Paranormal Weekend Haunts the Crescent Hotel
Paranormal Weekend Haunts the Crescent Hotel
While viewing the video note the shadow that enters at the lower left corner. After the shadow passes in front of Chelsea, you will see a dim white streak. Finally, when Lori enters the frame, watch the upper right corner and you will see a bright round object appear. View Video Here.
Some people like to celebrate Halloween in scanty costumes; others like to indulge in sweets; then there are the ones who want to scream, be utterly grossed out and have nightmares for weeks afterward. Read more.
Haunted Hotel Scares Some and profits others. Read more.
Pam and I had several experiences there while on the ghost tour.
My first encounter with a ghost occured in orientation. Sitting in the middle of my Mom and girlfriend. I distinctly remember two quick tugging pulls on my ear lobe. To the effect that I asked my Mom on that side if she tugged my ear. She said no; it was apparent she was listening to the guide. I turned to my girlfriend on the other side and asked her if she reached around and pull my ear as a joke. She said “Why would I do that?”. I was so perplexed that I turned to the lady behind me and asked her if she pulled my ear. She answered that she was not in the habit of pulling strangers ears. I was not yet sure of what had happened.
It was only later when the guide mentioned a little girl who poked people that I made the connection to something truly strange. For the next few weeks as I stayed at my Mom’s and back in Utah I would often hear a little girl happily calling Daddy. My feeling as if she was happy I had come back. It was a strange period of time after that I would awake at night and hear a little girls voice calling out to me.
I have had supernatural encounters in the past. This one is one of the most livid.
Michael J. B.
Haunted Hotels by Playboy.com Staff
There are only so many costume parties you can attend per season without looking like a crazy person (hint: one) but if you love Halloween, there’s no shaking that need to celebrate the holiday with an obsessive spirit that’s teetering on the brink of obsession. If you’re not one for shelling out a few bucks to be artificially frightened by stoned teenagers dressed up as ghosts and psychotic axe murderers, book a room in one of the most notoriously haunted hotels in America.
Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood, California
Courtesy of: Flickr When you think of the Roosevelt Hotel, you don’t think of hauntings. You think of lush rooms, mixed drinks poolside and rubbing shoulders with big names from Hollywood. But what you may not know is the hotel is home to the ghosts of Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and other unknown names (some claim over 35) who have passed on. Monroe is said to appear in a mirror that was in the bungalow she’d frequent, and Montgomery Clift, who lived in the hotel while he was filming From Here to Eternity, has the most haunted room in the building. Many have checked out after experiencing television sets turning off and on, and mugs being thrown, as well as hearing a bugle played late at night, something Clift was known to do if he was had trouble sleeping.
The Queen Mary Long Beach, C.A.
Courtesy of: Flickr
Making its last trip at sea, The Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, California in 1967 after 70 years of death, war and ghosts on the lonely ocean, transporting prisoners of war and soldiers to and from WWII. Hitler himself even had a bounty on the Queen Mary, promising thousands of dollars to whoever could sink the vessel. There are 55 recorded deaths, 16 crew members and 38 passengers, but no one knows how many soldiers, airmen or prisoners of war perished on its decks. Nowadays visitors both aware and not of its eerie history stay in the ship’s cabins that have been turned into a permanent hotel. Those who stay aboard the Queen Mary are welcome to explore the ship themselves, as many places that are known to be haunted are marked, or have a guided tour of the ship. But don’t think you’ll be able to book the room B3-40. It’s been stripped and the owners have deemed it unusable thanks to the strange disturbances that became so bad guests have fled in the middle of the night, insisting on being moved.
The Stanley Hotel Estes Park, C.O.
Courtesy of: Flickr Many myths and hauntings of The Stanley Hotel have been busted by scientists, but there’s no denying its creep factor. Most famous for being the hotel behind Stephen King’s The Shining, this neo-Georgian hotel in Colorado is home to some of the greatest ghost stories in America. Kitchen and waitstaff have for years reported hearing full-on parties taking place in the ballroom only to find it empty, and guests relaxing in the lobby have been serenaded by an invisible pianist who some think could be the original architect’s wife. The Stanley Hotel does a good job giving interested patrons goose bumps: they have a channel that plays The Shining on loop 24/7, and also hold a masquerade ball during the Halloween season.
Crescent Hotel Eureka Springs, A.R.
Courtesy of: Flickr Dubbed the most haunted hotel in America, the Crescent Hotel located in Eureka Springs was built in 1886 by a couple of tycoons hoping to cash in on a health craze. At the time, Eureka Springs was known for its healing water, which many believed cured ailments and even cancer. In 1937 a man named Norman Baker bought the hotel and opened a cancer hospital and resort, claiming that those who stayed there would walk away cancer free, despite the fact he had no medical training. It is unknown how many people flocked to the hotel, let alone how many left alive. Nowadays patrons experience unexplained phenomena and ghost sightings connected with the cancer hospital that the Crescent Hotel used to house. There are packages available for those who want to take a tour of the haunted grounds as well as conduct their own paranormal research.
Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum Fall River, M.A.
Courtesy of: Flickr Unlike the others on this list, the Lizzie Borden B&B came to fruition after a grisly murder took place in its rooms. On August fourth, 1892 Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother were murdered; her father was chopped up on the couch and her stepmother lay in the guest room with a crushed skull. Lizzie was tried and acquitted of the murders of her parents at the age of 26 and was ostracised for the rest of her life. Now you’re able to spend a night in the same place where the murders took place, choosing among Lizzie and sister Emma’s bedrooms or the guest room where their mother was found. Guests are also treated to a breakfast similar to what the Bordens ate the morning of their gruesome deaths.
Hello! I stayed at the Crescent for the first time last summer, and will be back in April. I was skeptical of the ghost stories, but let me tell you… My friend, her brother, and I walked the grounds late at night to explore and take pics.
About midnight we were walking down a hallway that I shall leave undisclosed, and noticed a light over the door and heard the distinct sound of tools being dropped on a plywood surface, along with a grumbling male voice. As we reached the door it stopped. Her brother peaked over the door, but saw nothing. We checked the knob and it was not locked. As the door was being opened, I snapped a pic.
There is a large face with a bowler-type hat floating over the person opening the door. It is out of proportion to any person present at the time. I also have a pic of my friend in front of room 218 with a fairly large football-shaped orb present.
We stayed in room 216, and I awoke to the sound of a person in a dress walking through the room very quickly, and the sound of the main door squeaking open and closed. I didn’t realize what the noise was until we opened the door to leave for breakfast, and it was exactly the same.
Also, the most amazing, was when I attempted to take a pic of room 218 with my lens under the door (large enough gap). The camera lens retracted and then shut off by itself not once, not twice, but TWELVE times! It was 1am, and I thought I was doing something wrong or pushing the wrong button, but not twelve times! The history, beauty, charm, and the uncanny events all roll into a very enchanting visit.
Thank you for the wonderful service. My dear friend and I took a little vacation and stayed the night of July 11th in room 213. We thought it would be fun to take the ghost tour after a day of shopping.
When we checked into our room we were joking about welcoming ghosts everywhere but the bathroom. Within 30 minutes of being in the room, I went to the bathroom to freshen up my make-up before going to the Crystal Dining Room for a fabulous dinner. I heard someone (I thought my friend) tap her finger nails on the door.
I turned around and found my make-up bag moving side to side on the hook on the back of the door. I just thought the tapping on the door caused the movement.
I answered “yes” and Jane didn’t reply. I then opened the door and saw her over by her bed and then I asked her if she heard that or had knocked on the door. She of course replied “no”.
I guess by the look on my face, she could see my shock. I eventually told her what had happened as I fought back the tears. We eventually laughed it off and then it was her turn to freshen up.
Again, she retreated from the bathroom a bit white. She said, “Tracey, your make-up bag hasn’t quit moving the entire time I’ve been in there.” We left the room, not discussing it and even kept quiet about the situation until midway through the ghost tour. Other than a lot of orbs in the digital camera, and Jane smelling cigar smoke in the basement, it was pretty uneventful.
Oh, my make-up bag never moved again, not that night or the next day. I guess, be careful what you say and what you truly don’t want to see. We’re planning on returning for a “girls weekend” next year. Our husbands have no interest in joining us or the guests in the rooms. Ha!
“To stay or not to stay” was the question on our minds when we visited the Crescent Hotel on Sunday August 22nd. We had wanted to see this grand hotel since we moved to Arkansas roughly a year ago from California.
We, both being history and antique buffs, thought it would be a nice experience to stay at this historical place. We found out that it would be more memorable than we could have ever imagined or planned. No apparitions, orbs in photo’s or thumping headboards, no we had to get a ghost or spirit with a sense of humor.
Strange occurrences began happening a couple of weeks prior to our stay. We planned on staying at the Crescent for our anniversary. Valerie had made reservations for the weekend,; meanwhile I researched the hotels history on the Internet. From reading articles on hauntings at the hotel we ruled out certain rooms that were commonly known to have ghostly activity.
Later when reading stories regarding the dark days of the hotel with Norman Baker and the victims of his Cancer clinic and so called resort; we decided not to stay and Valerie called to cancel the reservations. This is where the strangeness begins.
When my wife called to cancel our reservations, the front desk commented that it had already been canceled. This was strange due to the fact that neither one of us had called earlier. We just thought “oh well, guess the ghosts knew that we were not coming” We joked about it and even told friends and coworkers for a laugh.
You see, we had decided to not stay at the hotel, as we have had ghost experiences prior in California as well as Arkansas. We thought that we wanted to rest and have an enjoyable time on our trip. I don’t consider interactions with spirits or ghost to be very restful. Seems like since they are restless, they like to pass it on to us.
Later in the month we decided to take a trip to Eureka Springs from our residence in the Bentonville area. We thought we’d stop off first at the Crescent Hotel prior to antique hopping and give it a look and feel. Valerie agreed that if I felt good about the hotel we’d stay the evening.
We walked around a bit and decided to make reservations for the evening, still making sure to avoid rooms 218, 202, 820 and 424, just to be safe. We got room 221, just down the hall from 218 where a worker apparently fell to his death during construction, apparently haunts. We thought it strange to be near this room, but thought that the spirit might be a homebody and keep to his room. Now we think that he might have gotten a little bored and wandered. Down the hall to our room.
We were too early for check in, so we took a spin around town, came back to the hotel and had a nice dinner in the hotel dinning room. Later we took photos of the lobby and said haunted areas, hoping to get some ghostly images on the pictures and even joked around about the hauntings. In the room while jesting about ghosts she finally got tired and asked me to stop, so I did, as any fine “and smart” husband would do.
Our room, 223, seemed peaceful and had a great view. We watched some TV, my wife carefully avoiding the X-Files, and retired for the evening, with the bathroom light on of course. Valerie had a hard time sleeping, as she does in unfamiliar rooms and later turned off the light. I, like normal slept like a baby.
We awoke the next morning to the alarm clock as to not miss the breakfast. While in the bathroom she asked me if I had done something to the towels. I peeked around the door from the closet and observed that the two bathing towels that were hanging on the rack had been tied around with the smaller hand towels to form a knot, with a washcloth lying atop both towels.
The bathroom had been noticeably rearranged from the night before and items had been moved around. In addition, the garbage can that had been just under the sink had been moved inside the tub. Also our toothbrushes had been neatly tucked into the towel on the back of the toilet and toothpaste laid beside. My black t-shirt had moved from the edge of the tub to the shower curtain rail, hand towels moved from the sink to the edge of the tub.
We of course questioned weather the other had done this and thinking that the other one had played a joke. Neither one of us had, so we laughed and took photos for family to see and realized that the joking the night before might have made a ghost or spirit play a prank on us. Wow! That really capped off our weekend! Undeniably these things do happen. Though I have had experiences in the past that most people have never seen, I had never seen a poltergeist haunting like this.
Later we shared the experience with staff in the dinning room, the front desk and Linda Mock, the Concierge. She asked that we write up the experience and send photos; So here they are. Think what you will as we know many will be skeptical, even friends and family.
We know what we have seen and will laugh about it for years to come. You may ask if we will spend the night again at the Crescent Hotel? Why yes of course, but most likely not in the same room, as we have added one more room to our list of rooms not to hang a hat in.
Being a businessman, and thinking of the best interest for the hotel owners, I think that the ghosts should pay for their own keep. No free room and board here. The staff should train them to launder the towels and clean the toilets too. It’s the least they can do since they’re just hanging around and annoying the guest. And no tying the towel in knots! Rather, this should evoke banishment from the premises. Bad ghosty! No dinner.
Hello from Ridgeland, MS, My name is Shelia Bowden. My husband John and I spent our honeymoon at the Crescent Hotel 25 years ago. Our anniversary was August 18. We’re planning a return trip to your area at the end of October. I have all our original receipts from your hotel. I am especially interested in your Ghost Tours.
You see, we had a ghostly experience while there on our honeymoon. We told our families about it when we got back home. A few months after that, my sister-in-law read a newspaper article about the different ghosts that inhabit the Crescent.
We enjoyed our stay there immensely, but John says he doesn’t want to spend the night there again. (The “spirit” kept trying to shove him out of the bed one night!)
We can hardly wait until we get back to your wonderful area. We love to visit the Ozarks. We watched a show on HGTV in the past that told about the restoration project. I was so happy to hear that it continues to be so well taken care of.
I fell in love with the Crescent Hotel as a child. My dad heard about it, and on one of our many family vacations to the Ozarks we came to stay there. We came back many times and brought other family members with us as well. It was always my favorite place to go. That’s why John and I chose it for our honeymoon.
I’ve always wanted to see the Ozarks in the fall, just never had the chance with family obligations. So now in celebration of our silver anniversary we are making the time to come!