North Dakota

Anamoose

Sage Hill Bed and Breakfast

What was once the first school house in North Dakots is nowa bed and breakfast. Built in the early 1800's, this school burned and left a cigar smoking Superintendent and a young boy in its ashes. Described as a large man with bushy hair and a piercing stare, he smoked cigars as he went from the foyer to every corner of the building. It was during one of these tours that the superintendent was killed while minding the coal-burning boiler in the basement. According to legend the thing caught fire and he and a young student died. The school functioned until the state and student population outgrew its walls.

There are no records that indicate its use over the next few years, but by the early 1990's the old building sat empty. An investment group that promised to bring visitors once again into its hallways and to preserve the historic site saved it from decay.

In 1996 Jacqueline Fix and Brad Mincher reopened the old schoolhouse as a bed and breakfast. Before the doors opened, however, they had many renovations to make and it was during this time that the new owners first started noticing strange things were afoot in their house.

When they began to tear down walls and doing repairs the paranormal events started happening. Objects would vanish and reappear in strange places and workmen would hear strange moaning and groaning. Lights began to flicker on and off. The smell of cigar smoke was strong even though none of the workers smoked cigars. One workman going down into the cellar claimed to see and smell cigar smoke and swore there was no one. Toilets flush on their own and cold spots that occasionally float through the house. According to the owners there is also a peculiar light that appears in the lower basement room where the coal-fired boiler used to be. They try to avoid the room because, in their words, it is "creepy."

There are several unsubstantiated reports from former guests about the apparitions, but the most compelling sightings come from the owners themselves. On several occasions she has seen the darting figures, just out of the corner of her eye.

Witnesses say they feel they are watched and there are cold spots and hair stands up on end leaving an unexplained tingling. Everything about the old building seems peaceful. But in the hallway is the hint of cigar smoke despite the strict non-smoking rule. Bags and furniture sometimes move or are simply not in the place where they left them.

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