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~ Bracebridge ~

In medieval times the word “inn” meant a place of shelter, comfort, peace, and a refuge from outside elements. That meaning is the same today at places like Inn at the Falls in Bracebridge.

There is a woman who gazes out the front second-storey window in room 105 at Inn at the Falls. You might think she is a guest of this fine old Victorian inn that overlooks the tumbling falls and tranquil Muskoka River, but you would be mistaken. To some she seems a figment of their imagination, and to others she is as real as they are. She may appear at any time and any place on the property. Does she walk alone in her own peaceful world? Apparently not!

An early photograph of the Inn at the Falls unearthed by the author. The woman at the window is believed to be there still. The children may be the ones still heard playing in the corridors.

This inn is a place of tranquility, as a former guest so well expressed: “Words fail me in trying to describe the beautiful time I have had here at Inn at the Falls. It is truly one of the most healing places I’ve ever experienced … due partly to the sheer beauty and gentleness of the atmosphere, but also — and to an even greater degree — because of the wonderful people who work here.

“They are genuine, warm, open and caring people who make this house a happy and loving home. And there is something profoundly beautiful about their ministry.

“I arrived here feeling exhausted and drained and left feeling deeply refreshed after only three days. I thank you with all my heart for this place of shelter and peace. How I look forward to returning in the spring.”

Quite a testimonial! And notice that the visitor mentioned the word “healing.”

Located in the heart of Ontario’s “cottage country,” the Inn at the Falls has a congenial, small-town atmosphere with one of the prettiest views anywhere and it offers a fine selection of accommodation from the traditional to the contemporary.

This is a grand old structure with stone at the front, brick at the back, a large verandah overlooking the Bracebridge Falls and a flagpole on the turret that once flew the Union Jack. It was originally the private residence of John Adair, who sold it to William Cosby Mahaffy in 1877. Mahaffy was only 29 years old and was about to open a law practice in Bracebridge. In 1888 he was appointed the first District judge of Muskoka and Parry Sound.

Ships that steamed the Muskoka Lakes at that time docked just below the home. The original Mahaffy estate extended from present-day Dominion Street along the riverfront to Manitoba Street. Here the Mahaffys raised three sons, Darcy, George, and Montegue. The boys became part of the established business life of Bracebridge, which had just begun to blossom.

Originally called North Falls, Bracebridge was renamed in 1864 when the post office was opened. Some say Bracebridge got its name from Washington Irving’s novel Bracebridge Hall. Other theories connect it to Bracebridge in Lincolnshire, England. Regardless of its origin, this idyllic location on the Muskoka River, with its unlimited supply of water, was bound to grow.

Bracebridge was incorporated as a village in 1875 and by the 1880s had become a thriving centre for lumbering, manufacturing and the tourist trade, complete with two large tanneries, a grist mill, a woollen mill, a flour mill, and a sawmill. In 1887 the population rose to 1,600 and in 1889 Bracebridge became a town. The Mahaffy family were finely woven into the fabric of this growing community. William died in England on June 14, 1912, at the age of 64. The Mahaffy family remained in the home until the 1920s, when they sold the house and estate.

For a short time the house served as an apartment house and then as a youth centre. Subsequent to that it sat vacant and fell into disrepair. What could be the cause of the decline of such a fine home? Did it, in fact, have other “occupants” who made newcomers and potential owners nervous?

In the 1930s the estate was purchased by a Toronto family who opened a hotel business called The Rainbow Valley Inn. Unfortunately, health problems prevented the owners from having a successful venture. It reopened in 1943 as the Holiday House when Ernie and Marion (nee Timmy) Allchin and Mrs. Wise bought the house and made some additional renovations to accommodate 35 guests. Travellers from all over the world visited the Holiday House in Bracebridge. Notations in the guest book of the stately old mansion included such comments as “My home away from home” and “A wonderful time spent here, hope to return”.

To the people of Bracebridge, the Holiday House was much more than a fine hotel and a place for out-of-towners to hang their hats for a couple of days. It had become a cherished landmark.

In the early morning hours of October 20, 1955, fire broke out in the top floor of the hotel. Despite the efforts of local firemen the flames spread through the upper part of the building. Some furniture from the lower rooms was saved but the loss was estimated at approximately $40,000.

Rebuilding started immediately. The stone walls were retained but the rest of the main building was replaced by a more modern structure. Architect Ken Cameron, then in his 70s, designed and supervised the reconstruction of the front portion. The flavour of the old structure was maintained by including features like the Egg and Dart design over the 160-year-old fireplace, the wooden banisters leading upstairs and the three-foot-thick foundation.

