The Lighthouse Inn

Originally built in 1902 as a summer estate called Meadow Court by Charles Guthrie, the property attracted celebrities like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. In 1927, it transformed into a hotel and gained a ghostly reputation.

The winding central staircase of the Lighthouse Inn has become synonymous with one of Connecticut's most enduring ghost stories—a bride who fell to her death on her wedding day in 1930, breaking her neck and dying at the feet of her horrified groom. Three years after the grand mansion was converted from private estate to inn, this tragedy allegedly unfolded on the elegant stairs that Charles Guthrie himself once descended to greet guests at his summer retreat.

The bridal specter has been spotted for decades. Staff members have reported seeing a woman in full wedding regalia—a flowing white gown, veil intact—walking down the main staircase where she drew her last breath. Guests describe her hovering in dark corners, appearing in window reflections, and leaving behind the faint scent of perfume near the staircase where she fell. She seems particularly attached to Room 26, where the door swings open on its own and electronic equipment malfunctions without explanation. One guest reported being violently shaken awake in bed, blaming the "jealous bride" for the disturbance.

Beyond the bride, the inn harbors additional spirits. Two Victorian ghostly ladies are said to walk the halls at night, their identities unknown but their presence felt by multiple witnesses. Stories also circulated for years about two children killed in the devastating Hurricane of 1938, their small spirits said to inhabit the halls and bedrooms. New London was indeed ravaged that September—downtown burned for seven hours while floods and wind destroyed homes along the shore—but whether children perished at the inn remains unverified.

The inn's labyrinthine basement tunnels are another hotspot of activity. Staff have long reported unexplained noises emanating from the underground passages. When TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) investigated for Ghost Hunters Season 1, Episode 3, which aired October 20, 2004, the tunnels delivered the most compelling experience. Investigator Steve Gonsalves—a police officer whose credibility carried significant weight—was touched by an unseen force that pressed approximately 15 pounds of pressure against his back. Simultaneously, fellow investigator Kristin monitored a sudden temperature drop of 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit. In one of the guest rooms, the team's thermal imaging camera detected something extraordinary: a warm mist passing before the lens, unusual because paranormal mists are typically colder than ambient air.

The investigation also captured an EVP recording in one of the rooms. When analyzed, it revealed spoken words: "We're not." The team found recordings showing orbs and unexplained flashes of light, though lead investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson remained skeptical about camera malfunctions. Ultimately, TAPS deemed the investigation inconclusive but requested to return for further research.

What makes this haunting remarkable is that local historians have debunked the central legend. City historian Sally Ryan, who grew up just two blocks from the inn, told the New York Times in 2007 that there was no bride. No records exist of a fatal wedding day accident in 1930, no obituaries, no news coverage. The children who supposedly died in the 1938 hurricane? Also unsubstantiated. "It's not true," Ryan stated flatly.

Yet the experiences continue. Multiple staff members across different eras have reported the same phenomena. Guests continue to encounter unexplained activity in Room 26. The tunnels still produce unsettling sounds. Perhaps the most intriguing possibility is that whatever haunts the Lighthouse Inn has nothing to do with the bride legend at all—that something else entirely dwells within these walls, and the ghost story simply gave witnesses a framework to understand experiences they could not explain.

The property itself has endured remarkable trauma. A devastating fire in 1979 destroyed the upper floors just two months after new owners Arthur and Jean Valis purchased it. Damage reached ,000. The inn closed in 2008 and sat vacant for years before Alwyn Christy purchased it in 2016 and began a painstaking five-year restoration. In April 2022, the inn finally reopened—only to suffer another fire just one week later, caused accidentally by a contractor drilling through the wall. The building has repeatedly risen from destruction, and perhaps some energy from its turbulent history has become embedded in its very walls.

Today, the Lighthouse Inn stands as one of Connecticut's most storied haunted locations—a place where legend and documented experience intertwine, where investigators have captured unexplained phenomena, and where something continues to walk the stairs long after the last wedding guests have departed.