shown above, from Gilson Road Cemetery.)
Also, possible figure of a man by the side of the road, near the cemetery. (Thanks to ghost hunter, jb, for this info.)
Wolfeboro – Tuc’ Me Inn 118 Main St.
Haunted by a man, probably someone who lived there before it was the attractive B&B that it is now. A child has also been heard there. Sounds like a delightful place to stay, and listen to the ghosts. (As of late 2016, their website is gone. However, whatever is at that address… it may still have ghosts.)
At right is the second photo I’d taken. (It’s my habit to take two photos in a row, as quickly as possible, without moving or even breathing between the pictures.)
Wildflowers in front of 
The Blue Lady grave is towards the back of the cemetery, on the right (NNW) side. I’ve had more first-person stories about this ghost, than any other in this part of New England.
Several sources have reported ghosts at the “Ocean-Born Mary house.” The house — a private residence — may be haunted, but Ocean-Born Mary never lived there.
For a surprising encounter with very obvious activity, check the Franklin Historical Society on Webster Place in Franklin.