Blaser's Fireside Tavern, Hopkinton, NH
 September 26, 2009

On Saturday evening, September 26, 2009, the SPI (Souhegan Paranormal Investigators) group ventured to Blaser's Fireside Tavern in Hopkinton, N.H.  Attending this investigation was Sue, Irene, Rita, Elisha, Patti and John, and our friends Dianne and Distant Wolf. 

History: Around 1858, Mr. Joseph Mills and his wife Lucinda came from Dunbarton, N.H., and built the main section of this restaurant as their home.  At the time of their death, the house was passed on to one of their two sons whose name was Frank.  Their other son, Jeff, owned a house next door.  One version of the story claims that Frank and his wife lived in the house together until her death in 1924.  Two years later, distraught over the death of his wife, Frank shot himself in one of the upstairs rooms.  However, a second version as told by a relative of Frank Mills to the current owners has said that Frank's wife left him (before her death) and that due to the absence of his wife, and illnesses that he had, Frank put a shotgun underneath the overalls he was wearing, held the shotgun pointing up toward the underneath of his chin and pulled the trigger.  The house was then passed on to Frank's son who then sold it to Harold Kimball in the early 1930's.  Harold Kimball was a very wealthy and influential businessman from N.Y. who employed much of Hopkinton's work force during the Depression.  He later sold the house as a restaurant and soon after, the stories of Frank began to surface.  Wait staff have heard noises from rooms that they know are empty; carpenters have had their saws turn off and on, and candles have been known to light by themselves.  Frank has also been spotted roaming the house from time to time and is known to play pranks.   

Our arrival time was approximately 8:00 p.m. While we were gathered outside, perusing the building and the grounds, Distant Wolf and Dianne (who were totally unaware of the restaurant's history) were able to enlighten us with information they were receiving.  Distant Wolf picked up on the name Lucinda (whom we later found out was the wife of Joseph) and Dianne picked up that there was a "messy" suicide that took place inside (and we later found this to be Frank's suicide).  There is a pond adjacent to the restaurant and Distant Wolf told us the pond had been hand dug which we later found out was accurate.  When Harold Kimball owned the restaurant, he had friends of his dig the earth to create the pond. Once inside the restaurant, we were given a complete tour by Nancy, the owner and a most gracious host of the restaurant.  We then proceeded to set-up our equipment and begin the investigation.  The tavern which is on the first floor was still open during the investigation so while listening to most of the EVP's, you will hear music in the background.  It interfered somewhat with the investigation, but being the diligent investigators we are, we prevailed. 

Note: Using headphones will enhance the audio for your listening pleasure.

The Function Room: We began our investigation on the third floor which is where the function room and private rooms for family members are situated.  It was approximately 9:15 p.m. when we began the investigation.  Throughout the evening we investigated the function room off and on and experienced a few things.  Distant Wolf received information that we had 8 spirits with us that evening; three of them definitely being Lucinda, Frank and Harold.  He also received the name "Cloutier", but we didn't get any evidence of that name.  (The restaurant is also known to harbor one or two spirits of children, but as far as we know we didn't encounter them.)  Distant Wolf was calling upon the spirits to interact with us and he was telling them that he was getting tired of them not doing anything.  Just after he said that, his EVP recorder turned off by itself.  We have no explanation for that.  He turned it back on and it worked fine the rest of the night.  For a short while, Dianne felt heaviness in her chest while in the function room, but it left pretty quickly.  At one point, Dianne had her pen lying on a table and asked if a spirit could move the pen.  The pen slightly rolled to its right side.  When asked a second time to make the pen move, it did not move. 

Rita was using the dowsing rods and asked if Frank was with us.  The rods crossed confirming that he was.  Shortly afterward, Rita was walking out the doorway of the function room and felt something tussle her hair.  A few minutes later she went back into the room, and using the dowsing rods, asked Frank if that was he who tussled her hair and again the rods crossed giving confirmation that it was him. 

Midway through the evening, while in the function room, Distant Wolf showed us how to use dowsing rods.  Patti seemed to get a real grasp for them and, like Distant Wolf, was able to use them to communicate with the spirits.  Sue was using the dowsing rods and asked, "Do we have any spirits here with us this evening?" and captured a screeching sound similar to that of an Eagle.  The screech is followed by Rita saying, "Mine crossed."      Distant Wolf then told Sue, "You might have to bring it back."  Right after the word back another disembodied sound was captured that sounds like a "burp".   We know for sure that none of us regurgitated so we have no explanation for this. 

On videotape, we captured orbs moving throughout the room every now and then.  However, we cannot say whether these orbs might have been an entity or if they were dust.  If you view our photos that are linked to this investigation, you will notice a few orbs in the pictures that may be something more than dust.  Our EVP recordings confirm that when taking these photos the orbs happened to appear.  Was it coincidence that they happened to be there or did they really want their picture taken?  One example of this was captured on video when Distant Wolf was asking for information on the murder/suicide he felt happened there, and on video you can see two orbs moving across the room. 

Honeymoon Suite:  There is a little alcove to the left of the dining room which is referred to as the Honeymoon Suite.  It seems it inherited that name before the house was converted to a restaurant and the name has stayed.  There is a table with 6 chairs in the honeymoon suite and serves as a cozy room for dining.  It is not uncommon for the wait staff, or anyone else to find one specific chair turned away from the table and facing a window as if someone was sitting in the chair looking out the window. 

While Distant Wolf and Dianne were investigating this room, Distant Wolf received information that a man had died in this chair either from a heart attack or a stroke, and fell forward, this being the reason why the chair is found from time to time turned, and facing the window.  While Distant Wolf was sitting in the chair, he said it felt very cold.  He also learned that at one time this little room was used as a birthing room.  He said he could hear a baby cry.  This piece of information was backed up by an EVP captured by Sue while she was investigating the dining room.  (As mentioned earlier, this little room is a small alcove off the dining room.)  Listen carefully, and when you hear Sue saying "...have it turn from green to amber", you can hear a newborn baby cry.     Distant Wolf was also able to see a full bodied apparition that of a male in his 50's with black hair and a beard.  We couldn't get positive identification of this gentleman, but we feel it might have been Frank. 

When Sue and Irene were investigating the Honeymoon Suite, Sue was talking about Frank having committed suicide.  Listen carefully after Sue says, "Can you confirm that to be the truth?"  Right after that the telephone rang and during the second ring, you can hear what sounds like a male saying, "Yeah".     Sue also captured another EVP while asking the spirit(s) if they could make the light on the KII meter change.  You will hear Sue speaking and then there is a pause.  She then speaks again and begins to say, "Can you make the light change for us?" and as she begins saying the word "light", you can hear a sound like that of a horn on a tugboat. 

Dining Room: When Sue and Irene were investigating the dining room, Sue was saying, "Can you do that for us?  Can you make the light turn from green to red?  Then she asked Irene, "What's the matter?"  Immediately following the word "matter" is a sound like someone very quickly exhaling.      

We captured some pictures that we thought were prudent to the investigation.  To view the image gallery, please click on this link.   Pictures From Blaser's Fireside Tavern Investigation, Hopkinton, NH September 26, 2009.