HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
Three-time USA Today #1 Best Haunted Hotel — an 1850 railroad stopover on a 17-acre Susquehanna River island where a staircase that no longer exists still produces footsteps.
1311 West River Road, Nichols, NY 13812
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Minimum two-night stays; single nights available on request. Contact inn for current nightly rates.
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-story inn on island property; outdoor animal farm on 17 acres
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1850 · Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Heritage · Multiple Adaptive Reuse History · USA Today Best Haunted Hotel 2022, 2023, 2025 · Susquehanna River Island Setting
The property near Nichols, in Tioga County, has operated under a series of owners and uses since the 1830s. The Pearsall family owned the site as early as 1830, and the building as it stands was constructed around 1850. Through the peak Erie–Lackawanna Railroad era the structure served as a stopping point for rail travelers, functioning as a railroad hotel at the intersection of routes that carried passengers toward the Pennsylvania border.
Between hotel operations, the building served the surrounding community as an ice house — when mechanical refrigeration was unavailable, blocks cut from the river were stored here for local distribution. Later use as the town post office added another civic layer, followed by a stint as a foundry and, by local account, a period as a brothel. In the early twentieth century it was known as the Canopy Villa, a boarding house operated by the Finch family.
The building sat dormant for some years before Marnie Streit purchased the property in 2007. Streit reopened it as the Fainting Goat Island Inn in 2017 following renovation, developing the 17-acre island setting into a working farm with fainting goats, potbelly pigs, and other animals alongside the guest rooms.
The inn won the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice Award for Best Haunted Hotel in the United States in 2022, 2023, and 2025 — three non-consecutive awards that represent a consistent reader endorsement across multiple survey cycles.
Sources
The most consistent reports at the Fainting Goat Island Inn cluster by room. In the Fainting Room, multiple guests have described waking to the sight and sound of two women sitting at tea. The accounts are specific enough that the inn names the room for the phenomenon rather than the reverse. Guests in the Nubian Room have found the child-sized chair in the room moved from its position during the night.
The Angora Room, which opened in 2019, generated a distinct and more physical category of reports. Guests there have described the sensation of someone sitting down on the edge of the bed beside them, sheets being pulled away during sleep, and at least one documented case of feeling briefly pinned in place. The reports escalated in frequency after the room opened — whether that reflects the age of the space or the layout is not established.
Across multiple rooms, guests and one on-site observer have reported seeing eyes reflected in mirrors that did not correspond to anyone present, and hearing footsteps on a staircase that no longer physically exists. The staircase was removed at some point in the building's renovation history, but the footfall pattern described suggests a route that matches where it stood.
The 'little boy' is the presence most consistently named by guests and by the inn's own framing. He does not appear to be tied to any documented death on the property. The inn was voted #1 Best Haunted Hotel in the United States by USA Today readers in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Four large period-furnished rooms with private baths on a 17-acre island in the Susquehanna River. Rooms include the Fainting Room (where two women at tea have been reported), the Nubian Room (where a child-sized chair has been observed moving), and the Angora Room (where physical contact and sheet-pulling have been documented by multiple guests). Old-time phonographs, river views, and a working farm with fainting goats.
Ghost hunts offered by special event only, limited to 20 people. Exclusively for overnight guests; public ghost hunt events scheduled separately. Check the inn's website for upcoming dates.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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