History & local legend
Duffy’s Tavern stands on East Main Street in Boalsburg, in a building completed in 1819 as a tavern and stagecoach stop. Harry and Mary Duffy bought it in 1946 and gave it the name it still carries. Harry is the former owner associated with the tavern’s ‘Mr. Duffy’ ghost story.
In February 2018, co-owner Tracy Moriarty told the Centre County Gazette that unexplained activity had increased during renovations to the Pine Rooms. She described finding chairs in different positions after turning away and returning to rooms where lights she had left off were on again. Tracy and her husband, Darren, had operated the tavern since May 2012.
Those reports brought Tyson Lidgett and his Mo-Valley Paranormal team to the tavern on February 5, 2018. A Gazette reporter attended the investigation, which began upstairs after the staff and customers had left. Lidgett placed flashlights on a table and addressed ‘Mr. Duffy,’ asking whether the renovations had upset him and inviting him to respond through the lights.
Initially, nothing happened. After about five minutes, an investigator moved a flashlight to another table. The reporter described it brightening and then flickering on and off as the team continued asking questions. Lidgett’s team treated the flickering as a possible response to their questions, recording the session with cameras and audio equipment.
