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Two New London landmarks rank among Connecticut's ten most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, two New London landmarks, the New London Ledge Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Inn, rank among Connecticut's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 83 Connecticut sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

New London Ledge Lighthouse ranks #1, and no Connecticut site has more separate published accounts. Completed in 1909 at the mouth of the Thames River, the offshore brick lighthouse is built in a French Second Empire style with a mansard roof. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1920. Coast Guard crews who staffed the light before its 1987 automation logged doors opening on their own, activity attributed to a keeper known as Ernie. The Maritime Society treats Ernie as folklore rather than confirmed history.

Lighthouse Inn ranks #6. Charles S. Guthrie, a steel-fortune heir, built the Mission-style mansion as a summer home called Meadow Court in 1902; it became an inn in 1927. Two separate published accounts describe activity there. Its best-known story, of a bride who fell to her death on the staircase around 1930, was publicly rejected by a New London historian, who told The New York Times there had been no such bride.

The Snedeker House in Southington (exterior viewing only), the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #7.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:New London Ledge Lighthouse, offshore in the Thames River, is reached by summer weekend boat tours from New London.Lighthouse Inn, 6 West Guthrie Place, New London, is a restored dining and event venue that reopened in 2022.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/connecticut/The fact sheet, with New London numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/connecticut/Photos: the New London Ledge Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Inn, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: nlmaritimesociety.org and lighthouseinn.usA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Two New London landmarks among Connecticut's most haunted places

Two New London landmarks, the New London Ledge Lighthouse and the Lighthouse Inn, rank among Connecticut's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. No Connecticut site has more separate published accounts than the lighthouse, completed in 1909, where Coast Guard crews once logged doors opening on their own, activity attributed to a keeper called Ernie. The Lighthouse Inn, the 1902 mansion built for steel heir Charles S. Guthrie, ranks #6; a New London historian has publicly rejected its well-known bride-ghost story.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/connecticut/