Windham Restaurant

A restaurant housed in an 1812 home built by the Dinsmoor family and once occupied by Governor Samuel Dinsmoor.

The Windham Restaurant occupies a home built in 1812 by the Dinsmoor family on a stretch of road that has seen two centuries of New Hampshire history pass through its doors. Former New Hampshire Governor Samuel Dinsmoor lived in the house during his term from 1931 to 1933, and the building changed hands multiple times before becoming a restaurant. Its paranormal reputation has made it one of the most investigated haunted locations in the Granite State.

Owners Vess and Lula Liakas did not believe in ghosts when they took over the restaurant. That changed after a series of events that no rational explanation could account for. Full glasses of wine slid across perfectly level tables and crashed to the floor. Expensive dishes flew off kitchen racks and shattered. Place settings disappeared from tables between the time they were laid and the time guests sat down. In one particularly bizarre incident, Christmas packages that had been placed on a staircase were found stacked horizontally in midair above the steps, as though an invisible hand had rearranged them into a floating tower.

The activity drew the attention of paranormal investigator Leo Monfet and psychic Maureen, who conducted extensive investigations of the property. Their findings identified three to four distinct spirits inhabiting the building. The most prominent is a man they called Jacob, described as wearing a blue suit, who reportedly died of a heart attack while falling down the steep front staircase. The second is William, a young boy who was struck by a horse-drawn carriage on the road outside and carried into the house, where he died of his injuries. A third entity is an unidentified little girl who wanders the establishment, and a fourth presence appears to be Carolyn, a servant woman who continues going about her household duties as though still caring for the family.

The spirits show a particular fascination with blonde waitresses. Staff members with blonde hair have reported cold chills followed by the sensation of something playing with their hair. Necklaces unclasp and fall from their necks, and jewelry disappears from their persons during shifts. One documented incident involved two guests who paid their dinner bill in cash, with both parties and the waitress confirming the correct amount. Moments later, the waitress discovered she was short twenty dollars, the money having simply vanished.

Photographer Leo Monfet captured infrared imagery during an investigation showing a boy appearing in one photograph before vanishing in a streak of light in the next frame. EVP specialist Karen Mossey recorded audio evidence at the restaurant, including a disembodied voice stating "get the camera," suggesting the entities are aware of and responsive to the investigators' equipment.

The Windham Restaurant hosts popular Dining with the Dead evenings featuring prix fixe meals paired with paranormal presentations and psychic readings, particularly during the autumn and Halloween season. A sign reading Food and Spirits hangs above the front door, a description that owner Vess Liakas says has taken on a meaning the original sign-maker never intended. The ghosts, he says, are welcome and have become part of the family.