No one knows who "Emily" was, when she lived, how she died, or why she has never gone away. The name is purely arbitrary, the tales told of her are vague, but the experiences of several past and present employees in the quaint and atmospheric old hotel are very real.
Things go bump in the night-and day-at Emily's. Make
no mistake, its charming decor, its friendly wait staff,
and its well prepared and presented food makes it one
of the area's most charming places to dine. But, the
innocent and elusive Emily is a constant, capricious
companion to all who tarry or toil at the wayside tavern.
At least two generations of owners of Emily's have
reported mysterious incidents that have led to them
to believe it is haunted.
Over the years, it has served many masters and multiple functions, and it follows that those who contributed to its colorful history have no doubt left many emotional and psychic imprints.
The hotel had long been rumored to be haunted, and when Steve and Nancy Mooney acquired it, they named the restaurant in honor of the wraith. A server who worked there in the early 1980s is firmly convinced that Emily-or whomever-dwells there.
Speaking with the promise of anonymity, the former waitress said she had several encounters with Emily, including one that will never escape her memory.
"I was the only female in the building at the time," she recalled. "We were just cranking up for the day, and things were very quiet.
"I was walking past the rest rooms and heard a very clear, very loud giggle. It was without a doubt a girl's giggle. There is no way the two guys in the place at the time could have done it. There was no radio or TV on at the time, and I'm certain no other girl or woman was anywhere around."
Upon hearing the giggle, the waitress paused and pondered the situation. "The worst case scenario, I thought, was that some woman had been left overnight in the lady's room. Thinking that was the case, I went into the ladies' room expecting an awkward situation. But, when I went it, there was nobody there." | |
With that, the server's disposition took a 180-degree turn. "OK, I thought, I knew what I heard, and I knew what I saw. I must admit I was very confused and a little concerned. I came back into the bar and dining room and didn't say anything to anybody. It was just my imagination, I tried to tell myself. But, I knew it wasn't.
"Then, it got really weird and I got a little scared. I turned the corner into the dining room and heard the giggle again. This time it came from the staircase to the second floor. It was a muffled, but very noticeable giggle or chuckle. Again, there was no doubt about it.
"This time, I just stood, frozen, and looked up the steps, hoping I would see something or nothing, if you know what I mean. Well, I saw nothing."
She said nothing to any of her coworkers, either. "Actually," she added, "this is the first time I've told anyone about it. It was weird, but was it the giggle of a ghost? Who knows? I never heard anything there, ever again, in the next three months I worked there."
But, later servers at Emily's , not predisposed to
their predecessor's experience, have said they have
heard the girl's laughter in the building. What's more,
they have heard it in the same areas that the former
waitress had noticed it.
Current employees at Emily's feel quite comfortable
there, but admit there is at times an overriding sensation
that there is an unseen entity in there, somewhere.
Several have reported bizarre episodes everywhere from the basement, where shadowy figures have been spotted; the staircase, where the laughter has been heard; and the dining rooms, where during "off hours," table settings have been shuffled by phantom hands.
So, what is the baseline for the haunting? There is evidence in the building of a small fire that caused minimal damage there many years ago. Not much is known about the blaze, but an oft-told but undocumented tale contends that it was in that fire that a young girl lost her life.
Could that girl's name have been Emily? Could her ghost
still remain? These are the enduring mysteries of a
most endearing eatery.
©2005 Charles J. Adams III |
Mountz
was followed by Lincoln Read and several others until 1910
when Joseph Richards of Chester county loaded all of his possessions
into wagons and two wheeled cars and in a colorful procession
the ox-drawn wagons relocated the Richards family to Beckersville.
He bought and ran the hotel, which included a general store.
The hotel was turned over to his son, George, who ran it until
1964. In that year, Martha Binder purchased the property and
changed the name to Martha’s Vineyard. So it remained
until 1977 when Charles Orlando purchased the property and
established a fine dining restaurant. Redecorating the hotel
to one of its original purposes, he named it The Post Office
Inn. In 1997, Steve and Nancy Mooney took over the building
and renamed it Emily’s in honor of the ghost that some
claim resides in the building. In late 2005, the building
was purchased by Carl and Patricia DeGrazia, who also own
The Yellow House Hotel, another well known restaurant and
inn in Berks County, also believed to be inhabited by friendly spirits.