Location: The Yankee Pedlar Inn is located at 93 Main Street on the corner of Main and Maiden Streets in downtown Torrington, Connecticut, twenty miles west of Hartford on Highway 202, just past Highway 8 in Litchfield County. The inn is open to the public year-round, but reservations are required.

Description Of Place: Based at the foot of the Berkshire Hills, the historical Yankee Pedlar Inn is a beautiful picturesque three-story New England inn with sixty rooms furnished with Hitchcock furniture and hand stenciled turn-of-the century wall paper. The lobby is filled with much of the inn's original furniture, charming many guests with its Old World charm. The interior includes marble floors in a black and white diagonal mosaic, a spiral staircase and pictures on every wall. The rooms were well furnished, each with a two-light chandelier and hot water.

Ghostly Manifestations: Like so many venerable, old structures across the state, the Yankee Pedlar Inn has its fair share of stories. So much so, that the location was recently featured as the setting for a recent 2012 movie, "The Innkeepers," filmed and produced by two former guests.

In addition to using the inn's actual name in the film, the lines between reality and fiction are also further confused as the production company has set up a clever viral web site pretending to be a paranormal investigation portal chronicling the inn's supposed bloody history. Of course, that really shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The historic inn has been in operation for over century, and in that time, it has seen thousands of visitors come and go, and with them, dozens of tales of curious shadows seen around corners and troubling bumps heard in the night. In addition, guests unable to tell the difference between reality and film are often surprised the location is not going out of business, as it was in the movie. To further complicate things, guests are often surprised to see nighttime clerk, Claire Masterson, who allowed her name to be used in the movie, still working at the front desk.

"Yes, I'm still alive..." The cute Reese Witherspoon look-alike grins with a sparkle in her eyes and an embarrassing pink rushing to her face. "I just love it when complete strangers come up to me so grateful to learn I survived getting killed off by Madeline O'Malley."

Claire is well familiar with their star boarder and the activity she creates on site. Over the decades, there have been various stories about mysterious figures and random odd voices pestering guests. One popular story is that the spirit of Madeline O'Malley, a jilted bride rumored to have died in Room 353, still roams the halls of the hotel where her fiancé left her. Clad in a long white wedding dress, her ghosts is known for checking on guests looking for her errant husband and slipping into bed with young single men who stay here. Apparitions and strange smells have been reported in Room 353, and Madeline's favorite rocking chair in the hotel lobby has also been witnessed to rock on its own. A sign even dissuades guests from making themselves comfortable on it out of fear of offending her. Reportedly, in 1968, a distracted guest sitting here to wait for his wife found himself tossed to his feet after having the chair pulled out from under him by invisible hands.

Room 295 has also reportedly been a location with unusual activity; guests here has claimed to have experienced weird smells, felt invisible forces get into bed with them and even seen the spirit of a woman pacing nervously at the foot of the bed. The ghost of a gray-haired gentleman in a black suit has been supposedly been seen in the inn's pub, waiting for a drink and even using the old phone there. It is believed that these apparitions are that of Frank and Alice Conley who built the hotel, but they are no where near as active as Madeline.

"I've gone looking for Madeline several times with an EMF detector and digital recorder to catch evidence for the inn's website." Claire confesses. "Luke has caught several photos of anomalous light formations, but when things settle down and things get quiet, I sit on the floor of the laundry room and do EVP sessions. I've heard some incoherent noises, but I'm not sure if they're her or not. The only place here I haven't tried is the basement, and I'm too terrified to go down there."

Madeline is often seen in her old room and wandering the third floor corridor. Guests and staff have seen her ghost sitting in the first floor wing-backed rocker that was hers in life with her feet on a foot stool and reading a book in front of the fireplace. Footsteps have been heard in the hallway next to a second floor bathroom near the second floor Wedding Suite as well as in the bar area. Some people who have ordered drinks would put them down, and their cocktails and highballs mysteriously vanished, flew off of the table or were spilled, often blamed on Madeline, who is also not a fan of smokers. When a guest lights a cigarette in violation of the non-smoking rule, something puts it out. Cigarette packs have a tendency to disappear and are never found again. Witnesses have heard somebody running up and down the stairs.

"At night," Claire reports. "It gets very quiet and dead here - pardon the pun. So to suddenly hear footsteps running up to the third floor has a tendency to wake everyone up and I've got to go find out who's making the noise, and of course, no one is ever there."

