Ferrante and his colleagues, John Helstosky and Joe Franke, had come in search of Abigail. And apparently, she was ready for them. Abigail is the name the folks at the Chart House have given their ghost, one of possibly several that people believe haunt the restaurant. According to local legend, Abigail was the unfaithful wife of Jonathan Pettibone, proprietor of Pettibone's Tavern. They say Jonathan Pettibone himself died a year later, under mysterious circumstances.
Local historians dispute the tale.
They say there are no records to suggest anyone named Pettibone ever married anyone named Abigail. The only Pettibone named Abigail was a daughter, not a wife, and she lived to be 93 years old. Besides, you'd think that given the sensational nature of the alleged double murder, someone would have written an account of the crime in the local newspaper or a town history. But no one ever has. The Simsbury Historical Society has, however, discovered plenty of other eerie stories.