Mattituck – Fans of reality television shows, of which there must be plenty as the genre seems to constitute 80 percent of TV programming, have undoubtedly heard of the new Syfy show "Mary Knows Best." Well here is a tip for you – the Old Mill Inn of Mattituck may be featured in a future episode.

Although expanded over the years the original structure of the Old Mill Inn is almost 200 years old and, yes, it was originally a water driven mill. In 1902 it was converted into a tavern and has been a favorite spot for North Fork hospitality ever since. It has a beautiful old bar, waterside dining, great food and despite its age, is the East End's only green certified restaurant. Oh yes, it also has had a long reputation of being haunted.

Brian Phillips, a Mattituck EMT and Old Mill Inn regular, swears the ghost of Mrs. Holmes whispered in his ear 15 years ago during an emergency call to the inn.

"Mary Knows Best" premiered last week and a few days before the first airing the psychic star of the show Mary Occhino and her daughter Jacqueline Sullivan paid a visit to the inn for lunch. Supposedly they were just coming for lunch, but the show's film crew was waiting for her and the media alerted.

It was explained by the production site director that the crew will often just follow Mary around and see what happens. I was assured that Mary knew none of the details about the haunted history of the inn and she had no idea that the press would be present, so we were asked to act like customers and hide our cameras. I hid mine under my hat on a bar stool.

First, just about everyone on the North Fork knows the haunted history of the Old Mill Inn and it has been documented in numerous articles and at least one book. I personally would think that is the kind of reading material a psychic might favor. Second, if she is indeed a psychic isn't she going to know I am there no matter where I hide my camera?

Okay, for the sake of transparency I will admit I am a skeptic when it comes to these sorts of things. Frankly, I am still waiting for the Pulitzer Prize a tarot card reading psychic saw in my "near" future in 1997. Damn, maybe she confused it with the Pushcart Prize and I should go back to writing short stories.

So it is just an average luncheon date with your daughter, but you have to wait in the car until the film crew finishes setting up, which Occhino did while her daughter got updates from the crew as to when they could enter.

Patron Wade Carlin was told by Occhino that the ghost that caressed his ear two years ago was not Mrs. Holmes but a "red dressed woman named Kitty who was known to be friendly to men."

Apparently Mary did not even have to enter the inn before the psychic sparks started flying as she later said, "From the window, I saw a little girl staring out. I told my daughter that the girl had either passed away or left a residual energy."

Okay, it has been an inn for over 100 years with rooms on the second floor and it is probably likely that a family stayed there at some point with a little girl. Occhino also said that driving up to the building she felt something immediately telling her daughter, "I get a little feeling of like the 'Amityville Horror' here, but I am not horrified." She went on to say she didn't sense any "bloodbath," but the line certain makes a great teaser for a future episode.

Once inside and ushered to her table Occhino immediately began speaking with host and co–owner of the Old Mill Inn Barbara Pepe. The psychic never sat down and the conversation seemed very intense from my vantage point at the bar with camera still well hidden. Mary was pointing and talking, they moved to a back stairwell and then up the stairs for a tour of the second floor, perhaps in search of the little girl? Jeez, when was this poor woman going to finally eat, she had to know how great the food is at the Old Mill Inn, she is a psychic after all.

Descending the stairs she entered the bar area, which as legend has it is the most active room for paranormal activity. It is in this area that Mrs. Holmes, the resident ghost of the inn, is most frequently experienced by patrons. Earlier Wade Carlin, a Mattituck resident and inn regular, told me that two years ago he felt "fingering touching and caressing his ear" repeatedly while he was sitting at the bar.

Once in the bar area Occhino walked over to the old player piano because she had felt the presence of an old piano player from the probation era earlier. Apparently not noticing the piano when she first entered the restaurant through the bar door and walked right past it?

Moving from the piano to the bar Occhino spoke to Carlin and told him that it was not Mrs. Holmes who had been caressing his ear, but a woman named Kitty who was known to wear a red dress and be friendly to men. Red dress, friendly to men, hanging around a roadside inn, "Alex, I'll take 'Prostitute Stereotypes' for $200."

Mary Occhino describes herself as a "intuitive explorer of consciousness."

In fact, according to Occhino the Old Mill Inn is literally lousy with spirits. Besides the aforementioned Mrs. Holmes, the girl in the window, the piano player and the red dressed Kitty, there is also a tall white haired man, a woman named Laura and other spirits. Who knew?

Also at the bar was Brian Phillips, who for me had the most compelling ghost story of the day. At least regarding whom he thought was Mrs. Holmes, but now who knows which female ghost it might have been? An EMT for the Mattituck Fire Department, 15 years ago Phillips had been called to the inn with other members of the department because the alarm went off by mistake. Although there was no fire it is standard procedure to search and inspect the entire premises. On the second floor Phillips swears he heard a woman whisper in his ear "Everything is okay!" and turning around there was no one there.

I have no doubt that Occhino does indeed have a psychic gift and her fame and reputation well deserved. She told us she has been "tested by Harvard and Yale accredited scientists over the past 11 years" and describes herself in the Deepak Chopra terms as an "intuitive explorer of consciousness."

To clarify, it appears Occhino was not actually tested at Harvard or Yale as her website notes, "Mary's gift was tested by Dr. Gary Schwartz, director of The VERITAS Research Program of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. Dr. Schwartz, who earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University, is also a former psychology professor at Yale University."

Maybe because Phillips does not claim to be a psychic is why I find his story more compelling. Maybe because I heard the story before all the other ghosts had been miraculously revealed by Occhino and it seemed rare and specific is why I am drawn to his tale. He can't call Mrs. Holmes up on a moment's notice in front of television cameras, much less the piano player or red dressed Kitty in this apparently paranormally overcrowded inn. Instead it is something Phillips experienced 15 years ago and he still speaks of it as if it happened yesterday, absolutely unwavering in his belief.

Occhino said to a fellow journalist during our interview with her, "It's not a job. It's who I am. To me it's like breathing." I'm sorry, but I thought starring on a reality show was a job. Occhino also has a job, or whatever she calls it, on Sirius XM Radio with her show "Angels On Call," where she psychically reads people over the phone. She also has a gift shop on Main Street in Center Moriches called Mary O's Celestial Whispers where she sells psychic, paranormal, inspirational and meditative related items like Pheasant Feather Guardian Angel wall hangings, meditation brackets, Karma Keychains and, of course, her books, of which she has written three. If you cannot get to Center Moriches, no worries, you can purchase at her online store.

By the way, Occhino does private one hour readings for $950 at her store every other Friday. Add $450 for each additional person as Occhino does group readings up to four persons. If that is too pricey, you can schedule a 30 minute reading over the phone for $450. Payments must be received two weeks in advance for the in-person and three weeks for the phone reading, but you need to hurry as she is booked into 2011. According to her website, "Mary no longer does e-mail readings. Those processed before March 22 will be completed."

I don't know about you, but I sure wish I had the "not a job" of breathing psychically.