A Screaming Good Time

Normally, blood-soaked guest rooms and scream-filled hallways are a surefire way to ensure guests — at least the desired kind — never return to your hotel.

Just the opposite, though, has proven to be true at the , as each year hundreds flock to the auberge to hang out with the sadistic killers, malevolent spirits and cursed staff that inhabit the building during the last week of October.

Since 2002, Lamie's has been spooking the candy corn out of Seacoast residents as part of the inn's annual Haunted Hotel, which General Manager Michelle O'Brien said embraces the aesthetics of the building and the public's desire for an event like this in the area.

"If you see this building, it's just screaming out that it needs to be a haunted house," she said. "It's pretty cool. There's nothing like this in the area [anymore]. People love haunted houses and they want to be scared, and that's why I wanted to do this."

O'Brien said she expects between 600 and 700 people to check in to this year's fright-filled guided tour, which takes over a portion of the inn on Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. and costs $5 a person.

This year's theme centers around phobias, and without revealing too many details O'Brien said she expects many of the haunted guest rooms and passageways to really resonate with locals and their fears.

O'Brien said it is suprising, though, to see the different types of people who enjoy coming to the event, which is being held this year as part of a senior seminar project by Winnacunnet High School student Alexa LaMontagne and features 20 to 40 local student actors.

"I have an older couple in their early 70s who come every year — they think it's a hoot," said O'Brien. "We get a huge array of people, from students who want to see their friends to younger kids and parents in costumes. [Even the guests and walk-ins] love it. They think its really great.

"I've yet to bump into somebody who is inconvenienced by it. You'd think a lot of guests would be upset because it's loud, it has screaming and loud music, but they love it."

Even without Haunted Hotel, Lamie's still has it's share of ghost stories thanks to rumored sightings of Eunice "Goody" Cole, a Hampton native who had the distinction of being the only New Hampshire resident convicted of witchcraft in the 1600s, in guest rooms and in the hallways.

O'Brien said this year's Haunted Hotel does incorporate Cole into the event's final room. Ironically enough, though, that room — a function room named in honor of Cole — serves only as a peaceful snack and refreshment period at the end of each tour.

Even without tapping into the Cole mythology, which O'Brien said has been done in the past, there are plenty of other horror stories and genres upon which to draw for Haunted Hotel.

O'Brien said the event is open to all ages, although she recommended parents use discretion for young children due.

More information about Haunted Hotel is available by contacting the Old Salt and Lamie's Inn at 926-0330.