Once upon a time, the undead were feared.

Now they're welcomed as tourist attractions.

Ghosts, like honest politicians or unbiased journalists, probably don't exist in this realm. But ghost stories certainly do. Almost 50 such tales are recorded in a new documentary produced by Columbus' CNTime Production. And they all take place in one location: Granville's venerable Buxton Inn.

"There's definitely something going on, definitely, when you hear the testimonies of so many people, story after story," said Christie Casaday, a producer and host of the documentary, which hasn't aired on television but is available for purchase through the company's Web site.

The Buxton, Granville's oldest structure and one of Ohio's oldest inns, has a long and fascinating history dating back to 1812.

Presidents who have spent the night include, it is said, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley, all of whom died in office. But that's probably a coincidence.

The inn also has hosted luminaries such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ford and more recently, Hal Holbrook, Cameron Diaz, and - drum roll, please - John Davidson.

Those visitors were presumably alive during their stay. But Casaday, who once hosted a low-power-television talk show dedicated to the paranormal, was intrigued by those who were not. When she decided to create a documentary, the choice of location was obvious, she said.

"The Buxton Inn was in my own back yard. I can easily say it is America's most ghostly country inn."

Once word got out about her project, Casaday had no trouble finding folks, living and dead, who wanted to take part.

"People started coming out of the woodwork, ghosts and all, wanting this story told. I interviewed people from 2 to 92."

Ghosts have been reported at the Buxton Inn since at least 1932. But, fortunately for business, they're friendly ghosts, said Audrey Orr, who owns the inn with her husband, Orville.

Mrs. Orr said she experienced what could have been a ghost shortly after buying the inn 33 years ago. While painting the pantry, of the otherwise vacant inn, she twice saw, out of the corner of her eye, a man dressed in dark clothes standing nearby.

"The second time I said, 'I don't know what's going on here, but this is beginning to scare me'."

The apparition vanished, never to be seen by her again. And, although she has heard strange noises and smelled redolent perfume where none should be, she has never been bothered by another specter, Mrs. Orr said.

"The ghosts are all benevolent," Casaday assured me. "This is not the Blair Witch Project."

Guests report doors opening and closing by themselves, unexplained footsteps and sudden drops in temperature.

The spectral figure of former innkeeper Maj. Horton Buxton has allegedly been seen making his rounds, as has another Buxton innkeeper, Bonnie Bounell, along with Bounell's cat, Major Buxton.

Guests also report hearing their names called out by an eerie presence.

When that happens to me, it's usually an editor reminding me of an approaching deadline.

The filmmakers experienced some strange phenomena at the Buxton Inn, Casaday said.

"I'm not a ghost buster. I'm not here to say this is real or this isn't. But there's definitely something that happens. We heard footsteps. My partner felt Major Buxton (the cat, not the dead innkeeper) around his legs."

The inn's friendly ghosts also have been a source of friendly publicity.

"The Dispatch did a story in their Sunday magazine in June 1979," Mrs. Orr recalled. "We still have people who come in and ask for a copy of that article."

A recent travel-magazine piece on the inn and its ghosts drew the attention of one of Sen. John Kerry's handlers as the candidate passed through Newark recently, Casaday said.

"She said she just had to order his lunch from the Buxton Inn," Casaday said.

"He had the roast duck. I'd love to have Bush there, too, to add to the list of presidential visits," she said.

OK - now I'm scared.

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