Haunted Hotels
Have you ever stayed in a haunted hotel or bed and breakfast? Many people have but few have had any real experiences to report. Personally, I've stayed in many haunted places, but I've had few real paranormal experiences to report. Most of the experiences I have are from visiting buildings or places for a short period of time. This changed, however, when I stayed in Savannah at the Marriott Courtyard in the Historic District.
Our stay there was fine and the accommodations were perfect. However, after traveling for over a week at this point, doing laundry became a necessity. The laundry room for guests is located down a back hallway on the 2nd floor. While I wasn't immediately concerned about ghosts, I soon was distracted by flitting motions by the doorway and eventually became woozy while in the laundry room. I couldn't wait for my laundry to be done so I could leave. The notion of a haunted laundry room seems silly, but who knows what might have been in that building years ago? Guess I'll have to research this and add more to this story later!
For those of you who enjoy staying in haunted hotels, there is a veritable plethora to choose from. Popular places to stay in the U.S. include:
The Stanley Hotel. Remember The Shining by Stephen King? This is that famous hotel, though I think its' founder, Mr. Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame, would cringe if he had lived to see his resort depicted that way! This hotel in Estes, Colorado, has been in operation since 1909. It is considered to be a very haunted hotel, and the nearby concert Hall on the property is said to be haunted as well. Last year, the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) crew visited this hotel and had some very unusual incidents take place. If you get a chance to see this episode repeated, do so- it is very entertaining and one of the few haunted hotels that now have verifiable video footage of unusual activity. Visit the TAPS website to get info on this and other episodes of Ghost Hunters.
The Hotel del Coronado is another famous haunted hotel that draws hundreds of visitors hoping for a ghostly encounter each year. Ghost hunters know that the room they want to stay in belonged to Kate Morgan. This young woman supposedly walks the hallways and beach looking for a lost love. Her suicide supposedly has left her trapped between the living and the dead, waiting for absolution. Visitors have reported having their sheets and blankets pulled off the bed, as well as seeing this Victorian-era woman floating in and outside of the room.
The Myrtles Plantation. This particular home is featured on so many Halloween shows, it is hard to pick a favorite featured episode. Avid haunted hotel visitors know all about this haunted plantation! The story goes that the slave girl who worked in the home caring for the children was afraid she was going to be sent back to the fields- she had a habit of evesdropping in on the owner and his wife's private conversations. The plantation owner sliced off one of her ears for doing this. The slave believed that if she made the family sick, they would need her to nurse them back to health, and therefore prove her value. Unfortunately, her plan backfired. She put too much oleander into a birthday cake and ended up wiping out the family, minus the owner. When her plan was uncovered, she was hung on the property. Visitors believe that her ghost, as well as those of the children, haunts the property, along with a few other individuals that have met an untimely death through the years. It should also be noted that this plantation was built on an Indian graveyard- no wonder it is suffering from an abundance of paranormal activity!
These sites are but a few of the favorite haunted hotels in the United States. The rates are fairly reasonable for a 1-2 night stay, so if you're in any of these areas, give them a try. You may get lucky and see your first (or second, or third) ghost!
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