; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Daily 2 Cents: Haunted Hotels -- 'Experiencers' Share Abduction Stories -- Employee Reprimanded After Hiring Paranormal Team For Haunted Office


Ghost stories from haunted hotels

With every Halloween there's a good scare. This year, we're sharing some spooky, and rather creepy, tales from haunted hotels who just can't seem to get rid of some lingering guests.

If the traditional trick-or-treating events and Fright Night festivities have become too dull for you, try checking in to one of these hotels and let us know what you discover. Here's wishing you a good night's sleep...

The Sagamore, Bolton Landing, NY: According to legend there was a maid in the early 1900’s that was having an affair with a gentlemen in The Sagamore (1930) during his summer stay with his wife. After hearing his wife’s suspicions he had broken off the affair and the maid confronted him in his room to talk about it. During this discussion, the wife came in to the room and, assuming the worst, began wrestling with the maid, strangling her and killing her. The husband and wife immediately checked out and when the maid was discovered the next day it was assumed that she died of natural causes while cleaning the room. Upset that the husband and wife got away with murder, it is rumored that the maid continues to haunt the occupants of this room trying to induce havoc in their relationship. It is said that the room gets very cold. Some couples have asked to move because they can’t get the room warm enough. There have been stories that the blankets are removed during the night and when the lights are turned on no one is there.

The Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jekyll Island, GA: This hotel seems to have a bellman with a cap and suit like the ones we see in movies of the 1920’s, a far different look from actual bellmen who greets you at this historic hotel today. This bellman, from post WWI days, is very particular about delivering freshly pressed suits to bridegrooms. He has been seen, mostly on the second floor of the club building, knocking gently on a guest room door and announcing his purpose. More than one bridegroom, who had not ordered these services, has inquired about the mysterious bellman.

Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH: Known affectionately by staff members as “The Princess,” Caroline Foster is a long-time inhabitant of the hotel, even though she passed away in 1939. Princess Caroline Foster’s ties to the resort go back to its inception, when her husband, railroad tycoon Joseph Stickney, built the grand resort in 1902. Incorporating special accommodations for his wife, construction of the resort included an indoor swimming pool and a private dining room for Caroline, known today as the “Princess Room.” A prominent figure at the resort since its opening, many guests who have visited continue to report sightings of the regal Caroline. Visions of an elegant woman in Victorian dress are often spotted in the hallways of the hotel, there are light taps on doors when no one is outside and items that suddenly disappear and then reappear in the exact place they were lost. But perhaps the most common sighting of the beloved Caroline is in room 314, where guests report seeing the vision of the woman sitting at the edge of their guest bed—the same custom-made four-post bed Caroline shared with her husband.

La Posada de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM: The hotel dates back to 1882 when a Santa Fe Trail merchant, Abraham Staab, built it as a three-story Victorian mansion for his family. When Julia, Staab’s wife, died in 1896 at the age of 52, her presence continued to live on throughout the home. Today, the Staab House at La Posada de Santa Fe retains its original structure and is home to a cozy bar, and Suite 100, which used to be Julia’s bedroom. To honor her, the hotel staff makes sure to invite her to parties held in the house and to greet her when they enter her bedroom.

Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC: The 100-year-old hotel has had a ghost roaming its halls for over half a century. She is referred to as the Pink Lady because of the flowing pink gown she wears. It is believed that this young woman was a guest in Room 545 in the 1920s and that she either jumped or was pushed to her death in the Main Inn’s Palm Court, five floors below. New reports of her sightings still occur, especially by young children. Some say they just see a pink mist, others a full apparition of a young long-haired beauty in a pink gown.

La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM: Located in the center of Santa Fe, the hotel harbors paranormal tales stemming from Old West brawls and shootouts. Shot to death in 1867 in the hotel lobby (then operating as the U.S. Hotel), the Honorable John P. Slough, chief justice of the Territorial Supreme Court, never left. He is still rumored to linger along the hotel’s hallways. More often reported are sightings of the ghost of a distraught salesman emerging from the fountain in the center of La Fonda’s restaurant, La Plazuela. More than a century ago, the salesman jumped into a well that was located just outside the gambling hall when the hotel operated as The Exchange Hotel. He had lost all of his company’s money in a card game.

