It is a snowy night in the mid-1980s, and I am driving with my wife through snow-covered back roads into Cranbury. As we roll through town, we spot the lights of the Cranbury Inn and decide to take a break.
The only person in the faintly lit old stage coach stop-turned-restaurant is a bartender. We take a seat at the bar, order something warm, relax, and chit-chat about the weather.
Then thinking that the scene of a couple driving at night through the snow and stopping at a quiet Colonial-era inn has the making of a spooky tale, I causally ask, “Any ghosts here?”
Without looking up from drying a wineglass, the bartender nods, opens his mouth, and exhales a world of mystery.
For years since, I have collected bits and pieces of ghost stories for tale-telling reasons, including a number of cafes and restaurants where the spirits on the menu are undistilled and unbottled.
And with this being that time of the year when every old ghost story rings new, it just might be time to think about suppering with some spooks.
The Cranbury Inn, obviously, is a good place to start.
As the bartender told us, strange goings on have happened in the structure that goes back to the 1700s.
Included on the list are the usual things that go bump in the night, doors swinging open, objects lifted into the air, and chairs rearranged.
There are also accounts of ghostly apparitions. One is a man run over by a stagecoach in the 1790s. The other is a woman who died at the inn when it rented rooms.
But according to newspaper articles and a video testimony made by a former owner, several psychics and ghost hunters have visited the inn and came away with the impression that there are multiple ghosts who stayed at the inn.
But don’t worry, the reports say the spirits remained because they belonged to people who were happy during their stay there — but they also seem to get disturbed during an occasional renovation.
The Cranbury Inn, 21 South Main Street, Cranbury. www.thecranburyinn.com.
Al’s Airport Inn in West Trenton is a strange brew that blends a tavern opening in 1933 near a once fledgling, now busy, airport with ghosts who seem to have been part of the fight to create a once fledgling United States.
Al’s ghostly regulars are reported to be soldiers who died during George Washington’s Revolutionary War march to Trenton after the historic Delaware River crossing during the winter of 1776.
In addition to Trenton newspaper articles about people spotting Revolutionary soldiers marching down the road, an account in the book “Weird Ghosts” has the statement by a bar-goer who was on hand the night two women stopped in and asked about the two men dressed in Revolutionary War attire entering the bar through the closed front porch entrance.
“I silently told myself they were probably just a little tipsy,” continues the writer. “Later, while helping clean up, I heard noise on the old front porch, which is now enclosed. But when I investigated, nobody was there.
“As I got into my car to head home, I turned to look at the enclosed porch, where the women claimed to see the soldiers going into the bar. I saw nothing. Then, when I looked back toward the road to start my drive home, I saw two men walk past my car.
“They were dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms and were walking up Bear Tavern Road toward Ewing. I was scared, but I kept watching them head up the road for what seemed forever. A car finally drove by mine, and they disappeared in its headlights.”
Interestingly, historical reports say only two of Washington’s troops died during the march — which included Bear Tavern Road.
Al’s Airport Inn embraces its ghosts and offers a website invitation for people to stop in and sample their ghostly history.
Al’s Airport Inn, 636 Bear Tavern Road, Ewing. www.alsairportinn.com.
The Hawke in Lambertville, around 11 miles north of Al’s Airport Inn, is a restaurant, bar, and inn reported to have a stock of spirits that, according to online reports, create noise, play with pots and pans, and knock down paintings.
A psychic who maintains the “Haunted History Jaunts” website says visitors will also get a chaser of orbs and various energies.
As she writes about her first time approaching the 19th century building on the corner of Union and Mount Hope streets, “I saw a woman standing at a window on the third floor, one of the few windows lit up this night. I was unaware that we were approaching an actual ‘Inn’ which offered rooms to those visiting the area. But this woman stood out to me as she was wearing clothing that was dark, high-necked and with a laced collar. There was a broach of some sort at her throat and she was standing with her hands folded across her chest, staring longingly outside into the night. From her energy and the fact that my husband didn’t see her (always a good sign), I knew she was a spirit. I started to feel the strong pull of this place and began picking up on a lot of different energies inside the building — both intelligent and residual.”
The Inn of the Hawke, 74 South Union Street, Lambertville, www.thehawkerestaurant.com.
The Logan Inn in New Hope, just across the Delaware River from Lambertville, “has a whole host of ghosts,” notes Haunted Places. The ghostly website reports that the inn that began as a 1727 tavern “was in operation through the Revolutionary and Civil wars. People have claimed to see an American Revolutionary War-era soldier beating his ghostly drum through the hotel. In addition, people claim to see dancing orbs that are visible to the naked eye.”
It is also where the same psychic who visited the inn in Lambertville says she encountered another woman dressed in period clothing and a soldier. She also says she has “witnessed children spirits running around as well — three different ones. Two boys and a girl and all appear to be under the age of 10” and “a massive, dark, billowing mass of … well … of something.”
The above-mentioned female ghost may be that of Emily Lutz. A relative of former owner, Emily is mainly connected to the inn’s Room 6, but she is also known to appear in the restaurant.
The Logan Inn, 10 Ferry Street, New Hope. www.loganinn.com.
And last for this story, but not the end, is the King George II Inn in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Less than 30 miles from the U.S. 1 area, it is a quick trip to a venue that reaches back to the late 17th century and provides a view of the Delaware River — as well as a glimpse into the afterlife.
One of the past owners of the place that has been called one of the nation’s oldest continuously run taverns and one of the most haunted places in Pennsylvania was the first to tell me about the inn’s most reported sighting: The Dancing Ghost.
According to her, as well as various newspaper and online accounts, the apparition wears a top hat and 19th-century formal wear, including a coat with tails. Speculation has it that he is prepping to have a spirited night out on the town.
In addition to the dancer, there are the normal ghostly activities happening throughout the building: silverware and chairs moving, doors slamming, pictures flying off the wall, bottles floating, and crying — in this case it’s a baby.
Despite the familiarity of such predictable occurrences, a reviewer for the website Haunted Houses said the stories and “pictures posted on Eastern Pennsylvania Paranormal Society are pretty convincing, and back up the personal experiences of people who have seen these two entities. The spirits here don’t seem to be too chatty, because I couldn’t find any posted EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) online yet. People who work there don’t need hard evidence to convince them that the spirits are in the building. Their many personal experiences make the reality of the presence of spirits front and center.”
King George II Inn, 102 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.kginn.com.
While all of the taverns and inns are open during the upcoming weekend and offer a great opportunity for adventurous diners, just remember the following: You can order wine, but spirits are on the house.
