Halloween

The morning paper reminded me that we don't need "Lonely Joe," the fictional character because Elbridge has its own ghost at the old Wayside Inn at the four corners (South, North and Main Streets). Very well-known, this ghost has been seen many times in the past - a lonely girl haunting the third story...But now there is also the tale of the playful ghost, recently christened "Harry" by the new owners. He has tapped them on the shoulder, run around upstairs, and misplaced things. Being local people - Conroys and Spains - they certainly knew about the ghosts when they bought the building.

Not always so! When I was first taking classes we heard about a house out towards Buffalo which was purchased by a family. The resident ghost was not disclosed. Soon after closing and moving in, the family moved out and sued. The result was the return of their money, amazingly enough, by the courts.

Then there's the haunted house in Seneca Falls, I believe. The manager of Gallinger told us at a staff meeting one day about the house, and how difficult it was to show it. Although totally vacant, children's toys appeared and disappeared as clients toured. Imagine a Victorian home and after you've seen the absolutely empty front bedroom returning to find a red ball in the corner!

Fascinating all this talk! There's more out there than we know - For more stories try http://blog.syracuse.com/strangecny posted by Frederic Pierce of the Post Standard in Syracuse.

And be careful out there....