51 Warwick Street in Middletown, Connecticut is not your average building in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It never was. The 1850 facility once housed the Pameacha Jail, which included the sheriff’s residence and a dozen brownstone prisoner-holding cells. The cells were later removed and brought to Haddam, Connecticut for use in their jail, which has now been closed for a decade as of this writing. What remains of the actual cells at the Warwick street location consists of a small room with windows and an outside stairway where the cells once sat. Only one section remains of one of the cells where patrons can still dine. The building later housed a restaurant called Bread & Water, but a fire in April 2017 damaged a good portion of the structure and forced its closure in 2019. Just prior to closing, Bread & Water was chosen among 8,500 eateries across the state as South Region Restaurant of the Year. In 2020, Carrie Carella, owner of NoRa Cupcake Co. and Heather Kelly went in search of a place that was unique in character and history. They found 51 Warwick Street to be the perfect place. In March of 2021, they opened Harrie’s Jailhouse Restaurant as an elevated pub fare restaurant. Harrie’s specializes in signature sandwiches and cocktails where one can relax at the bar downstairs, on the outdoor patio, or at seating on the first floor. The restaurant’s name is a combination of Heather and Carrie, who have both since had their fair share of paranormal experiences. 

The building houses a permanent resident by the name of Sarah. Sarah is a little girl ghost who may have lived in the building at one time after it ceased to be a jail house. Heather and Carrie have learned to live in harmony with Sarah who they have concluded was between the ages of eight and ten years old when she died. Sarah likes to play with the lights, create sudden drafts, throw things and take items off the tables and bar, dropping them to the floor. Sarah does not limit her exploits to the owners and staff at the restaurant. Many patrons of Harrie’s have witnessed strange events presumed to be caused by her. One patron witnessed the remote control for the television fly off the TV and bounce off the bar. Some come to the restaurant in hopes of witnessing the child ghost while dining or enjoying a drink. Often, Sarah does not disappoint. Heather and Carrie admitted they sometimes have to appease Sarah by putting a mocktail out for her when she starts acting up. Whether it is totally effective or not in pleasing the ghost, they are not sure, but they believe it makes her feel included and comfortable with the people who work or visit of the place.

Next door to the pub is the old town almshouse that has been converted into apartments and a section for a small business. Almshouses were where people of the town in need would reside. This included the poor, elderly and disabled citizens within the town. Often, there was a farm of some sort where they grew much of their own food. Sometimes they worked at menial jobs to help support their way. The old almshouse building is also haunted by some of the long deceased tenants who most likely spend their last days in the poorhouse. In 2012, Ghost Hunters investigated both places and found them to be still alive with the spirits of those who once tenanted them. The haunting of both buildings go back much further and can be assured the ghosts will still be around for years to come. Such places tend to leave a certain psychic scar on the property due to the reason why they were invented in the first place; to house the poor and suffering or hold the not so nice people in society.