ADELAIDE ROOM
In this room the back window looks directly over the lawn and into the old cemetery. A massive hand-hewn beam crosses the ceiling. The furniture is authentic early nineteenth century. It is like stepping back in time when you walk through the door and is probably why this is the most haunted room in the house.
When I purchased the house, it had only one bathroom for all four bedrooms on the second floor. I cut that overly large bathroom in half, making one half go to the Adelaide room and the other half to the Collette room. I have said that Adelaide is the most haunted room in the house, but it is actually the Adelaide bathroom where all the action takes place. The Collette headboard is on the other side of that bathroom wall. Moans and whispering coming from that wall have been heard by guests sleeping in Collette. The general feeling of the room is one of warmth and love. Being cared for is also a way to explain it. When you read the notes that I am sharing with you here, you will see some similarities but also many differences in our guests’ experiences. It’s as if the spirits are individualizing their visits to accommodate our guests.
Now for the shared writings of our guests. This room’s diary is filled with drawings and experiences.
11/5/10
Dear Ted and Carol,
Though we did not see a ghost nor catch anything on audio we did snap a picture of an orb. A few unexplained things such as around 9:30. No one was here but my husband and myself when we heard the front door open and someone walking up the stairs. Our bedroom door was opened so I got up to shut it and to my amazement there was no one in the hall or in the house. Another thing was my husband went nuts looking for his medication, emptying the entire cosmetic bag to no avail. In the morning his meds were on top of the bag he searched. No answer for this!
—Couple on a short get away.
(Carol: It is a common occurrence for items to disappear and then reappear at a later time in another place. This is one of the happenings that drive all of us here a little crazy.)
11/6/10
This room is beautiful. We took lots of pictures. So far, many orbs to report but we may see more once we view on the laptop. My husband heard someone go out the deck & then a shadow go downstairs—but no footsteps. What a great getaway.
—Couple from New York
(Carol: It would be nearly impossible to walk in this home unheard. With every step there is a creak.)
2/19/2011
Adelaide came by to visit. Rattling our door knob, knocking on the wall & my husband said something was tickling his ear in the middle of the night (& it wasn’t me). We will add it to our list of first experiences.
—Retired couple from New Jersey
2/20/11
I wasn’t expecting anything along the lines of paranormal, but when my friend and I noticed the shower curtain rings pulled off the shower rod—and we were the only ones in the room at the time—I can only say there is no explanation. And I am glad to have had an encounter with the unknown. Thank you.
—Paralegal from New Jersey
(Carol: When Tadashi glued and screwed the shower curtain rod to the wall, the rings then started being lifted off the rod. This always happens at night.)
3/19/11
My friend and I have been here only 15 hours and I am already SO THRILLED with all of our experiences.
1. Went out to dinner last night, came back at 11:30 & a ball that I brought was not where I left it. I left it on the dresser & it was on the middle of the bed when we came back.
2. Got a peek up in the attic & took pics I got 3 great pics of really bright perfectly round orbs.
3. As I’m writing this, my friend & I both just heard a “ting” & we were like, what the heck was that? Mind you it’s 10:30 AM. So I took this pen & tapped on the lamp & parts of the sconce on the wall & found that the base/circle part of the sconce made the same “ting” when I tapped it. COOL!
4. Around 3:30/4 AM footsteps in the hall, but no doors opening or closing.
5. I heard a little girl giggling around 4 am down the hall. My friend didn’t hear it though. But at breakfast just now, our neighbor across the hall said she heard it & assumed kids were staying here. No kids here.
6. Don’t know when it moved, but discovered one of my daughter’s stuffed animals under my pillow when we woke up. That kinda freaked me out I’ll be honest. But at the same time I’m so intrigued.
I just feel the need to say that I’m not a freak making this stuff up. I’m a soon-to-be 40 married mother of 2 kids. I’m still blown away that all of this happened. Oh & this morning during breakfast, Carol was about to get out the divining rods for us & I ran up here to get my camera. Mind you I had our key & locked the door. We were downstairs for maybe 45 minutes and when I ran up here the door was open by 1 foot. Nobody had been up here. The stairs/floors are loud—we would have known. Woke up a few times last night. Loud footsteps @3 AM. Ball rolling. Possibly a toy w/ wheels rolling. WOW. I’m ready to go home. Thanks for an amazing experience.