Gerard Simmons, a former employee of a business that operated there, was quoted in the local newspaper in 1976, remembering the decaying mansion from his boyhood. “We use to call it a haunted house. Of course, I don’t believe it was ever haunted, although Mrs. Allchin, who, with her husband, later bought the house and converted it into a hotel, often said she could hear ‘bumps in the night.’”

Mr. Simmons also remembered Mrs. Mahaffy. “It was rumoured that an entire room in the house was devoted to the storage of her hats only. My mother was a milliner at a shop downtown, and she served Mrs. Mahaffy often. She recalled her as a very hard woman to please, who really loved hats.”

In 1962 the Wise Room was constructed to create an English pub in the Muskokas. Formerly the furnace room, renovations necessitated the lowering of the floor. The room, supported by thick beams, was created within the original structure. The basement may have been a summer kitchen at one time and later, for the most part, had been abandoned. When the renovations occurred, the old area was again disturbed. This seems to be significant in the development of “activity” in the buildings.

In 1975 Holiday House changed hands yet again, from the Allchins to the Nivens. Jim and Jackie Niven and Jim’s grandmother owned and operated the establishment. Jackie passed away in the house after suffering from cancer. Apparently Grandmother Niven was noted to say, “This place has a mind of its own. If the place does not like you, your stay will not be long.” In 1983 it was taken over by Arthur and Sylvia Richardson with the following philosophy “To provide old-fashioned hospitality from arrival to departure.”

Grandmother Niven’s words rang true for the Richardsons. For three long years they experienced constant activity. Cathy Morrow, who worked for the Richardsons said, “Ashtrays would fly off the table and things always went missing. Clothes would fly out of the closet and often disappear, never to be seen again.”

Cathy was the office manager and had worked at the inn since 1983. She experienced more spiritual activity than anyone else. She could immediately sense a presence the moment she opened the front door of the house. She revealed that generally there would be a period of increased activity, always early morning and late night, followed by a period of no activity — and then the cycle would be repeated.

Early one morning during her first year at the inn, Cathy was downstairs in the pub. To get to the pub one had to walk down a set of stairs, past the main desk, turn left, and walk down a long, limestone corridor to the pub entrance. There was a small room for guests situated at the end of the bar. The pub washrooms were located in the lounge by way of a small corridor at one end of the room.

Cathy said, “I had just reached the corridor when a woman suddenly appeared in the doorway. She was so vivid. I could describe everything she was wearing. She had on blue jeans and a red and white striped T-shirt. She was a small woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair. She would have been in her 40s. I just looked at her and within seconds she vanished into thin air.”

Cathy told her story to the housekeeper when she arrived for work. “You have just described Jackie Niven,” said the housekeeper. It seemed that Jackie, who had died in the house, had never left. There was no other explanation and there may never be one.

In Cathy’s experience, the hauntings occurred primarily in the early morning or late at night. Her day would start at 5:30 a.m. She came through the front entrance and passed the formal dining room on her right and the parlour, complete with a fireplace, on her left. She continued down the hallway past the main central staircase until she reached the front desk located at the end of a short corridor.

The beautiful Inn at the Falls in the summer.

One morning Cathy arrived during a loud thunderstorm. There was an eerie feeling of foreboding as she approached the front door. She sensed a presence as she entered the inn. This sensing would start as a feeling and then become a knowing that something was about to happen. The “feeling” came this time, from the dining room. As she entered the darkened room a sweet, faint voice said “hello”. There was nothing to be seen but later that day another staff member said it had been the spirit named Sarah.

There have been several sightings of a young woman with long, dark brown hair in the inn. “Sarah” is sometimes only visible from the shoulders up and usually appears in white. She is seen in the main hallway and in the lower level stone corridor leading to the pub.

In 1988 the inn, now 17 rooms, was purchased by Peter and Jan Rickard. A new name, Inn at the Falls, reflected the unique location overlooking the falls. Their long experience in the hotel industry, combined with their keen desire for a family business made the inn the perfect venture for Jan and Peter. In 1989 they began to expand the inn to include other houses on their cozy village street, including the former Salvation Army Citadel.

Each year their business grew to make it one of the most successful in Bracebridge. The inn featured 37 rooms and suites, some with whirlpools and fireplaces and most with balconies that afforded views of the surrounding gardens and Bracebridge Bay.

