This is Part 5 in our 5-Part OcraGhosts Series! We hope you have enjoyed them. Happy Halloween!
Island Inn Guests
Experienced by Susie Hutchinson, re-told by Crystal Canterbury
In late-2011, before Susie Hutchinson bought the hair salon (know called Serenity Salon) from Susie Kennedy, she visited the island to check things out and discuss the salon purchase. She and a few friends made reservations to stay at the Island Inn, but a mistake had been made and Susie’s suite was given to another guest. Her friends, however, did get their suite, so the first night in the Inn they were on different floors. The next day Susie was able to move into a suite, which looked onto Lighthouse Road, but her friends had left by the time the suite came available.
Once in the suite, her two little dogs, Missy and Lola, who frequently accompany Susie on her travels, very suddenly ran to the door and began barking. Susie could hear someone coming up the stairs, and as she quieted her dogs became concerned that they’d disturb the neighbor. The neighbor seemed to be continuously ascending and descending the stairs and she remembers hearing two distinct voices, though she couldn’t make out what was being said. Even though this was the weekend of New Year’s Eve, the noise the guests were making seemed out of place in the quiet and vacant village. So, by the time midnight rolled around, Susie began wondering what these people were up to. Each time the dogs heard the neighbors, their ears perked and they either growled or barked as they ran to the door, which only added to Susie’s bewilderment. She recalls not sleeping very well, but nonetheless went about her day the following morning.
When Susie returned to her suite after stepping out that morning, she saw the door across the hall was ajar. Out of sheer curiosity she peeked inside the suite, which was the one her friends had occupied for a night. She saw a shoebox her friend Amy had left behind, indicating the room hadn’t been cleaned or occupied by another guest since Amy and her husband left.
Prior to spotting the open door across the hall, Susie had gone to speak to the person at the front desk about the people who were up and down all night, and to apologize about her dogs barking. When Susie explained what happened and why she was apologizing, the man working at the front desk looked at her oddly and said Susie was the only person staying in that part of the hotel. She once again stated – trying to convince the front desk attendant - she could very clearly hear footsteps and voices coming from across the hall. The man at the desk once again assured her no one else was up there.
Susie used to tease her friends about not letting the ghosts get them when they stayed at the Island Inn. She has since stopped teasing them (or anyone for that matter) about ghosts.