around and walk right through the wall,” said Niki.
One day a dinner guest in the restaurant saw a little girl sitting on the stairs to the second floor. The girl was playing with a doll. The man thought the girl was real. He had no previous knowledge of haunting in the building and was very surprised to discover that there were no children on the premises.
One night Niki was sound asleep in her bed in the attic; she awoke to hear heavy breathing. She quickly turned on the bedroom light. A glance to the other side of the bed revealed the shape of a human figure outlined in the duvet beside her. Seconds later she watched as the figure disappeared and the duvet returned to its normal flat shape. A ghost had actually joined her in bed!
Another night she was startled from sleep by someone shouting her name in her ear. At first she paid no heed to the noise, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Then it dawned on her. Could this be a sign of danger? Rising from bed she quickly scrambled downstairs to check her children on the second floor. They were fine. All this time the thought of fire played on her mind. Her fear took her downstairs where she discovered a candle burning against a wooden window sill. Somehow a mysteriously lit candle had fallen against the pane of glass and then onto the sill. Had the spirit not awakened her the entire family might have been trapped by fire. The original fate of the hotel could have been repeated!
Who lit the candle? The spirits, of course. It was not uncommon for Niki to come downstairs in the morning to find a burning candle on a dining room table. Indeed, Niki once encountered a lit candle every morning for 30 days in a row! Once she even discovered a candle burning under a table. She had had enough. Like Mark Freeman, she decided to address the spirits. Niki asked them to stop; she demanded that they end this ritual and they listened. For a time the candle nonsense was curtailed.
The spirits found other ways to taunt Niki, however. She found herself locked in her room one night, from the outside. She had to call a friend in the morning to come and unlock her bedroom door.
Despite the number of pranks they played on her, Niki felt the spirits in the house cared for her. “After working all day and evening I would stay up to watch television and then nod off. The spirit would turn the television off. I would wake up, turn it back on and shout at them, tell them I was not finished watching the tube. Then I would doze off and waken to find it turned off again. I know they were looking out for my welfare.”
One evening after closing time Niki sat down at her desk on the main floor to do some bookkeeping. Suddenly she felt that somebody was watching her. She turned and saw the figure of an old woman standing in the down-stairs hall. The woman smiled at her, turned, and disappeared down the hall.
The infamous “Table 13” at Jester’s Court Inn looks innocent.
When Niki was out for an evening a young male staff member worked late in her place. He phoned Niki to come to his rescue; he couldn’t handle the ghostly activity. He saw a couple sitting at table 13 and an elderly woman serving them dinner. The restaurant was officially closed at the time. The lights had been turned off in the dining room but somehow a candle had been lit at table 13. He wasn’t long in finding another place to work.
Table 13 is located in the glassed-in porch, overlooking the main street. It was not unusual for a passerby to see a candle burning at table 13 and a couple having dinner — after closing hours. Niki had many requests from diners to be seated at table 13, famous in the area for its “special status.”
In late 1997 Niki had to make a heartwrenching decision — continue to stay in business or sell. She was tiring of the long hours and all the hardships that go with owning your own small business. By now she was quite attached not only to her business, but also to the spirits who lived in the building. Nevertheless, she decided to sell. How did the spirits feel about the change?
Apparently they were not happy to have Niki depart the premises. At one point when discussions were being held in the restaurant regarding the sale to the new owners, a plate from an overhead shelf flew off and broke into three pieces in mid-air. One piece hit Sam Chiusolo, one of the prospective buyers, on the head, and the other two pieces landed on the other side of the room.
The new owners decided to change the name of the business and expand it to include a pub. They called this business “The Jester’s Court.” A lovely interlocking brick patio with a black iron fence was installed in the front. The second floor, formerly living quarters, was renovated and is now a pub, complete with dining tables and a large bar. The washrooms are located on this second floor down a hallway near the stairs.
Scott Chiusolo helped to manage this busy establishment. He was soon introduced to the spirit activity that continued to be a daily occurrence. The large front door to the building has top-bolt and bottom-bolt locks. No keys exist for the bottom lock so the business is locked nightly using only the top-bolt lock. About once a month Scott would arrive at work in the morning only to discover that the key would not open the door, because the bottom bolt had been locked by some unforeseen hand.
“We have often heard footsteps coming down the central staircase. One night I was by myself in the office in the basement when I suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I got up to see who it could be, but discovered that no one was there,” stated Scott.
Joanne Chiusolo was cleaning the ladies’ washroom one day when she heard a creaking sound as the door to one of the washroom stalls opened and closed three times. It has also not been uncommon for the washroom stalls to be locked on their own. Many female patrons have had the experience of entering the ladies’ room and watching the stall door close on its own followed by hearing the lock being positioned into place. Two female customers saw the elderly woman dressed in blue walk into the ladies’ room and disappear right in front of them.
One night Sam locked up and was headed home when he remembered some important papers. As Sam opened the front door on his return, he was grabbed from behind and held in a bear hug for 12 to 15 seconds. He felt quite cold — and needless to say, terrified. On another occasion he was downstairs in the basement adjusting a compressor when he was pushed from behind.
Other employees of The Jester’s Court experience “sightings” or “unexplained activity.” Salt and pepper shakers move from table to table, the radio and the lights are turned off and on, dirty dishes are moved from one table to another, pens and eye glasses are taken and a chair is placed on the stairway landing at night. Windows remain open and are unable to be closed. The gas burning stoves and the overhead ventilation fans in the kitchen turn on and off by themselves … and the list goes on. Certainly a number of pranks involve candles — fire — a strange coincidence considering the history of the building.
Spirits always seem to be attracted to one or two individuals. The reason for this is unknown; perhaps these individuals are more sensitive to the energy. Niki was one and Debbie Burton is another. Debbie has had some incredible and quite hair-raising experiences.
Debbie Burton, a waitress at the Jester’s Court, has experienced several supernatural encounters.
For Debbie it all began back in October 1997 when she was hired as a waitress at The Jester’s Court. At the time she was quite aware of all the ghost stories circulating in town about the place, but she paid little heed to them. One of her first experiences was being locked out of the restaurant after finishing her evening shift. She was standing outside on the front porch when she heard the bottom bolt move into the lock position. She threw her hands up in the air and said, “Oh, fine, lock me out I’m finished for the day anyway!”
On another occasion she escorted the last group of people out of the building at closing time and locked the front door. As she turned around to go back into the main room she discovered that some force was holding the door to that room shut tight. Debbie was unable to turn the doorknob. She started shouting, “Let me in. Stop playing this game. I have to close up.” The door suddenly released and she was allowed into the room.
When Debbie