Prohibition houses, hermits and horsemen: 4 of the most haunted restaurants to visit in VT

With Halloween only a few weeks away, it's time to get in the mood for the holiday with haunted attractions. Vermont has plenty of haunted houses, pumpkin patches and spooky corn mazes to get you in the spirit, but did you know it also has lots of haunted restaurants?

Many old buildings throughout the state not only have a rich history, but also a complex paranormal presence, with ghosts including everything from a hermit to an alcoholic horseman.

Want to dine with these ghosts and more? Here are four of the most haunted restaurants in Vermont to visit this spooky season.

Jasper Murdock's Alehouse

Jasper Murdock's Alehouse is the restaurant of the Norwich Inn, featuring a casual fare menu across a pub, outdoor patio, indoor terrace and elegant dining room.

Since Dartmouth graduate Colonel Jasper Murdock built the stagecoach tavern in 1797, it has gone through various names and owners. Charles and Mary "Ma" Walker purchased the inn in 1920, and it is rumored that Ma Walker served bootleg beer and liquor during the Prohibition era.

Today, a spirit believed to be Ma's is present throughout the inn and restaurant. Guests and owners have reported chairs rocking while empty, water sources turning on by themselves and a figure in a black formal gown appearing in the dining room.

Located at: 325 Main St. Norwich, VT

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Shanty on the Shore

This popular Burlington seafood restaurant was once home to a general store owned by Isaac Nye, an eccentric man known as "the hermit of Champlain."

Nye abruptly closed his business at age 44, living out the rest of his days in a small back room. The only reason he left was for his favorite hobby - attending funerals. At his own funeral, his body was laid on his store counter as he requested. While his body is now gone, many believe his spirit is still there moving furniture and turning lights on.

Located at: 181 Battery St. Burlington, VT

Green Mountain Inn

The most infamous employee of the Green Mountain Inn , built in 1833 by Peter Lovejoy, is Boots Berry, a horseman born to two inn servants in 1840.

According to the inn's website , Berry was fired for neglecting his duties due to alcoholism, sending him on a tour of the country where he wound up in jail and learned to tap dance. He eventually made his way back to Green Mountain, but did not last there for long, as he tragically fell to his death while saving a young girl on the roof during a snowstorm.

Berry is known to haunt room 302, the room under the roof he fell off, and to tap dance across the roof during snowstorms. While he has never been sighted in the inn's restaurant Whip Bar & Grill , his appearance can often be felt and seen in 18 Main , the inn's breakfast only restaurant just below room 302.

If you dine with Berry, be careful - he is known to take the keys of guests who deny his existence.

Located at: 18 Main St. Stowe, VT

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American Flatbread

Now home to the Burlington location of pizza chain American Flatbread , this site used to be Carbur's Restaurant, which opened in 1974.

The ghost story says that haunting started after an employee of Carbur's took his life in the basement, though tunnels that connect the restaurant to points throughout the city are also believed to bring in other ghosts.

Between the two restaurants, reported paranormal activity includes dishwashers starting on their own, a wreath flying off the wall, glassware suddenly breaking and doors slamming shut. Whether the spirit of the Carbur's employee or a different entity, this ghost is said to be aggressive, often targeting women.

Located at: 115 St. Paul St. Burlington, VT

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Prohibition houses, hermits and horsemen: 4 of the most haunted restaurants to visit in VT