Middlesex County holds two of Massachusetts's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Middlesex County places, Stone's Public House in Ashland and Concord's Colonial Inn, rank among Massachusetts's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 139 Massachusetts sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Stone's Public House ranks #1, and its eight separate published accounts are the most of any Massachusetts site, the earliest dated to 2004. John Stone, a Baptist, built the tavern in 1832 and opened it in 1834 as The Railway House; a ten-year-old, Mary J. Smith, was struck and killed by railroad cars near the building in 1863, a documented local accident. Patrons have captured voices on recordings that identify themselves as Stone, though the claim can't be verified, and staff report tips appearing behind the bar with no transaction and tools relocated to unlikely spots.

Concord's Colonial Inn ranks #2. Dr. Timothy Minot's 1716 home stands close to the North Bridge, where the first organized resistance to British forces occurred in 1775, and Ralph Waldo Emerson later lived on part of the property. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1966, when a honeymooning couple left Room 24 and wrote to the innkeeper describing flickering lights. Guests since have reported floating orbs of light, and Ghost Hunters investigated the property.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, the state's most famous haunted site, misses the top ten.

"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:Stone's Public House, 179 Main St., Ashland, is an operating tavern and restaurant open daily.Concord's Colonial Inn, 48 Monument Square, Concord, is a working inn; the Taproom Bar is open daily to the public.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/massachusetts/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/massachusetts/Photo: Stone's Public House, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: stonespublichouse.com and concordscolonialinn.comA 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

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