Millersburg
The other day I ventured down to Amish Country to attend “Boo in the ‘Burg”. I physically passed horses and buggies on the road, on the way there. (If you’ve never been to Holmes County in Ohio, I recommend paying a visit- truly fascinating culture there, and a lot of great cheese shops and restaurants.)
The Historical Society of Millersburg offered short half hour tours and you had a choice of either taking a town tour or a jail tour. My girlfriends and I opted for the town tour.
We started out near the Millersburg Hotel, which has been around since 1847. There are bound to be some ghosts hovering around, no? One of the more common ones that visits is the “grumpy man”, wearing period clothing and sporting a pencil thin mustache, which curls up on the ends. He doesn’t do much, but he isn’t the happiest man. Perhaps he just likes his privacy?
Next door to the hotel is a salon that formerly was a department store called Maxwell’s. Guests are known to come in and tell the salon workers “that’s quite a security guard you have on staff here!” Allegedly clients come in and see a doorman, plain as day, in old-fashioned security guard attire. The salon does not employ any such worker.
We walked down the street further, and our guide from the historical society continued to point out some other spots that have resident creeps.
The highlight of the tour was a visit to the Antique Emporium, where the owner spoke to us about weird things that happen there. Much like me, he is a skeptic. But he does hear weird noises that he can’t explain. The antique store is connected to a toy store, and sometimes when no one else is around, the owner hears the toys turning on and off, and making noises. He invited us to come back and visit the 3rd floor after the tour, so of course we took him up on his offer! He and his wife are lovely people and were nice enough to show us around. It was pretty dark and spooky up on the third floor. As the story goes, a woman murdered her husband up there, and the two of them continue to fight and shove things around throughout their afterlife. Sounds unpleasant. Wonder if they ever just considered divorce instead?
The tour ended about where it started, across the street from the County Courthouse. The front lawn once housed public executions, so I can imagine the angry souls who remain trapped on these grounds.
In a nutshell, this tour was short and sweet. A few interesting stories and a quaint little quintessential historic Ohio town with lots of little antique shops, bakeries, and even a brewery. Sidenote: We stopped at the brewery before the tour and the pumpkin ale they brew is really quite good. I was hesitant to drive in the pouring rain through the windy roads to Millersburg on the Saturday night before Halloween, but I am glad I did.