—Norwalk, Connecticut
7/8/11
Last night I was touched twice while sleeping. A nudge in my back and someone stroking my hand. My cousin heard someone screaming her name and also a dinner bell—both while she was in the shower. We were honored to be acknowledged by our paranormal hosts.
—Two sisters
(Carol: I and others have had the same experience of hearing someone loudly call out our names.)
7/20/11
Lovely stay with family. Quiet for the first two nights, peaceful. Then 3rd night. Heard loud crashes in the night. Woke up to find shower curtain laying across the entire bathroom. Very difficult to find out how it got there. Still felt safe and fun. I could feel the positive energy in the room, waiting to be acknowledged. What a great vacation.
—Family reunion guests
8/17/11
Last night we left bathroom door ajar at 11 pm. At 2 am door was closed. The door doesn’t swing so easy in that direction. Also my wife heard a child’s giggle around 4 am. We were the only guests in the house. Maybe it was the sherry.
—Astoria, New York
8/26/11
Yes, we are believers! When we heard the noise above us, like children rolling a ball back and forth, it was AWESOME. We are already planning a trip back in October.
—Vermonters
9/16/11
Romantic weekend getaway for my boyfriend and I. He is so fascinated by all things ghostly. I am a solid sensible NH woman. I went up to the 3rd floor balcony to see what I could spot. Looking down at the road I heard a woman’s voice not 2 feet from my left side. I could not make out her words but the voice sounded like it was on the other side of glass in the attic. There was no one in the attic. My boyfriend was coming up the stairs to join me on the balcony and swears he did not speak since coming outside and there was only one other couple over in the Holly room (Carol: The Holly room is in the home next door.) On his last visit, 6 years ago he was with a woman whose face turned white as a sheet when a chess piece levitated and dropped to the floor. Same chess piece that had been knocked to the floor and John and other guests that weekend kept picking up and putting back on chessboard in parlor.
—New Hampshire couple.
(Carol: This happened in the East Keeping room. It was the king. I still have him as a memento. Since the home was built by colonists from Scotland, just maybe they were trying to make a statement about King George II.)
2/5/2012
We were sitting on the bed when my husband saw a light near the bathroom door so he took his camera and start recording this spot and out of nowhere this orb starts going all over going in different directions up and down. It was cool. I’m not into this stuff but for some reason I was not scared and had a very restful sleep until somewhere in the middle of the night I hear something like a conversation but more like a murmur but my husband’s snoring didn’t let me grab where it was coming from.
—Winter guests
4/20/12
The three of us took a walk out to the cemetery in the back where caught some interesting video of a particular bright orange orb that was following us, and stayed perfectly still in the center of the lens frame as we did our opening prayers. In particular we also caught a photograph of another glowing orb upon 50X zoom it resembles a woman looking down at her very pregnant belly (no arms or legs) … interesting part is … in the next frame the orb splits into two, a tiny orb and a larger orb.
In our room, we did have the small table near the bathroom appear to move 5–6" away from the wall although we did not see it move ourselves. We will be back and maybe stay in the Collette room then. Happy Ghost Hunting.
—Happy Ghost Hunters
(Carol: I have seen this orb in the cemetery many times with my naked eye. So have my neighbors. It is sometimes orange and other times bright red. There is nothing beyond the cemetery, only land and trees. I have never gone out to the cemetery in the dark, even when I see the light. I’m not sure why, except that my instincts tell me not to venture out there at night. As for the little table by the bathroom door, it has to weigh at least sixty pounds. It has a marble top. It has never moved since.)
5/6/12
This is our third time staying here and we just love it. It is so peaceful and beautiful. Our second night here in the Adelaide room I heard noises like someone was dragging furniture across the floor. This lasted 3–4 minutes. I went to the attic to see if anything was moved and all was exactly as it was the day before when we saw it.
—A couple
7/10/12
Our stay was very interesting to say the least. Around 10 pm seeing how we had the entire place to ourselves, my husband and I sat at the top of the stairs and started some EVP recording. I had just put on our night vision goggles when a bat flew towards my face and into the sitting area! Very cute little bat my husband later caught it in a blanket and released it outside. We stayed up past 3 AM hoping to encounter something but the house was very quiet and still. I suggested we go to bed. We had just fallen to sleep, no more than 10 minutes in and our door handle shook vigorously as if someone frantically trying to get in. I wake up my husband sits up in bed and I asked him, “Did you hear that?” He says yes and goes to see if it was kids playing games. No one was there. We now know not to lock the door when we visit here again.
