Finger Lakes Hotel is Haunted

In order to have a ghost there must be evidence that a death occurred in the residence. I own Ambroselli's Villa Serendip Bed and Breakfast at the Woodworth House, in the Romantic Finger Lakes Region of New York State. I purchased the property in 1998 after it had been abandoned for fifteen years by its previous owners. After intensive restoration we opened our historic bed and breakfast and began welcoming guests.

We opened in June and in July I visited a nearby blueberry patch to gather berries for freezing for luscious blueberry muffins, pancakes and cobblers. That evening, I had just completed baking a blueberry pie and was cleaning up the kitchen when, from the other room, I heard someone whistling. I thought perhaps I was going to get a "wa;l-in" guest but no one was there. I dismissed the event and returned to the kitchen, and to my amazement it began again; the same notes over and over. When I finally became a bit alarmed, I telephoned my best friend and said, "I think I have a ghost!" She asked if I wasn't scared and I assured her that I didn't think it intended to do any harm as it was "whistling." I said, "I wished it would either show up or shut up and as suddenly as it had begun the whistling ceased. A week or so later it happened again. I realized that the tune was a civil war era tune that I had heard several times over the course of my life.

In October, of that same year, I was visited by relatives of the original owners of the Woodworth House and mentioned theghost. They asked me about it and to my astonishment when I told my story they went to their genealogical records and showed me evidence of Henry Paterson Woodworth, a civil war soldier who had fought at the Battle Of Bull Run, in Manassas, VA,; had returned to Cohocton after the war and died from his war injuries right here at the Woodworth House in 1865. He had never married.

He only manifests himself during blueberry season and only when it is very very quiet. He is welcome visitor anytime.