Haunted hotel guide · Rockland, Maine
The Haunted LimeRock Inn, Rockland: Dr. Lawry's Patients on the Stairs
An 1892 Queen Anne mansion in Rockland’s historic district where a country doctor saw patients for almost 50 years, and where guests say some of them are still waiting.
The LimeRock Inn is the turreted Queen Anne house on Limerock Street, a few blocks up the hill from Rockland’s harbor and Main Street galleries. It was built in 1892 for a rising Maine politician and became, in 1994, Rockland’s first bed and breakfast. Today it has eight guest rooms named for Maine islands, a full breakfast and a shelf of awards: DownEast readers named it the best B&B in Maine two years running, and it says it has been the top-rated place to stay in Rockland every year since 2022.
To people in Rockland, though, it is still Dr. Lawry’s house. For almost half a century the local doctor lived and practiced medicine here, and the ghost stories told about the inn all lead back to that waiting room.
LimeRock Inn at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 96 Limerock Street, Rockland, ME 04841
- Built 1892 for Charles E. Littlefield, designed and built by E. E. Lewis of Gardiner; a bed and breakfast since 1994
- Most haunted spots The main stairwell, the parlor (once the waiting area) and the old waiting room, now the Grand Manan suite
- Best-known ghosts Figures taken to be the doctor’s former patients, described as friendly
- Booking the haunted room No room is named as haunted; the stories center on the stairs and common rooms
- Good to know Eight rooms with private baths, full breakfast included, walk to the harbor and the Farnsworth Art Museum
The ghosts of the LimeRock Inn
The patients on the stairwell
From 1950 Dr. Oram Lawry Jr. ran his medical practice from this house, and for nearly 50 years Rockland families climbed its steps to see him. He was also the doctor for the old Maine State Prison in nearby Thomaston. The room now called the Grand Manan suite was his waiting room and examination room.
The most repeated story at the inn is that some of those patients have never left. OnlyInYourState says they can be heard and seen going up and down the stairwell, and Visit Maine mentions guests reporting shadowy figures on the stairs. Townsquare Media’s Maine stations, writing in 2020, described paranormal investigators finding activity from the former waiting room to the top of the main staircase. It is a story that fits the house: thousands of people passed through its rooms in its years as a surgery.
The parlor waiting room
The parlor is said to have served as the patients’ waiting area, and it is the other place the stories gather. Ghost round-ups describe the patients “spending quality time in the parlor,” and guests who have seen nothing say they have still heard voices there when the room was empty, like people talking quietly while they wait their turn.
The big mirror in the front foyer is original to the house, a gift from its first owner to his wife, and it has watched over the hall for more than 130 years. Some guests add the foyer to the list of places where they felt they were not alone.
Friendly spirits
Nobody describes anything frightening here. The investigators quoted in 2020 judged the spirits friendly, even jovial, and the stories are about waiting rather than suffering. A few online retellings also mention two little girls seen in the house, but no source we could check describes them, so treat that detail with extra caution.
What the inn says
The LimeRock Inn does not market itself as haunted, and its own history page sticks to the house and the people who lived in it. The ghost stories come from guests and have been repeated in Maine haunted guides. If you want to hear them, ask your hosts over breakfast; if you would rather sleep soundly, this is about as gentle as a haunted house gets.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The stairwell: Where figures taken to be the doctor’s patients have been seen.
- The parlor: Hushed conversation heard when the room is empty.
- The foyer: Home to the original 1892 mirror Charles Littlefield gave his wife.
- Grand Manan: Dr. Lawry’s former waiting room and examination room, now a guest suite.
History of LimeRock Inn
Rockland grew rich in the 1800s on lime: the city’s quarries and kilns burned limestone into the lime used in mortar and plaster up and down the East Coast, which is how Limerock Street got its name. In 1892 the house was built for Charles E. Littlefield, a Rockland lawyer who had served in the Maine House of Representatives, including a term as its Speaker, and was Maine Attorney General from 1889. He went on to serve in Congress from 1899 to 1908.
E. E. Lewis of Gardiner was both architect and builder. Town records valued the new house at $4,500 and its three-quarter-acre lot at $400. The round turret that defines the house today was added later, and an octagonal barn was attached at the back; the connecting ell is now the Island Cottage guest room.
In 1950 the house was bought by Dr. Oram Lawry Jr., who made it both his home and his medical office. He practiced here for almost 50 years, and the house is still known locally by his name.
In 1994 Dr. Lawry sold it to a sailing couple who had spent their summers in Rockland and wanted to save the house from an uncertain future. They opened it that year as Rockland’s first bed and breakfast. Since then it has been restored room by room, with eight guest rooms named for Maine’s coastal islands, from Monhegan and Vinalhaven to Matinicus and Petit Manan, and it has been certified as a Maine environmental leader for lodging.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a room off the main staircase if you want to be close to where the figures are reported.
- Spend some time in the parlor in the evening, where guests have heard whispering.
- Ask about Grand Manan, Dr. Lawry’s old waiting and examination room.
- Breakfast is a full three courses; do not plan an early diner meal.
- Walk down to the harbor, Main Street and the Farnsworth Art Museum; the inn is a few blocks away.
- Summer fills Rockland fast. Book July and August stays early.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Captain Grant's 1754 Inn Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Preston, CT: A haunted colonial inn where you investigate all night, then sleep in it.
- Historic General Stanton Inn Ghost Hunt, Charlestown, RI: A colonial Rhode Island inn with an overnight VIP option.
- Haunted Fort William Henry Ghost Hunt, Lake George, NY: A night inside the reconstructed French and Indian War fort.
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Lucerne Inn, Dedham: a lakeside inn with a door that will not stay shut in Room 8
- Greenville Inn, Greenville: a lumber baron’s mansion designed by the same architect, E. E. Lewis
- Captain Fairfield Inn, Kennebunkport: a sea captain’s mansion with a kindly ghost
- Haunted hotels in Maine
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the LimeRock Inn haunted?
Guests and ghost guides describe figures on the stairwell and voices in the parlor, taken to be the former patients of Dr. Oram Lawry Jr., who practiced medicine in the house for almost 50 years. The spirits are described as friendly.
Who was Dr. Lawry?
Dr. Oram Lawry Jr. bought the house in 1950 and ran his medical practice there for nearly 50 years. He was also physician to the old Maine State Prison in Thomaston.
When was the LimeRock Inn built?
In 1892, for Charles E. Littlefield, later Maine Attorney General and a US congressman. The turret was added later.
Which room is haunted at the LimeRock Inn?
No guest room is singled out, though the Grand Manan suite was the doctor’s waiting and examination room. The reports come from the main stairwell and the parlor.
How many rooms does the LimeRock Inn have?
Eight, each with a private bath and named for a Maine coastal island.
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.
- LimeRock Inn: History of the home
- LimeRock Inn: official site
- Wikipedia: Charles E. Littlefield
- WJBQ: Spend the night amongst spirits at an old doctor's office turned inn in Maine (2020)
- OnlyInYourState: 10 haunted hotels in Maine
- Visit Maine: ME Haunted
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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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