Admittedly, Claire has yet to see Madeline herself, but she's felt her presence in the basement, the laundry room and caught fleeting glimpses of something vanishing around corners. Her co-worker, Luke Underwood, claims to have seen Madeline ascending the staircase into the front hall. In one of her most startling appearances, a couple checking into the Honeymoon Suite after dark fled the hotel after seeing Madeline's specter hanging from the light fixture in the room but not all of her appearances are that horrific. Since 1978, pedestrians and on-lookers walking down the sidewalk from across the street occasionally stop and study the third floor windows for a glimpse of her. Apparently, Madeline likes to randomly lurk in the windows and watch the people going down the street.

Other paranormal events have been reported, including room lights going on and off of their own accord and doors opening and closing without any help. Employees and guests have also told of being pushed or tugged by invisible forces, while others have reported experiencing unusually heightened emotions and disturbing dreams.

Although there have invariably been various incidents in the hotel over the decades, no significant tragedies have been reported as having happened here. Various groups have investigated the inn, including the Northwest Connecticut Paranormal Society, who captured a spirit orb photo in addition to having a few odd experiences.

History: The Yankee Pedlar Inn was built by Irish immigrant Frank Conley on what was then an empty plot of land on the corner of Main Street and Maiden Lane for the cost of $8000.00 and opened as Conley's Inn on July 28, 1891. Frank Conley and his wife, Alice, dreamed of an inn that would provide New England elegance and comfort as well as the big city hotels did. In November 1890, Conley bought a the lot in downtown Torrington with the dream of building the finest hotel in the state of Connecticut. Over the next eight months they set about constructing their vision, pouring $40,000 into fashioning a Victorian showplace that featured marble floors, antique oak furniture, two spacious dining rooms and 52 guest rooms, each of which included hot water. The Conley Inn opened in July 1891, and as the proprietors had hoped, it soon became one of the finest and most successful destinations in the region, and remained so until the couple passed away in 1910. The Conley's niece sold it two years later when it was expanded; it then passed through various owners over the next few decades, continuing to operate as a hotel. In 1940, the Yankee Pedlar Restaurant and Bar was added, and in 1956, the entire operation was renamed the Yankee Pedlar Inn. The hotel continued its musical chairs of owners until the music stopped in 1997, when Anil and Dee Patel took possession. The Patels still run it today.

In 2008, horror film director Ti West stayed at the inn while filming the motion picture, "The House of the Devil." After talking to the hotel's staff and hearing some of the ghost stories, he was inspired to make a movie revolving around the hotel, and thus came "The Innkeepers," a horror film released in February 2012.

Identity Of Ghosts: Madeline O'Malley is said to have been an Irish immigrant who came to Connecticut from her native Ireland in 1938 to marry George Riddle, a local businessman, who had flirted with her during a previous trip to Ireland. According to vocal tradition passed on and elaborated over the years, he was going to arrive in Torrington and get his home ready for Madeline to become his wife, but something must have changed in their time apart. On their wedding night, they checked into Room 353, the Bridal Suite, and George went out to get cigarettes and never returned for her. Madeline waited for him for three days to return as she waited by the window looking for him. After the crying stopped, the owners at the time, Ed and Kate Rhodes, dared to check on her and found her body hanging from the light fixture where she had hung herself out of grief.

While parts of this story are unconfirmed, it is known that the Rhodes for some reason tried to cover up the tragedy out of embarrassment. They concealed Madeline's body in the root cellar under the hotel for three months until she was discovered by a workman. The hotel was closed down as a result, but since then, new owners, staff and guests have seen Madeline in the third floor windows and wandering the halls. Several psychics have described her as less angry and more lovelorn, often adding that it is not a good idea to stay for long in the basement since that is where Madeline spends most of her time.

The Conleys ran the location from the 1890s to their deaths in 1910. With the help of his wife Alice, who was a great cook and manager, Frank Conley successfully built the hotel to what it is now. They don't seem to be malicious spirits. It is believed they just return from time to time to look over the place and make sure its doing okay.

Investigations: The Northwest Connecticut Paranormal Society stopped in at The Yankee Pedlar in January 2012 and did a number of investigations. With the permission of the current owners, they were allowed to wander the hotel taking photos; however, at the time, Room 353 was occupied, and they couldn't check it out. They tried to take a few photos of the door, but probably because it was at the end of a dark hall and they didn't want their flashes to bother the guests, they failed to catch an effective image.

