Beal House Inn

A Georgian farmhouse built in 1833, converted into a bed and breakfast in the northern White Mountains.

The ghosts of the Beal House Inn write messages on bathroom mirrors in steam and lipstick, even when no one has used the bath. Built in 1833 as a classic Georgian home on a rise overlooking a fertile river valley in Littleton, the Beal House has been welcoming travelers since the depths of the Great Depression. After being widowed in the 1930s, Mrs. Beal opened her gracious home to travelers and lodgers as a rooming house in 1933, also running a successful antiques business from the attached barn and carriage house. Her customers traveled from across the country and stayed at the inn while conducting business, establishing a tradition of hospitality that continued through multiple owners for nearly a century.

The paranormal activity at the Beal House reportedly began around 2001, when new owners started making renovations to the property. As is so often the case with historic New England buildings, the disturbance of walls, floors, and structural elements seemed to awaken something that had been dormant. One of the new owners' parents traveled from Europe to spend a couple of nights in the freshly acquired establishment. Not much is known publicly about what the woman experienced during her stay, but she reported strange activity in her room that left her deeply unsettled.

The encounters escalated from there. A housekeeper was painting a room when she felt pressure on her hip -- the kind of gentle push you might feel from someone trying to squeeze past you in a narrow space. Assuming it was one of the owners moving through the inn, she shifted to give them room. But an unseen force held her in place for several seconds, pressing against her hip with deliberate, physical pressure. When it released, no one was in the room.

Strange male voices are frequently heard in the common room, carrying on conversations in low tones even when the room is empty or when no one present is speaking. The voices sound natural, like two men discussing something quietly, but they have no source. Guests are regularly awakened by the sounds of doors slamming violently and heavy footsteps stomping up and down the staircase late at night, though investigation reveals every door is in place and every hallway is empty.

The most distinctive phenomenon at the Beal House involves the bathroom mirrors. Guests have awoken to find words written on the mirror in steam -- messages that appear as though someone has drawn a finger through condensation on the glass, except that no one has used the shower or bath for hours. In at least one reported case, a message appeared written in lipstick on the mirror. The writings have included names and greetings, suggesting that whoever is communicating is trying to make contact rather than frighten.

The current owners, who purchased the property in 2006, and their staff believe the spirits remain because they love the Beal House and wish to protect it. The hauntings are not malevolent -- the voices converse peacefully, the pressure on the housekeeper was firm but not violent, and the mirror messages seem more like attempts at introduction than threats. Whatever spirits inhabit this 1833 house on the hill appear to be permanent residents who have simply decided that hospitality, like the house itself, endures.