From the ArcaMax Publishing, Around the World Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/jennifermerin/s-637454-425951
When Halloween creeps on to your agenda, ink yourself in to visit the
haunted hotel where Stephen King wrote “The Shining.” That would
be the legendary Stanley Hotel -- or, more specifically Room 217 at
the Stanley Hotel (333 Wonderview, Estes Park, Colorado 80517,
http://www.stanleyhotel.com), an elegant mountain resort.
It was in Room 217 that King, inspired by the hotel’s paranormal
activity, wrote half the novel. But most of the ghost sightings and
strange things that happen in the hotel actually occur in Room 418
and, in general, on the entire fourth floor where the hotel’s
servants’ quarters were once located.
The Stanley served as location for a made-for-TV version of “The
Shining.“ but there is no ‘red rum’ in the property. In fact,
most of King’s creation is fantasy, but hotel employees and guests
confirm that they’ve heard children’s voices in the halls,
especially outside room 408, even when there are no children to be
seen.
The Stanley has a haunted history. It was opened in 1909 by F.O.
Stanley and his wife, Flora, who apparently never wanted to leave
their hotel. They are now among featured ghosts who entertain guests
with strange and spooky behavior.
For example, in the music room, the piano plays by itself, especially
late at night. This was Mrs. Stanley’s favorite room in the hotel,
and people say she’s doing the piano playing.
The Stanley’s are also active in the billiards room and several
other public areas, but they’re probably not the only ghosts
inhabiting the hotel and spooking guests by turning faucets on and
off, flushing toilets and moving objects from place to place.
It’s all prankish, though. The Stanley’s ghosts aren’t at all
malicious, as are those in “The Shining.”
The Menger Hotel (204 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas 78205,
http://www.mengerhotel.com) is even older than The Stanley. The
Menger‘s best known ghost and most important ghost story date back
to March 28, 1876. According to hotel legend, chambermaid Sallie White
stayed at the hotel on night after having had an argument with her
husband. Suspecting that Sallie was having an affair with another man,
her husband attacked her and she died two days later. The hotel ledger
shows that her funeral cost $32, and that the fee was paid by the
hotel.
Several years ago, a guest who was staying in the hotel’s Victorian
wing wanted extra towels and asked a maid he saw in the hall to
provide them. The maid didn’t acknowledge him, nor respond to his
request. When the guest called the front desk to complain about the
poor service, he described the maid and the outfit she was wearing.
The uniform he described was worn during Sallie White’s day, and not
afterwards. So, Sallie roams halls.
If you see her this Halloween, and she ignores you, don’t be
offended. And don’t be too scared -- she hasn’t hurt a single
guest.
Other odd and ghostly occurrences at the Menger Hotel include heavy
footsteps in unoccupied rooms, which, some believe, belong to a ghost
who’s returning to The Alamo, which is adjacent to the hotel.
Built in 1886, just ten years after the Menger Hotel, historic
Crescent Hotel & Spa (75 Prospect Ave., Eureka Springs Arkansas
72632, http://www.crescent-hotel.com) has been used as a college and a
hospital, as well as a resort. The property reports a number of ghosts
-- who look like students and hospital patients or medical personnel
-- in specific rooms.
Room 218, which is very popular with guests who like ghosts, is said
to be haunted by the familiar ghost Michael, an Irish worker who died
when he fell from the roof during the hotel’s construction. Michael
is reported to bang on the walls, and turn lights and the television
on and off. He’s also seen in Rooms 202 and 424. Nobody claims to
know whether he’s angry or simply thinks he’s still constructing
the hotel, but either way, he’s noisy, but not aggressive.
Several of the hotel’s ghosts hail from the 1930s, when the building
was used as a hospital and health resort. The ghost of Dr. Norman
Baker, is said to haunt the Recreation Room. Baker was an inventor
who claimed to have discovered a cure for cancer -- but didn’t have
a medical license. He was jailed for four years for mail fraud, and
lost his hospital. No wonder he’s said to look bewildered when he
roams the hotel’s halls.
A nurse, dressed in a white uniform, has been seen on the third floor.
And, Room 419 is haunted by a woman who introduces herself as a cancer
patient, and then vanishes.
In the hotel’s Crystal Dining Room, spirits in Victorian attire have
been seen sitting at the tables or reflected in the mirrors. Once, a
staff member reported having left a Christmas tree and presents at one
end of the locked and empty dining room, but, upon retuning, found the
items moved to the other side of the room, and surrounded by a
semi-circle of chairs.
Guests have reported seeing a tall handsome bearded man in the hotel
lobby and knocking on doors, asking “Are You Waiting for me?"
And, if you’re a ghost hunter, your answer has to be, “Well,
yeah!”
In fact, people who like to track paranormal activities at Halloween
or any other time of year can find ghosts from coast to coast. In the
west, Southern California boasts ghosts in two historic properties.
The Queen Mary Hotel (1126 Queen Hwy., Long Beach, California, 90802,
http://www.queenmary.com), the former ocean liner now tied up as a
tourist attraction, has its own ghost lore, with reports of
supernatural sightings, disembodied voices, rapping noises and moving
objects. The Queen Mary offers a popular Dinner and a Ghost Tour
experience, with a paranormal host guiding guests to the ship’s
haunted areas in search of ghosts.
Nearby, Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Avenue. Coronado, California
92118, http://hoteldel.com), established in 1888, has a lovely
Victorian ambience and a haunted history. The most famous resident
spirit is a former hotel guest, Kate Morgan, who died more than a
century ago on the hotel’s steps leading into the sea. She is said
to haunt the beach, the room in which she stayed and some of the
retail shops, where Marilyn Monroe memorabilia sometimes unexpectedly
falls off shelves -- thanks, they say, to Kate.
Further north, Heathman Hotel (1001 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon
97205, http://portland.heathmanhotel.com) warns you that you may not
be the only guest in room ending in “03," where paranormal activity
is frequently reported. Guests report that when they return to their
rooms, they find towels and water glasses used, chairs moved, linens
rumpled -- although the computerized door locks show the room doors
haven’t been opened.
On the east coast, The Sagamore (110 Sagamore Road, Bolton Landing,
New York 12814, http://thesagamore.com), was built in 1883 and
throughout its history has attracted wealthy socialites -- and ghosts.
A laughing ghost boy is said to haunt the golf course, stealing balls
and flinging them from behind trees. In the dining room, a young ghost
couple argues, then he flings her to the floor and she fades into the
carpet. There are also reports of a mysterious lady in white who
visits guests in their rooms.
Enjoy your Halloween hotel paranormal ghost encounter, but if you meet
a ghost, don’t say “Trick or Treat!”
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COPYRIGHT 2009 JENNIFER MERIN