The team did notice the location had all the ingredients of other known haunted hotels, including creaky floors, worn carpets, chipped woodwork and worn railings.

"We wouldn't have been surprised if we had turned a corner and saw twin girls at the end of a hall, a la the Overlook Hotel in Colorado." A team member replied.

"Upon interviewing the general manager, she told us of experiences staff and guests have had. She said the night clerk had experienced many times a black mist like formation walking through the lobby around 1AM. He also has experienced knocking on his office door at different times of the night, when opened nobody was to be found. She told us of the antique rocking chair that was enjoyed by Madeline now displayed in the lobby, that rocks by itself. She then introduced us to her head housekeeper. The housekeeper stated she has worked in the Inn for over four years, in that time she has experienced many seemingly paranormal things. She told us about Room 353 (where Madeline died) now used for storage.

"The room has upset guests with strong perfume odors, guests have ask for room changes on occasion due to unknown reasons. (These complaints are actually documented in a logbook.) Room 295 is also another spot where guests have experienced perfume smells, and strange happenings. One guest was lying on the bed when he felt someone climb in bed with him, and when he rolled over to see if it was his wife and she was in the bathroom. The manager has seen a figure of a lady that she says is Mrs. Conley; she knows this from her pictures hung in the Inn. She says she cannot keep staff very long either due to the strange happenings. 

"When we did a walk through we were pleased to see how well the inn was kept original. The tavern area gives one the feeling of stepping back in time a hundred years. At the tavern area, we found the original phone, wooden with a crank on the side. we asked the manager if that was a real phone. She said “Yes, Mr. Conley still uses it.” Reports of a gray-haired gentleman dressed in a old black suit has been spotted using the phone many times when people have entered the room. 

"Our team didn't experience anything uncomfortable until we entered the basement and were hit with the feeling of being weighed down. I myself was dizzy and seemed to have cement shoes, I didn't feel too comfortable there. The housekeeper told us there was a black figure down there, she saw it one night while getting a vacuum. She said out of the corner of her eye she had seen something, looked and as the black figure approached her, she ran for the stairs and up to the bathroom to get away from it. She said while closing the door there was a forcible pressure holding it open. She was wearing a bracelet with a crucifix on it, and it was tugged on as if something wanted it off her arm. She finally got the door closed and yelled for help as the lights went dead. We wrapped up the interview with a thank you to all and set a date to investigate at another date. We were also able to track down two others who worked as cleaners in the past at the Pedlar and they too had stories to tell, from doors opening and strange feelings.

"We returned on May 31, 2012 and set up a night-vision camcorder in the bar area and left it. We then divided into two groups. One team went to Room 353 with camcorders set up with infrared boosters, digital recorder, and two helium balloons to check for drafts. Another team and a staff person headed to the basement to do a sweep with dowsing rods, EMF detector, and voice recorder. While in room 353 we experienced nothing. It was hot and humid from lack of air-conditioning. After 30 minutes we decided maybe they could get a response better there and paged them on the walkie-talkies. They told us they were unsuccessful in the basement on obtaining any kind of activity. The other team stayed in the room while I visited the ballroom. Upon entering I noticed a strong sweet floral smell, as I tried to figure out where the smell was coming from. I asked the night clerk and he said that nothing was done to that area as in cleaning or shampooing recently, so I myself got down to smell the floor. I then went to the basement laundry room where on our initial visit we experienced some dizziness, and rundown feelings, this visit I felt nothing. We did debunk the cleaning woman’s story of the door being forcefully held open, we noticed the door had hydraulic like piston which resists closing the door fast, then when almost closed to releases pressure. Due to two hundred years of dust that had collected in the basement, digital pics and camcorders were not acceptable. We did get the basic dust orbs but nothing more. In Room 295, there was nothing experienced out of the ordinary. 

"Our team reviewed hours and hours of video footage and digital voice recordings and came up with nothing. Aside from the floral smell which could have been from cleaning solutions, the anomaly video, and a few strange pics, we found no paranormal activity. We debunked the basement door, and noticed the lighting was very poor in the basement, shadows could be mistaken for black figures. As for the reported sightings of Mr. and Mrs. Conley and Madeline, we have no answers." 

Source/Comments: The Innkeepers (2012) - History and activity loosely based on the actual Yankee Pedlar in Torrington, Connecticut, the Buxton Inn in Buxton, Ohio and the Baldpate Inn in Estes Park, Colorado.