Haunted Hotels and Inns: Massachusetts

 

When people hear the state of Massachusetts, they mainly think about Boston. However, Massachusetts is full of Haunted Hotels and Inns. So, let’s “take a trip” to Massachusetts and “check” some of them out for those interested in the paranormal.

 

12. Hawthorne Hotel, Salem

The Hawthorne Hotel was built on July 23^rd, 1925, mainly by the Salem Sea Captains. Many of the paranormal activities in the hotel are said to be the sea captains returning to their gathering place. Guests of the hotel reported that furniture had moved on its, seen an apparition of a woman, and heard unexplained noises. Guests have also complained that their keys have gone missing. One room in the hotel is the most haunted, room 325. Guests that have stayed in room 325 have made several reports of lights and faucets turning on and off on their own, along with hearing a baby crying in distress. For those feeling a little more adventurous, guests have also made reports that they felt a feeling of being touched. That’s not the only haunted room, though. In the halls on the sixth floor, particularly room 612, there is an apparition of a woman who wanders the halls. She is said to often pause in front of the door. Guests that have stayed in room 612 have had an uneasy feeling and described it as if someone else was sharing the room with them. In the 1990s, the hotel itself held a seance in the grand ballroom to try and contact Harry Houdini. One of the rumors is that the first woman that was executed during the trials for the practice of witchcraft was said to have owned an apple orchard upon the land where the hotel was later built. Is she the lady that is walking around the hotel? Guests seem to think so.

 

11. Lizzie Borden House, Falls River

 This is a famous case and haunted Inn that we have written about before, so I will not go too much into this Inn. You can check out our previous post, 5 Haunted Places in America if you want more information.  Andrew Borden bought the house in 1872 for his wife, Abby Borden. On August 4^th, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were both found hacked to death. Andrew was found on the living room couch in a pool of blood; his face nearly split into two. While Abby was located upstairs, her head was smashed into pieces. Police later determined that she was killed first. Bridget Sullivan, a live-in maid who was home at the time of the murder, told people that Lizzie and her sister despised their stepmother, Abby. The prosecutors tried to convict Lizzie of the murders saying that she tried to buy poison the day before the murders. Also, she burned one of her dresses several days after her parents were found dead. A hatchet found in the Borden’s basement could have been a possible murder weapon. The Fall River Police at the time was wary of fingerprints and refused to test for prints. However, the fact that there was never any blood found on Lizzie and her well-bred Christian persona convinced the all-male jury that she was incapable of the gruesome crime and quickly acquitted her. Even though she was acquitted, people always felt that she did murder her parents. After getting a substantial sum of money following her father’s death, Lizzie bought a house where she lived until her death on June 1, 1927. Owners of the Lizzie Borden house have restored the home to the same way it looked on the day of the murders, and you can even enjoy the same breakfast that Andrew and Abby had on their last day!

 

 

10. The Colonial Inn, Concord

 

The Colonial Inn was first built in 1716 and used as a storage building for supplies during the Revolutionary War. Soldiers that were wounded were also brought and tended to in the hotel’s hallways. In 1966 the Inn had hosted M.P. and Judith Fellenz, a couple on their honeymoon they stayed in room 24. After their stay, the Innkeeper at the time, Loring Grimes, received a letter from Mrs. Fellenz, which read in part. “I have always prided myself on being a fairly sane individual but on the night of June 14 I began to have my doubts.  On that night I saw a ghost in your Inn. The next morning I felt too foolish to mention it to the management, so my husband and I continued on our honeymoon. I wondered whether or not any sightings of a ghost have been reported or if any history of one was involved in history.

The incident sounds very melodramatic. I was awakened in the middle of the night by a presence in the room- a feeling that some unknown being was in the midst. As I opened my eyes, I saw a grayish figure at the side of my bed to the left about four feet away. It was not a distinct person, but a shadowy mass in the shape of a standing figure. It remained still for a moment, then slowly floated to the foot of the bed, in front of the fireplace. After pausing a few seconds, the apparition slowly melted away. It was a terrifying experience. I was so frightened I could not scream. I was frozen to the spot.

For the remainder of the night, I could not fall asleep. It was spent trying to conjure a logical explanation for the apparition. It was not a reflection of the moon as all the curtains were completely closed. Upon relating the incident my husband, he said the ghost was included in the price of the room.”

