back on and the radio. Someone or something changed the radio station and turned the volume up, then down and back up again. At this point the dishwasher fled down the porch steps, tripped, and tumbled to the ground.”
Debbie’s relationship with the spirits in the building continues after all these years. She summed it up. “When I go upstairs I talk to them and within a couple of days, spirit phenomena will begin to happen in the restaurant.”
Occasionally the spirits are helpful to Debbie. For example, “I was walking upstairs with my arms full of paper towels and bathroom tissues. When I reached the washroom door someone opened the door for me.”
What do you think? Are these spirits from the hotel days? Some townspeople and restaurant employees believe the elderly woman is the first Mrs. Murray. What about the couple who dine at table 13 and are waited on by the grey-haired woman? Hotel guests? That is how it seems.
Perhaps we can peak in a window and catch sight of the shadows of yesterday and of others who have gone before and have a word before the curtains are pulled once again.
One thing is certain. We cannot assume that what we see is what everyone else can or does see.
The Inn at the Falls
~ Bracebridge ~
In medieval times the word “inn” meant a place of shelter, comfort, peace, and a refuge from outside elements. That meaning is the same today at places like Inn at the Falls in Bracebridge.
There is a woman who gazes out the front second-storey window in room 105 at Inn at the Falls. You might think she is a guest of this fine old Victorian inn that overlooks the tumbling falls and tranquil Muskoka River, but you would be mistaken. To some she seems a figment of their imagination, and to others she is as real as they are. She may appear at any time and any place on the property. Does she walk alone in her own peaceful world? Apparently not!
An early photograph of the Inn at the Falls unearthed by the author. The woman at the window is believed to be there still. The children may be the ones still heard playing in the corridors.
This inn is a place of tranquility, as a former guest so well expressed: “Words fail me in trying to describe the beautiful time I have had here at Inn at the Falls. It is truly one of the most healing places I’ve ever experienced … due partly to the sheer beauty and gentleness of the atmosphere, but also — and to an even greater degree — because of the wonderful people who work here.
“They are genuine, warm, open and caring people who make this house a happy and loving home. And there is something profoundly beautiful about their ministry.
“I arrived here feeling exhausted and drained and left feeling deeply refreshed after only three days. I thank you with all my heart for this place of shelter and peace. How I look forward to returning in the spring.”
Quite a testimonial! And notice that the visitor mentioned the word “healing.”
Located in the heart of Ontario’s “cottage country,” the Inn at the Falls has a congenial, small-town atmosphere with one of the prettiest views anywhere and it offers a fine selection of accommodation from the traditional to the contemporary.
This is a grand old structure with stone at the front, brick at the back, a large verandah overlooking the Bracebridge Falls and a flagpole on the turret that once flew the Union Jack. It was originally the private residence of John Adair, who sold it to William Cosby Mahaffy in 1877. Mahaffy was only 29 years old and was about to open a law practice in Bracebridge. In 1888 he was appointed the first District judge of Muskoka and Parry Sound.
Ships that steamed the Muskoka Lakes at that time docked just below the home. The original Mahaffy estate extended from present-day Dominion Street along the riverfront to Manitoba Street. Here the Mahaffys raised three sons, Darcy, George, and Montegue. The boys became part of the established business life of Bracebridge, which had just begun to blossom.
Originally called North Falls, Bracebridge was renamed in 1864 when the post office was opened. Some say Bracebridge got its name from Washington Irving’s novel Bracebridge Hall. Other theories connect it to Bracebridge in Lincolnshire, England. Regardless of its origin, this idyllic location on the Muskoka River, with its unlimited supply of water, was bound to grow.
Bracebridge was incorporated as a village in 1875 and by the 1880s had become a thriving centre for lumbering, manufacturing and the tourist trade, complete with two large tanneries, a grist mill, a woollen mill, a flour mill, and a sawmill. In 1887 the population rose to 1,600 and in 1889 Bracebridge became a town. The Mahaffy family were finely woven into the fabric of this growing community. William died in England on June 14, 1912, at the age of 64. The Mahaffy family remained in the home until the 1920s, when they sold the house and estate.
For a short time the house served as an apartment house and then as a youth centre. Subsequent to that it sat vacant and fell into disrepair. What could be the cause of the decline of such a fine home? Did it, in fact, have other “occupants” who made newcomers and potential owners nervous?
In the 1930s the estate was purchased by a Toronto family who opened a hotel business called The Rainbow Valley Inn. Unfortunately, health problems prevented the owners from having a successful venture. It reopened in 1943 as the Holiday House when Ernie and Marion (nee Timmy) Allchin and Mrs. Wise bought the house and made some additional renovations to accommodate 35 guests. Travellers from all over the world visited the Holiday House in Bracebridge. Notations in the guest book of the stately old mansion included such comments as “My home away from home” and “A wonderful time spent here, hope to return”.
To the people of Bracebridge, the Holiday House was much more than a fine hotel and a place for out-of-towners to hang their hats for a couple of days. It had become a cherished landmark.
In the early morning hours of October 20, 1955, fire broke out in the top floor of the hotel. Despite the efforts of local firemen the flames spread through the upper part of the building. Some furniture from the lower rooms was saved but the loss was estimated at approximately $40,000.
Rebuilding started immediately. The stone walls were retained but the rest of the main building was replaced by a more modern structure. Architect Ken Cameron, then in his 70s, designed and supervised the reconstruction of the front portion. The flavour of the old structure was maintained by including features like the Egg and Dart design over the 160-year-old fireplace, the wooden banisters leading upstairs and the three-foot-thick foundation.
Gerard Simmons, a former employee of a business that operated there, was quoted in the local newspaper in 1976, remembering the decaying mansion from his boyhood. “We use to call it a haunted house. Of course, I don’t believe it was ever haunted, although Mrs. Allchin, who, with her husband, later bought the house and converted it into a hotel, often said she could hear ‘bumps in the night.’”
Mr. Simmons also remembered Mrs. Mahaffy. “It was rumoured that an entire room in the house was devoted to the storage of her hats only. My mother was a milliner at a shop downtown, and she served Mrs. Mahaffy often. She recalled her as a very hard woman to please, who really loved hats.”
In 1962 the Wise Room was constructed to create an English pub in the Muskokas. Formerly the furnace room, renovations necessitated the lowering of the floor. The room, supported by thick beams, was created within the original structure. The basement may have been a summer kitchen at one time and later, for the most part, had been abandoned.
