www.jailersinn.com

The Old Nelson County Jail located in Bardstown, Kentucky housed prisoners from 1797 until 1987. The first jail located on the property was burned and not reparable so the house-like front building was constructed in 1819. Prisoners were held in the upstairs rooms which were constructed with 30-inch thick stone walls. A shackle that held prisoners to a certain part of the room, or cell when it was in use can still be seen today. In 1874 the back structure which mimics a small stone castle was built, completely surrounded by a stone wall. When the back structure was built, the jailer housed in the front building earning the name as we know it today, the Jailer’s Inn.

Executions did take place in the small, beautiful courtyard where patrons now eat their full breakfast made by the owner each morning. At the time of the executions, it was a family event, an entertaining amusement of sorts. Families would pack picnics while the wives and children sat up on the hill to watch down on the courtyard, while the men packed themselves within the wall to keep a close watch. Some even perched on top of the wall to observe the executions in comfort.

Ghost stories include:

• Phantom whispers and talking throughout the buildings
• Footsteps when no one else is in the building, or walking when heard
• Piano in the old jail’s entrance being played - paranormally
• Lights that turn off and on in the rooms, including a red globe light seen in what is called the “dungeon room”
• Use of restrooms and toilets fully flushing when no one uses them

If you research the Jailer’s Inn online, one of the most popular photos you will find is one that is depicted as an apparition looking out from the inside. Looking at the back of the jail if you are standing in the courtyard, the photos tend to show what some people assume to be mist inside the hallway while others believe they see a full-bodied apparition. The window holds an intriguing story because at one point in time, it was an escape route for a jail break-out, so Hans and I took many pictures of the jail and hallway itself. After looking closely at the window in person we noticed there are screens inside the prison on the window, and if you take a picture of it, each time the screen (depending on the wind or where you are standing while taking the picture), can easily fool someone into believing that they have captured paranormal energy. Below are three different photos of the window. You can decide for yourself!

{right) The windows were cropped out of the photos directly above them. What do you see....??

The most infamous apparition at the Jailer’s Inn is the crying ghost of Martin Hill who was on death row to be executed for killing his wife. Before his hanging, he reportedly died a very slow, painful death causing him to cry and moan for days before his passing. Guards and fellow inmates alike believed that Martin’s wife’s ghost slowly killed him as punishment for murdering her. Today people believe the moaning and crying they here is that of Martin’s ghost “reliving” his slow, painful death bestowed upon him by his dead wife. Martin Hill’s ghost was actually featured in 1909 article about the hauntings of the jail.

The Inn offers five rooms in the luxurious front building, and one room that still resembles a cell, in an actual cell of the “newer” jail in the back building. We chose to reserve the jail cell room for the convenience of conducting an all-night investigation throughout the night. Please note that during our investigation only Hans and Rebecca were present during the night.

Our ghost experiences include:

• Footsteps
• The immense feeling of being watched
• Noises throughout the small cellblock; clanking, banging, thumping, doors swinging open
• Shadows of someone walking could be seen under our cell door from the inside of our “room”. When the door was opened each time, no one “alive” was visible.

Below left are three photos of the actual cell we spent the night in, and though it has been converted to a proper room with a full restroom and television, everything else is completely original (including the shower!). The cell once housed what women prisoners they had at the time, including one 17-year old young woman who stripped off her clothes and tried to escape out the small window through the solid, heavy metal door! Click on each photo to enlarge for a better view.