Deerfield Massachusetts

Deerfield Inn

An owner of The Deerfield Inn describes her spirits as
being “mischievous, bossy, and, well, silly.”

A good-natured spirit gets his chuckles by startling the
guests and entertaining the young.

A former owner keeps a motherly eye on living
owners and likes to supervise.

DESCRIPTION

The Deerfield Inn is a lovely 1885 vintage inn, complete with a lovely verandah in the front of the two story structure. It has a lovely collection of antique furniture, and a peaceful, friendly aura. Rooms are beautiful, and very comfortable. Meals are delicious. Tom and I had a great time staying here on our summer road trip of 2010.

The Deerfield Inn has 24 guest rooms of various types and sizes. Eleven guest rooms are located in the 1885 structure, while thirteen rooms are in the newly renovated carriage house. Nice perks are the two guest living rooms with comfortable nooks for “conversation and quiet time.”

HISTORY

The Deerfield Inn was built in 1884, by the two Bradly brothers who had just lost their inn, burned to the ground on the village common. They picked this location, near the Deerfield River, to rebuild their inn, thinking that it would be closer to a water source; perhaps preventing another total loss from fire. This location also was on the stage coach stop, a natural source for customers; travelers looking for a nice place to spend the night. People traveling in carriages and by horseback also appreciated having an upscale inn at this location.

Business was so good that they could afford to enlarge their inn, just a year later. They hired a local contractor, George Arms who was a gifted builder with an eye for beauty and skill in constructing upscale inns. He knew just how to enlarge the little inn into a guest-pleasing hotel. For years, the Deerfield Inn was a favorite place to stay for people traveling through on their way to Boston, or Northampton.

John and Cora Carlile were the owners during the early part of the 20th century, enjoying what they did immensely. In the 1920s, a brochure claimed that The Deerfield Inn had “the atmosphere and charm of early days, with modern comfort and convenience.” There were 30 cent breakfasts, only a dollar bought dinner, and the traveler could have a double room with running water for only 3 dollars.

On August 28th of 2011, Hurricane Irene flooded the nearby Deerfield River, which caused an overflow that flooded and ruined the basement, the first floor of the Deerfield Inn and their carriage house, causing also a loss of electricity, and bringing on the need to be closed for restoration until the spring of 2012. The water and sludge ruined the common rooms in the older structure of the Deerfield Inn, while the newer guest rooms suffered destruction in the carriage house.

On their Facebook page, the public can keep track of the Deerfield Inn’s progress, as they make lemons out of lemonade, making the ruined parts of the inn even better. They are still taking reservations for 2012 when they open again.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

People who dabble in spiritualism and seances while alive, seem to be open to staying or visiting their favorite spots in this world after passing into the spirit world themselves. Cora Carlile held seances, trying to contact her husband, John after he had died and passed over. Sometimes owners of mansions or businesses stick around to supervise or help the living who are the current living owners of the property.

Both John and Cora really enjoyed running their Deerfield Inn; perhaps a little too much. People who enjoy a place while alive, sometimes after they passed, come to visit or stay awhile to enjoy their memories. There have been many many guests over the years who loved staying at The Deerfield Inn.

MANIFESTATIONS

Current owner of The Deerfield Inn describes her spirits as being “mischievous, bossy, and, well, silly.” A lot of the activity happens in rooms 48, 43 and 41.

General manifestations that could be done by any of the spirits here:

— Lights flash by themselves

— Mysterious knocks on the doors, made by unseen hands

— Books move by themselves and

— Tables are moved to the middle of rooms

The female entity of Cora – A strong, female presence (The “bossy” one)

Her see-through presence, wearing her dressing gown, has been seen, walking around in various areas of the inn, keeping an eye on things.

Late at night, owners have been tapped or pushed gently on the back by Cora, as a reminder that they should go to bed.

A male entity, who is thought to be her husband, John

This entity has been seen by the living going about his business.

Perhaps he is the one who moves the tables to the middle of the rooms.

The male entity of perhaps a former guest, Hershel (The silly one)

Hershal visually makes himself known as a bright box of bouncing light

Room 48 – Hershel, a good-natured spirit, gets his chuckles playing little tricks on the guests who stay in this room.

Rearranges their covers and pillows, pulls all the Kleenex out of the box, etc.

This entity loves to make a mess – tosses magazines and books all over the room.

Hershel loves children. He will rock one of the rocking chairs on the front porch to amuse the kids.

STILL HAUNTED?

A BIG PROBABLY SO. The staff and guests have learned to live with their spiritual residents; a bossy innkeeper, a can-do male entity; probably her husband, and a silly, good-natured male spirit who loves kids.

Plenty of personal experiences have been reported by staff and guests for many years. Perhaps some private investigations have been conducted here, but the results have not been published on line. The stories of the paranormal manifestations have made it to several online publications. The owners have said that they also have ghost-free rooms, as well as the haunted ones.

They know the names of their spirits, so someone must have found out for them; either by an EVP, or a psychic or medium.

More activity will probably increase in frequency, once the inn has been renovated and restored once again.

LOCATION

81 Old Main Street
Deerfield, Massachusetts 01342

The Deerfield Inn can be found in Historic town of Deerfield. Take Greenfield Road to Memorial Street. Bear to the right, onto Old Main Street. Deerfield is 23 miles north of Northampton, and south of Greenfield, out in the countryside. 91 runs near Deerfield.