—A couple
(Carol: The blanket has since been cleaned. It is free of anything bat. Just a note about bats: When released, they often find their way back in. They also eat all our nighttime bugs. No mosquitoes at Captain Grant’s.)
12/11/12
Breakfast was fantastic!! I had a great time staying here. I did hear a child talking in the hallway and a few other noises during the night. P.S. Just finished taking shower. While in shower toilet flushed, my wife wasn’t in there she was packing.
—Guests’ first experience at a bed and breakfast
(Carol: Our toilets can’t flush themselves.)
2/24/13
Our first night, we heard footsteps in the attic and the sounds of furniture being moved across the floor. We heard what sounded like something rolling down the hallway. It was so much fun to hear the stories of other guests at breakfast. We really enjoyed the paranormal team that was here at the same time as us. We had a great time following them and participating in their investigation.
—Massachusetts couple
4/19/13
The first night in the Adelaide room I heard giggling at 2:00 AM but thought it was our neighbors. It wasn’t!!! Apparently it was the 5 year old Debra Adams. Many times that night we heard people moving around (or so we thought). No one was up and about. The second night was quiet.
—Minnesota travelers
10/8/13
I rarely sign my name in guest books but this was one of the strangest experiences I have ever had! First let me say that I have always been a skeptic regarding the paranormal until my four nights in the Adelaide room. The first night. Nothing.
The second night I lived a decade of vivid dreams, more dreams than I have experienced in my life and they were so lifelike. I woke hoping some were reality while praying others were not …
The third night more vivid dreams. The last one erotic & vivid. I was with one of my best friend’s stunning wife in the bed and at first all was exciting until I realized (or thought twice about) I could not do this to my best friend. I tried to get her off me because I knew what I was doing was wrong. She resisted me while trying to get her off the top of me. I pushed harder struggling with her and as I awoke pushing her off of me and sitting up in the bed I saw a sight that will haunt me forever in more ways than one! I opened my eyes to see a man in white with thick bushy dark side burns is what I had been struggling with! Being 100% straight I was a bit embarrassed regarding this but felt the need to tell this.
I never wanted or cared about the paranormal but am now totally intrigued by it and want to learn/see/experience more.
—Actor New York City
(Carol: I believe this spirit was Liam.)
2/13/15
It was a short notice decision to get away for a couple days and we were lucky to find this online. Since the Adelaide room has a reputation we made sure to ask for it. We were alone for both nights. Nothing happened the first night and I so hoped it would. However, the next night when my husband turned the kitchen light off he heard a knocking. Very quick and he swears it was imagined. Around 10:30 pm I heard muffled talking somewhere by the bathroom but didn’t think much of it. When we settled in for sleep at 11:45 pm I still heard the talking. Thinking a radio or TV was left on, my husband and I walked through the whole house trying to find it. Couldn’t find anything. Came back to the room and continued to hear it till I fell asleep. Woke up at 2 am and 4 am and the noises were gone.
—Enfield, Connecticut
(Carol: I have had this same experience. It is so frustrating not to be able to find the source of the talking. Just as soon as you think you are approaching the source, the talking stops.)
9/14/15
Videoed on my phone 2 hrs. of bright orbs flying around the Adelaide room from the moment we turned out the lights—the naked eye couldn’t see much—but w/ the phone on the video on in the room in the dark, the orbs were lights everywhere—gold & white flying every which way straight at us—sending the inn the footage—only caught on still camera foggy areas—but the live videos are like watching shooting stars—they seemed to respond to my voice—I asked them to slow down—be bigger—and they did—it was amazing!!!!!! I love it here.
—Young couple from New York
1/17/16
We explored in an undisclosed place by which clearly heard a woman breathing on our right side. We bolted down the stairs to do an EVP session w/ Mercy Adelaide. Results were not only orbs unlikely to be dust but a flash of light also occurred within the dining area that bolted from right to left. We then went to the game room to collect our thoughts while being alarmed by the loud & swift footsteps down below while calling out & looking to only get no response back.
—Returnees from Connecticut
(Carol: The flash of light in the dining room has also occurred during breakfast with a table full of guests.)