Owners of an 18th-century restaurant believe a “ghost” has been caught on camera, and locals are flocking to back up the sighting with their own spooky stories about the establishment.
The Library Restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, uploaded video from its security camera earlier this week showing a “ghost” eerily walking by the front of its restaurant.
Staff say the ghost set off the motion detector as it floated by and don’t believe the images could just be lights from a car or a gust of wind.
The Rockingham Hotel restaurant has a long history of haunted experiences that have been documented in detail over the years. It is described as “an elegant 1785 mansion that serves as a club setting for steakhouse fare, wine and a lively bar scene.”
The 238-year-old company is considered a hotspot for high-profile politicians – including Presidents George Washington, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Chester Arthur, William Taft and John F. Kennedy.
The Library Restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, uploaded video from its security camera earlier this week showing a “ghost” eerily walking by the front of its restaurant
The Rockingham Hotel restaurant has a long history of haunted experiences that have been documented in detail over the years. It is described as “an elegant 1785 mansion that serves as a club setting for steakhouse fare, wine and a lively bar scene.”
The restaurant wrote, “Our building – the Rockingham – is known for its ghosts, particularly those in the library basement.”
“Last night, for the first time ever, our motion detector alarms INSIDE the building were triggered by this camera movement that was captured on video outside the window in the middle of the night.”
“The motion detectors inside can’t see what the camera outside sees!” There are no lights from the car – because you can see others being recorded and there is no horizontal wind. So what could this be?
“Make of it what you will, but this has never happened before!” “Creepy coincidence of the time of year?”
The spooky footage attracted a lot of attention – particularly from local customers who shared their own ghost stories about the “haunted” restaurant.
One Facebook user said: “The lady in white.” Some residents had claimed to have seen her in the hallways. “One wrote a poem about her experience.”
Several people said the restaurant’s women’s room was haunted.
One comment said, “I’ve been to the library many times and I assure you there is a female ghost in the basement restroom area,” and another shared the same claim, saying, “It’s definitely a ghost and that I have too.” I’ve seen a lot of them. I used to live across the street. The women’s room in the library is haunted.’
But there are skeptics, one of whom tries to refute the claims by writing: “So aren’t we talking about the jump cut in the video at the time of the ‘Ghost’?” Or that the timecode in the upper right corner of 02: 29:30 jumps to 02:31:04? But yes, completely legitimate, supernatural behavior, ‘caught on camera’.”
One person – who was apparently a regular at the historic eatery – speculated: “Fog? (Or Dave smokes!)’
Another asked: “What am I supposed to see?”
The 238-year-old company is considered a hotspot for high-profile politicians – including Presidents George Washington, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Chester Arthur, William Taft and John F. Kennedy
Staff say the ghost set off the motion detector as it floated by and don’t believe the images could just be lights from a car or a gust of wind
The Rockingham Hotel is believed to be haunted by the creature Sarah Shelborne Langdon, or the creature of a drowning victim.
Many viewers were certain that the “ghost” was actually mist, wind or steam.
According to HauntedHouses.com, the Rockingham Hotel is believed to be haunted by the Sarah Shelborne Langdon creature, or the creature of a drowning victim.
Shelborne Langdon was the daughter of a wealthy merchant who married Woodbury Langdon, who built a three-story mansion on the site of the current Rockingham building as a home for his bride and her ten children.
The family home burned in the Great Fire of 1781 and they rebuilt it to make it “the finest brick house in New England.”
Langdon – who served as New Hampshire senator for a year in 1779 – eventually sold his home and it became a public house – where it sold alcohol, served food and provided public spaces for events and occasions. In 1833 it was then converted into a hotel.
Apparently Shelborne Langdon had an affair with the dashing John Paul Jones – and because of small town gossip, public opinion found her guilty of adultery.
Because “entities” are said to be restless when found guilty – they want to clear their name in the world before going to “the light and peace of the next world.”
For this reason, Shelborne Langdon is said to have haunted the Rockingham Hotel, roaming the halls and spending time in the Library Restaurant – where women would hear her rustling in the toilet stalls.
The drowning victim’s “ghost” carries a “strong scent of the sea” whenever she haunts the hotel – which was the last place she lived before she drowned.
According to guests, she is a friendly and welcoming creature who is known to appear in residents’ apartments and condos, appearing in the hallways before disappearing through the nearest wall.