History & local legend
The Bechtel Mansion in East Berlin was built in 1897 as banker William G. Leas’s home. After it became an inn, owners Richard and Carol Carlson encountered a collection of stories about a resident spirit called Flossie.
Her best-known appearance involved a policeman who saw a woman on the balcony. As he watched, she seemed to pass through the wall. Other reports blamed Flossie when objects disappeared inside the house.
The inn’s accounts also described disturbances in the carriage house and an unexplained light at the foot of the stairs.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Haunts & History, East Berlin entry preserving the balcony and officer tradition
- Haunted Places, Bechtel Mansion Inn, Flossie’s balcony and the disappearance of objects
- Bechtel Victorian Mansion Inn, Richard and Carol Carlson’s building history, archived 2011
- Colonial Sense, visit to the East Berlin Christmas house tour and interview with Carol Carlson
