History & local legend
The former General Wayne Inn in Merion developed a long-running reputation for a soldier’s ghost while it was a tavern and restaurant. Researcher Michaeleen C. Maher investigated the accounts in August 1988 for the television program Unsolved Mysteries, interviewing employees about what they had experienced.
One former hostess recalled setting tables in the afternoon when a man repeatedly called her name. She turned toward the stairs and saw a solid-looking figure in a Revolutionary-era uniform, with one hand on the railing. When she addressed him, he seemed startled and vanished. She estimated that the sighting lasted only a few seconds.
Other employees described shaking glasses, unexplained footsteps, and dining-room napkins found scattered after the building had been locked. The inn’s older folklore identified a Hessian soldier as its resident ghost.
