The Common Man Restaurant, Merrimack, NH
March 20, 2009

History:  From what we have learned, prior to 1780, this estate (now known as The Common Man Restaurant) was owned by Edward Goldstone Lutwyche.  It seems that Lutwyche was a Tory (a British sympathizer) during the Revolutionary War.  It is thought that due to his sympathy for the British, the Continental Congress seized the estate from Lutwyche. 

Matthew Thornton, one of the three New Hampshire men who signed the Declaration of Independence lived a good portion of his life in Derry, NH, and served as a doctor.  He also served in the New Hampshire Troops in 1745, was a Colonel in the Londonderry Militia until 1775, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Courts, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives for New Hampshire.  When the Revolutionary War broke out, he was much too old to serve, however, he did retain his rank as Colonel.

In 1779, he retired from his medical practice and in 1780 purchased the estate previously owned by Edward Goldstone Lutwyche.  In 1745, he had married Hannah Jack and together they had five children; James, Andrew, Hannah, Matthew, and Mary.  Hannah died December 5, 1786, at the age of 44; their son Andrew died one year later in 1787, at the age of 21, and Matthew Thornton died on June 24, 1803, at the age of 89.  He and his family are buried across the street from the house in the Matthew Thornton Cemetery.  Both the cemetery and house were placed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1978.  In the early 1800's, his son James turned the home into a tavern.  Since then, it has been a private residence, apartments, a doctor's office, and a restaurant.

One of the reported ghosts is said to be that of a man in old clothes. He appears and disappears at random. Restaurant employees have reported seeing figures pass doorways and hearing strange noises in places where there are no living beings to cause them. On Father's Day in 2007, a bartender/waitress waited on two guests in one of the restaurant's several dining rooms. She filled their water glasses and moved on to another table. The couple went downstairs to the buffet. While the bartender/waitress was introducing herself to the guests at the next table and filling their water glasses, she heard a crash behind her and looked over to see the glasses that she had just filled fall onto the floor and land upside down. The folks at the second table said they saw the glasses "jump" off the table. Staff members have said chairs continuously need to be set straight because they seem to move by themselves; bottles of liquor fall (or jump) off shelves without explanation. Shadowy figures are seen from time to time, disembodied voices are heard, and objects seem to move by themselves.

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

Investigation:  On March 20, 2009, the Souhegan Paranormal Investigators arrived at The Common Man Restaurant in Merrimack, NH, at 11:00 p.m. in hopes to investigate and capture visual or audio proof of paranormal activity.  We were greeted by the General Manager, Jim Peretti.  Jim did a walk-through with us to show us the hot spots.  Though he has not had any personal experiences, he was familiar with what the staff and others have experienced.  He informed us that earlier that evening, a young lady who was dining with her family had her hair pulled not once, but twice that evening during dinner and no one could find an explanation.  

After the walk-through, we set-up our equipment, waited for the bar area to close and started the investigation a few minutes after midnight. Unfortunately, we were unable to capture anything on video. However, we did capture some interesting EVP's. Early in the evening when Jessica and Sue were investigating the 200 Room, Sue was trying to make contact with an entity and was asking, "If you are here with us this evening, James, Matthew, could you give us a sign?" Followed by the click of a camera, a sort of raspy male voice can be heard saying "No" followed by a female voice whispering, "Yes."

Jessica and Chris were in the Carriage House and captured the following EVP's: Chris is telling Jessica the story of when the Fire Department was called to the restaurant (it was known at that time as Hannah Jack's) and a firefighter saw a little boy with a pillow going up the stairs from the Carriage House carrying a pillow and then disappear. Listen for the sound in the background that has a tone similar to that of ringing chimes. (You will probably need headphones to hear the sounds.) The next EVP is when Jessica was attempting to coax the little boy into "bonking" her on the head with a pillow. She says, "Pillows don't scare me." You soon hear the sound of a "bonk."

