Ghost in the Tollhouse

Emily from Maryland e-mailed me asking if she could "share her scares." So naturally I wrote back and said YEAH! as loud as I could (or as loud as anyone can using e-mail). And so she sent me back this creepy, creepy tale about the restaurant her mom works in. Here it is:

Jason,

Well, first of all, this story takes place in Maryland at a restaurant called Mrs. K's Tollhouse. I've been told that there was a ghost here by most of the employees. In fact, I'm in the restaurant right now! I've never come in contact with the ghost, but my mom and many other employees have. Here's the story:

The restaurant first started off as a toll house and a residence of the Kreuzberg family. A while later they turned it into a tavern and had many visitors. They lived and worked here for a while until Mrs. Mary Kreuzberg died of old age in one of the rooms on the upstairs floor. Her husband was so sad that he re-named the tavern "Mrs. K's Tollhouse". Soon, the current owners [my mom's bosses; husband and wife] bought the restaurant.

They were getting ready to close the restaurant one night when the husband left his office. He deadbolted the door and went downstairs. There was no else in the restaurant. The next day [before anyone arrived], he went back up to the office and the deadbolt had been un-screwed from the door.

He went downstairs to ask his wife if she had un-screwed it but she said she hadn't. At closing time that night, he went upstairs and re-screwed it on. The next day it happened again. He decided to just leave it off.

Things were quiet for a while after that. And then came the restroom construction...

The men's restroom, across the way from my mom's office, was being reconstructed. One of the workers had finished for the day so he started to close the door. But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old woman in a rocking chair. This was in the heirloom corner where there are breakables and mirrors everywhere. "The woman was wearing old-fashioned clothing and was just watching me work," he said. Then again, a few years went by without any incidents or sighting.

Then, my mom started her job here as catering director. The restaurant started to close on Mondays. My mom was the only one at the restaurant on Mondays and soon the strangest thing happened. She was sitting at her desk working and listening to the radio when she heard a strange noise. It was a bell like from a trolley or something. She climbed up the stairs and it got louder. She thought it was coming from above the staircase. But when she got there she found no bell and no one.

I believe that the ghost of Mrs. K was trying to get someone's attention. Then I found out that the day my mom heard the bell, was the anniversary of the day Mrs. K had died!

Emily

Thanks for sharing, Emily. This, like so many stories I have encountered goes to show that not all ghosts are evil. Some just want to make sure they are not forgotten. And it doesn't sound like anyone in the Tollhouse will soon forget Mrs. K!