It reveals little-known haunted sites that can only be accessed on foot. They’re often “in the middle of nowhere” along some of New Hampshire’s most magnificent trails.
As I said when the book was first published:
Get ready for fun… and a good scare! This is one of the most interesting, unusual books for ghost hunters, and it’s something different for hikers, too. This is one of the best regional ghost hunting books I’ve ever read. It’s filled with great, haunted hikes along some of New England’s most beautiful – and eeriest – trails.
I still feel that way about this book, and recommend it to anyone who’s both a ghost enthusiast and a hiker. The new edition includes even more fun (and eerie) hikes.
If you’re looking for truly off-the-beaten-path haunted locations in New England, this book is a must-read.
Banshees… what do they really look like? Don’t trust TV and movies to tell you the truth. In this case, folklore is closer to fact.
Banshees were the subject of a video at SyFy’s Destination: Truth website, related to their 2011 St. Patrick’s Day show from Ireland.
In that live show broadcast from a castle, they investigated Duckett’s Grove in County Carlow, Ireland.
Travel tips: Duckett’s Grove is off the R418 near Rainestown. The site is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and admission is free.
If you’re going there, also explore Castledermot cemetery and monastery ruins, off the N9.
They’re about 6km from Duckett’s Grove Castle, and well worth a visit.
If you’re especially courageous (or foolhardy), continue to Castledermot and investigate the ring fort at Mullaghrelan wood near Kilkea, not far from Athy.
This YouTube video of Duckett's Castle is at https://youtu.be/Nbl9jNW6HdY
The mini-vlog from the Destination: Truth episode about Banshees was brief and while it wasn’t entirely inaccurate, it could be misleading unless you conduct further paranormal research.
In that short discussion, the Banshee was described as usually being female, usually having blond hair, and usually wearing a shroud.
Only one out of those three is generally (but not always) correct: Most Banshees seem to be female.
The truth
Banshees have been reported (and studied) for many years. The best academic study was published by Patricia Lysaght as the 1986 book, The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger
Here are a few key points from my encounter with a Banshee, first-person accounts, and Lysaght’s study:
A Banshee (bean sidhe) is seen more often than she’s heard.
Banshees are usually reported wearing gowns — white, black, or green — but some appear to wear a shroud. (Compare her with ‘Green Lady’ ghosts.)
If the Banshee is actually wearing a shroud (distinguished from a gown because a shroud will partially covers the head of the Banshee), the hair color won’t be visible.
The hair color of the Banshee is usually related to the hair color of the person (or ghost) she seems to represent. Most Banshees seem to represent a specific ancestor related to the family (or household) she protects.
Almost every family with Irish ancestry has a family (or household) Banshee.
According to the popular lore, Duckett’s Grove Castle is “cursed” with a Banshee. In this case, the woman was one of the owner’s mistresses. Discover the other, older curse on the Duckett family in The Duckett Family Curse.
According to recent research, Gallows Hill Park in Salem, Massachusetts, isn’t where the accused “witches” were hanged. It seems that the real location might have been nearby Proctor’s Ledge.
I’ve been waiting for this announcement since October 2008. Despite my ley line map that seems to point to Gallows Hill Park, I’ve suspected that the real 17th-century crimes took place a block or two away. (It was one of those “gut feelings” you’re likely to experience once you’ve been ghost-hunting for a while.)
Of course, I’m chagrined that my ley line map is no longer as straightforward and tidy as it had been, before this discovery. However, I’d rather have the truth… and a genuine history to work with, for future Salem investigations.
Meanwhile, the media describe Proctor’s Ledge as “at the back of a Walgreens.”
Technically, that’s true. However, the neighborhood is mostly residential, with a Walgreens store & pharmacy at the foot of the hill.
If you investigate around Proctor’s Ledge, remember that much of the surrounding area is private property.
In addition, I’m not sure you need to hike into the slightly wooded area to conduct ghost research. A quiet stroll around the neighborhood— not disturbing the residents— may provide the paranormal experience you’re looking for. (See my story, below.)
