Buxton Inn Experience

Buxton Inn was originally called the Tavern and it was built by 1812 by Orrin Granger. Today, the Buxton Inn is oldest continuously running inn in Granville, Ohio. Aside from being an inn, Buxton also served as Granville's first post office and a stagecoach stop. The Buxton became very popular and was patronized by no less than President William Harrison himself. After Orrin Granger died, ownership of the inn changed. Although it went through several owners, it never closed down because of its popularity.
In 1829, more additions were constructed for the building. In the 1850s, the inn was purchased by James W. Dilley and it was renamed to "The Dilley House". Major Buxton and his wife acquired the property in 1865. They attracted many guests and the inn continued to thrive under their ownership. After the death of the Buxtons, retired opera singer Ethel Bounell took over the inn. The current owners of the inn are Orville and Audrey Orr.
The Buxton Inn's long history lives on with the ghosts frequently seen there, the majority of which are the ghosts of its former owners. The first ghost ever reported at the hotel was Orrin Granger in the 1920′s who built the hotel in 1812.
During the 70's, workers of the inn saw a man dressed in blue and since then they have refused to enter the inn after dark. Major Buxton (the man who the inn was named after) is also said to haunt the inn. He has been spotted in several locations around the inn.
Ethel "Bonnie" Bounell, the former innkeeper, is said to have died in room number nine. Guests who have stayed in the room have reported seeing a lady dressed in blue, Bonnie's favourite color. Shadowy figures have been seen in rooms number seven and nine and even in the basement. Guests have also felt the presence of a ghostly cat jumping on their beds.
Other reports include heavy doors slamming shut and opening of their own accord, with no apparent breeze or other valid explanation. People have also reported hearing footsteps behind them in empty hallways, and their names being called out.

I had no idea the Buxton had a reputation for being haunted. Whatever is going on there I can add a story, secondhand, that there has been a similar event recently.
I work at a museum in a town 30 minutes or so from Granville. Our volunteers regularly schedule group outings to other museums & early this summer they went to the Robbins-Hunter museum in Granville, followed by a lunch at the Buxton Inn. The following Saturday one of the volunteers filled me in on their eventful visit. They were there for a late lunch when a storm blew up, the Inn lost power right after they ordered & the wait-staff told them a tornado warning had been issued. They were shown to the basement where they, along with the staff, took cover to be safe just in case. It was determined that the wine cellar, behind the bar was the safest shelter. The staff was very friendly, they had encouraged the group to take their iced tea & lemonade with them & they tried to keep them entertained by telling them about the various wines. Shortly after entering the cellar one of the women, Barb, swooned as if she was going to faint. They helped her to a chair & after a few worried minutes, and the canceling of the tornado warning she returned to the dining room with the others saying she was fine & had simply had a lightheaded moment. It was assumed that the stress/excitement had been the cause and though the volunteer telling me the story said it was odd because "Barb hadn't seemed unnerved by the events," nobody had thought to attribute it to anything else. Now I wonder...

I have posted a story called the Buxton Inn, I think you would find the tavern a very creepy place in my story

wow where can I learn more about what abby wrote? And that's intresting story

I was at the Buxton when I was young (12-14 approx. Late 1980's). I was with my cousin. It was during a family brunch outing. My cousin and I are about a year apart in age. We were exploring the facility and inadvertantly headed into the tavern. The place was dark and not open at the time, However we heard what we thought was someone counting change. We both continued down the stairs expecting to see someone counting a until and of course saw nothing. We both had heard the distinctive sound and became very uneasy. The plinking sound was higher pitched, like silver coins rather than the cheaper metals used today. There is something definately strange going on in the tavern. Later we were told of the stories surrounding the Inn. I have never gone back. How bizarre!

Dear Amy,
I've been to the Buxton Inn many times. The first time about 7 years ago, I had no idea of the reputation it had for ghostly encounters. I had almost the same experience as you in the Tavern. As I went down the stairs, I felt suddenly nauseated and freezing cold. A terrible sense of terror overcame me. I turned around and flew back up the stairs. My husband thought I was nuts. We later described this to a waiter at the restaurant who said he had heard this before. I've since gone back to the Tavern with no problems.

Amy,

I'm glad you had the chance to visit the Buxton, as I have been doing for many years since my grandmother and grandfather live in Granville. I, too, have ventured down into the Tavern with my brothers and cousins, and there were a couple times when we had the same physical reactions you describe. We were standing there trying to figure out what it was, and then my cousin, Christine, and I started smelling the air, and we identified a very faint scent of gas. I have had dealings with such things before, so I recognized it once we discovered it. After looking about a bit, we all went back upstairs to continue exploring. Every time I go back there now, I do experience that same smell down there and figure it's something to do with the heating of the place.

I am not saying I disagree with what you think happened dealing with the paranormal, for I am a believer of spirits and ghosts, and I myself conducted an investigation in Room 7 and came out with some interesting video footage. I am merely stating that there might have been another factor to make you feel as you did. As always, there is that chance it really was a ghost you encountered, and if so, congratulations! I envy you! :]

-Leigh Anne

I do believe in what Abby stated to be true. I believe a spirit was drawing energy from you in order to be able to manifest itself to you. Often people will walk away from a paranormal experience with just such symptoms as yourself and some even have experienced extreme headaches to accompany the other problems. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

Peace, Love, and Luck be with you.

Dear Amy,

In my opinion, you may have experienced your first introduction to the paranormal or walking backward in earth time to a period connected to the Buxton Inn. It is my thought that both past and present earth time exists as one and you were walking through both at that very time, hence what I call the "sea sickness feeling". You are most likely sensitive to such events, and I bet if you review your life, you will find other such experiences you have denied or dismissed with not much thought. Yet, it is up to the human being to find out which is of this time or of the paranormal time. Ha! That is the task and responsibility of the experiencer. In my opinion, I sense that was what you were sensing, and it was not a ghost passing through you, but there were ghosts of the past that were about to reveal themselves to you. It is always up to you to decide what your experience was.--Abby