The Rickards openly admitted that the inn was haunted. They even printed a light-hearted warning on their menu: “Our three resident ghosts, Bob, Charlie and Sarah, are friendly spirits and tend to keep mostly to themselves. Bob inhabits the kitchen area, Charlie the upstairs corridors, and Sarah can be heard rustling through ‘Victoria’s’ (dining room) on occasion.”

In 1995 Geraldine Page, a well-known American psychic (not the famous actress with the same name), arrived at the inn for lunch. On entering the premises she was immediately drawn upstairs. There she sensed the presence of a spirit and, before lunch was served, made arrangements to come back and “make contact”!

She arrived on Saturday and was ready at 10:00 a.m. in room 105, where the woman can be seen in the window. Peter Rickard recalls the early moments, “Just as she began, the lights dimmed on their own. Geraldine was lying on the bed and slowly drifted into a trance-like state. After a very short time she awakened, overwhelmed by the number of spirits that approached her. She said the spirits were there to be healed!” How many spirits did she see? What did she mean that they were there to be healed?

Ms. Page saw the woman sitting in a chair at the window of room 105. She appeared to be looking out at the street and the grounds. There was another woman moving back and forth in the hallway. She seemed concerned for the unborn child she was carrying. A man walked beside her attempting to comfort her. Ms. Page was also surprised at the number of children in the house. The voices of children laughing and giggling in the main hallway of the inn had been a common occurrence, although there had been no recorded sightings of them.

So many spirits in one place hampered her efforts to connect and the session ended. Is the atmosphere there a healing one? Do the spirits sense a presence that might help them? Is there an opening there to their world? One thing is certain: there have been many spirits seen in various areas of the inn.

The Inn at the Falls in the winter.

The strangest experiences, however, occur in room 105. This was the former bedroom of Judge Mahaffy. Most guests have experiences out of the ordinary in this room. Some guests feel a presence the moment they enter it. Room 105 is a spacious suite. An antique bed is situated on the left as you enter; the bathroom is to the far right and a central fireplace is located on the west wall; the east wall has a bay window with two chairs and a table, and a chandelier hangs over it all. It is in this room where a woman can be seen sitting or standing by the window that overlooks the street. The spiritual activity in this room varies — the television turns on and off by itself and missing keys from other rooms often show up in room 105.

In early September 1993, a couple who had honeymooned at the inn returned for a weekend getaway. They arrived Friday evening. That day the housekeeper had placed her master key in the door while she proceeded with her chores. This was the usual procedure. However, this day the key disappeared while she worked. A hunt produced nothing. The couple were informed about the missing key and they too had a look for it — to no avail. On Saturday night when they went to retire, the key was found beneath the covers in the middle of their bed.

A guest from room 106 expressed her concern at checkout time: “How is the pregnant woman feeling who is staying on the second floor?” She had overheard a conversation in the hall between a man and a woman. The guest in question had the only room booked on the second floor that night. This had happened to several guests and staff.

Monty Mahaffy, centre, in 1903 with some friends who included Frank Bastedo, second right, later Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan.

Two women arrived for lunch one day and introduced themselves to Peter Rickard as the Kirk sisters who had lived in the house for a short time in the 1930s. They had heard the stories about the hauntings at the inn and had come to set the record straight. As far as they were concerned the place was not haunted.

Peter was amazed at their skepticism. Nevertheless, he told the women the story about the pregnant woman who can be heard walking the second floor hallway at night. The sisters looked aghast and turned pale. Their father’s first wife had fallen down the stairs when she was at the end of her pregnancy and she and the baby both died in the fall. It was their turn to be shocked.

It would also appear that Judge Mahaffy has remained connected to the hotel. Although he died in England in 1912 he seems to like it at the inn in Bracebridge. Cathy Morrow first saw him in November 1997. Cathy had seen the portrait of the Judge that once hung in the main hall. Early one morning in November Cathy was serving breakfast downstairs in the pub. As usual, Cathy had opened up that morning. The pub room was open and she had returned there after completing her other morning chores. As she walked down the corridor, she caught sight of Judge Mahaffy by the cubby hole. He was floating about six inches off the floor. Cathy said “He appeared as he had in real-life, wearing grey pinstriped pants, back shoes and a large black tailcoat. His face was the same as in the portrait. Then he vanished.”

