The Nutmeg Inn

A 1763 homestead that has served as an Underground Railroad stop, boarding house, and working farm across more than 20 owners.

The ghost at the Nutmeg Inn is so helpful that he once installed an electrical outlet overnight -- and no electrician ever claimed the work or sent a bill. The inn dates to 1763, when it was built as the Eliphalet Rawlings Homestead on Pease Road in Meredith, near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. The property carries a remarkable history that extends far beyond its ghost: during the years before the Civil War, the building served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, with secret hiding places used to shelter escaped slaves making their way north to Canada. In a darker chapter, the building later operated as a boardinghouse that expelled two students for being members of the Hitler Youth -- a detail that suggests the house has always had strong opinions about who belongs within its walls.

The resident ghost has been nicknamed Charlie by the inn's staff, and he is among the most active and benevolent spirits documented in any New Hampshire haunting. Charlie's signature behavior is hiding things. Bath mats disappear from tubs and reappear in unexpected locations. Personal items belonging to guests vanish from nightstands and turn up in drawers they were never placed in. Staff members find cleaning supplies relocated to rooms where they have not been working. The pattern is consistent enough that both guests and staff have learned to simply ask Charlie to return missing items -- and they frequently reappear shortly afterward.

But Charlie's most extraordinary act occurred in the Teaberry Room. The inn's owners wanted to install electrical outlets in the room but discovered the work would be prohibitively expensive. They closed the Teaberry Room for the winter season and made plans to address the issue in the spring. When they reopened the room, a new electrical outlet had been installed exactly where they had wanted it. The outlet was professionally wired and fully functional. The owners contacted every electrician they had consulted about the project. None of them had done the work. No one ever received a bill for the installation. The outlet remains in use today.

Cold spots appear throughout the inn without pattern or explanation. Guests have captured apparitions in photographs -- figures that were not visible to the naked eye when the pictures were taken. Charlie occasionally shows himself as a shadowy form, most often in hallways and doorways, but he has never appeared threatening. His pranks -- the hidden bath mats, the relocated belongings -- are playful rather than malicious, and the electrical outlet installation suggests a spirit that is not merely present but actively invested in the inn's well-being.

The identity of Charlie remains unknown. The house has been standing since 1763, giving it nearly three centuries of occupants who might have developed enough attachment to stay. Whether Charlie is Eliphalet Rawlings himself, someone who hid in the Underground Railroad rooms, or a later resident who simply loved the house too much to leave, his behavior is consistent: he fusses, he tidies, he hides things to get attention, and when the house needs something done, he does it himself. The Nutmeg Inn continues to operate as a bed and breakfast near Lake Winnipesaukee. Charlie continues to operate as its most reliable handyman.