Haunting of The Windham Restaurant

I think I may have found the most haunted restaurant in the entire world. Seriously, you could write a book (and I hope someone does!) about all the paranormal activity that has been reported at this historic New Hampshire restaurant. 

In September of 2001, Vess Liakas and his aunt, Lula, opened up the Windham Restaurant on Range Road in Windham, NH. The building is a converted family home that was built around 1812 on the site of a farm dating back even further, to about 1729. The house was occupied as a family residence until the 1980′s, when it became home to several different restaurants over the years, including The Riviera. While the restaurant experiences some of the usual ‘haunting’ activity, such as objects (mostly dishes) falling, moving on their own, and even breaking, disembodied voices (including a gruff male voice saying ‘Get Out!’) and cold spots, Riviera employees have reported one of the strangest things I’ve heard.  During the holidays, employees claimed that they’d come in to work and and see wrapped Christmas boxes actually floating in mid-air, above the third floor staircase!

The ghosts of Windham seem to enjoy physical interaction as well. Many females have felt someone touch them, especially their hair. Often, female guests and employees will feel the touch, and then one of their earrings or necklace will mysteriously come unclasped and fall off.

There are also several apparitions seen. An old man in a blue suit is believed to be the spirit of a man named Jacob. It is believed that Jacob died when he had a heart attack and fell down the stairs. A young boy named William is believed to have been killed outside the restaurant when he was hit by a horse and carriage. He was brought into what was then a private home, where he died of his injuries. He is sometimes accompanied by an unknown little girl apparition. Another regular is a teenage girl. She is believed to have lived in the home in the early 1980′s and passed away from a car accident nearby. 

Other apparitions seen included a group of three men sitting at a dining room table that disappeared into thin air, and various shadowy, human forms seen throughout the building. The majority of activity seems to take place in the basement and on the second floor, where two main dining rooms are located. Fortunately, Liakas believes that even though quite a few people have been startled, or even frightened, by the ghosts, for the most part, they aren’t malevolent. Rather, they’re mischievous. 

Because of all the activity, over a dozen paranormal investigation teams have investigated the Windham, and apparently, much of their data is similar to each others’ and supports the claims. There have also been a TON of articles written about the restaurant. I’ve linked a few below! 

Food & Spirits; Windham Restaurant Believed to be Haunted, by Doug Ireland. The Eagle-Tribune, 31 October 2016

Dining with Ghosts at the Windham Restaurant, by Lynne Snierson. New Hampshire Magazine, 5 October 2014