Eureka Springs boasts many historic hotels, two of which dominate the city skyline: the famous 1886 Crescent, “the most haunted hotel in America”; and the 1905 Basin Park, built just steps from the magic healing spring around which Eureka Springs exploded into being. Both hotels offer tours of the premises.
The Crescent offers one of the best-attended ghost tours in the United States. You will start on the top floor and wind down to the notorious Norman Baker’s morgue. On the way, experienced guides in period costume relate events from the hotel’s strange and colorful history, and tell the stories that have come down to us over decades of ghostly sightings and experiences. Few people visit Eureka Springs without taking the ghost tour at the atmospheric Crescent Hotel!
The Spirits of the Basin tour is one of newest attractions in Eureka Springs, and rapidly becoming another “must-do” activity while in town. Guests explore the tallest building in Eureka Springs – “eight stories high and every floor a ground floor” according to Ripley’s Believe it or Not – from the primal underground cave to the specially-built safety deck on the roof, while knowledgeable storytellers evoke the years gone by.
What do we mean by “Spirits?” Firstly, this is a tour about people – the rich parade of fascinating individuals who lived and worked (and perhaps also linger) at “the people’s hotel, the beating heart and soul of Eureka Springs.” Secondly, while nowhere can compare with the Crescent for tales of the supernatural, the Basin Park has its own stories of ghostly Spirits. And since the Basin Park functioned as a popular speakeasy during the “Chicago years” of the 1940s and ‘50s, “Spirits” also refers to contraband liquor… The tour concludes with a complimentary shot of Arkansas rye whisky for interested guests.
Come to Eureka Springs and take both tours. Meet the ghosts who have lingered for decades in the halls of the majestic Crescent Hotel, and delve into the past at the Basin Park to hear the stories of the folks who made Eureka Springs what it is today!
We recommend you book your tours in advance through www.reserveeureka.com.
PS: look for weekly articles about the tours, containing interesting tidbits of information you will not hear from the guides on our Facebook pages!
Americas Most Haunted
Spirits of the Basin Tour
THE 1886 CRESCENT HOTEL GHOST TOUR TEAM IS EXPANDING!
Do you love to tell stories? Do you live in or near Eureka Springs?
Come work at the most haunted hotel in America!
Good pay, working conditions. Hiring immediately Must be available evenings and weekends.
Also hiring: LEAD TOUR GUIDE AT BASIN PARK HOTEL for new Spirits of the Basin tour!
Write to Tour Manager @ kscales@ix.netcom.com now!
“You’re in ‘Theodora’s room,’” the bellman says as I follow him down the hall.
“That can’t be good. Who’s Theodora?” I asked.
“Are you going on the ghost tour tonight?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll hear all about her. You’re in the second most requested room. The tour starts outside your door.”
Eureka Springs Paranormal Weekend invites your to join us in another 3 Day Paranormal Event January 9, 10, 11 2015. The ESP event will again feature an expertly guided behind the scenes quest for evidence in the famed Crescent Hotel but will also include a one-of-a-kind investigation of its sister hotel, the 1905 Basin Park Hotel, which will be fully closed off and dark exclusively for event participants.
This three-day, hands on investigation puts tools of the paranormal investigator in your hands as well as an introduction to ghost hunting , tour of the property on the ghost tour and unheard of 24 hour access to “active space” including rooms 218, 419, 3500, 502 and THE MORGUE at America’s Most Haunted Hotel.
Friday & Saturday 2 Night Packages ($395.00) Package is good for two people
Includes : Upgraded room accommodations for two nights Welcome reception Saturday Night Ghost Tour & Hunt with Larry Flaxman “Active Space” pass $30 per day Food Credit ESP Weekend t-shirts Team review of evidence gathered. 2 for 1 tickets to hotel attractions (i.e. Not really a door) $395 plus tax. Valid 1/9-1/11. Check Availability.
1 Night Saturday Only Package ($239.00)
Package is good for two people Premium Guest Room Ghost Tour “Active Space” pass ESP Weekend t-shirts Saturday Night Ghost Tour & Hunt with Larry Flaxman Team review of evidence gathered. 2 for 1 tickets to hotel attractions (i.e. Not really a door) $239 plux tax. Valid 1/10. Check Availability.
Stayover Sunday for just $89 at the Crescent Hotel for the private investigation at the Basin Park Hotel. The Basin Park Hotel will be fully closed off and dark exclusively for event participants only. Call 877-342-9766 to Stayover Sunday at the Crescent.
We have capped attendance (and reluctantly had to turn some folks away) to keep the group sizes down to reasonable proportions. And we have extended the hours of access to active areas to include the entire night.
Late Friday and Saturday evenings, veteran Paranormal Investigator Larry Flaxman will guide small group investigations. When they conclude, the rest of the night is yours to independently investigate known active areas.
And on Sunday night Larry will be conducting a guided investigation of the sister hotel to the Crescent, the historic Basin Park – which will be closed and entirely empty for the occasion!
Ghost tours, a ghost play, Ozark tales of ghosts and the supernatural, personal ESP evaluation and the ever-popular Psychomanteum (this year constructed at the highest point in the Ozarks – the notorious Norman Baker’s penthouse suite, 502), van tours of Eureka Springs – all this and plenty of opportunities to meet and mingle with others of similar interests to your own – plus T-shirts!
If we were not able to accommodate you in 2015, please stay in touch and maybe we can be persuaded to run ESP for two weekends next year…
ESP weekend – a Eureka Springs tradition.
LITTLE ROCK, AR — Perhaps the most popular haunted Arkansas destination is the legendary Crescent Hotel, constructed in 1886. The long history of the hotel is represented through the ghosts that still inhabit its halls and walls. Not only do tourists learn about secret underground passages, they also receive a special treat of visiting the basement room that was once the morgue. It still contains an old autopsy table. That room was part of perhaps the strangest chapter in the Crescent’s history from 1937-39, when Norman Baker of Iowa bought the hotel and converted it into his third cancer facility, naming it the Baker Hospital of Eureka Springs. Read more…