Unexplained “Happenings” at Heyners’ Historic House
Serve as Source for Spooky Halloween Stories

The stone house on the east side of Town is one of Round Hill's oldest and most historic structures. Since the early 1850s, it has served as a store, Round Hill's first post office, stagecoach stop, school, meeting house and saloon.
Now a private residence, it has been owned by John and Robin Heyner for more than 10 years. In that time, the Heyners have experienced a number of unexplained "happenings" in the house and the adjacent cottage.
As befitting the spirit of the Halloween season, Robin Heyner describes their experiences in the stories below…
Shortly after my husband, John, and I moved to Round Hill in 1998, something very eerie began to occur in our “new” home.
One evening, we were in the living room with our golden retriever Bailey, and Bailey started a low guttural growl and all of the hair on her back stood on end. She got up and positioned herself between us and the stairwell leading to the second floor.
She proceeded to “watch” something descend the stairs, pass across the living room and across the parlor.
The whole event took only about two minutes, and when it completed, Bailey went back to being her same old lovable, sweet self.
John and I thought that something outside had gotten Bailey’s attention, but after searching the grounds, nothing was found.
This event repeated itself every evening for several weeks, always on the stroke of 8 p.m.—you could set your watch by it. Eventually, after several weeks, this eerie “happening” stopped, just as suddenly as it started.
Shoes in the Attic
One Easter weekend, John and I traveled out of town to visit family. When we returned home and went to the attic to put away suitcases, we found a very strange sight.
All of the shoes that had been stacked up neatly in boxes under rolling racks were lined up across the floor as if they were on display. All boxes were neatly stacked in place under the rolling rack.
Additionally, when we left for the weekend our attic windows were closed and locked, with candle lights in place in each window well. Each of these windows swings inward, so in order to open these windows, the candle light has to be removed, the window swung open, and then the candle light replaced.
Oddly, when we returned from our trip all four windows were now opened but the candle lights were still in place!
John and I could not explain this "happening," and often wondered if Thomas Lunsford, the shoemaker who operated his cobbler shop out of the small building at the turn of the century, had anything to do with this strange occurrence.
Doors Locked from Inside
Our two entrances both have storm doors with hook and eye closures that can only be operated from inside the house. One evening, returning from work, I attempted to enter the house, but the storm door would not open. I was very perplexed and tried everything, but it still would not open. I went to the other entrance and tried that door as well, but with the same result.
Unable to get either door open, I tried to call John, but was unable to reach him. So, I gave up and solicited help from my neighbor.
After working with both doors for a while, he came to the conclusion that the doors were locked from the inside.
“How is that possible?” I inquired.
We had no idea. Next we tried the windows on the odd chance that one might be unlocked, but none of them would open either. As a last resort, my neighbor got some tools and proceeded to remove the storm door from its hinges.
What was ultimately discovered was that the hook and eye closures were latched on both doors.
But how could that be?
With all possible entry points to the house locked, the only possible explanation was that someone did it from the inside and they were still in the house!
We were convinced that someone was playing a joke, and was hiding somewhere in the house. After a thorough search of the house, no one was found.
Music and Voices in the Evening
Very often when John and I return home after a long day at work, we enter the house to the sound of very faint music and voices. It almost sounds like a party is going on, with softly clinking glasses and old-fashioned music. It continues until loud noises are made, and then it just fades away....
Guest Cottage “Happenings”
In 2002 John and I decided to have the small out-building on our property renovated for use as a guest cottage. This is the structure where Thomas Lunsford had operated his cobbler shop in the early 1900s.
In one phase of the project, the carpenters from apple house carpentry, which is owned by Round Hill’s own Phil Bzdyk, were taking measurements in the building and doing their wood cuts out in the yard. When the crew would move from inside the building out into the yard the door would continually slam shut and lock.
After getting locked out one too many times, they decided to just remove the door entirely.
Next, when the apple house crew was laying the flagstone for the bathroom floor, one of the flagstones was dropped and broke into an interesting shape...a near perfect silhouette of a man’s face.
Interestingly, the silhouette strongly resembled old photographs of Thomas Lunsford, the cobbler.
The work staff said it was "a sign," and placed the stone face on the mantle of the fireplace to "oversee" construction.
From that point forward, no unexplained happenings occurred and the cottage renovation completed quietly.
To this day, "Mr. Lunsford" sits on a shelf in the guest cottage, welcoming guests and watching over the cottage.
The guest cottage is now used for overnight guests, as a peaceful retreat away from the main house for privacy.
Well, maybe not always “peaceful”…
One Friday night several years ago, John’s mother, Barbara, was staying in the guest cottage. Early that morning Barbara was awakened by a figure at the foot of the bed.
A woman in a white dress appeared and spoke to Barbara. The woman said, “My name is Dorothy, and I have something to show you.”
Barbara was temporarily frozen, but then managed to run from the cottage to the main house. When I saw the frantic Barbara, I fully understood what it meant for someone to “look like she had just seen a ghost.”
Everyone was left wondering who the woman was, and what she wanted to show Barbara.
There is no known history of a woman named Dorothy connected to the house or the cottage.
Barbara would not return to the cottage that morning, but she and many others have since spent the night there peacefully with no further incidents.