The Strange Case of Room 301
The Red Lion Inn
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Diane Hill in Room 301 with
Ouija Board on her lap.
Ouija Board on her lap.
By Joseph Flammer and Diane Hill
The Paranormal Adventurers
It’s easy to understand why a person would want to stay
forever as a guest in Room 301 at the luxurious and historic
Red Lion Inn in the quaint village of Stockbridge,
Massachusetts.
But why would a ghost?
Staff told us Room 301 is the most haunted room at the
eighteenth century inn. The room is located at the end of a
long hallway on the third floor – the last door on the left.
We entered the room in the afternoon and looked around at
the pink petals on the sunny wallpaper. The brass bed -
complete with a thick, white, colonial-styled comforter -
beckoned invitingly. Two cozy stuffed arm chairs were
tucked in the corner of the room. Upon a polished desk sat a
welcome basket containing chocolates and a bottle of wine.
An armoire towered a few feet from the foot of
the king size bed. Inside the armoire was a
television set, a DVD player, and an area to
hang clothes. This, we would discover, was the
place the ghost of Room 301 stirred.
Staff told us over the years guests staying in
Room 301 reported seeing a gentle-looking man
appear as a vapor at the foot of the bed, only to
fade away quickly. The ghost is not typically
frightening, said the staff. Rather, “he is a
friendly spirit,” we were told.
“He’s part of the Red Lion Inn.” said the
staffer who brought us to our room.
the king size bed. Inside the armoire was a
television set, a DVD player, and an area to
hang clothes. This, we would discover, was the
place the ghost of Room 301 stirred.
Staff told us over the years guests staying in
Room 301 reported seeing a gentle-looking man
appear as a vapor at the foot of the bed, only to
fade away quickly. The ghost is not typically
frightening, said the staff. Rather, “he is a
friendly spirit,” we were told.
“He’s part of the Red Lion Inn.” said the
staffer who brought us to our room.
Months later we would read on the website TravelAdvisor.com a first-hand account by a guest at the red
Lion Inn who saw a man in a “top hat and olden day attire” standing at the end of the bed. The guest
claimed the ghost puffed into a white mist and disappeared. A man who claimed to be the person who
experienced this ghost contacted The Paranormal Adventurers in October, 2010 and said the room where he
experienced a ghost was Room 312.
But who is the ghost of Room 301? Could he be an important figure from the hotel’s 235 year history?
Perhaps he was a distinguished patriot from the American Revolution. Surely, there must be more
significance to the ghost of room 301 than a mere spirit enjoying the Inn’s splendid creature comforts!
After all, the Red Long Inn was established in 1773, the same year as the Boston Tea Party. The county’s
first convention of colonists expressing dissatisfaction with Britain’s policies of taxation without
representation was held at the Inn in 1774. This and other conventions held there were instrumental in the
formation of the colonists’ rebellious position against Britain’s tyranny, ultimately leading to the signing of
the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
Maybe the spirit we encountered repeatedly during our twelve hour investigation was that of Silas Pepoon,
the original keeper of the Inn, who founded his stagecoach stop under the sign of a red lion. His inn became
an important respite in the wilderness between the rugged Berkshire Mountains and the Housatonic River.
Whoever he was, the ghost of Room 301 is known to appear from time to time at the foot of the bed, directly
in front of the armoire. Strange things are said to happen in the room. A ghost appears, objects move on
their own, sounds are heard, and cold spots are felt.
In our investigations ghosts often appear to us as mists. Using infrared video we filmed a haze moving in
front of a mirror at two in the morning. At that very instant I happen to be recording the dowsing rods in
Diane’s hands crossing above a cold spot in front of the armoire.
“Is there a spirit in here with room with us?” I asked the darkness after hearing a set of knocks from the
inside the armoire.
“Knock, knock.”
The knocking sounds had been occurring all night without rhyme or reason. The noises were not coming from
the heating or water pipes, the management later insisted, and we concurred. Was the spirit using the
electricity from the electronics stored inside the armoire to manifest signs of his presence?
Lion Inn who saw a man in a “top hat and olden day attire” standing at the end of the bed. The guest
claimed the ghost puffed into a white mist and disappeared. A man who claimed to be the person who
experienced this ghost contacted The Paranormal Adventurers in October, 2010 and said the room where he
experienced a ghost was Room 312.
But who is the ghost of Room 301? Could he be an important figure from the hotel’s 235 year history?
Perhaps he was a distinguished patriot from the American Revolution. Surely, there must be more
significance to the ghost of room 301 than a mere spirit enjoying the Inn’s splendid creature comforts!
