Haunted hotel guide · Springfield, Vermont

The Haunted Hartness House Inn, Springfield: The Governor's Tunnels

An inventor governor’s 1904 mansion with a tunnel to his telescope, where guests say their bags get packed for them and a boy named Charlie keeps the Lindbergh Room company.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

2.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1904Year built
240 ftTunnel to the telescope

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

Hartness House stands on a hill above Springfield, in the hills of southern Vermont near the Connecticut River. It was built in 1904 as the home of James Hartness, an inventor with more than a hundred patents who also flew airplanes, built telescopes and served as governor of Vermont. He left behind something no other Vermont inn can offer: a long concrete tunnel running from the basement to his telescope on the front lawn, with underground rooms where he could work without being disturbed.

The house has been an inn since 1954, and its ghost stories are as unusual as its builder. Guests describe electrical oddities, closet doors that open on their own, belongings rearranged or even packed back into their suitcases, and a young boy called Charlie in the room named for Charles Lindbergh. Here is what is reported, the remarkable history behind it and what to know before you book.

Hartness House at a glance

2.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History4
Ghost hunter access1
$$ · $150 to $300
  • Address 30 Orchard Street, Springfield, VT 05156
  • Built 1904 for James Hartness, later governor of Vermont; an inn since 1954; on the National Register since 1978
  • Most haunted spots The Lindbergh Room, the tunnel and underground rooms, guest rooms in the main house
  • Best-known ghosts Governor James Hartness; a boy named Charlie; former guests who never left
  • Booking the haunted room Ask the inn whether the Lindbergh Room is available
  • Good to know Inn and wedding venue with an astronomy museum and historic telescope on site; it closed in late 2020 and has since been renovated, so confirm current operations before you plan a trip

Check availability

The ghosts of Hartness House

The governor in his tunnels

Some staff believe James Hartness never really left the house he designed so carefully. The most persistent rumors involve the tunnel and the underground rooms beneath the front lawn, where he once worked alone: guests and staff talk of strange sightings down there, and of a sense of being watched in the long passage.

Hartness died in 1934, and the idea that he still keeps an eye on his workshop and his telescope is part of the house’s lore rather than anything documented. It is, though, easy to believe once you have stood in that quiet concrete corridor.

Charlie in the Lindbergh Room

Charles Lindbergh stayed with the Hartness family in 1927, during his tour after the first solo transatlantic flight, and one of the guest rooms carries his name. According to Yankee Magazine, that room is said to be haunted by a boy named Charlie.

Some guests have tried to communicate with him, and on one occasion staff even left an apology note for Charlie in the room. Nobody has identified who the boy might have been, and there is no record of a child dying in the house.

Packed suitcases and opening closets

Vermont Magazine collected the most common reports from guests: strange electrical events, closet doors that open by themselves, belongings that are moved, rearranged or packed neatly back into suitcases, and voices breaking through as static on mobile phones at night.

Some staff blame the governor. Others think former guests enjoyed their stays so much that they simply stayed on.

The tunnel to town that is not

A long-running rumor says another tunnel leads from the house all the way into Springfield. A former facilities supervisor, Tyler Goodrich, actually crawled through the passage to find out, and told Yankee Magazine that it is a utility tunnel for the electrical, plumbing and sewer lines. The legend lives on anyway.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The Lindbergh Room: Named for Charles Lindbergh, who stayed in 1927; said to be home to a boy called Charlie.
  • The tunnel: A 240-foot concrete passage, about seven feet high, from the basement to the telescope.
  • The underground rooms: Hartness’s workshop, library, study and lounge beneath the front lawn.
  • Guest rooms in the main house: Where belongings are said to be rearranged or packed away.

History of Hartness House Inn

James Hartness, born in 1861, built this Shingle Style house in 1904, when he was president of the Jones and Lamson Machine Company. He was the engineer behind Springfield’s machine tool boom: his flat turret lathe suited the new automobile industry, he earned a royalty on every machine sold, and over his life he took out more than a hundred patents (Yankee Magazine counts 119). He was also a pilot, an amateur astronomer and, from 1921 to 1923, governor of Vermont.

In 1910 he built a turret telescope that still stands near the front lawn, and connected it to the basement of the house with a concrete tunnel about 240 feet long and seven feet high, so he could reach it in any weather. Beneath the lawn he added a workshop, library, study and lounge where he could work in peace. Today the Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making is based at the house.

Hartness entertained famous guests, most notably Charles Lindbergh, who landed in Springfield on July 26, 1927, on his tour after flying the Atlantic, and spent the night at the house. Hartness retired in 1933 and died in February 1934. The house became an inn in 1954, when a ballroom was added; a restaurant followed in 1968 and a new wing in 1971, giving the inn about 40 guest rooms.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The inn closed in late 2020 and was put up for sale in 2021. From 2021 the owners renovated it for continued hospitality use, repairing the original siding and windows, adding an accessible entrance and upgrading the guest rooms, with the help of federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. The Rutland Herald later reported that new investors had taken over, with Jules LaVoie managing the inn. In 2023 the Stellafane amateur astronomy community held its Hartness House Workshop here, and the house is still listed on major booking sites, but its own website could not be checked for this update, so confirm dates directly.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Call ahead to confirm the inn is taking overnight guests on your dates; weddings and events can fill the house.
  • Ask whether you can see the tunnel and the telescope; access may depend on staff and events.
  • Request the Lindbergh Room if you want the room with the best-known story.
  • If you love astronomy, ask about the Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making on site.
  • Keep an eye on your suitcase. If it gets packed for you, that is the most famous trick in the house.
  • Pair it with the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm, about 40 minutes north.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Hartness House in Springfield, Vermont haunted?

It has a strong local reputation. Guests report electrical oddities, closet doors opening, belongings packed into suitcases and static voices on phones, and the Lindbergh Room is said to be haunted by a boy named Charlie.

Who haunts Hartness House?

Some staff believe it is Governor James Hartness, who built the house in 1904 and died in 1934. Others point to a boy called Charlie and to former guests.

Are there really tunnels under Hartness House?

Yes. A concrete tunnel about 240 feet long runs from the basement to Hartness’s 1910 telescope, and he built a workshop, library, study and lounge underground. The rumored tunnel into town turned out to be a utility tunnel.

Did Charles Lindbergh stay at Hartness House?

Yes. He stayed with the Hartness family in 1927 during his tour after the transatlantic flight, and a guest room is named for him.

Is Hartness House open?

It closed in late 2020 and was listed for sale in 2021, then renovated for continued hospitality use. It now operates as an inn and wedding venue; confirm dates directly before you plan a stay.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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