Crescent Hotel & Spa, Eureka Springs, AK: In the 1930s, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa became an experimental cancer hospital. "Dr." Norman Baker, claiming to be a licensed physician, examined cancer patients in the hotel's basement while charging unsuspecting families their life savings. Several apparitions from the hospital visit the hotel today. "Dr. Baker" has been seen in the hotel lobby. He is described as a man in a purple shirt and white linen suit matching photographs of the infamous entrepreneur. "A nurse pushing a gurney" residing in Dr. Baker's old morgue area is known to squeak and rattle down the halls of the hotel. A hotel maintenance man witnessed all the washers and dryers mysteriously turn on the middle of the night. The laundry room is located next to Dr. Baker's old morgue which still contains his autopsy table and walk-in freezer. Housekeepers report meeting "Theodora" in room 419. She introduces herself as a cancer patient of Dr. Baker's and vanishes after courtesies are verbally exchanged. - Boston

Haunted Hotels: A Guide to American and Canadian Inns and Their Ghosts

Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America's Haunted Inns and Hotels


**********

'Experiencers' Share Abduction Stories

Portland, Maine - In the back room of a holistic gift shop, a young man introduces himself to the group.

“I want to find my truth and know why I’m here,” he says. And he’s not alone.

Starborn Support was founded by twin sisters Audrey and Debbie Hewins as a support and discussion group for those who believe they’ve experienced contact with extraterrestrials.

Operating for years as a call-in hotline, the group has grown to include 12 chapters, and last night’s event marked the first public, in-person meeting of the group.

The 17 “experiencers” present at the meeting ran the gamut, from those who cited multiple incidents of contact with extraterrestrial beings to individuals who were simply, as the young man put it, finding their "truth.”

“Not everyone is physically taken,” Audrey Hewins said.

Hank Moser shared his story of seeing a “cigar-shaped thing” hovering over the Penobscot River (Maine). “It was so close that if there was anyone in the windows, I would have recognized them,” he said.

Moser spent years mulling the experience, and after experimenting with self-hypnosis, began to think that there might have been more to his UFO experience than he remembered, or was allowed to remember.

“What’s the rest of the story?" Moser said. "That’s why I’m here.”

A large part of the discussion was focused not on alien abductions or meetings but on communication with an unknown, outside force. Many in the group reported feeling a similar ominous feeling as of late, which the Hewins were quick to validate as they cited their own apocalyptic dreams, including premonitions of recent disasters such as Hurricane Sandy and the Fukushima nuclear incident.

“We haven't started building the ark yet,” Audrey said.

The typical UFO experiencer stereotypes fall flat in the Starborn Support group. There are no drunk yokels or pimply kids in "X-Files" shirts. While there were a few mentions of conspiracy-theory buzzwords such as JFK, the New World Order and the biblical Three Days of Darkness, at its heart this group was made up of students, moms, grandfathers and holistic practitioners who shared an otherworldly experience.

Some of those present were a little more experienced than others, but none more so than Steve Pierce. While working for the Forest Service in 1975, Pierce said he witnessed his co-worker Travis Walton being abducted by a UFO in Arizona. Walton was missing for five days before returning home with his tale of alien abduction, which he later turned into a book and subsequent 1993 film, “Fire in the Sky”.

Pierce, along with many of those gathered, believe that certain people are more prone to extraterrestrial experiences than others. “Once it starts happening, it will happen the rest of your life,” he said.

Like all support groups, Starborn is focused on creating a safe space for people to talk about their lives and experiences.

“The more we share, the more people will come out and tell their stories,” Debbie Hewins said. - SunJournal

The Alien Abduction Files: The Most Startling Cases of Human Alien Contact Ever Reported - NOTE: Kathleen Marden will be joining us on BTE Radio in November...stayed tuned!

Children Of The Greys

Alien Abduction: 3-in-1 Bundle


**********

A health employee in Montana was reprimanded after hiring a team to investigate her haunted office

A government employee in Montana, convinced that otherworldly spirits had invaded her office, reportedly enlisted ghost hunters to catch the specters in action.

