Over the years, many Hudson locals have heard and known about an old urban legend concerning a resident ghost at the Willow Inn.
Even though the Willow Inn is still closed for renovations, on Sunday, its owners opened its doors, in hopes of possibly putting those rumors to rest.
READ MORE: Hudson’s iconic Willow Inn has new owners, plans to reopen
“The classic story of Maud, being a servant girl, I’ve heard several versions of it,” said Willow Inn Owner Patricia Wenzel. “She overheard the Patriotes plotting against the Loyalists, so they murdered her … and they buried her in the basement.”
And according to Ghost Hunters of Ottawa for Scientific Truth (G.H.O.S.T.), over the years, there have been numerous reports of Maud roaming Willow’s hallways.
READ MORE: Hudson’s Willow Inn closes its doors Nov. 1
“We’ve heard a fair amount of different stories. From audio experiences, to visual experiences, to feelings of anxiety, being watched, to hearing noises that they can explain,” said G.H.O.S.T founder Dan Ducheneaux.
To try and explain it, Ducheneaux’s team has started an investigation.
Using devices such as infrared cameras, digital voice recorders and electromagnetic field detectors, the team will try to find out whether or not this building has any ghosts.
“If there really is a ghost, is it gonna put people off? That’s an issue,” Wenzel said. “At the same time, it may attract people. So I think it’s probably 50/50.”
“If she was a malicious ghost, I think we would have known about it already.”
Either way both this team and the owners are determined to get to the bottom of it.
The ghost experts will be doing a full, overnight investigation July 29.