Bonnie Hall is convinced her pub is haunted but says she doesn't want the prankster of a ghost to leave.
Hall says strange occurrences have been a daily thing since she and her husband, Robert, took over the fire station and converted it into the FireHall Pub and Grille in 2005. Firefighters had told her that the building, more than a century old, may be haunted, she said.
It's little things that make Hall and others believe the place is haunted: The popcorn machine turns on by itself, lights flicker, doors latch by themselves and tools seem to move on their own, among other things, she said.
The rumor is that a firefighter named Frank hanged himself at the fire station many decades ago and his spirit remains inside, Hall said. The story has not been verified. She said the ghost has been harmless and should not be forced out.
"This is Frank's home," she said.
Cathy Simpson, a restaurant manager, said she, too, has experienced many things at the restaurant that are unexplainable. However, she said, she finds them comforting in a strange sort of way.
"He's a prankster. He's very friendly. He's not threatening," she said. "It's almost like a comfortable feeling with him."
Last week, a group of investigators from Ghost Hunters United, which has members in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, investigated the restaurant to confirm whether there is any paranormal activity.
The ghost hunters plan to return to the establishment this week, Hall said.
The ghost hunters are still sorting through mounds of audio, video and photos gathered during the visit, said Catherine Brown, a paranormal investigator from Hudson. She said the organization relies on hard evidence to determine whether there is paranormal activity.
Richard Holmes, the town historian, said he's been asked over the years whether a man named Frank indeed committed suicide at the fire station.
Records show that the name he's been given is of someone who died well into his late 70s, he said, and there's no evidence it was from suicide.
Hall said the restaurant's telephone system went haywire last week for seemingly no reason.
Weird occurrences tend to happen late at night, she said.
Brown said the best time to capture paranormal activity is usually in the early hours of the morning.
"Usually, when things get quiet is when we get our best results, when we are there with a small group of people," she said.
She said her group, which does investigations for free, deals with many people who want to make sure they're not imagining things. Other people, she said, are hoping to be living with a ghost.
"We've had to break hearts before," she said.
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