In 1832, John Stone built and opened The Railway House by the train tracks in Ashland, Massachusetts. The inn was a very successful business, and Stone died a prosperous man in 1858. For some reason, his spirit lingers on at his old establishment, and it isn’t very nice.

Perhaps Stone wasn’t such a nice human being either. There is a story that soon after the inn opened, a traveling salesman from New York, Michael McPherson, made a visit. He became involved in a card game with Stone and some other local gentlemen. An accusation of cheating enraged Stone, and he pulled out a pistol. Although intending only to knock him out by hitting him in the head with the weapon, McPherson was killed. His body is said to be buried under the dirt floor of the basement.

After Stone’s death in 1858, he malevolent spirit is said to still reside at the inn, and has been reported to wrap his fingers around employees’ necks, throw glasses, and knock items off of shelves. At the end of the night, he must feel a bit regretful, because he is also said to be responsible for adding ten dollar bills to the tip jar!

Still a successful restaurant and tavern, The Railway House is now called “Stone’s Public House.” In addition to the ghost of John Stone, there are other spirits restless spirits residing there. Two of the ghostly inhabitants were killed on the tracks outside The Railway House.

Four years after Stone’s death, in 1862, ten-year-old Mary Jane Smith was fatally injured on the train tracks outside The Railway House. Mary was carried into the inn, but died shortly thereafter. She is still glimpsed in the storage room windows near the kitchen, and often observed in the attic where the dress she was killed in can still be seen in its bloody state. It is the only item to be found in the attic.

Many years later, in 1890, Burt Phillips was quite inebriated when he left the pub for the night, and rambled onto the train tracks to meet his death.

Phillips is said to be a fun-loving entity, and enjoys playing with water faucets, tapping people on the shoulder, and grasping employees’ hands and pulling them under the ice as they fill ice buckets.

According to Parapsychologist Ralph Bibbo, who has been to the inn many times, Stone still resides at the inn because of the accidental murder he committed and then tried to cover up. Bibbo also indicates that there are at least half-a-dozen spirits at the inn, many of whom were witnesses to the crime and sworn to secrecy.



Sources/References/For more information:

Ventura, Varla. The Book of the Bizarre. SF: Red Wheel/Weiser. 2008.

https://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2007/pj_11122007.shtml

https://www.associatedcontent.com/article/409341/the_massachusetts_haunting_of_stones.html?cat=37