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| True New Hampshire Ghost Stories
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Three Chimneys Inn
Durham, New Hampshire
In 1649 Valentine Hill and Thomas Bear were granted the fall of Oyster River to setup a sawmill. The lumber milled here was for use mainly in the ship building industry. He also owned a gristmill and had water rights at the falls. Valentine Hill built the original single story house and oldest part of the Three Chimneys Inn. In 1694 many of the nearby homes were destroyed by Indian attacks but the Valentine’s house survived. In 1699, Valentine Hill’s son Nathaniel added what now forms the entrance to the Maples and Coppers dining rooms. “Indian Shutters” were also added to protect from further attacks. The home was used during the revolutionary war as storage for munitions stolen from the British Blockhouses in Portsmouth. The house also survived a typhoid epidemic in the early 1900s. In 1998, the house became Three Chimneys Inn, and is the oldest house in Durham and one of the oldest buildings in New Hampshire. Many people believe that past owners and family have never left the Three Chimneys Inn. One restless spirit that is most often seen or felt is Hannah, a descendant of Valentine Hill who is believed to have drowned in the Oyster River. Hannah has made herself known on a number of occasions and seems to have a problem with electronics. She has caused computers to fail, printers to print with no power, and numbers to appear backwards on calculators. Employees have made mention of drawers and doors opening on their own, having their hair played with while trying to sleep and some have even seen Hannah standing and staring right back at them. It is believed that Hannah is only one of possibly several ghosts haunting the Three Chimneys Inn. There are many strange occurrences that are unexplainable. Glasses pick themselves up off the table and smash on the floor below; deadbolts tend to lock on their own, footsteps are heard in areas where no guests or employees are walking. While in the Coppers dining room, music has been known to turn on by itself. Most of the guests and staff alike have claimed to have seen, felt or heard Hannah while at the Inn.
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