Chris and Jessica were in the bar area next to the Carriage House and Jessica was talking to Chris about hearing a noise like ice falling into an ice machine. Listen carefully when Chris finishes saying, "I know how that is with ice." Immediately following, you will again hear the sound as though chimes were ringing.    Upon mentioning this to the General Manager, he suggested that the only two objects that he could think of to make sounds near that what we heard would be either the tapping of a cow bell that they use to alert a server that a patron's meal is ready to be served or someone playing a key on an old piano that rests in a room in the upstairs of the restaurant. Knowing that none of us made these sounds, we now wonder who or what else could have made them?

Another EVP capture was when Jessica and Chris were in the 100 room where James Thornton (the son of Matthew Thornton) is said to have hung himself. They were discussing letting the curtains down to shut out the light. Jessica said, "Could we go find, I forget what his name is, and see if we can shut all these curtains?" Immediately following, you will hear a whispered "Yeah."

Rita captured an EVP when she and Jessica were investigating the older part of the basement area. Rita said, "Can you show us or talk to us?" and if you listen real carefully you might be able to hear a female whispering something like "What are you asking?".

Though we were not successful in capturing more EVP's and video evidence, the evening was still very exiciting because several of us had personal experiences. Chris and Sue were in the kitchen area having a discussion and out of the corner of her eye, Sue said in a startled voice, "Oh Chris..." Chris said, "Did you see it?" They both saw a black mass moving at a fast pace float by them. They described to one another what they had seen and feel that it could have been a shadow figure. However, it was moving so quickly that it was hard to say for sure. During the evening in the 400 Room, Irene had a similar incident happen to her. She had a black mass pass in front of her very quickly and move over her right shoulder. Again, we feel this could have been a shadow figure, but it is hard to say for sure because the movement was so quick.  It would have been nice if these masses would have stopped for a couple of minutes so that we could have "studied" them, but I guess that isn't how it works.

Rita also had a personal experience which is like the Holy Grail of paranormal investigating. She was alone in the entrance foyer looking at the pictures on the wall of previous owners and their families. She turned to look upstairs toward the bar area which is designed with a seating area and a balcony. She then saw a woman nonchalantly walk from one end of the room to the other. The woman never looked down at her and seemed to be unaware that she was being watched. Rita noticed that the woman had light gray hair and was wearing a long gray dress from days of old. Rita's first thought was that it was one of us, but when she realized it was not any of her colleagues, she then knew she had just seen an apparition. It was solid in form; not translucent. The fact that the apparition did not look down toward Rita and made no attempt to interact with her alerts us that this probably is a residual haunting. A residual haunting is when an entity/spirit/ghost makes no attempt to interact with the living and doesn't realize that anything else around them is happening. They repeat their same routine over and over again like playing a movie over and over. At the end of the evening, Rita mentioned her experience to Jim, the General Manager, and said the apparition looked like the lady in one of the pictures hanging on the foyer wall. Jim informed Rita that he has been told the lady was a former owner of the establishment/residence, but he didn't have the details as to what her name was or when she owned the establishment/residence.

Note:  A psychic whose name is Lucia Read emailed me on 02/14/11 and had this to say about her many visits to The Common Man Restaurant in Merrimack, NH:

I have visited that restaurant on several occasions, and have encountered the spirits you mentioned online. The man who hanged himself (from a beam that is still quite prominent in the restaurant) is James Thornton, the son of Founder Matthew Thornton. He paces the floor of the restaurant, locked into the anguished moments before he ended his life. He is very remorseful about something and will not move on until he forgives himself. The woman mentioned in your investigation is not a previous owner, I believe, but Hannah Jack herself, the mother of James Thornton. I saw her quite clearly through the window when we first approached the building. She gazes down from the second floor balcony at the spot where James killed himself and I think she waits for him. However, I doubt he knows she's even there, he is so wrapped up in his own misery, but she is, waiting to escort him out of there when he finally is ready. There is also something or someone in the basement, and I think James' remorse may be connected to that spirit, although I was only downstairs in the basement very briefly once. The manager said it was part of the underground railroad, but I don't think the spirit is connected to that, but rather to James.

Due to the EVP's, personal experiences, and the apparition that was seen, SPI deems The Common Man Restaurant as being haunted.

Note: To view pictures from this investigation, please click on this link.  Pictures From The Common Man Restaurant, Merrimack, NH March 20, 2009.