Since Halloween (Samhain) eve in 2008, I’ve been waiting for this announcement. That’s when psychic Gavin Cromwell — not related to me, as far as I know — and I wandered around the neighborhood between Salem’s Essex Street, Boston Street, and Gallows Hill Park. [Map link]
Earlier that afternoon, we’d filmed a TV segment at Salem’s “Witch House.” Then, we’d left the film crew to pack up their gear and probably find their way to one of Salem’s many wonderful cafes, pubs, and restaurants.
Instead of relaxing over a hearty meal, Gavin and I wanted to witness Salem’s annual Samhain celebration. The circle and ceremony at Gallows Hill Park are legendary. That evening, it was open to the public and—as usual—attracted a very large crowd.
With nothing else to do before the gathering, Gavin and I went for a walk.
In other words—and for the benefit of skeptics—we had no audience. It was just the two of us. There were no cameras. Gavin had no reason to invent stories to impress anyone; I already knew he was psychic.
On that late afternoon in October 2008, Gavin and I hiked up and down the residential streets near Gallows Hill Park. Gavin felt drawn to that neighborhood, not the more famous landmark just a block (or so) away.
I’d love to claim that I was the one who first suggested that the Proctor’s Ledge area was the real gallows site.
I didn’t.
In fact, Gavin not only announced it first, he seemed absolutely confident it was where some of the accused “witches” had been hung.
After that, we walked back and forth around the area he focused on. As usual, we bounced our psychic impressions off one another, fine-tuning the history we sensed.
By the time we noticed others arriving at the nearby park, both of us were convinced that some (not necessarily all) of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials had been executed at that location.
And then we went to the Samhain celebration.
(Note: We agreed that something else — something not very nice — had happened at Gallows Hill Park, not just in the 17th century, but later, as well. So, that park is worth investigating if you’re in the area.)
Proctor’s Ledge video
The following video was filmed in 2012 and posted on YouTube by thedevilshopyard. Hiking into the wooded area is a good way to see what the ledge actually looks like.
However, as you can see, the site is close to at least one busy street. So, especially if you’re hoping to investigate after dark, make sure you have permission. Neighbors and passing cars will notice flashlights, and call the police.
(If the site is open to the public and you explore that area, be prepared for poison ivy and very uneven ground.)
Two ghosts on the Charles H. Tenney property (Tenney Gate House and Greycourt Castle) may be the Gorrill brothers, or their residual energy.
In my opinion, this part of the site’s history has been badly overlooked. Ghost hunters may strike paranormal gold around Tenney Castle Gatehouse in Methuen, Massachusetts (USA).
I’ve investigated the Tenney Gatehouse property several times. Each visit was more startling. It’s a great site for ghost hunting.
The Gorrill brothers are just part of the story. The main site – often called Tenney Gatehouse (or Tenney Castle Gatehouse) – includes the former Tenney family residence, and what’s left of a modern-day castle, Greycourt.
When the house was on the verge of collapse, it was rescued by the Methuen Historical Society. Today, the Tenney/Greycourt site has been renamed the Methuen Museum of History.
Here’s the short version of the story
Nathaniel and Mark Gorrill (also spelled Gorrell) were brothers. In the mid-to-late 1800s, they lived in their parents’ home near the site where Greycourt Castle was later built.
According to local legend, the brothers fell in love with the same young woman. She rejected both of them, but both blamed the snub on the other one.
The brothers never married, never left home… and never spoke to each other again.
Though they shared a home, they claimed not to be related to each other. (In the census records, they reported “something other than direct relationship.”) They also claimed exactlyequal interest in the house and their farm income.
Additional stories suggest that, under the cover of darkness, the brothers used to sneak out of the house. Each one buried his half of the money somewhere at the hill near their home.
Neither wanted the other one to have access to the money, even if one of them died first.
In the early 20th century, someone in Methuen had a dream about buried treasure at Greycourt Castle. According to the story, he dug in the basement of the Castle and found the brothers’ treasure: $20,000 in bonds.
Are Greycourt’s Ghosts Really the Gorrill Brothers?
There are several problems with the buried treasure story.
The biggest one is that Castle was probably built after the brothers had died. (There’s no census record for them after 1880.)
