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Location:
Ashley House can be found on Riverdale
Road (Route 5), which is in West Springfield, Massachusetts. If you wish
to visit Ashley House, and perhaps spend the night at the Hotel located
on the same property as this high class restaurant, take the Massachusetts
Turn Pike, and get off at exit 4, and proceed south for about a mile.
Address: Ashley House, Riverdale Road,
West Springfield, MA 01105.
Description:
Ashley House can be described as having
a mix and match of old and new architectural design, depending on the
whim of the owners of the building, from 1829 through the 1990's. Originally
constructed in 1829, by Charles Ashley, to be the main manor house of
a rather large homestead, the central part of Ashley House is done in
the Greek Revival style of architecture, complete with a side hall, and
arched gable windows. Members of the Ashley family lived in the house
until the 1920's, when the house and property were sold. New additions,
built in the architectural styles of the day started, in the 1930's, when
the house was being transformed into a tavern and inn. Around the end
of WW2, more remodeling was done when the tavern & property were sold
again becoming a restaurant, called Matteoli's Spaghetti House. Then in
1951, the house became Vincent's Steak House, and more remodeling took
place. Even more remodeling took place from '78. The final result of all
these changes produced a rather sprawling, meandering building, with architecture
representative of the 20th century.
Ashley House has 2 stories and a basement
/ cellar. The first floor traditionally houses the dining and drinking
area. The second floor, originally the place Ashley family's bedrooms,
now has restaurant offices. But during it's "raunchy" tavern
days, the second floor had bedrooms for overnight guests, and for the
paid activities with "fallen women." The basement now is partially
used for banquets, and has a cellar. During the tavern days, cock fights,
and boisterous parties were held there.
Manifestations:
There are 2 minor, rather gentle ghosts,
that hang out in the basement, and a rather active ghost that peruses
both floors, keeping a sharp eye on the living, boldly interacting with
those who displease him, and also making his presence known in many ways
to others.
1) Ghosts in the Basement
A) An employee of the restaurant went
down to the basement on her break to have a smoke in the smoking area.
Before she lit up her smoke, she happened to glance through the door
that leads to the cellar. She saw a mysterious mist rising from the
floor in the cellar, collecting in the doorway. There was no physical
explanation for it.
B) A psychic / medium by the name
of Ceil Leionchuk went down to the basement, and saw two elderly people,
a rather benign man and woman, sitting before a fireplace, dressed in
"antique clothes." Ceil heard them talking about an upcoming
wedding in their family; what needed to be done to prepare for it. Ceil
felt that they were members of the Ashley family.
2) The Ghost of Mr. Vincent
Mr. Vincent was the very successful
restaurant owner of Vincent's Steak House, that was hugely popular and
made a lot of money. While alive, Mr. Vincent was a very hard worker,
and practically lived at the restaurant. Concerning his employees and
his business, he ran a tight ship, expecting things to be done his way
and at his high standards. He treated his employees fairly and appreciated
those who did good work. He watched his employees carefully, to be sure
things were done right.
Near the end of his life, Mr. Vincent
tried to start another restaurant in the downtown area, but it flopped
and closed within a year of it's opening, becoming a large financial loss
for Mr. Vincent. This failure brought much embarrassment, rage and guilt
to Mr. Vincent, as he should've listened to his long-time fiend and partner,
who tried to talk Vincent out of this deal.
A) In the foyer of the restaurant, where
Mr. Vincent used to welcome his guests, many have been exposed to an
awful smell in this 4 by 4 foot square area. The smell reminds people
of rotten eggs, sweet tobacco, or sewage. This foul odor didn't leave
this area. Step out of the 4 by 4 foot area, and there was no smell,
while stepping in this area, one smelled it again. (Enid Hoffman, a
noted parapsychologist states that entities that die in a state of rage
or guilt, have the ability to emit a foul odor.) It is theorized that
Mr. Vincent produced this odor when he was displeased because his high
standards weren't being upheld in some way by either the employees or
management.
B) A chef that had worked for Mr.
Vincent, who was now working for the new owner, saw a detailed apparition
of Mr. Vincent in the dining room, at about 5 in the morning, while
preparing lunch.
C) Another employee saw a "white
wisp" float through the dining room, while yet another employee
felt a tug on her shirt while standing in the dining room.
D) When the restaurant was closed,
and no one was downstairs, footsteps were heard constantly by the care
taking couple who lived in a second floor apartment.
E) A female bartender, who was opening
and closing, would find things in different positions than how she specifically
left them. One time, when she came into the kitchen, the big dish washer
suddenly turned itself on, with the top open, which soaked her thoroughly
before turning itself off.
F) People working in the offices
on the second floor would hear the door open & footsteps coming
up the stairs. But no one was ever there
G) The adding machine in the upstairs
office would on occasion turn itself on, and numbers would appear, which
didn't have meaning for the living.
H) Papers and invoices would move
from where they had been originally put.
I) The banquet manager would be
using the Xerox machine and would become aware that an unseen presence
was with her. It would walk by her and bump into her, like it was looking
over her shoulder, studying what she was doing.
J) In the 1980's, the son of the
then owner was working in an office that had been used by Vincent. He
felt an unseen presence keeping him company which walked up behind him
and touched his shoulder.
K) In the second floor storage room,
a lot of the stuff that belonged to Vincent was still there. When Ceil
walked into this room, her throat felt tight and her stomach hurt, indicating
Vincent's presence.
Still Haunted?
Yes
Despite the fact that Vincent's stuff
on the second floor storage room was disposed of, on advice of a psychic,
Vincent is still present, keeping an eye on the living, periodically
appearing in the dining room. When not pleased with how the current
management is running things, he still causes a foul odor to materialize.
Also, the ghosts in the basement
are happily hanging around, not bothered by the living at all, just
enjoying the home they loved.
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