After all, the Red Long Inn was established in 1773, the same year as the Boston Tea Party. The county’s
first convention of colonists expressing dissatisfaction with Britain’s policies of taxation without
representation was held at the Inn in 1774. This and other conventions held there were instrumental in the
formation of the colonists’ rebellious position against Britain’s tyranny, ultimately leading to the signing of
the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
Maybe the spirit we encountered repeatedly during our twelve hour investigation was that of Silas Pepoon,
the original keeper of the Inn, who founded his stagecoach stop under the sign of a red lion. His inn became
an important respite in the wilderness between the rugged Berkshire Mountains and the Housatonic River.
Whoever he was, the ghost of Room 301 is known to appear from time to time at the foot of the bed, directly
in front of the armoire. Strange things are said to happen in the room. A ghost appears, objects move on
their own, sounds are heard, and cold spots are felt.
In our investigations ghosts often appear to us as mists. Using infrared video we filmed a haze moving in
front of a mirror at two in the morning. At that very instant I happen to be recording the dowsing rods in
Diane’s hands crossing above a cold spot in front of the armoire.
“Is there a spirit in here with room with us?” I asked the darkness after hearing a set of knocks from the
inside the armoire.
“Knock, knock.”
The knocking sounds had been occurring all night without rhyme or reason. The noises were not coming from
the heating or water pipes, the management later insisted, and we concurred. Was the spirit using the
electricity from the electronics stored inside the armoire to manifest signs of his presence?
By morning we had recorded eighteen distinct sets of knocks
in the audio from our video camera. The knocks were coming
from inside the armoire.
Moreover, while Diane and I slept soundly at five in the
morning, the video camera recorded something moving across
the room and banging into the tripod upon which the video
camera was fastened. Perhaps the inquisitive ghost was
inspecting our equipment!
But the strongest evidence of a ghostly presence occurred
earlier in the evening. One of the doors of the armoire slowly
creaked open by itself!
in the audio from our video camera. The knocks were coming
from inside the armoire.
Moreover, while Diane and I slept soundly at five in the
morning, the video camera recorded something moving across
the room and banging into the tripod upon which the video
camera was fastened. Perhaps the inquisitive ghost was
inspecting our equipment!
But the strongest evidence of a ghostly presence occurred
earlier in the evening. One of the doors of the armoire slowly
creaked open by itself!
It happened as I was talking with Diane, my ghost hunting partner of seven years. She was seated on the
bed as I stood with my back to the armoire. We were discussing the strange cold spot on the rug at the foot
of the bed. In my socks I first thought I had stepped into a wet spot on the rug, but soon discovered it wasn’t
wet, it was cold! Diane had been using dowsing rods to detect energy in different areas of the room as part
of the investigation. That cold spot was the only place in the room that the dowsing rods crossed, indicting
some kind of energy there.
Diane’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the heavy door slowly moved, seemingly on its own. Her face
went white.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Later we would try to recreate the swinging door phenomenon. This effort included stomping back and
forth in front of the armoire and even jumping up and down. But the door never budged.
At four in the morning Diane gave up the fight to stay awake, despite feelings of being touched. She
crawled into bed and fell asleep, leaving me alone to watch the shadows from outside the windows bounce
on the walls of the dark room.
I sat in the stuffed arm chair with the lights out and took more photographs. I searched the bright flashes of
light for ghosts looming above me or over the bed where Diane was sleeping peacefully. I was almost
thankful when I saw there where no ghosts in the flashes of light because I had grown so tired I could barely
keep my eyes open. The sweet comfort of that delicious bed was calling to me.
We would later find out through our online searches of travel websites that it was in that very bed where
several guests at the Inn had experienced paranormal events, including seeing a ghost, having their blankets
tugged off them while they slept, being touched, even having their toes pulled!
One person reported someone walking through the room and fluffing the comforter over him while he slept,
but upon opening his eyes, there was nobody there! A few people commented that the Red Lion Inn should
have been frank with them about Room 301. One writer complained that when she went to the desk in the
morning and asked about whether or not ghosts were known to reside in that room, that she was given
evasive answers that seemed practiced. Our experience was very different: the Inn freely supplied us with
information and answers to our questions. In fact, we had been invited to investigate the room.
Is Room 301 of the Red Lion Inn haunted? In our opinion, if it’s not, somebody should tell the ghost in the
armoire.
But don’t worry about being haunted if you’re planning a visit to the Red Lion Inn. Five presidents have
stayed at the Inn, as did such luminaries as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bob Dylan, Carol Burnett, Paul Newman,
John Wayne, Steven Spielberg, and Leonard Bernstein. They never complained of ghosts in their rooms.
Then again, they probably didn’t stay in Room 301.
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The Ghost of Room 301