Also, the Tenney family still maintained the house (no neighbor would have access to the basement) at the time of the story.
The Hidden Treasure – Lost and Found?
But, there is one report to support the tale of discovered bonds: In 1909, the estate of Mark S. Gorrill reported that his bonds were missing, and asked for replacements.
The story of missing treasure surfaced again in 2005, when some workmen claimed to have found money that matched the Gorrill legends.
However, their tale didn’t make sense. Police charged the men with stealing antique money that was found on a nearby 200-acre farm, not at the Tenney site.
Maybe the Treasure Is Still There.. Along with the Gorrill Ghosts
That said, if one or both of the Gorrill brothers really buried their money (in gold or silver coins) at the hill, it’s probably still there. Most websites that specialize in buried (and missing) treasure continue to list the Gorrill brothers’ fortune as missing, and still buried in Methuen.
In addition, with a lifetime grudge like the brothers’, they’re probably haunting the treasure regularly, making sure the other brother doesn’t steal it.
My “gut feeling” is that the brothers haunt the Greycourt Castle area.
When the site is open for ghost tours, it’s definitely worth investigating. Be sure to walk along the path in back of the main building, and climb to the top of the hill. Several points are especially active.
And, if you’re like me, you may feel that chilling sensation of being watched by something unseen… and ghostly.
Trivia: Charles H. Tenney is not the only Tenney associated with a tale of hidden treasure.
According to an 1888 story, John L. Tenney (b. 1855 in California) — then living in Catron County, New Mexico — was visited by a cattle driver named John Brewer. Brewer was one of the few survivors of the “Lost Adams Diggings Curse,” and told his story to John Tenney. (That legend was the basis of the Gregory Peck movie, “Mackenna’s Gold.”) For more information on that buried treasure, see Wikipedia.
Austin, Texas is a wonderfully haunted city. Its ghosts are more colorful than most, with the kinds of histories you’d expect from a “Wild West” city.
From former corrupt sheriffs to colorful madams, and from cursed bricks to the ghost of a US President, Austin may have more ghosts per square foot than any city in America.
Many of Austin’s ghosts linger because they want to, not because they’re stuck in our earthly plane.
These are the five places that I’d visit with just a brief time to investigate Austin’s ghosts.
1. The Driskill Hotel
You have to stay somewhere when you’re in Austin, so why not stay at the city’s most elegant, haunted hotel?
In my book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, I devote an entire chapter to the Driskill’s great ghosts. (The Driskill information in that book remains valid, but neighboring Austin locations may have changed in recent years.)
The lobby has at least two ghosts. One is a little girl who follows a bouncing ball (that manifests as an orb) on the staircase near the front desk.
Almost directly across the lobby from that staircase, a small room was once the hotel’s vault. It’s haunted by the cheerful ghost of a Depression-era hotel manager. When the banks closed during one financial crisis, the Driskill’s manager opened the vault and handed out cash to patrons. He trusted them to return the money when they could, and every one of them did. His ghost lingers through hard times and good, occasionally greeting guests in slightly outdated formal wear.
Be sure to visit the Maximilian Room, for some of America’s most haunted mirrors. (For their tragic history, see pages 18 & 19 in my book about Austin’s ghosts.)
Note: I’m not sure if that mirror is still in the Maximilian Room, and if it’s still haunted. Here’s what you need to know about haunted mirrors:
Upstairs, in addition to famous ghosts such as LBJ, you may catch a glimpse of the phantom hotel security guard. He’s always on the job, striding quickly through the halls. He’s making sure that everyone is safe and sound in this magnificent hotel.
2. Buffalo Billiards [Closed]
Location: 201 East Sixth Street, Austin, TX (Buffalo Billiards may have closed, but that address may still be haunted.)
Buffalo Billiards was less than a block away from the Driskill Hotel. In 1861, as the Missouri Hotel, it was Austin’s first “boarding house” and a popular place for a cowboy to find a date… for an hour or so.
When I investigated the area, the former brothel was one of Austin’s most popular night spots. At the time, I said: “Stop in for a drink and some food, and you’ll see tourists, locals, and scantily-clothed ghosts among the crowd.”