 

Room 424 is one of the most sought out rooms in the hotel. It once was the operating room of Dr. James Minot, who ran a practice in the inn during the Revolutionary War. People believe that the strange activity in the room is due to the soldiers that died under Dr. Minot’s care in the room or maybe Dr. Minot himself.

 

The hotel has hosted several paranormal investigators, the latest being two years ago. According to the director of Post Mortum Paranormal Investigations, and their psychic, they felt the presence of two female spirits and one male spirit in room 24. While investigating, they caught quiet sounds saying “later and help” along with a laugh and a “phew of relief” on two tape recorders. Throughout the night, they videotaped seven orbs and captured three small round light spots on pictures.

 

Guests have reported seeing an apparition of a woman, some reporting that she is wearing Native American clothes. Some also think that some of the activity could be from Henry David Thoreau’s family, whose grandfather owned the houses that now make up the hotel.

Do you think that you could last a night at this hotel? One guest got so frightened that she fled the room and slept in the lobby for the rest of the night. After not getting a guarantee that moving rooms would not stop her from seeing another ghost, she left the hotel and stayed somewhere else.

 

9. Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, Sudbury

The original structure was built for David Howe and his family in 1707. However, in 1716 David Howe was granted a license to run a “House of Public Entertainment,” turning it into an inn naming it Howe’s Inn and adding a two-story addition for his family. David’s son Colonel Ezekiel Howe started running it as the “Red Horse Inn,” doubling the size of Howe’s Inn in the mid-1700s. In 1862 poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow signed the guest book making him one of the most famous guests at the Inn. Longfellow came to rest, recovering from his wife’s death and finding inspiration to overcome his writing block. In 1863 he wrote his book “Tales of a Wayside Inn.” After one of the Howe family members died, the hotel shut down until 1897 when Edward Lemon bought the inn and renamed it “The Longfellow’s Wayside Inn.” In 1923 it changed hands again to Henry Ford after Edward had died and his wife sold the property. Henry was the one who changed the Inn into what it is today. While Henry owned it, he changed the Inn into a schoolhouse and dormitories for orphan males. When he died, Henry willed it to be used as a historical museum and leased to the new owners who run it as the Inn it once was before.

 

Jerusha Howe, one of the sisters of the owners when it was in the Howe’s family, fell in love with a sailor from Britain. The sailor promised Jerusha his love forever. However, he had to return to the British Isles with the promise that he would one day return to marry her. That day would never come because something happened to him on his way to Britain or on his way back to America. Jerusha’s heart was broken, and she never gave up hope that her lover would one day return. She never married, and after 44 years of living and working in the Inn, she died. She still haunts the Inn today, seen wearing a blue dress with a high collar waiting for her true love. Since the 1900’s experiences with Jerusha have been written down in notes and stuck in drawers in rooms or hidden throughout the notches of the Inn.  Jerusha seems to be mainly attracted to males touching them and even going as far as getting in bed with them!!! Guests have also heard her playing the piano while the hotel is empty. If you stay in room 9, you might get lucky enough for her to come and check in on you! One guest stated that “around 5 am she came into my room, sat at the foot of my bed and a few moments later, walked in front of the bed and disappeared in front of the door.”

Guests have also heard a young child running up and down the hallway. This child also likes to visit the living when sleeping in the rooms. One guest said that they left some coins on the bedside table when they woke up in the morning. The coins were in the shape of the letter L, making people believe that her name begins with an L.

In the dining room, which is named “Wayside Kitchen,” items have the habit of flying off the shelves and landing safely. An employee of the kitchen stated that a mischievous spirit likes to untie aprons. But throughout the hotel, voices can be heard and walking around when no one is around.

 

8.  The Beechwood Inn, Barnstable

Not much is known about The Beechwood Inn, just the fact that it was built in 1853. However, it does have a lot of haunting stories to it about a naughty lady. This lady is known for moving tools, opening and closing skylights, loosening light bulbs, and deadbolting doors from empty rooms’ insides, making owners climb through windows to get into the rooms.

One guest that stayed at the Inn awoke in the middle of the night to discover that she wasn’t alone in her room. She said that she saw an older woman with long grayish-white hair wearing a long white gown. A different guest stated they stayed in room #2 and heard a woman’s voice tell her “Good morning” when she went to make her bed. A couple staying in the Inn with their baby woke up to find their baby sleeping in the bed with them even though they had put her down in the crib. Their daughter was too young at the time to get out of the crib by herself.