This wasn’t the first time the Judge had been seen in the pub area. At Christmas, 1996, John, the general manager, was closing up for the evening when suddenly a well-dressed man walked past the bar and into the back room to the washroom area. John waited patiently for the “guest” to finish in the washroom. Finally he went to find him. There was no one to be found and no other way out! His description fit that of Judge Mahaffy.

In spring 1998, Samantha, the duty manager, was in the little room to the left of the pub entrance and about to turn off the lights when she heard a voice say “Don’t turn the lights out!” She was the only one there.

The kitchen is another area of unexplained activity. It would seem a spirit (who the owners have jokingly named Bob) inhabits this area. Although Bob has never been seen, he does like to let you know he’s there by throwing pots and pans across the kitchen. There are no theories about the who, what, or why of Bob.

A rather difficult guest complained, when he was leaving, of a kick to the backside on the stairs. He wanted an explanation. It seems quite ironic that what he received from a spirit might seem to be just what his behaviour warranted.

Kevin Poole, a well-respected book wholesaler in Ontario, listened one summer evening in the early 90s to the staff at the pub talking about a spirit in residence at the inn. The bartender said a woman, incredibly true-to-life, was often seen in the corridors. Kevin scoffed slightly at the bartender. He wouldn’t discount spirit activity, but to actually witness what looks like a human being was unbelievable to him. Kevin left the pub, he assured me, in a sober state. As he approached his car he saw a beautiful, young woman with flowing brown hair in a long white gown. She walked past Kevin as he turned to open the car door. It was the woman from the window of room 105, the woman the bartender had been talking about! Kevin walked to the rear of the car, in order to follow her, but she had vanished into thin air. Kevin still remembers his sighting very clearly and emphasizes the woman’s youth, beauty and the fact that she was so vivid and disappeared so completely. He was in awe of what had happened and felt that she had appeared to him in order to prove her existence.

The ownership of the Inn at the Falls has changed since I was last there in 1998. Stonecroft Management now (2007) owns this inn along with several other resorts in the Muskoka District.

The General Manager/Innkeeper is Krista Havenaar. Krista has managed the property for the past three years. I was curious to hear her perspective concerning the existence of spirits at the inn. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. It is so hard to believe.” This skepticism persists despite several personal experiences with the ghostly activity in the inn. Her first encounter occurred in 2004.

“I was setting up for a wedding in the front parlour during the fall of 2004. I began cleaning and then moved some furniture around. I turned the heat off in the room. The thermostat was located just behind the door. After adjusting the thermostat I placed a sofa against the door, concealing the thermostat. I turned on some music. I left the room to go to the kitchen to get some glasses for the set-up. When I came back to the parlour it was stifling hot. I put my hand on the heat radiator and it was pumping out heat at full blast. I also noticed that the music had been turned off.

“So I turned the music back on. Then I pulled the sofa back from the door to check the thermostat. It was on full. I turned the thermostat off. I moved the sofa back against the door and went to the kitchen. This happened three times in a short period of time and I finally spoke out saying ‘that is enough’ and it stopped.”

Krista is well aware of the mischievous antics of the spirits in room 105. She recalled one incident. “A few months ago we had a woman staying in room 105. She phoned the front desk stating that there was no remote in the room for the television. Our staff delivered her a remote. In the morning there were two remotes on the night stand.”

Krista Havenaar, General Manager at the Inn at the Falls, Bracebridge.

On another occasion Krista encountered a female spirit in the kitchen. “One evening I was walking from the front desk to the kitchen. The time was 11:30 p.m. Just as I was entering the kitchen I heard this young woman’s voice just a couple of feet behind me say ‘hi.’ The voice was quite clear. Yet, there was no one in the kitchen. I locked up and left.”

According to Krista, “At one time we had this head housekeeper who had misplaced her keys to the other buildings on site. Another housekeeper found her keys in room 105.”

Katherine Cumberland has worked as a pub server in the Fox and Hound Pub, located on the lower level of the inn, for more than four years. She has actually seen the ghost of Judge Mahaffy sitting in the front parlour of the main building. Katherine is very happy working here. She is not afraid of the ghostly events of the inn or shy about sharing her stories about the inn. In fact, she knows she is never alone in the building!

Katherine Cumberland, a server at the Fox and the Hound pub, located in the lower level of the Inn at the Falls, Bracebridge.

“I believe that there is something here. You definitely get the sense that something or someone is around. You often get the feeling that you don’t belong in a certain area of the pub.”

The pub is not the only area where Katherine senses a feeling of unwelcome. “Just down the hallway, prior to the pub entranceway, is the laundry room. You just get a sense of not being wanted there. It’s not a bad feeling, but the hair on the back of my neck will stand up.”