When you’re ready for a good, filling meal, Austin’s Spaghetti Warehouse is the place to eat… and encounter ghosts.
Ask your waiter about the latest ghost sightings at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Most of the staff seem to have first-person stories to share.
In addition to quirky poltergeist activity, ask about the ghost who appears as a man – or just legs – around the restaurant’s vault.
An alternative, still open for business (2023): Stroll up the street to the upscale gay men’s bar, Oilcan Harry’s. (In fact, it’s the oldest operating LGBTQ+ bar in Austin.)
There, look carefully for one of Austin’s most colorful ghosts, the late madam Blanche Dumont. She’ll be among the dancers.
4. Texas Capitol Building
(Start at the Visitors’ Ctr: 112 E 11th Street, Austin, TX)
Day and night, you’ll see ghosts around the Capitol building. The most famous is probably Governor Edmund Jackson Davis (1827 – 1883) who is seen gazing from a first-floor window. On foggy and misty days – especially around mid-winter – and around dusk, he’s seen walking on the paved paths around the Capitol building. He’s tall and has a mustache, but people most often comment on his chilling stare. He often pauses when he sees someone, stares at them, and doesn’t move until they’ve passed him.
If you’re at the Capitol, be sure to walk past the Texas Governor’s Mansion. It has a dramatic history with multiple hauntings. I recommend early morning photos at the mansion grounds, as well.
5. Oakwood Cemetery and Oakwood Annex Cemetery
Location: Navasota St., Austin, TX
Oakwood Cemetery and its annex may be Austin’s most beautiful and haunted cemetery. There, you can visit the graves of many of Austin’s ghosts including Susannah Wilkerson Dickinson and Ben Thompson.
Most of Austin’s cemeteries close at dusk – and you should not visit that area alone at any time, but especially as nightfall approaches.
However, if you visit that neighborhood with friends, and the cemetery is closed, you can take photos through the openings in the fences around Oakwood.
(If you’ve been in the cemetery during the day, you’ll know exactly where to point your camera to capture eerie, phantom images.)
Austin features many more, chilling locations where you can encounter ghosts and other frightening entities.
Some of them – such as the nightly appearance of as many as a million bats, around one downtown Austin bridge – are entertaining.
Others, such as the ghost of Jack the Ripper and his victims, are best avoided unless you have nerves of steel.
However, as of 2023, many of those haunted locations are now closed or are under different ownership.
IMPORTANT: Sites are often haunted because of what happened at those physical locations. Whether the site is now a corporate office building or a fast-food restaurant, it may still be haunted.
Here’s what I’d said about my 2008 book:
In its pages, I list over 130 ghosts and haunted places in and near Austin, Texas.
You’ll discover:
The Driskill Hotel’s many ghosts.
A detailed list of Austin’s most haunted cemeteries and some of their most infamous graves.
The eerie connection between Austin and Jack the Ripper.
Why the Shoal Creek Curse lingers over Austin and – possibly – surrounding communities.
And – if you live in Austin or you’ll be there for a few days – my book includes haunted sites around Austin, including Columbus, Texas.
(I describe Columbus’ strange history and many ghosts as something like a “theme park for ghost hunters.”)
The editing in this book is typical of when it was published – at the peak of the Ghost Hunters craze – but you won’t find a more complete (and personally researched) book about ghost hunting in Austin.
It’s the original guide to ghost hunting in Austin. If you’re serious about paranormal research it’s still the best way to find the physical locations of real ghosts when you’re in Texas’ capital city.
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.
Banshees were the subject of a video at SyFy’s Destination: Truth website, related to their 2011 St. Patrick’s Day show from Ireland.
Two ghosts on the Charles H. Tenney property (
According to local legend, the brothers fell in love with the same young woman. She rejected both of them, but both blamed the snub on the other one.
Austin, Texas is a wonderfully haunted city. Its ghosts are more colorful than most, with the kinds of histories you’d expect from a “Wild West” city.
The Spalding Inn in Whitefield, New Hampshire is the kind of location that every ghost hunter dreams of.