The guests aren’t the only ones that have seen this ghost. The owner was outside in his garden when he spotted an older woman dressed in a white gown inside the Inn. Believing that a guest needed to check-in, he went inside to help her. When he got inside, there was no one there.

 

 

7.  The Crocker Tavern, Barnstable

The Crocker Tavern was built in 1754. It served as a stagecoach stop and an inn. The Tavern was also an important meeting place for some of the nation’s earliest patriots. Signed documents from the Barnstable Historical Commission state that the activities at Crocker Tavern were instrumental in changing boundaries from America. Along with taking Canada from the French and then helping to remove the United States from England’s dominance.

The hotel is said to have a lady haunting the halls. One guest stated that they woke up to a figure in the doorway. The spirit approached the woman coming right up to her bed until they were face to face. When the guest woke her husband, the figure vanished. Two guests staying in the Inn at different times stated that the bed they were sleeping in shook violently in the middle of the night. Lastly, a former innkeeper indicated that they had two experiences of being awoken to hear a woman saying, “help me, help me.”

 

6.  Lamb and Lion Inn, Barnstable

The Lamb and Lion was built in 1740 as a farmhouse with horse stables that have been changed into suites. The Inn has a fun and peaceful courtyard that once was a favorite Kennedy family hangout. However, according to the owner and guests, it has a spirit that haunts the Inn. When the owner was renovating the barn and had cleared the barn of everything, she discovered a bearded man dressed in muddy boots and 18th-century style clothing sitting in a chair that she had put in the cellular. She turned away for a few seconds, but only the chair remained when she looked back. Ever since she has left the chair in the same spot, the man had it but hasn’t seen him since. However, guests have stated that you can hear a man sighing if you stay in the suites. This Inn is pet friendly.

 

5.  The Simmons Homestead Inn,  Hyannisport

The Simmons family built this very haunted inn in the 1800s. The owner of the inn, Bill Putnam, treats his inn ghosts like part of the family. He even has a sign on the door that says, “don’t let Abigail (his cat) in and don’t let Susan out.” Susan’s name was learned through a psychic that spent some time at the inn. Susan was a member of the Simmon family who drowned in the pond in 1833. Another guest confirmed her name when he stated that he had talked to her all night. The owner describes Susan as a young girl about 4 ½ feet tall with a featureless face, long brown hair, and a flowing white gown. This description matches with everyone else that has seen Susan. Often Susan’s laughter can be heard throughout the inn. A former live-in employee of the inn would find her makeup and jewelry moved around as if a child had played with them. This employee would buy children books and read them out loud. She swears that the corner of the bed would sink as if someone was sitting on it as she was reading. If you would like to spend some time with Susan, she tends to hang out in room #5, and the owner states that she shows herself every three years.

 

 

4.  The Omni Parker House, Boston

The Omni Parker House was founded by Harvey D. Parker in 1855. This inn is Boston’s longest and oldest running elegant inn in the United States. It is said by many that Harvey D. Parker is still in the inn to this day. John Brehm, a long-time working bellman for the inn, said that Harvey likes to roam the halls on the 10th-floor annex mainly. A guest in 1950 insisted that she saw an apparition outside room #1078. She described the experience as a misty apparition in the air, then it turned toward her, and she saw a heavy-set older man with a black mustache. He looked at her and then faded away. She then went downstairs a bit jittery, and security went up to check the 10^th floor but never found anything. Another guest reported that people were whispering outside her doorway simultaneously in the morning. Each time she would open the door, she saw no one outside her room. Her room was at the end of the hallway, so there was no way that anyone could make a quick exit. She described the voices were very friendly and sounded like they had just come back from a glorious evening. Security has been summoned to room #1040 several times for a noise complaint, but the room was empty every time. A room on the 10th-floor airline personnel has complained about the sound of rocking chairs that kept them up all night. However, the inn doesn’t have any rocking chairs at all.  In-room 1012, a mother and a daughter were staying in the room. The daughter awoke to find a gentleman dressed in clothing of the late 1800s who asked if she was enjoying her stay. The daughter later pointed out that the man she had seen was Harvey Parker after finding his portrait in the dining room. Two people have known to have died on the 3^rd floor. One of them was a long-time resident of room 303. He was known for consuming a large amount of whiskey and smoking foul-smelling cigars. Rumor is that this resident committed suicide inside that room. Guests would complain that the room smelled like whiskey and the cigars he smoked even after being cleaned. The owners eventually had to turn the space into a storage unit because of all the complaints. However, even though the room is now used as a storage room, his laugh can still be heard at times walking past the room. The other person that died on the 3^rd floor was a famous actress Charlotte Cushman who died in 1876. Also, Charles Dickens would frequent the hotel and always stayed on the 3^rd floor. The elevators are constantly being sent to the 3^rd floor even though no one pressed the button or was waiting for the elevator. A security officer stated that while walking in the Boswell section of the hotel, the oldest part of the inn, he saw a man’s shadow on the wall. The security officer moved over to the side to let the man pass. But there was no one there. That’s not all the strange things that go on in this hotel, though. Lights have flickered on and off on their own; items have gone missing; laughter and whispering have been heard through the floors and in and out of guest rooms. Employees have reported bright “orbs” of light floating down the corridor on the 10^th floor and then disappearing.

