Yet More Tales of the Unusual

The exterior of the building still looks as it would have in the late 1800s. The house had not been lived in for a few years prior to being purchased, so it was somewhat neglected, although not run down.

Arranging to meet at the restaurant, four female members of one family, enjoying a girls' night out, entered via the front door for a meal. One woman in the party had heard local talk that there was a ghost in the restaurant so, after a quick group discussion, she decided to ask the waitress.

Answering the question, the employee related what had happened to her.

On the night she described, the waitress was closing. As the restaurant had not been extremely busy that night, she wasn't exhausted. At the end of her shift, she did a general tidy-up, checking to make sure everything was safely locked up for the night. Heels clicking on the wooden floor, she headed across the front room to turn off the lighted open/closed sign that had been shining its welcoming light through the front window onto the street. As she left the dining room, she clicked the switch on the wall to turn off the ceiling lights.

Passing the bar area, she walked through the kitchen to the back door. The machines had all been turned off; the hum of the refrigerator made the only noticeable sound. The woman punched in her personal key code, locked up, and left the building, following the same routine she had always gone through. Once in her car, she backed down the driveway toward the street. She was almost out to the road when she happened to glance back toward the restaurant, to give the building a once-over.

The restaurant lights and the open/closed sign were all lit up again! What was going on?

She was positive she had turned out all the lights.

Shaking her head in confusion, the waitress drove back up the driveway, into the lot, and parked her car again. She nervously walked to the staff entrance at the rear of the restaurant. She punched in her key code. It wouldn't work! She tried again. Nothing. The door would not open!

To get in, she used another staff member's key code. She walked back through the kitchen, past the bar, to the dining room where the lights were not on. She looked beyond, to the front windows. The open/closed sign was not lit either. What was happening?

She quickly backtracked, almost running, and left the restaurant feeling very uncomfortable.

Afraid of what she might see this time, she checked the restaurant again. Things were as they should have been as she drove out the driveway this time. Lights out in the restaurant. Sign off. She shook her head. There was no rational explanation for what had happened.

Past owners of the house include the first teacher at the one-room schoolhouse once located behind the recently closed Wiarton Public School. Her brother owned Wiarton's first sawmill. Another owner of the home was Captain Port, late owner of the ship Jane Miller, sunk November 25, 1881. He and his eldest son lost their lives, becoming a part of local legends surrounding the mysterious sinking. Also, a Mr. Yawkey, owner of Fitzwilliam (Horse) Island, stayed at the home; after arriving sick with pneumonia he died there.

At other times, employees have seen the ghost, an elderly female figure, at the top of the stairway leading to where the bedrooms of the house would have been. It is said that the name of the ghost is Mary. Just a feeling, a name that seems to belong.

These are only a taste of the stories belonging to this house. Possibly the cook has an unseen helper. Maybe a former homeowner is glad to have some company again after all these years. Whoever or whatever is sharing the house with the dinner guests, it's the ambiance that makes the restaurant what it is today.