Windsor County holds two of Vermont's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Windsor County places rank among Vermont's ten most haunted in HauntBound's 2026 index, including Springfield's Hartness House Inn at #1. The index ranks 34 Vermont sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Hartness House Inn ranks #1, and no Vermont site has more separate published accounts. James Hartness, a Vermont governor and inventor, built the mansion in 1904, with an underground office and observatory linked by a 240-foot tunnel; aviator Charles Lindbergh stayed in the corner room in 1927. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1927. Guests in that room report a benign child presence known as Charlie, and staff describe a sense of being watched in the basement; the tunnel is linked to electricity cutting out and objects turning up elsewhere.

West Hartford Railroad Bridge ranks #8. On February 5, 1887, a Vermont Central night express derailed and caught fire after falling onto the frozen White River, killing roughly 37 people in Vermont's deadliest train accident; Dartmouth's Robert Fletcher later traced it to a broken axle. Three separate published accounts describe activity there. Visitors describe the smell of burning wood with no apparent source and cries at night said to echo the wreck.

Statewide, Emily's Bridge in Stowe, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #6.

"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:The Hartness House Inn, 109 Front St., Springfield, is a working inn; guests can also visit the underground tunnel and observatory.West Hartford Railroad Bridge is visible from Route 14 in West Hartford; view from public areas only and stay off the active rail line.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/vermont/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/vermont/Photo: The Hartness House Inn, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: hartnesshouse.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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