Category: US – New Hampshire

Gilson Road Cemetery, NH – Odd Flowers

This isn’t a ghost story, but it’s odd.

Are people drawn to sites like Gilson, and feel an impulse to add to it’s weirdness…? (Rhetorical question. Clearly, they are.)

Here’s the story:

A photographer contacted me on 20 Apr 2002 to report three daffodils tied to a sagging tree branch towards the back of Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH.

I visited, and he was right about the flowers, and they were still fresh. They’re shown in the photo, below.  (The branches and rocks aren’t really purple.  It’s just the color of the light, the day I took this picture.)

flowers at Gilson

Why would someone do this?

There are several possibilities.

3 flowers at Gilson - another angleOne is for sentimental reasons; there are many unmarked graves at the back of Gilson Road Cemetery.  Someone might know who’s in one of those graves, or feel a connection with one of the rumored ghosts back there.

Maybe the date – April 20th – has some connection with a grave in that cemetery?

Or perhaps this was just a nice thing to do in remembrance of the many people in marked and unmarked graves at this rural cemetery.

Then again, maybe someone found some flowers and just wanted to do something quirky, or to use them in a photograph.

(I’m pleased with my own photos of the flowers.)

But, for all I know, perhaps some prankster thought this would be something strange and noteworthy. (I’m not sure this post will provide their sought-after 15-minutes of fame, if that was the purpose.)

We’ve seen a lot of odd items pop up at haunted sites, and – while noting them – generally ignore the efforts.

It’s not ghostly. It’s just weird.

Please don’t leave anything at cemeteries, unless its a bouquet on Memorial Day, or something like that.

Ghosts Tampered with My Gas Gauge – Twice?

This is silly.

It’s embarrassing even to tell this story, because there are probably logical reasons for what happened.

But, it’s an odd story, so I’m sharing it… if only for a laugh.

It started at Blood Cemetery

Ghosts and a gas gaugeOn Thursday, 14 Oct 1999, my kids and I brought a friend to visit haunted “Blood Cemetery” (real name: Pine Hill Cemetery) in Hollis, NH.

The cemetery was about ten miles from my house, so I didn’t stop for gas because my dashboard gauge showed over a quarter tank of gas left.

That should have been enough to get to Blood Cemetery and back again. And, as it turns out, it was, but…

We took Route 130 into Hollis, turned up Nartoff Road. That’s where the dashboard light flashed that means “buy gas soon.”

The light blinked off, but came on again about a mile from Blood Cemetery. This second time, it was the steady light which means “buy gas now.”

With a car full of people, I was a little alarmed, but didn’t mention it until after we’d visited the cemetery.

I said that we needed to stop for gas on the way back, and mentioned the odd light phenomenon.

My friend remarked that we’d driven up a short, steep hill to reach the cemetery. That could make the fuel light go on.

I half-agreed, even though I remembered the light going on well before we started up the hill.

But maybe I was wrong. That’s what I decided, at the time.

About two blocks later, the fuel light went off.

And it stayed off while I dropped my friend near his home, took my kids to karate class, ran a few errands, and finally went home.

In other words, the gas hadn’t been running low.

I decided that it was just “one of those weird things” that’s not worth fretting over.

But then… it happened again

On 17 Oct 1999, I returned to Blood Cemetery for photos. It was late in the day and I was by myself.

This time, I had well over a quarter-tank of fuel, so I knew I should have no problems with the fuel light.

Gas gaugeOnce again, about a mile from the cemetery, the fuel light came on.

It was the bright, “buy fuel now” light. Since it was getting dark and the cemetery is on a rural road, I did not even slow down as I passed the cemetery, but drove straight to the gas station.

Once again, about two blocks past Blood Cemetery, the fuel light went off. And it stayed off.

Not wanting to take any chances, I drove to the nearest gas station and filled up. The car needed barely half a tank of gas.

The fuel light didn’t go on again at any other visit to Blood Cemetery, or at any other cemetery.

Nearly ten years later as I’m updating this webpage, I can report that the gas tank lights have never again misled me. (I’m still driving that same car.) But, there may be logical explanations for what happened.

Yes, the problem was (probably) Blood Cemetery

My advice: If you go to Blood Cemetery in Hollis, be certain your fuel tank is filled before you leave the main roads.

During the week when I first wrote this summary, a van was parked across the street from Blood Cemetery. A local woman commented that it was probably someone who ran out of gas or something, and left the van there until he could get back to it, later. She said that this happens often.

Maybe ghosts didn’t vaporize my gasoline or play pranks with the dashboard lights. But maybe Blood Cemetery had something to do with it, too.

If you read our other articles about Blood Cemetery, you’ll see that its ghosts have a reputation for electrical and mechanical interference.

(In fact, that’s commonplace at many haunted sites. It may have something to do with the odd EMF activity at those locations.)

Directions to Blood Cemetery:

Blood Cemetery, a local nickname for “Pine Hill Cemetery,” is one of the northeast’s most famous haunted cemeteries. Folklore centers around the headstone of Abel Blood, whose history offers nothing to support the tales of his hauntings.

