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Old Yarmouth Inn & Tavern –
HauntedHouses.com
Haunted Place: Old Yarmouth Inn & Tavern
ADDRESS:
223 Route 6A
Yarmouthport, Massachusetts
02675
(508) 362-9962
Old Yarmouth Inn & Tavern web site
The inn offers a high quality
restaurant and tavern, hosts banquets, weddings and receptions and
special events, but is not using its guest rooms on the second
floor for visitors at this time.
LOCATION:
Old Yarmouth Inn Restaurant and Tavern can
be found in Yarmouthport in Cape Cod. The Old Yarmouth Inn was
built in 1696 in a strategic place, in the city of Yarmouthport, a
village which was located 35.18 miles southeast from Plymouth, and
was 45.51 miles from Provinceton. While such a drive today would
take around two hours, back in the days before modern
transportation it was a long day and a half trek via stagecoach or
horseback, making Yarmouthport an ideal place to spend the
night.
HISTORY:
This Old Yarmouth Inn Restaurant and Tavern
is described as a 2 story white colonial structure, with an attic
and basement, which houses the inn, three distinct dining rooms,
and an informal tavern.
The Red Room and the Music Room are smaller
and perfect for small affairs or intimate dinners. The bright
beautiful room now used as the Main Dining Room, was added on to
the original structure in the 1940s as a sun porch but later was
enclosed to become the large dining area.
This Old Yarmouth Inn Restaurant and
Tavern, established in 1696, lives up to its name, having the
distinction of being the oldest inn in America which is still
operating as an inn, which serves terrific food, offers great wine
and fine company, and is still a place to host special events!
After it opened in 1696, while it was a
restful place to stay with good food to enjoy in the 17th &
18th centuries, this establishment also was a favorite place for
church goers to visit after services. The churches had no heat, and
the Old Yarmouth Inn was warm and toasty inside and served
refreshments; the perfect place for after-church fellowship!
The Old Yarmouth Inn through its long
history, also was used as a dentist office, family homes, a
boarding house for the school teaching staff and perhaps a place
where Revolutionary era soldiers were stationed; but this isn't
clear as the historical records were lost in a fire.
Before the Civil War, the owners of the inn
were part of the underground railroad, and hid runaway slaves in a
secret room in the attic, which was found by the future owners, the
Powell family, when granddaughter Althea was playing in the attic
and discovered it.
MANIFESTATIONS:
Throughout the years, many owners and many
visitors have lived and stayed here. No one knows if any died in
their sleep. There seems to be at least 2 ghosts, a man and a woman
who make The Old Yarmouth Inn their home. It is suspected that the
male entity may be Althea Power's grandfather. The female entity
may be the woman who died in a fire on the second floor or could be
a slave woman from the underground railroad days. It was rumored
that she was the mistress of the owner of the Inn at that time.
1) The Guest Rooms
a) Quisset Harbor Room - A guest sleeping
in this room was awakened around 4:00 AM and found that he had
company! A calm-mannered gentleman dressed in late 19th century
clothing was standing at the foot of the guest's bed, puzzled as to
why the guest was in this room. The guest described this apparition
as being a "jowly individual with big full cheeks."
b) A male guest, with a fear of ghosts was
awakened by a ghostly form which sat on the foot of his bed. He was
scared and hid under his covers. He then felt unseen hands rub and
massage his feet. Then an unseen presence shook the bed vigorously
by holding onto the bed posts and shaking them. Lickity-split, the
guest made a beeline for the porch and spent the rest of the early
morning hours there until the sun went up. One can speculate this
may have been a female entity, as he got a foot rub, which was
something a woman may have done at the times in history when either
the slave woman or the mistress were alive.
Perhaps another entity or two have joined
the other two entities in the Inn. I theorize this because some of
the incidents listed below seem to be out of character for the
other two known entities. The female entity likes to tease and is
playful, the male entity is calm, well-mannered and controlled, but
the possible third entity likes to be part of the managing staff,
and has taken action when the living act in a manner not becoming a
live person, in its perception! To me, it sounds like a
Revolutionary War or other era Military Officer or other
soldier(s), another past owner or employee.
( The Heceta House *
General Wayne Inn )
2) The Dining Rooms and Kitchen
| a) |
After turning out the lights in the
dining rooms for the evening after closing, the lights have been
turned on by an entity who wanted perhaps a chuckle and to say:
hello, I'm still here - I have some control!
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| b) |
There are unexplained cold spots and
drafts felt by the living.
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| c) |
Recently, the waiters and staff who
supervise the dining area have heard their names whispered from an
unknown voice.
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| d) |
The kitchen mixer was turned on by an
entity, while a relative of the owner was getting a cup of coffee
early one morning. The relative produced a lovely reaction,
providing some entertainment for this unseen mischievous
presence.
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| e) |
Another guest came down early one
morning to get some coffee in the kitchen, but she couldn't figure
out how to open the kitchen doors. A voice from nowhere told her to
"Push!" |
3) The Tavern/Cocktail Lounge
| a) |
While pouring drinks on the bar, the
female bartender has had to hold the glasses still.
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| b) |
Some playful entity likes to slide ash
trays down the bar and flip them into the air for the fun of
it.
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| c) |
It's never a good idea to proclaim one's
unbelief about ghosts in a haunted place!
( Hassayampa Inn, The Inn
at Jerome )
One such customer visiting the tavern found out the hard
way why this is true. The cover of the air conditioner came undone
and flew 10 feet across the room to graze this scoffer's head; not
hurting, but scaring enough to correct faulty thinking!
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| d) |
Window panes have come loose from their
hinges by themselves or probably helped along by a jokester
entity.
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| e) |
The doors open and close by themselves.
Unexplained cold spots also can be felt at times. |
STILL HAUNTED?
Yes indeed!
Ghosts are playful, a bit mischievous but
harmless entities who are part of this old inn.
Sources include:
"A Haunting View of Cape Cod" by Sara Webb Quest on authorsden.com * Old Yarmouth Inn web site * "Cape Cod Books That Go Bump in the Night" on capecodtoday.com
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