Orleans Waterfront Inn – Haunted Inn in Orleans, Massachusetts

The Orleans Waterfront Inn stands as a historic landmark with a dark underbelly, blending scenic Cape Cod charm with chilling ghostly encounters. Built in the 19th century, this once-bustling hub for sea travelers and locals has become notorious for its spectral residents.

Guests and staff alike report eerie footsteps, disembodied whispers, and ghostly apparitions, earning the inn a reputation as one of the most haunted locations on Cape Cod.

Historical Background

• Year Built: 1875
• Original Purpose: Hotel and Tavern
• Significant Events:
  • The inn’s upper floors were once used as a brothel, where tragedy struck in the early 1900s when a young woman named Hannah reportedly took her own life in Room 5 after falling into despair.
  • Over the decades, the building also served as a speakeasy during Prohibition, attracting a mix of illicit activity and unsavory characters.
  • Stories persist of mysterious disappearances and violent incidents tied to the waterfront’s criminal past.

Paranormal Activity Summary

• Common Occurrences:
  • Guests frequently report cold spots, flickering lights, and sudden, unexplained drops in temperature.
  • The scent of perfume, assumed to belong to Hannah, sometimes fills Room 5.
  • Objects move on their own, including doors slamming shut without cause.
  • Muffled conversations echo through empty hallways late at night.
• Notable Ghostly Figures:
  • Hannah, the heartbroken spirit of the former brothel worker, is the inn’s most well-known ghost.
  • A shadowy male figure, believed to be a former smuggler or prohibition-era gangster, has been spotted near the bar and waterfront.

Ghost Stories & Reports

• The Ghost of Hannah:
  • Guests staying in Room 5 often wake to the sensation of someone sitting on the bed.
  • Many have heard soft crying, followed by the faint scent of floral perfume lingering in the air.
  • Some visitors have even seen a mist-like figure of a woman near the room’s window, gazing out at the water as if waiting for someone who never returned.
• The Shadow Man:
  • The dark silhouette of a tall man in period clothing is regularly seen in the inn’s tavern area.
  • Bartenders report hearing glasses clinking and chairs scraping when the room is empty.
  • Some locals believe this entity is tied to the speakeasy days when bootlegging operations ran through the Orleans waterfront.
• Phantom Footsteps:
  • Multiple guests have heard footsteps pacing the hallways in the dead of night, only to find no one there.
  • Staff have followed these sounds, which often lead them directly to Room 5 — even when the room is unoccupied.
• Local Folklore:
  • According to local legend, sailors once referred to the building as “The Widow’s Welcome,” a nod to the lonely women who once worked and died there. It’s said their spirits never fully left, eternally bound to the rooms where they lived and loved.

Most Haunted Spot Inside

• Room 5 is considered the epicenter of paranormal activity at the Orleans Waterfront Inn. This room, where Hannah is believed to have taken her own life, has left countless guests too terrified to stay the night.

Can You Visit?

• Open to the Public? Yes
• Entry Fee: None for general visits (standard room rates apply for overnight stays)
• Tour Availability: Occasional paranormal events and ghost tours, especially during October.
• Photography Allowed? Yes
• Visiting Hours: Open year-round for lodging and dining.

Best Time to Visit

• Fall and Winter – Paranormal activity reportedly peaks during the quieter off-season months, when fewer guests are present and the spirits are said to be more active.

First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports

• In 2013, a guest shared their terrifying night in Room 5 on a paranormal podcast, describing how the room’s door creaked open on its own three separate times, despite being locked.
• A former bartender reported seeing a glass slide off the bar and shatter on the floor — with no one nearby.
• Paranormal investigators have captured chilling EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), including a woman’s whisper saying, “I’m still waiting.”

Paranormal Investigations & Findings

• Featured on Paranormal TV Shows:
  • The Orleans Waterfront Inn was highlighted in an episode of Ghost Hunters, where investigators documented unexplained temperature drops, disembodied voices, and an apparition on thermal cameras.
• Local Paranormal Groups:
  • Cape Cod Paranormal has conducted several overnight investigations, capturing shadow figures, anomalous EMF spikes, and an unsettling voice whispering “Help me” near Room 5.