The ghosts got away scot-free, but the human had plenty of explaining to do.

The spooked city employee reportedly invited the Butte Paranormal Investigative Team to the county’s health department office after-hours. The ghost-busting nonprofit set up an infrared camera in one of the office rooms to monitor the energy flow allegedly created by ghosts.

John DeMuary, the group’s co-founder, has been hunting ghosts for more than two years. He took up the case after the employee told him her building was haunted.

“She said that a lot of strange things were happening and that she heard strange noises coming out of a certain part of the building,” the 34-year-old told The News.

The woman allegedly told the team that people from that part of the building were angry all the time and acted aggressively toward other co-workers.

“I felt that she was pretty serious about this and really wanted to know what was going on,” DeMuary said.

After doing a bit of research, DeMaury said he discovered that the office building was constructed in the 1970s. Before that, a lady had spent 80 years of her life in a house that stood at that same spot.

“We don’t know if she passed away in the house,” DeMuary said. “Maybe her spirit wasn’t able to move on.”

One night in August, the team slipped into the building with the help of the city employee. They saw lights flickering on and off, which DeMuary thought was “weird.” He said they got one good picture of an orb, like the one below, which he said is a spirit's way of trying to "manifest" itself.

DeMuary also heard spirits trying to communicate through his Ovilus X, a digital ghost detecting device.

“I understood words, but I didn’t know what they were saying,” DeMuary said. “There had been a couple of ladies who used to work there that died of breast cancer who I think were trying to communicate with us.”

But DeMuary said he’ll never know for sure.

The plan backfired a few days later when another employee turned the infrared camera over to the police, fearing that someone was spying on the government workers.

Butte police found typical office scenes on the camera’s SD card, but no evidence of ghosts.

The health department’s leaders weren’t amused.

“The public gives trust in us and we need to take that seriously, and setting up cameras in public buildings to catch paranormal activity I don’t think is gaining the public’s trust,” chief executive Matt Vincent told the MT Standard.

The employee who contacted the Butte Paranormal Team was given a written reprimand. Another employee who was aware of the ghost hunting was given an oral reprimand.

The police took DeMuary's SD card. But he still thinks he “felt a presence” in the building.

He said Butte, an old mining town, is filled with paranormal activity. - NYDailyNews

**********

Colorado police investigating bones found at apparent occult scene

Read more: Lakewood police investigating bones found at apparent occult scene - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24356426/lakewood-police-investigating-bones-found-at-apparent-occult#ixzz2iTI8stlN
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Follow us: @Denverpost on Twitter | Denverpost on Facebook

Lakewood police are investigating what they suspect are human and animal remains believed to have been used for occult worship.

Officers were called around 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 to the 1200 block of Kline Street where a cleaning crew hired by a realtor made the discovery, said Steve Davis, Lakewood police spokesman.

The bones were found in a shed, along with candles, bottles, chains and a crucifix, Davis said.

The former owner of the home left the country in 1998 and has since died, police said. Investigators talked to people who knew the man, including at least one family member, who indicted he was an occultist, Davis said.

"It's all very strange," Davis said.

The items in question in the shed were extremely soiled, covered in multiple layers of dust and appeared to have been undisturbed for more than 15 years, Davis said.

One of the man's relatives lived at the house until a few months ago, police said.

The bones will now be tested for DNA, but that may not yield any results as to where the bones came from, Davis said.

"I learned today you can buy that sort of stuff over the Internet," he said. "So, we may not even have a crime here."

The DNA testing process could take several weeks or quite possibly months, police said. - DenverPost

**********

TODAY'S TOP LINKS

Freeze Drying Corpses

The Last Sin Eater

Natural History Museum baffled by “space slime”

Ghost Cats

Exposing the Cattle Mutilators

Al Pacino (Scarface) Authentic Signed 8x10 Autograph Photo

Charlton Heston (The Ten Commandments) Authentic Signed 8x10 Autograph Photo

Sex and the City Authentic Cast Signed 8x10 Autograph Photo - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon