Almost every town seems to have some type of haunted house set up for the celebration, but if you’re looking for a more authentic experience this year you might want to consider spending the night in a real haunted hotel instead.
Having travel extensively throughout the U.S., I’ve had a number of rather interesting and possibly paranormal experiences. These three hotels are known as some of the best when it comes to enjoying an especially bewitching Halloween.
Victor Hotel in Victor, Colorado
Victor is a small town situated just west of Pikes Peak in Colorado. A visit here is like taking a trip back in time with little changed since it was rebuilt back in 1899 after a huge fire nearly wiped it out. The Victor Hotel houses an old bird cage-style elevator that frequently starts going up and down in the middle of the night when no one is around, always stopping on the third floor. It stops near the very same room in which a man named Eddie had stayed, before he died at the bottom of the elevator shaft.
While I’ve had a few strange things happen here, the most bizarre was seeing a misty figure walk near the foot of my bed. Friends who were staying in the room next door that same night experienced all sorts of happenings such as the lights turning on soon after they were turned off, the television powering on by itself and hearing footsteps that sounded like they were in the same room, but of course they were the only ones there.
Fallon Hotel in Columbia State Historic Park, California
Columbia State Historic Park, located about an hour northwest of Yosemite National Park, is a living gold rush town in the heart of the California’s Gold Country, complete with merchants dressed in period attire. There are no vehicles here, but you will find a century-old stagecoach. There are two hotels located in the park, the Fallon Hotel and the City Hotel, both are known to house spirits from the bygone era.
As a child, my family and I visited the park a few times; I looked forward to the candy shops and their homemade chocolate treats. As an adult, I returned to experience the history but got more of a taste of what it was really like than I’d bargained for. Spending the night at the City Hotel, sounds of a woman crying as she paced up and down the hall woke me up in the very early hours of the morning. I told the hotel staff that sleeping was almost impossible, but they weren’t really surprised. Apparently it’s a fairly common occurrence, said to be someone named Elizabeth who died during childbirth many years ago.
The Palace Hotel in Port Townsend, Washington
Port Townsend is a beautiful Victorian seaport town that sits on the northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula surrounded by water and the towering Olympic Mountain range. It’s also the home of the Palace Hotel, said to be the most haunted in the region. This is where I happened to decide to call home as well, and in the process of moving, I spent the night there.
The 1889 Romanesque-style building originally housed a billiard parlor and saloon, known as the Townsend Tavern with the upper two floors offering rooms for rent. In 1925, it became known as the Palace Hotel, although it was affectionately called the Palace of Sweets” as it operated as a brothel and hotel.
There have been so many sightings here that the manager keeps something he calls “The Ghost Files,” which is a scrapbook of photos and letters based on first-person paranormal accounts that have taken place in the hotel. Most accounts are about the “Lady in Blue” who was said to be connected to the brothel back in the day. The book has over 100 different cases with some guests even alleging to have had conversations with her spirit; others report beds that shake, strange moans and unusual shadows.
I didn’t experience anything here the night that I stayed other than a bit of an eerie feeling and a cold chill in the hall, but since moving to the area I’ve heard numerous stories from others, some who have even captured several orbs on film.
K.C. Dermody is a freelance writer and a Featured Contributor for Yahoo!Travel. She has traveled to nearly all 50 states, and many countries worldwide, and has a passion for imparting what she has learned from her experiences to others.
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