ArcaMax

By Victor Block

At the turn of the 20th century, May Baily's was a brothel in the infamous red-light district of New Orleans. Today that location is the Dauphin Orleans Hotel, which invites guests to "embrace New Orleans' historic haunts and timeless charm." Lodgers at the Dauphin have reported spotting a uniformed Creole soldier wandering through the courtyard. Others say they have seen a woman dancing across that patio.

The Dauphin is but one lodging that offers apparitions along with its amenities. Some hotels are as well-known for their resident spirits as their guest services. With Halloween approaching, those seeking a scare along with a space in which to stay have a wide choice of places and paranormals.

Military personnel also show up at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. Dating back to 1796, the location once served as a healing place for Native Americans. Spirits of soldiers from past times are said to show up, and employees have described a ghost who comes to the office and types on a computer.

Other historic properties also have their claims to ghostly fame. Sections of today's Admiral Fell Inn have occupied the location in a former crime-ridden ship-building neighborhood of Baltimore since the 1770s. It seems only natural -- or supernatural -- that sailors have been seen floating through the hallways. A hotel manager once heard a loud party taking place after the inn had been evacuated during a hurricane.

Even an iconic cruise ship, which sailed over the Atlantic Ocean from 1936 until 1967, now is said to be inhabited by seafaring ghosts. The Queen Mary is docked in Long Beach, California, where it serves as a hotel, restaurant and museum. Among reasons why Time magazine voted the vessel one of the "Top 10 Most Haunted Places in America" are sightings of an engineer who died at sea, a "lady in white" and children playing in a swimming pool. Haunted Encounters are offered during the day, and twilight excursions and seances explore the ship's haunted past and paranormal activity.

The Kennebunk Inn was built near Maine's Atlantic coastline in 1799 as a residence before it evolved into a hotel. The specter of a clerk who worked there and died in the mid-1900s is believed to inhabit his former place of employment and to be responsible for wineglasses and other objects falling over or flying through the air.

Other ghostlike figures also have taken up long-term residence. They include the "Pink Lady," a young woman in Victorian dress who is surrounded by a rosy mist and who hangs out at the Omni Grove Park Inn. She is purported to be a guest who stayed at that Asheville, North Carolina, property in the 1920s, fell to her death and now haunts the hotel.

It's a Lady in White that spooks the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City, South Dakota, and she is joined by the man for whom the building is named. So many reports of spooky activity have been reported that a "Ghost Journal" in which guests record their unexplainable experiences is kept at the front desk.

While checking out the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, the International Society for Paranormal Research made contact with more than a dozen earthbound entities. They documented a restaurant door that is kept locked yet opens and closes, an elevator which stops at the wrong floor and ghostly images of children playing.

The top window in the tower of the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, is the center of attention for people seeking to spot the presence of Franklin Smith. He was the architect who opened the property in 1888 but soon ran into financial difficulties and sold it.

After extensive and expensive renovations, the hotel was transformed into a haven for those seeking a luxurious throwback to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. A man seen peering out the window of the ornate six-story-high tower is believed to be Smith, lamenting the turn of events that caused him to lose his dream property.

In the late 1800s, Deadwood, South Dakota, was a lawless, rowdy town that attracted the likes of Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickock and Seth Bullock, who served as the community's first sheriff. He built the hotel named for him and is believed to haunt it, showing up late at night. Items moving of their own accord and voices emanating from dark hallways add to the mood.

The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, touts itself as "America's Most Haunted Hotel." The hands of a stone mason who plunged to his death from room 218 during construction have been seen emerging from a bathroom mirror, the door opens and closes on its own, and cries of a falling man emanate from the ceiling.

Whether you're a strong supporter or a suspicious skeptic, staying at a hotel known to be a ghost hangout can be a scintillating, and perhaps spooky, experience. What better time to do so than during the Halloween haunting season?

----

WHEN YOU GO

www.dauphinorleans.com

www.omnihotels.com

www.admiralfell.com

www.queenmary.com

www.alexjohnson.com

www.thekennebunkinn.com

www.hotelmonteleone.com

www.marriott.com

www.historicbullock.com

www.crescent-hotel.com

========

Victor Block is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2024 Creators Syndicate, Inc.