SyFy’s Ghost Hunters Return to The Mount for Season Finale

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LENOX, Mass. — SyFy’s hit show "Ghost Hunters" will conclude its current season with a trip back to The Mount, Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, to investigate reports of increased paranormal activity since TAPS last visited in 2008. The episode entitled “1st Edition Apparition” will air on the SyFy channel on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 9 p.m.

According to Rebecka McDougall, communication director for The Mount, the TAPs team contacted her last November to film a follow up to their previous investigation five years earlier. At that time, the Ghost Hunters felt the evidence was inconclusive. The 2008 visit was aired as the third episode of season five of the popular show and can be viewed on YouTube. The team returned to The Mount in December of 2014 for a total of three days.

“The findings from their investigation are confidential, the only person who knows what they found is Robert Oakes, a tour guide who worked directly with the team while they were here,” McDougall said.


Oakes, who has been leading ghost tours for the past four years, said it was "fantastic" to welcome the team back.

“There have been so many reports of strange activity at the estate since their last visit, it isn't surprising they wanted to return. I can't say what they found, but you will certainly want to tune in on November 18," he said.

The Mount has been offering ghost tours of the property since 2009. The ghost tours, recommended for guests 12 and over, are offered in the summer and fall months and consistently sell out. Hot spots for paranormal activity include the second floor of the historic Stable, Wharton’s bathroom on the second floor on the Main House and recently Teddy Wharton’s Den on the first floor. Footsteps, strange sensations, the distinct scents of floral perfume and cigar smoke have all been reported by guests.

 


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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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