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"Haunted" Sudbury Inn Attracts Believers

SUDBURY (CBS) -- Set on 125 acres, the beautiful, rustic Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury is a popular Valentine's Day spot.

"We will be filled with couples during day and night. We are sold out Saturday through Monday," Innkeeper John Cowden said.

Cowden says its also Wayside's rich history that brings people here. "Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford have stayed here," Cowden said.

But aside from its romantic setting and fine dining lies the mysterious love story of Jerusha Howe, better known as the Belle of Sudbury.

WBZ-TV's Paul Burton reports.

"She was well educated, she was well dressed, loved to paint and read and sing to the guest and visitors of the Inn," Cowden said.

Jerusha was the oldest sister of the last Howe innkeeper back in the 1800s. She lived in room number nine. She died unmarried in 1842. Legend has it that she died of a broken heart after her fiancée left and never came back.

But guests who've stayed here say Jerusha's ghost often visits.

"People want this room because the history with Jerusha. Its ambiance, dark paneling and planks flooring," Cowden said. There's even a secret drawer society where guests can leave behind notes of what they experienced in room number nine. They claim they hear her playing her piano and her footsteps in the night.

Cowden says he's not sure about the ghost stories. "I have not experienced them myself, but because we heard so many you just don't know," Cowden laughs.

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