Another area of activity on the same floor level is the meeting room. Katherine explained, “About two years ago we were going to have a party of guests use this room. Prior to the meeting, a staff member was on their way to organize the room. Just as they approached the room they heard the sound of a table being dragged across the floor. The employee thought the guests had already arrived. When she entered the room it was empty of people. She quickly observed that one table had been mysteriously moved from one end of the room to the other end.”

Guests who stay overnight upstairs in the inn still encounter unexplained events. Katherine related how one gentleman spent a restless night here.

“About two years ago we had a man staying upstairs in the main inn. At 11:00 p.m. that night, the last staff member locked the front door and left the premises. During the night the guest was awakened by people running up and down the hallways. He thought it was children playing. When the staff arrived in the morning this male guest, upon leaving, bitterly complained about not having been able to sleep for the noise. He soon discovered that he had been the only guest staying in the inn that night. The front doors had been locked and had not been possible for anyone to have entered the building.”

Some evenings when people stay at the inn, they have reported seeing Judge Mahaffy just standing in the building. He is usually described as wearing a jacket and vest. There are other reports of a child you don’t see, but hear.

Katherine has encountered this child. “One morning I arrived at the pub and heard someone say ‘hi’ to me. The voice belonged to a child. I looked all around, but couldn’t find anyone. This happened twice in one morning.”

Some staff members believe the child sounds like an eight- or 12-year-old.

In the past few years guests taking pictures of the front parlour report capturing orbs of light floating in mid-air. Even the silhouette of a person has appeared in their pictures.

Breeze Mitchell began working at the inn in the early part of October 2006. She is convinced of the existence of the spirits. Her childhood experiences have confirmed this belief. Breeze recalled that childhood. “You have to know what is real. Death is just another plane of existence. When I was younger we lived in a house in which the previous owner had died. I would see these grey images there. As a child I would sleep walk. My mother would watch me talking to someone that she could not see. I have no memory of this.”

Her day at work begins by saying hello to the staff and spirits, including Judge Mahaffy. She still sees these grey images most of the time. Breeze shared some of her experiences at the inn.

“There are three sets of lights in the kitchen. This one morning as I entered the kitchen the sets of lights went off, one by one. In the back of the kitchen the freezer doors will open and slam shut on their own. In January 2007 I was near the back of the kitchen. I looked out the window and caught sight of a woman. She was wearing a large-brimmed hat and wore an old-fashioned dress. She was standing on the outside verandah. Then she disappeared.

“Certain mornings you can often smell the scent of lavender and roses in different areas in the main dining room just off from the central hall.

“One day I had a file disappear in the office. The file reappeared a couple of days later.”

Guests who photograph the interior of the inn frequently capture images of orbs. Some people believe these orbs are actually spirits or the energy of spirits. Sometimes they appear with a pattern inside the orb.

Breeze shared a couple of stories surrounding room 105. “In late October 2006 a lady was booked into room 105. She wanted to see a ghost. That night she couldn’t fall asleep. Then she felt someone patting her back and rubbing it. She drifted off to sleep. When she awoke she realized that she was alone and had as she had wished, encountered a spirit.

“In November 2007 we had a male guest staying in room 105. A couple days later he came up to me at breakfast. He said someone got out of his bed in the middle of the night. He asked me if that was possible? I replied, ‘yes.’ He took some pictures of the room and photographed an orb floating over the bed.”

Most guests who stay on the second floor report an experience of the same paranormal event. Breeze explained, “This one night we had three young boys in room 107 and a couple with a baby in room 105. The other rooms on the floor were occupied by couples. They all reported in the morning that they had heard two gentlemen roaming the halls and going up and down the stairs and slamming the emergency exit door by room 107. The guests could hear them talking about business. This had happened about 2:30 a.m. Every room confirmed this account.”

The interview with Breeze ended with this final statement. “Each part of life is a plane of existence. How you handle one plane is how you transfer to the next plane.”

It would seem that the spirits at Inn at the Falls are still there. And no wonder, since the inn is truly a place of beauty, peace, and quiet, a place set aside from the hustle and bustle of the world. Perhaps it is too good to leave.

Either the activity here has increased, it is more able to be perceived, or it just needed a more empathetic response in order to manifest a little stronger. Whatever the cause, it certainly proves that people in the third dimension are not the only ones who appreciate a good and peaceful inn.