Haunted hotel guide · Proctorsville, Vermont
The Haunted Golden Stage Inn, Proctorsville: George and the Lady at Her Mirror
A 1788 stagecoach stop near Okemo where one ghost is forever brushing her hair and another still seems to be stepping off the coach.
The Golden Stage Inn is a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch on Depot Street in Proctorsville, part of the town of Cavendish, about three miles east of Ludlow and Okemo Mountain. It is a small bed and breakfast with eight guest rooms, close to five acres of lawns, fruit trees and gardens, a flock of sheep, free-range hens and beehives, with a footbridge over a brook into the Proctor-Piper State Forest.
It is also a building with a long past: a stagecoach stop from 1788, then a minister’s home that local history links to the Underground Railroad. Staff say two ghosts have stayed on from those years. Here is what is reported, the history behind it and what to know before you book.
Golden Stage Inn at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 399 Depot Street, Proctorsville, VT 05153
- Built 1788 as a stagecoach stop; lodging again since the 1980s
- Most haunted spots The original house and the newer wing
- Best-known ghosts A woman always seen brushing her hair; a man in a traveling cloak staff call George
- Booking the haunted room No single haunted room; the cloaked man is seen in the newer wing
- Good to know Eight rooms with private baths, breakfast with eggs and honey from the property, phone (802) 226-7744; the inn has been listed for sale, so confirm bookings
The ghosts of the Golden Stage Inn
The woman brushing her hair
The older of the two stories is about a woman who, whenever she is seen, is brushing her hair. Staff have described her for years, and our earlier guide to the inn mentioned her too. She is never described as frightening: she simply goes on with her evening routine, as if getting ready for bed in a stagecoach inn two centuries ago.
Nobody has given her a name or tied her to a particular person in the inn’s history, so treat her as one of the inn’s legends.
George, the traveler in the cloak
The second ghost appears in the newer wing, which makes him unusual. Vermont Magazine reported that he wears an old-fashioned traveling cloak, as if he has just stepped down from a coach, and that staff call him George.
More than one witness has said he looks rather like Robert Redford, which may be the only time a ghost in New England has been compared to a film star. Whether George is a stagecoach passenger who never left or something else entirely, he seems content to keep his distance.
A house of many travelers
It is easy to see why stories gathered here. Vermont Magazine describes the early inn as having separate rooms for gentlemen and ladies who, the story goes, shared a single chamber pot behind a privacy screen. In the 1800s the house belonged to a Universalist preacher and, according to local history, was a refuge for people escaping slavery. Many people passed through, and few left a record.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The newer wing: Where the man in the traveling cloak, George, has been seen.
- The original house: The 1788 stagecoach stop and the setting for the woman brushing her hair.
- The porch and grounds: Lawns, gardens and a footbridge into the state forest; best at dusk.
History of Golden Stage Inn
The Golden Stage Inn was built in 1788 as a stop on the stagecoach road through the Black River valley. It offered separate rooms for gentlemen and ladies, and the oft-told detail that they shared one chamber pot behind a screen gives a good idea of how basic travel could be.
In the mid-1800s the house was owned by the Reverend Warren Skinner, a Universalist preacher. According to Vermont Magazine and other local accounts, it served as a stop on the Underground Railroad under his ownership, helping people escaping slavery on their way north to Canada. As with many Underground Railroad stories, the details come from local tradition rather than written records.
The house returned to lodging in the 1980s, and that is when the ghost stories began to circulate. The present owners took over in December 2010 and renovated it extensively. Today it is an eight-room bed and breakfast with owners’ quarters, on 4.78 acres that include gardens, fruit trees and a bridge over a stream into the Proctor-Piper State Forest. The inn keeps bees, and Vermont Magazine notes that its Vermont Golden Honey Festival is held on the second Saturday in September.
The property was listed for sale in May 2024 as an operating bed and breakfast, including the furniture and the business, and the listing was still active at the end of 2024. A change of ownership could change how the inn runs, so check directly before you plan a stay.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Call or check the inn’s site before you plan a trip: it has been listed for sale.
- Ask for a room in the newer wing if you want George’s part of the house.
- Come in September for the Vermont Golden Honey Festival, held at the inn on the second Saturday.
- Walk across the footbridge into the Proctor-Piper State Forest in daylight.
- It is a good base for Okemo in winter; book early for ski weekends.
- Add a night at Hartness House in Springfield, a short drive east.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Fort William Henry Ghost Hunt, Lake George, NY: Investigate the rebuilt 1755 fort, about two hours from Proctorsville.
- Captain Grant's 1754 Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Preston, CT: Spend the night investigating a colonial inn in eastern Connecticut.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Hartness House, Springfield: The governor’s tunnels and the Lindbergh Room
- The Equinox, Manchester: Mary Todd Lincoln and Room 329
- Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm: Jane Porter’s portrait and footsteps in empty rooms
- Haunted hotels in Vermont
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Golden Stage Inn haunted?
Staff describe two ghosts: a woman who is always seen brushing her hair, and a man in an old traveling cloak in the newer wing whom they call George.
Who is George at the Golden Stage Inn?
George is the staff’s name for a man in a traveling cloak seen in the newer wing, as if he has just stepped off a stagecoach. Witnesses say he looks like Robert Redford.
Was the Golden Stage Inn on the Underground Railroad?
Local accounts, including Vermont Magazine, say the house was an Underground Railroad stop in the mid-1800s, when it belonged to the Universalist preacher Reverend Warren Skinner. Written records of this are scarce, as with most such sites.
How old is the Golden Stage Inn?
It was built in 1788 as a stagecoach stop.
Is the Golden Stage Inn open?
It was operating as a bed and breakfast when it was listed for sale in 2024. Contact the inn to confirm bookings.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Vermont Magazine: Spooky places to spend the night in Vermont
- Golden Stage Inn: official site
- Carey and Giampa: 399 Depot Street, Cavendish (MLS 4996403)
- William Raveis: 399 Depot Street, Cavendish listing
- Vermont Journal: Golden Stage Inn
- Travelers United: 10 Underground Railroad B&Bs
- Only In Your State: Haunted places in Vermont where you can stay the night
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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