About This Location
A historic inn dating to 1875 that has survived three major fires over its long history.
The Ghost Story
The Tilton Inn at 255 Main Street has stood in the heart of Tilton, New Hampshire, since 1875, and the building has burned down three times in its history, each fire separated by approximately one hundred years. At least eight people have died within the structure over the centuries, some in the fires and others from diseases like dysentery that swept through the building during its years as a rooming house. Among the dead was a twelve-year-old girl named Laura Sanborn, who perished in one of the fires and whose spirit has remained at the inn ever since.
Laura is the inn's most famous resident, more consistently present than any living guest. She inhabits two rooms in particular: the Tilton Room and the Sanborn Room, named after notable historical families associated with the building. The Sanborn Room is considered Laura's room, and guests who stay there report the most intimate encounters. In the Charles Tilton Room, Laura can often be felt stroking guests' hair as they sleep, a gentle touch that wakes them to find the room empty. Doors close on their own throughout the building, and the sound of children's footsteps echoes in the hallways when no children are registered.
The inn's non-player piano is another persistent mystery. The instrument in the main lobby plays by itself, producing notes and fragments of melody with no mechanical explanation. It is a regular piano, not a player piano, and there is no mechanism that could account for the keys depressing on their own. Staff have witnessed it happen during quiet afternoons when no guests are present in the lobby.
The Tilton Inn gained national attention in 2010 when TAPS, the Atlantic Paranormal Society based in Warwick, Rhode Island, brought their Ghost Hunters television crew to investigate. The episode, Season 6, Episode 13, titled Uninvited Guests and aired September 8, 2010, documented several significant findings. During the investigation, a flashlight placed on a table turned itself on and off repeatedly, apparently in response to questions from the investigators. Most compelling was an EVP captured during the session: when the recording was analyzed later, a young girl's voice was clearly heard saying "Daddy" to lead investigator Jason Hawes. Co-founder Jason Hawes concluded, "There definitely seems to be some paranormal activity here."
The inn has hosted notable guests over its long history, including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, and today it operates with nine guest rooms, a restaurant called Onions Pub and Restaurant, and two apartments. The current owners have embraced Laura as part of the family, and the inn's website acknowledges her presence. A book titled Ghost Hunting in Tilton, New Hampshire by Rue Taylor Cote and others documents the full range of paranormal activity at the inn and surrounding town.
Laura Sanborn never checked out of the Tilton Inn. She remains in the Sanborn Room, stroking the hair of sleeping guests and whispering "Daddy" to anyone who stays long enough to listen.