Benjamin Ames Kimball finished his castle in 1899 and died in 1919. In more recent times, the castle, now in disrepair, was put up for sale and Locke’s Hill Nature Preserve was created on the land, with hiking and skiing trails. In the 1960s and 1970s vandals stole every piece of tapestry, furniture and artwork and ripped the gates off their supports. Even the oak banisters and dragon gargoyles on the castle parapets were stolen. Now, apparitions, cold spots, lights and other phenomena are said to occur in the castle, but the castle is not open to the public and trespassers will be prosecuted.
If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know!
Related Videos
Rate this Haunted Place
What do you think? Is this place really haunted? Voice your opinion here! Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale.
Geographic Information
- Address:
- 59 Lockes Hill Road
Gilford, NH
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 43.58363964795242, -71.3793719261912
- County:
- Belknap County, New Hampshire
- Nearest Towns:
- Gilford, NH (2.8 mi.)
Laconia, NH (6.0 mi.)
Meredith, NH (7.9 mi.)
Melvin Village, NH (8.2 mi.)
Wolfeboro, NH (8.6 mi.)
Center Harbor, NH (9.6 mi.)
Belmont, NH (10.8 mi.)
Tuftonboro, NH (11.1 mi.)
Gilmanton, NH (11.2 mi.)
Moultonborough, NH (11.9 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://www.kimballcastle.com
Please note: It is your responsibility to acquire appropriate permissions before investigating any location listed on this site. Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other local regulations. Many "ghost hunters" have been arrested because they failed to contact property owners and/or local authorities ahead of time.
Share Your Experiences
Comments (12)
Share Your Comments
Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
Have photos
This castle has since been bought and is being reno ated. 44 people this year have been arrested for trespassing. Do not go here
Is this for sale?
I’m The operations manager for Yankee paranormal society. I’m Wondering if there is a possibility of gaining access to the location for the sole purpose of conducting an investigation?
I Visited Kimball Castle in 1967/8 ….I went there with my Dad & there was a Man there Painting a Picture of Kimball Castle My Dad Hoisted Me up into the Window & I let my Dad in ….it was Beautiful & Appeared untouched …Dishes on Table in Kitchen ….some Furnishings were there like a kitchen Table …I Remember a Wide Beautiful Stairway inside …some windows were broken …there was a stone Gazebo on the property & a Modern Day House ..It may have been Occupied …one of the best Views in the Lakes Region of NH ..Over Looking the Lake ..I Feel Privileged to have been inside there & Ill always remember that Day when I was 7 or 8 Years Old
Very excited to see this place in person! My son and I are hiking there this weekend!
I went to kimble castle summer 2014 and by the grace of God the owners happened to be away that day. By myself, I spent nearly three hours on the property, wandering in every room, every nook, even below the castle to the basement foundation. I took over 100 photos. There were no orbs, no sounds, no weird lights, no apparitions. Nothing. And trust me, I want nothing more than to experience the paranormal. But I am a realist. This place is not haunted.
I’m a paranormal investigator… just because you went there once for 3 hours doesn’t mean it’s not haunted… hauntings don’t happen on command… I’ve been to many haunted locations and experienced no activity… going back a second time or third time I did… if you’re lucky enough, going to a location once and experiencing activity is pretty awesome and kinda rare..
Ok soooo I might be minorly confessing to a crime here…but I think it’s covered under the statute of limitations lol… any ways when I was around 12 years old in 2009 I was on vacation in this area with my family. My mom heard a story about a castle with a great view of the lake so one evening me my mom my lil brother an my sister went looking for it. Asking around we finally found it. We get out the car an it almost felt cold in a couple areas despite being late August… so we decided to go inside an poke around maybe shoot each other with airsoft guns, typical kid stuff. The doors are not locked but pushed shut from the inside, my brother is determined to get inside so he walks around the building until he finds a window already partially broken out. Him being the smallest scrapes away the glass an climbs in thru the window. He gets the door open an we all go inside. There were power tools an sawdust everywhere, we start poking around an while I definitely didn’t SEE anything I had this weird uneasy being watched feeling the whole time especially in one of the upstairs rooms an the basement. Just thought I’d share that I don’t know if anyone else who’s been there’s felt like that?
Why is it listed if no one can even go to it
I visited this location a few years back. There are clearly posted signs sfatonf no trespassing. A group of 5 and myself entered the property and began looking around. The house is very decrepit and dangerous. We walked around inside and explored the magn ificent architecture in the eerie, abandoned castle. We didn’t experience anything in the main house. We began to walk outside and a few in the group entered the basement. It was littered with garbage. As they crawled out and began to walk away, a female member of the group reported her shoelaces being held. I watched her get twice to mover her foot. I watched her struggle until being able to move. We had the feeling of being watched the entire time, but had nothing in pictures.
It is now officially an AirBnB. So if you want to check it out it’s going to cost you about $400.00 a night and there are security cameras everywhere.