Email Interview with Sharon Gammell - Psychic, Owner, Chef and Wedding Officiate of Thayer's Bed & Breakfast in Annandale, Minnesota

By The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman: First of all, what attracted you to this particular Bed & Breakfast? And secondly, could you give us a little history about the house? It appears there is a lot of activity, associated with the past going on throughout the home.

Sharon:  The first time my husband, Warren, and I walked into this building in early 1993, I knew I had to have it - even though the place was a mess; the outside porches were in need of some major repairs, the paint was faded pink and peeling, and the inside spaces were dark, dirty grey, dingy green and everything was covered with an unhappy, dreary, pallor. It was clear to me that the Thayer's Hotel was not loved at all. On the spot, I decided I really wanted to help change all that!

After looking at the building, and meeting with the then owner, on the way home to Minneapolis, Warren took one look at me and he knew. Thayer's was the place I'd been talking about and looking for since my last restaurant in 1986. I remember that he did still ask me, "Is this really the one you want?" Of course, my answer was a resounding "YES!"

To read more about how Thayer's came to be the beautiful and majestic Bed & Breakfast that it is now, read the rest of the story at www.thayers.net/visit.htm

As for the history of Thayer's... the first "landlords" were Albert Augustus (Gus) Thayer and Caroline Hill Thayer. To read more about Augustus and Caroline, to see their photos and photos of Thayer's from 1905,  and how they came to be a part of Thayer's, go to www.thayers.net/Thayer%20Hotel%20history.htm

The Night Watchman:  Our readers are always interested in haunting experiences. Could you elaborate on a couple of stories from the past?

Sharon:  Ghost kitty - Ghost kitty is grey, about the size of a 6 to 7 pound kitty, has a long tail and likes to sit on the end of the bed in Miss Sadie's room. He leaves an imprint in the bed when he is there. He used to drive my sister a little bit crazy when she would help clean rooms. She would straighten the bed and he would mess it up and she would straighten it, and well... you get the picture.

Cocoa Bear - Cocoa Bear was my kitty. A HUGE Main coon with a big fluffy tail that died on Christmas day in 1996. I had a four year old come in with his mom and older brother one day this past summer to pick up a gift certificate. The four year old asked me how many kitties I have and I said two - Miss Sadie cat and Tennessee. While Mom and I took care of business, the two boys asked if it would be okay to pet the kitties. Sadie and Tennessee were now on the second floor. I said sure if they would be gentle with the kitties and off the two boys went to be gentle. It wasn't long before the four year old came back down and asked me again how many kitties I had. Again, I said two and he said, "NO! You have three. Mr. Tennessee, Miss Sadie cat and the BIG fluffy black one named Cocoa Bear with the BIG tail who is very soft." How could I forget that I had such a nice big kitty, he asked me??

Miss Molly - worked here. She tells us she is a proper lady! She likes to dress up in her silk blue ball gown and wants to have a chair in her room because she finds it inconvenient to entertain without one. She likes Miss Kitty's room and when Gina was here from the Minnesota Paranormal Investigative Group, Molly and Gina had quite a conversation.

Warren Gammell - Warren was killed by a drunk driver in 1996 and it took awhile for me to be able to talk to him. I was very angry he died. Anyway, when we bought Thayer's and Gus was leaving us pennies, the joke was... with inflation, Gus, how about leaving $50 gold pieces or silver dollars... or, you could at least leave a quarter. Well, Gus leaves pennies for good luck and we do get quarters now. The quarters are from Warren.

Sam is a handy man that worked here. Many guests and workers have seen him in his overalls and plaid shirt working in and around the house.

We have a ghost named Nels and his wife, Amelia. Nels came by way of a friend's family photograph and he nearly gave two of my doubting guests a heart attack when he made an appearance in their room after they had been making fun of Thayer's, me and the possibilities of ghosts. The guests are believers NOW! The story goes that Nels turned on all the lights in their room, turned the air conditioning up so it was freezing, and stood at the end of their bed waiting for them to know it was him. Then, Nels tipped his top hat, slowly disappeared, turned off all the lights and the room went back to normal temperature. Guess where the guests went? Yep, they drove home that night! They have been back, but not to that room.

I had two gals staying in the Purple's Mist, located right across the hall from Gus' room. They really wanted something to happen while they stayed here. Well, in the morning, I asked them both if something had happened for them. Looking disappointed, they said, "Well... not really." So, I asked what not really had happened. They wanted to have an experience like the one our guests had had with Nels; all they got was that the stuffed animals they had sitting on the chair had been moved to the center of the bed while they had gone out for dinner. Go figure!!! The ghosts just moved the stuffed animals - gee, that is really too bad... that's all that happened. HELLO!! Your stuff was moved!!!

Many guests tell me that they can smell brownies and cookies baking when I'm not baking.

Gus likes the piano and sometimes we can hear him playing it at all hours of the night on the third floor. Oh, and the piano is located on the first floor. It can't be heard on the second or third floors when anyone is playing it, except, that is, for GUS.

There is a little girl that likes to watch our mystery dinner guests. She sits on the stairs and just watches. She is about twelve and is in a school uniform.

There are stories and stories and more stories. Maybe what you need to do is stay here so you can have your very own ghost story to tell about.

For a great deal more information about Thayer's, please visit www.thayers.net