Or...Things that go bump in the night!
Read Joy's Journal
People always ask us, "Is it really haunted?" The answer is yes. However, it is not a scary kind of thing. The spirits call it "Inhabiting". They are just hanging out here. Sometimes we see or hear them hanging out. Most people who do have some kind of an experience just assume the sounds they hear like footsteps, doors opening or closing, people talking, music playing, sometimes snoring, are just the other guests in the other rooms. Sometimes it is the other guests. But a lot of the time there are no other guests. So who is making the noise? Certainly not us. We would never "fake" evidence. Our room is on the first floor behind the kitchen. Guests would not hear us on the second floor.
I think about 75 percent of our guests are looking for some kind of an experience. About 50 percent of those will actually experience something. Of the 25 percent of guests who are not here looking for an experience, about 50 percent will still have something, even though they blame it on the other guests. But, again, it is not a scary kind of thing, just kind of weird.
Please don't be afraid to come here because of the spirits. They won't hurt you. There is nothing evil or demonic here. They are just "hanging out" here for some reason. The "inhabited" part of the Inn is on the second floor of the Main House. We also have two rooms in the Annex Building which are Rooms 2 and 3, The Wash House Room and the General Store Room. That building used to be Bonaparte's Train Station. Nobody ever died in the Train Station. Also, we have the Caboose Cottage which is not inhabited.
********A note to Paranormal Investigation groups who want to come and do their own investigation:
Yes, we do have alot of paranormal activity here. Many investigation teams have found positive evidence. We do allow investigation teams here when we don't have any other guests in the Main House. This is NOT an "Empty Building Lock Down"! This is our home, we live here. We will try to stay out of your way as much as possible but we will be present. Please remember you are a guest in our home and we have the right to ask you to leave if you are not behaving as such. No "Ghost Boxes" allowed inside the building. The spirits have requested this.
We have two options, charge-wise. The first option is for your group to rent out the entire 6 bedrooms in the Main House for one low price plus tax, (includes breakfast), and ensure that you will be the only guests here. You can sleep in the beds and use the restrooms, and have breakfast in the morning (the whole B&B experience). You can investigate the entire second floor and the dining room and parlor on the first floor and not have to worry about other guests being here. The second option is that you rent enough rooms to house your investigators at the regular room rate and you can investigate those rooms you rented, the dining room and parlor. This does not guarantee that you will be the only people here and you will have to be courteous of the other guests, if there are any. But you can sleep in the rooms you rent and have breakfast in the morning like a regular guest. I do have three outer rooms that are not haunted and I will try to put non-ghost hunting people out there first, so you don't have false readings. But if I get more people wanting to stay in the main building I will have to do that. This is our bread-and-butter living and I will not turn away guests. So if you want to make sure you are the only guests in the main house, you must rent out the entire main house. Or you can take your chances.
As for posting your findings on your web site, you may post positive evidence, but you are not allowed to say we are not haunted if you don't find anything. (You can say you could neither prove nor disprove the haunting.) Ghosts don't perform on command, and we don't guarantee anything. 9 out of 10 groups experience something, but you just never know. ALSO, NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE ALLOWED AT ANY GHOST HUNT! SPIRITS AND SPIRITS DON'T MIX!
********* Another thing I want to mention: There are a lot of videos out there in "Web Land", especially on You Tube, that show a "Mason House" that has demons. THAT IS NOT US! We are "Mason House INN". The other one is in New York. We are in Iowa. There are no demons here. Nothing negative at all. If there was, I wouldn't have lived here for 20 years!**********
People always ask us, "Is it really haunted?" The answer is yes. However, it is not a scary kind of thing. The spirits call it "Inhabiting". They are just hanging out here. Sometimes we see or hear them hanging out. Most people who do have some kind of an experience just assume the sounds they hear like footsteps, doors opening or closing, people talking, music playing, sometimes snoring, are just the other guests in the other rooms. Sometimes it is the other guests. But a lot of the time there are no other guests. So who is making the noise? Certainly not us. We would never "fake" evidence. Our room is on the first floor behind the kitchen. Guests would not hear us on the second floor.
I think about 75 percent of our guests are looking for some kind of an experience. About 50 percent of those will actually experience something. Of the 25 percent of guests who are not here looking for an experience, about 50 percent will still have something, even though they blame it on the other guests. But, again, it is not a scary kind of thing, just kind of weird.
Please don't be afraid to come here because of the spirits. They won't hurt you. There is nothing evil or demonic here. They are just "hanging out" here for some reason. The "inhabited" part of the Inn is on the second floor of the Main House. We also have two rooms in the Annex Building which are Rooms 2 and 3, The Wash House Room and the General Store Room. That building used to be Bonaparte's Train Station. Nobody ever died in the Train Station. Also, we have the Caboose Cottage which is not inhabited.
********A note to Paranormal Investigation groups who want to come and do their own investigation:
Yes, we do have alot of paranormal activity here. Many investigation teams have found positive evidence. We do allow investigation teams here when we don't have any other guests in the Main House. This is NOT an "Empty Building Lock Down"! This is our home, we live here. We will try to stay out of your way as much as possible but we will be present. Please remember you are a guest in our home and we have the right to ask you to leave if you are not behaving as such. No "Ghost Boxes" allowed inside the building. The spirits have requested this.
We have two options, charge-wise. The first option is for your group to rent out the entire 6 bedrooms in the Main House for one low price plus tax, (includes breakfast), and ensure that you will be the only guests here. You can sleep in the beds and use the restrooms, and have breakfast in the morning (the whole B&B experience). You can investigate the entire second floor and the dining room and parlor on the first floor and not have to worry about other guests being here. The second option is that you rent enough rooms to house your investigators at the regular room rate and you can investigate those rooms you rented, the dining room and parlor. This does not guarantee that you will be the only people here and you will have to be courteous of the other guests, if there are any. But you can sleep in the rooms you rent and have breakfast in the morning like a regular guest. I do have three outer rooms that are not haunted and I will try to put non-ghost hunting people out there first, so you don't have false readings. But if I get more people wanting to stay in the main building I will have to do that. This is our bread-and-butter living and I will not turn away guests. So if you want to make sure you are the only guests in the main house, you must rent out the entire main house. Or you can take your chances.
As for posting your findings on your web site, you may post positive evidence, but you are not allowed to say we are not haunted if you don't find anything. (You can say you could neither prove nor disprove the haunting.) Ghosts don't perform on command, and we don't guarantee anything. 9 out of 10 groups experience something, but you just never know. ALSO, NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE ALLOWED AT ANY GHOST HUNT! SPIRITS AND SPIRITS DON'T MIX!
********* Another thing I want to mention: There are a lot of videos out there in "Web Land", especially on You Tube, that show a "Mason House" that has demons. THAT IS NOT US! We are "Mason House INN". The other one is in New York. We are in Iowa. There are no demons here. Nothing negative at all. If there was, I wouldn't have lived here for 20 years!**********
Sound interesting? A little frightening? Go ahead and give it a try - you may find a daring new hobby! Call the Mason House Inn to make your reservations quickly - before your chance mysteriously disappears! 319-592-3133
..
..