Captain Daniel Packer Inne

A cozy colonial tavern with history dating to the late 1700s, originally owned by Captain Daniel Packer. The site is close to where the historic Mystic Massacre of the Pequot people took place in 1637.

The Captain Daniel Packer Inne stands as one of New England's most haunted restaurants, a 270-year-old Dutch colonial tavern where a Revolutionary War sea captain and his young great-great-granddaughter refuse to leave.

Captain Daniel Packer was born January 31, 1732, in Groton, Connecticut. After years commanding square-rigger ships across the high seas, he purchased the waterfront land bordering Water Street in 1754 and completed construction of the inn in 1756. He married Hannah Burrows on December 26, 1754, and together they raised seven children in the bustling tavern that served as both home and business. Packer operated a rope ferry across the Mystic River at what became known as Packer Landing, transporting travelers, horses, and stagecoaches between New York and Boston.

By night, weary travelers would gather around the inn's great fireplaces while Captain Packer regaled them with thrilling tales of his adventures on the high seas. When the American Revolution began, Packer served in the Continental forces, earning his captain's rank twice over—once at sea, once at war. The captain reportedly swore he would never leave his beloved inn and ran it until his death on December 27, 1825, at age ninety-three. He is buried at West Mystic Cemetery.

An iron chain link remains attached to the stone wall near the front door—the only surviving remnant of Packer's rope ferry. Visitors who lift the chain link and let it drop are said to create a positive connection to the captain's spirit, still watching over his domain.

The inn remained in the Packer family and their descendants, the Keelers, until the late 1970s when it had deteriorated badly. Demolition was discussed, but in 1979 Richard and Lulu Kiley purchased the property and spent four years restoring it using construction methods dating back to the 1700s. They preserved the original fireplaces, mantles, and hand-hewn beams. When the renovations disturbed centuries of dust and history, the spirits awoke.

Over 100 years after Captain Packer's death, in 1874, his great-grandson was running the inn when his niece Ada Clift came to live there. The seven-year-old girl loved the old building as much as her ancestor had. But that year, scarlet fever swept through, and Ada died in her second-floor bedroom. Like the captain before her, she never left.

Ada has become the inn's most active spirit. Staff and guests hear her disembodied giggling echoing through the rooms. Her small figure has been spotted running through the hallways and peering from the staircase. Most chillingly, visitors report seeing Ada waving from her bedroom window—the second-floor window to the far left, the room where she died. Mysterious fingerprints appear on that same window, fingerprints that staff clean away only to find them returned.

One remarkable account describes a visitor's young daughter playing hide-and-seek with an unseen companion. When asked who she was playing with, the child replied it was a girl who called herself Ada.

Manager Hedi Talmich has documented staff experiences in the inn's ghost book since at least 2008. One entry reads: "Lawrence was standing here, front door. I heard footsteps running up and down the third-floor stairs. In the dining room, Sean also heard the footsteps, he went to check the dining room and there was no one there."

Employees describe Ada as a mischievous presence who likes playing tricks. A dining room chandelier flickers on and off without explanation. "I think she just likes this place a lot and likes to play jokes," Talmich observed. "As long as you talk to her in a joking voice... you just have to be a believer and not let it scare you."

Captain Packer's ghost appears throughout the building—a spectral sea captain in period clothing moving through rooms he built with his own hands. Maintenance worker Robert Wiley, who works at the inn full-time, has had numerous encounters. "One morning, I walked through the captain, or the captain walked through me," he recalled. On another early morning arrival around 4:30 or 5:00 AM, Wiley discovered a mysterious handprint on an upstairs window that had not been there before.

Beyond the two primary spirits, the inn experiences poltergeist activity: doors slam on their own, mugs and glasses move across tables, glassware flies off shelves. The sound of heavy boots walking across empty rooms echoes through the building. One employee reported an out-of-body experience. A visiting medium claimed Ada's spirit followed her through the inn and upstairs, "chitchatting" the entire way.

The inn sits near the site of the Mystic Massacre of 1637, where English soldiers killed between 400 and 700 Pequot people—primarily women, children, and the elderly—by setting their fortified village ablaze. Some believe this tragic history contributes to the spiritual energy of the location. Local legend speaks of a Pequot curse said to drive men from Mystic with nightmarish visions.

Today, the Captain Daniel Packer Inne at 32 Water Street embraces its haunted reputation. Seaside Shadows ghost tours, founded by Courtney McInvale, include the inn on their Haunted Mystic walks, with dinner events where guests can dine among the spirits. The inn has been called one of the most haunted restaurants in the world.

Whether it's the echo of Ada's giggle, the heavy tread of the captain's boots, or glasses sliding across the bar, the spirits of the Packer family continue their eternal hospitality in the inn they loved too much to leave.