HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1812 shipbuilder's mansion where guests report a woman in white on the cupola stair
6 Pleasant Street, Kennebunkport, ME 04046
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$$
Luxury bed-and-breakfast room rates; varies by room and season.
Access
Limited Access
1812 Federal mansion with staircases including a spiral cupola stair; contact the inn about accessible rooms.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1812 · Federal-Period Architecture · War of 1812 Shipbuilding History · National Register of Historic Places
The mansion was built in 1812 by Nathaniel Lord, a wealthy Kennebunkport shipbuilder and shipowner. Kennebunkport's shipbuilding trade had been largely shut down by a British blockade during the War of 1812, and Lord reportedly kept his workers employed by setting them to construct this house and its barn. The result is one of the finer examples of Federal-period architecture in the region.
The house remained in the family line for generations before becoming a bed-and-breakfast, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it operates as the Captain Lord Mansion, a luxury inn at the center of the historic village of Kennebunkport.
The figure attached to the ghost story is Phoebe Lord, Nathaniel's widow. Haunting-focused accounts say Nathaniel died only a few years after the house was completed, leaving Phoebe to raise their children and manage the household for decades afterward, and it is her presence that guests and inn lore associate with the building. The 1812 construction and Lord's shipbuilding background are documented; the specific family details in the ghost accounts come from travel and paranormal sources rather than the historical record.
Sources
The mansion's best-known story is a woman in white. Guests and inn lore describe a female apparition in a white nightgown or dressing robe, identified as Phoebe Lord, the widow of the man who built the house. The sightings cluster on the spiral staircase that leads up to the home's rooftop cupola, where she is said to be seen walking up or down, and in two guest rooms, the Lincoln Room and the Wisteria Room.
The story has been retold across regional travel and paranormal coverage and was the subject of an episode of the New England Legends podcast devoted to the mansion's ghost. The accounts are consistent in their details, a quiet, non-threatening figure connected to a woman who, by the haunting tradition, spent many years in the house after her husband's early death.
These are guest and tradition accounts rather than investigated cases. The inn presents itself first as a historic luxury B&B; the ghost story is part of its lore rather than a promoted attraction.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Captain Lord Mansion operates as a luxury bed-and-breakfast. Guests book rooms including the Lincoln and Wisteria rooms named in the apparition accounts. Reservations are made through the inn's own website.
See current room rates and availability at Captain Lord Mansion.
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