However, this lovely cemetery – near Nashua, NH (of Gilson Road Cemetery fame) and less than an hour from Boston, MA – seems to be haunted.

I’m not sure how haunted.

To visit the cemetery, you can approach from Nartoff Road in Hollis, New Hampshire, off Route 130 (Exit 6 from NH’s Route 3). It’s an easy drive through some lovely rural landscapes. The cemetery is next to Nartoff Road near the crest of the hill. It will be on your right.

The cemetery closes at dusk and is well patrolled by the police, due to unfortunate vandalism in the cemetery.

Trespassers will be stopped; do not visit Pine Hill Cemetery after dark.

Laconia, NH’s Ghostly Places

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

Ghost Hunting in Tilton, NHScouting 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 and Tilton NH

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.

shadow figure in Laconia basementFrom 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.)

Laconia-atticdoor1As 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.

Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH – Driving Directions and Legends

Gilson Road Cemetery is one of America’s most haunted cemeteries.

Once an isolated and rural location, it  features apparitions, cold spots, compass and EMF anomalies, EVP, and visual anomalies that show up in photos and videos.

In other words, it’s like a theme park for ghost hunters.

Except that these are real ghosts.

Driving directions to Gilson Road Cemetery

Blue flowers at Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NHGilson Road Cemetery is on Gilson Road, on the west side of Nashua, NH (USA).

From the south (Massachusetts), take Rte 3 (Daniel Webster Highway) to Exit 1 in NH (Spit Brook Road).

Turn left at the end of the exit ramp. Follow that road – despite how it weaves and how often the name changes – until you reach the T-style intersection at the end of it.

Then, turn right and look for the four corners intersection (convenience store and other retail) at Gilson Road.

Turn left onto Gilson Road and look for the gate and stone wall on the right, shielding the cemetery from view.

A brief history of Gilson Road Cemetery

Ghost orb at Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NHGilson Road Cemetery probably started as a family cemetery in colonial times.

According to legend, the stone wall enclosed a farmhouse.

Then, the house burned and some of the fire victims were buried in a small plot near the charred remains of the house.

Another house was built on the site, but it burned to the ground, as well.

Like the previous fire, its victims were buried close to the home.

After that, people gave up on the location and turned it into a rural cemetery.

Early records suggest that the Gilson Road area was the site of at least two large Native American battles. Nations from the north (Penobscots, among others) and from the south (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and beyond) met near Gilson Road and engaged in bloody warfare.

This was before many contemporary records existed, so those stories are largely from oral tradition. Details aren’t clear.

The Betty Gilson Legend

Gilson Road is also famous for a local, urban legend. According to stories, if you walk farther up the road (heading slightly northwest) just a short distance, and shout, “Betty Gilson, I have your baby,” she will appear.

She’s described as appearing around age 30, in Colonial clothing, and some say she’s in the middle of the road. (A couple of people talked about the danger of seeing her, and steering the car to avoid hitting what they thought was a real  person.)

More people report her hiding behind a tree, occasionally peering out to see who’s calling her name. The first thing they see is her white “mob cap” (hat), and sometimes part of her face, as well as a hand grasping the tree.

The most complete, expert guide to haunted cemeteries.
Click here for this book

— While this site is being updated, the following articles may not be available —

More information about Gilson Road Cemetery

Click here for a brief selection of photos from haunted Gilson Road Cemetery.

OR, visit Gilson Road Cemetery – Investigations for information from many of my past Gilson Road investigations.

humorous ghost divider

 

Gilson Road Cemetery, NH – Index to Articles and Investigations

Gilson Road Cemetery is one of the most unsettling and fascinating cemeteries in southern New Hampshire.

It features…

  • Very old graves
  • Unexplained flickering lights
  • Paranormal energy fields at the back of the cemetery, and
  • Weird anomalies in photographs.

In other words, it’s an ideal location for paranormal research.

Is Gilson still haunted?

Yes! Although one book reported otherwise, the Gilson site is still very haunted, day and night. Use caution when you visit it. During investigations, we’re not certain whether some of the entities are okay—or hostile.

This website, Hollow Hill, was the first to report ghosts at Gilson Road Cemetery. I’m proud of my original research, which has been one of my largest projects for over a dozen years.

Before your first visit to this site, you may want to skim my article, Gilson Road Cemetery – Driving Directions and Legends.

The Investigations

To learn more about my earliest research at Gilson Road Cemetery, use the following links.

PHOTOS

RELATED PHOTOS – NOT GHOSTS

RESEARCH MAPS

To read more offline:
See the Nashua Telegraph newspaper article about Hollow Hill, Gilson Road Cemetery, and local haunts, published on 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. As far as I know, there are no toxins or hazardous materials at the actual cemetery.

Gilson Road Cemetery is the usual name of this haunted site. However, we’ve seen several people spelling it “Gilson cementery” or “Gilson cementry” or even “Gibson cemetery.” So, I’ve added those spellings, here, so they’ll find the articles they’re looking for.

For even more trivia and insights, use the Search form at this website, and search for “Gilson.” (In some articles, I just call it Gilson Road, sometimes Gilson cemetery, and so on.)