One of the fun aspects of doing book talks for The House on Chambers Road: A Ghost Story is the conversations I’ve had with my readers about ghosts and hauntings. Some of them have had ghostly experiences or at the very least believe them to be real. And some say they wouldn’t mind a visit from an otherworldly spirit as long as that spirit is more like Caspar and less like Prissy Robison.
Who was Prissy Robison? Prissy was the 18th century proprietor, along with one, or was it two, of her husbands, of an inn called the Blue Ball Tavern, right here in the town where I live. She had a reputation as a formidable lady who served up a sharp tongue along with her toast and tea. More than one guest purportedly complained that they’d heard strange noises and cries in the night, and more than one guest disappeared, never to be seen again. All three of Prissy’s husbands seem to have gone AWOL as well. Whether any of these unfortunates ended up buried in the basement, we will never know.
BUT there were, in fact, bodies buried in the cellar, as discovered during some construction work at the inn in the early 20th century. Six of them, some with broken bones or cracked skulls. Hmm…what should we make of that? Perhaps someone should ask Prissy herself. It’s said that her ghost still wanders the old Blue Ball, now a private residence. I hope the owners are keeping their meat cleavers hidden.