 The
1923 construction by Doctor Taylor of the rear two-story addition at 601
Whitaker Street is
reported to have started sightings of an unknown "spirit" in this 1883 Italinate
historic home on Forsyth Park. The bricks used to construct this addition were
previously
used in an old jail. Ever since the completion of the addition, the rear
portion of the house, now occupied by the Whitaker-Huntingdon Inn has
experienced unexplained activities and noises. See comments documented about
other activities in the rear rooms in our guest book when you arrive.
The previous owners claim the "spirit" must have been incased in the section of
the old brick jail used to build the addition. As a result of the construction,
the "spirit' was moved from the old jail site to 601 Whitaker Street. The
identity of the "spirit" has not been determined to date. However, a young
female spirit has been seen in the late evening and early morning hours wearing
a flowing white gown as she glides through the rear portion of the house about
three feet above the floor.
Since the current owners purchased the home in 1976, sightings of the "spirit"
have been reported by two separate female occupants of the rear lower Taylor
suite. On both occasions (separated by approximately two years) the tenants
moved out of the Taylor suite claiming that the "spirit' was residing in the
rear bedroom. Household pets have also acted strangely in certain rooms of the
house.For no known reason, when a door suddenly shuts by itself, they will let
out strange noises and bristle their backs as they look toward a darken hallway
or an adjoining room.
Unexplained events have occasionally occurred during the day-light hours. In
1991, a couple of the construction workers, renovating the upper floor bathroom,
quit for lunch about noon and never returned after they noticed their tools and
other objects rolling about the floor without any apparent cause.
 In
order to protect the guests from the pranks of the "spirit", the innkeepers have
hung a "cross" pendant necklace on the antique dressers in both rear suites. No
"spirit" activities have ever been reported in the front Gordon-Stewart suite
and have not been reported in the rear suites since the necklace has been
in place. However, sometimes the pendants are removed by someone and
we've had to purchase a new one to replace it.
Braver quests may request the innkeepers to remove the necklaces from the
dressers if they wish an opportunity to experience the Spirit of 1923. If you do
remove the necklaces, you may be lucky enough to feel the spirit's cold breath
or seen her glide by the foot of the four- poster plantation style rice bed
which, by the way, has a mattress raised about three feet above the floor. |