3. The Salem Inn, Salem

This inn comprises West house, Curwen House, and the Peabody House. The West House is the largest of the three and was built in 1834 by Captain Nathaniel West. The West House is pet-friendly, but the other ones are not. The Curwen House was built in 1854 by brothers James B. Curwen and Captain Samuel R. Curwen. The Peabody house was built in 1874 by John P. Peabody. If you read the guest book, you will find lots of tales from guests about the paranormal experiences that they have had at this inn. Including things that have appeared underneath the bed! According to the staff, three ghosts roam the inn. In-room 17 in the West house, there have been reports of items moving from one location to another. Also, there have been numerous sights of unexplainable shadows. Some people think it is Elizabeth, Nathaniel West’s who divorced her husband for extramarital affairs. Other people believe that it is a spirit named Katherine who her husband murdered. Katherine haunts the room, according to a psychic who stayed at the inn. Because of how men in real life treated this spirit, she treats men a lot differently than women. Whenever men sleep in the room, they will become quite active to disrupt sleep by causing loud noises in the closet and stomping in the room. But don’t worry, men, rumor has it that she won’t disturb you if you leave a bottle of whiskey or any alcohol! In room 40, a guest who was relaxing after a long day heard the door leading to the room’s balcony slowly open; when she got up to investigate, the door suddenly slammed shut. In room 17, a woman went into the bathroom to wash her hands and walked out when she back in the soap was standing up on its side. The staff has also reported a child that haunts the inn. They hear a child giggling where no kids are staying at the inn. They have heard light footsteps following them around, but no one is there when they turn to look. However, this inn is the only inn haunted by a cat! The staff has reported that they have witnessed this cat darting from room to room, and even guests that are allergic to cats will question if there is a cat at the inn. One guest claimed that she was lying in bed in room 11 when she felt a light pressure on the bed as if a small animal had jumped on the bed. She claimed that the cat then clawed at her feet until she finally kicked it.

 

2.  The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Pittsfield

This new hotel was built over land that once housed Hotel Wendell. The Hotel Wendell was first constructed in 1823 and was once known as the Exchange Hotel and The United States Hotel. Guests complained of cold spots, unexplained voices, and a shadowy female figure in this newer hotel. On September 19, 1862, Jane Collins, a worker, was brutally murdered by her husband with a bayonet. While her husband was on trial, a long history of abuse came out. Jane stayed at the hotel for some time, trying to get away from her husband when he stormed into the kitchen and murdered her.  The former manager said that it was common to hear stories from guests about strange occurrences throughout the building. However, company policies will not let staff talk about these stories. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is now a Holiday Inn.

 

1. Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge

This inn was first founded as a market around 1773 but quickly turned into a tavern and inn. This hotel is so haunted that Medium James Van Praagh had to ask to change his room because of the sheer number of spirited guests that he encountered. The most haunted room seems to be 301. One guest reported something touching his head and tugging the bedsheet. Another guest reported waking up several times to the feeling of having their toes being pulled on. At one point in the night, the spirit fluffed up the comforter. They also reported sounds of footsteps. Another guest reported being woken all night long by the comforter being pulled from the foot of the bed. When the guest looked at the end of the bed, they saw a man in a top hat dressed in older clothing; this man then vanished in a white mist.  According to the staff, the whole 4^th floor is haunted. There are reports of unusual sightings and rumors of a ghostly young girl carrying flowers.