Conference hydra::dejavu

    I grew up in Ashland, but have only actually been in the Inn once. (It
    used to be called the Ashland Hotel, and my Dad told me "Nice" girls
    didn't go in there. It was a real dive for years) 
    
    The one time I did go in there was for lunch the day of my 15th class
    reunion, and the only vibrations I heard or felt, were when the train
    went by about 5 feet from the building! ;-) I did get a free drink
    because of it though! 8-)
    
    Seriously though I have heard that some people have felt things in
    there. In my early life, I always attributed it to the DT's from the
    guys who hung out/lived there, but once it turned to John Stone's, I
    still heard a few rumblings about the place. Nothing specific, second
    hand information, but stories of things moving or being missing, and
    noises where there were no visible people.
    
    I know it's not much help, but I thought I'd put in the little I have
    in case it was of interest.
    
    Y

    FWIW:
    
    I had a friend who *used* to frequent the place,(10+ yrs ago) and he 
    said that one night he saw a "dark shadow" behind the bar and in the 
    next instant, a glass flew to the floor and shattered.  He was very 
    concerned, but the 'tender at the time said it was just so_and_so and 
    not to worry.  (I don't think it was the train, or he would of wrote
    it off...)
    
    Needless to say, he didn't feel comfortable and never went in there
    again.   I guess a lot of people had/have similar tales to tell...
    
    At least that's the story he told us...

         The story I heard was it was being haunted by John Stones himself.
    He likes to tilt his picture when no one is around and he leaves tips
    on the bar for some reason. I don't know if he drinks sounds as if he
    treats his employees well.
         A friend of mine told me a bunch of stories about New England
    which I will put in separate notes.Thank you for your input I always
    like to hear a good ghost story.
    
                                                     Thomas
    

    
    Having been a "regular" at one point, let me tell you the stories I've
    heard...  Tho I've never witnessed these things myself
    
    Trains have run thru the center of town for a *very* long time and it 
    is said there are tunnels running under the street where runaway slaves 
    were supported in their movement.  Some lives were lost in the tunnels.
    Some skeletons have been found to confirm this.
    
    Now, as for the Inn.  Part of the building served as a residence for
    some time.  Folks living there supposedly found things moved around,
    heard lots of noises, footsteps and pounding on walls, and always in 
    the upstairs area.  And always very late at night.  Workers at the
    restaurant/bar also reported hearing noises, always after closing.
    
    I recall seeing a TV special some years ago in which the Inn was
    featured, or I should say, the ghosts at the Inn.  One of those special
    cameras that could "see" ghosts was used.  Together with a woman who 
    could call the spirits, they recorded some pretty amazing footage.
    
    Unfortunately, tough economic times have caused John Stone's to close.
    The patrons, these days, are only the non-paying type and probably 
    lonesome for the fun of recent past times.
    
    The railroad continues to run past.  

         According to the " The Ghostly Register" the place was indeed used
    as a hiding place for the Underground Railroad at one point complete
    with hiden room.
         A seance was held in the inn around 1984 by Raffaele Bibbo, a
    parapsychologist from Waltham, MA. It was said that his team contacted
    the spirit of Jone Stone and the spirit did not want anyone in the
    building. They also made contact with the spirit of a salesman that 
    was killed by John Stone, apparently got caught cheating at cards. 
    The spirit said that he was buried in the basement and that Jonh took
    his money and put it in a safe underneath the bar.
         A search of the basement revealed nothing but the owner of the 
    eastablishment said he did find a safe under the bar when he first
    bought the place but had it removed some years ago.

    When it was open, I went there several times. The second time
    I was there, it was for a wedding shower for a co-worker. Someone
    reserved a room on the second floor for the party. I was sitting
    towards one end of the room and suddenly felt two presences. (I
    live with a ghost, so the feeling of a presence is very familiar).
    I paid a lot of attention to what I was sensing and then asked the
    bartender if he had been a long-time employee (he had) and knew
    anything about the place (he did). He smiled and asked why I was
    asking, and I said I sensed two presences in the room, down at
    the end, and all I could tell him was that there were definitely
    two of them and they were short. He laughed and said that the
    ghosts of 2 children were in the room, had been seen by many people
    over the years; they liked to look out the windows (I guess to watch
    the trains go by). 
    The bartender said there were several ghost sightings in the building,
    one (a man) in the bar area, who was known to move things around
    almost every night!
    I am sorry they closed the place, it was delightful!
    
    lynn