The Wayside

The Alcotts lived here, then Nathaniel Hawthorne bought it — the only home he ever owned. Louisa May Alcott used it as the setting for scenes in Little Women.

The Wayside is one of Concord's most historically significant homes, having been residence to three prominent literary families, and it carries the spiritual imprints of all of them. Nathaniel Hawthorne purchased the home in 1852 and lived here until his death in 1864. His tower study, added to the house so he could write in solitude, is reportedly the most active spot. Visitors have reported seeing a figure at the window of the tower, believed to be Hawthorne himself still gazing out over the landscape that inspired his darkest works. The Alcott family also lived here before Hawthorne, and their presence is still felt in certain rooms. Louisa May Alcott wrote about her own encounters with the supernatural during her life, and some believe her spirit still visits the home where she spent part of her childhood. The temperature drops in spots throughout the house, and the sounds of quill pens scratching on paper have been heard in empty rooms. Staff members have reported feeling watched and occasionally glimpsing figures in period dress moving through the historic rooms. The concentration of literary genius that once inhabited this home seems to have left a permanent mark.