Eureka Springs Paranormal (ESP) weekend at the 1886 Crescent Hotel has evolved over seven years. What began as an opportunity for paranormal investigation groups to explore the active areas at night for one weekend in January, has grown to a two-weekend, two-hotel investigation – and not only of ghosts.
The phrase Extra Sensory Perception refers to the mysterious powers that some people (and maybe all people) possess, that seem to defy the laws of space, time and even logic.
You will have many opportunities to explore your own psychic abilities at ESP19, our interactive weekends – opportunities to share your experiences, feelings, questions, realizations with other companions on the quest. And at night we will be attempting to communicate with those who linger in this hotel long after their bodies are dead and buried.
Every year we try a different formula with ESP and every year we get a few more elements right. The general consensus, from investigation leaders, participants and staff, is that 2015 was the best ESP weekend to date!
We limited the number of participants in the guided investigations, to avoid contamination of active sites.
We cut back on satellite events, to allow more time for investigations.
However, we did extend the hours of our popular ESP testing, and the Psychomanteum – this year set up in the notorious “Dr” Norman Baker’s penthouse – was available until the sun rose. .
Lead investigator Larry Flaxman, best-selling author and founder of ARPAST, shared his time and expertise with every ESP participant, and generously provided the investigation with thousands of dollars worth of highly sensitive equipment.
We instituted a long-overdue policy of no alcohol or alcohol-affected individuals allowed on the investigations.
We extended the investigation to include sister hotel the Basin Park, in downtown Eureka Springs. The Basin Park was closed and empty for the occasion.
And our new approach paid off !
We had an unprecedented amount of response in the 1886 Crescent hotel, from orbs to EVP to a mysterious dark blob that was captured on thermal-imaging camera and left marks on lead investigator Larry Flaxman’s back!
The Basin Park rewarded the first really organized investigation with abundant responses to the Ovilus, EMF and EVP meters. Especially in Room 519, long conversations were held, the instruments yielding yes or no answers to questions put by the investigators.
A young lady was talking to a friend in one of the rooms on the highly active 3rd floor. Her friend noticed a red line slowly appearing around her neck. They both felt an oppressive sense of unease and left the room. The mark remained for hours after. We have no explanation for this – but it is interesting to note that in the early days of the hotel, when gambling was a common activity, one loser who was caught trying to slip through one of the famous bridges to the cliffside had his throat slit by the people he was trying to avoid…
Did we capture any hard evidence during ESP 15? As expected, our instruments registered some major anomalies. But, as with most supernatural phenomena, all we can say is: inexplicable, unrepeatable, inconclusive. However, as ghost-hunting equipment becomes more sophisticated, the percentage of irregularities that cannot be explained by rational means increases. We videotaped throughout the event. Look for an edited version – highlights of ESP15 – to appear on our Facebook and Website pages soon.
We continue to refine our ESP weekends to make the event ever more attractive to serious paranormal investigation groups. Every year we hear more positive feedback from participants, and 2015 received the most enthusiastic responses to date. Next year, we are planning to outdo ourselves!
ESP 2016 will take place over two weekends: Jan 8,9,10 and 15,16,17.
The Basin Park will be investigated on the late evening of Sunday Jan 10th.
We invite you to join us for ESP 16. Bring your group, bring your equipment, bring yourself, and your curiosity. See you in the shadows!
GHOST TOUR MANAGER’S REPORT ON BASIN PARK INVESTIGATION.
2014
Ice and snow prevented Larry Flaxman’s invaluable participation and kept a few ESP (Eureka Springs Paranormal) fans at home, but we had a marvelous group of guests and the nocturnal investigations of the 1886 Crescent and 1905 Basin Park hotels were thoroughly enjoyable.
The Crescent obliged, as always, with indications of unseen presences, some great orb pictures and odd, inexplicable occurrences. In January the plan had been to empty the Basin Park completely and explore the entire building while it was vacant – but then the ice came down and that plan had to be abandoned. By mid-February we had guests booked in already, but we were able to close down two floors and turn off hall lights. We started around 9 pm in the curious “cave” at the back of the Basin Park Hotel on street level – a high, wide aperture in the bluff against which the building is built. There were 20 guests and four Crescent Hotel tour guides. After explaining that, as none of us knew much about the Basin Park, we were all starting without preconceptions, we headed for the sixth floor.
We split into two groups. One party explored the Grand Ballroom, famous for the barefoot ball, the other the Lucky Seven Bar and Billiard Room, site of much illicit activity during Prohibition. The orbs in the dark and cavernous Ballroom were brilliant and highly energized. In cameras we could see them performing aerial stunts, diving and swooping in the gloom – bright white, perfectly spherical and definitely not dust or insects.
Apart from spikes here and there on our EMF meters, the next major event took place in Room 519, which is known as one of the active spaces in the building. Several readers came up with the exactly the same finding – there seemed to be someone lying on the bed! We checked all around for sources of A/C current – there seemed to be no earthly reason for the off-the-chart readings down the center of the king bed in the center of the room.
On the third floor, room 313 showed a high rate of impulses, so we crowded in, closed the door, fell silent and then called to anyone who might be present. The impulses stopped, and try as we might, we could get no more response. Perhaps the entity did not like been in a tight space with so many strangers!
Throughout the rest of the investigation, slight phenomena occurred – someone felt cold on the back of their neck, apps produced words seemed uncannily apropos, spots where the meters responded seemed to move around, etc. No full body apparitions, nothing moved and no one poked or spoken to. We all wished we had more sophisticated equipment to follow up on what seemed to be strong indications. A little after midnight we called it a night.
So now we are looking forward to next January, when ESP weekend will be spread over two weekends – that way we should be able to keep the groups small enough to conduct serious explorations, our investigations will not be weather dependent and we will be bringing in more heavy-duty equipment.
So join us in 2015, to conduct a fully-equipped search, led by veteran paranormal investigators, of the 1886 Crescent and 1905 Basin park hotels in historic Eureka Springs!
FOOTNOTE – to all who were this us on this escapade: if you have pictures or experiences to share of your night at the Basin park – and we know some of you have some great stuff – do please send what you have to Barbara Kennedy at Crescentghosts@gmail.com – we would love to post and archive all the evidence we gather very beginning!
Thanks, and we hope to see you all on the first weekend of 2015 – when ESP attendance will be capped at a reasonable number for serious investigation, and repeated the on the second weekend!
A 48-hour ghost hunt in one of the most haunted buildings in the country: The 1886 Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR. Event is January 3, 4, 5 2014. Paranormal investigators are encouraged to bring all their equipment and be prepared to stay up at night investigating the most active areas of the hotel – 24/7!All levels of experience welcome – come and learn from the pros, mingle, make connections, share your stories and experiences beyond the veil with other explorers of the supernatural and unexplained! As usual, packages will include premium rooms, great food, entertainment, informational presentations by guest speakers and opportunities to meet ghost hunters from around the country. What better place and time to explore the supernatural then the famous mountaintop gothic chateau in the Ozarks, the 1886 Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas – in the dead of winter! NEWSFLASH: We have restored the notorious Morgue to its original square footage! See the Morgue “reborn” with another original room, displays and a mini-theatre.
ESP (Eureka Springs Paranormal) Weekends at the 1886 Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas have grown to become one of the largest ghost hunts in the United States – so popular it now includes two weekends to accommodate demand. Participants will be investigating two local, historic hotels in one weekend at ESP17!
Participants will be expertly guided for a behind-the-scenes quest for evidence in the famed 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, “America’s Most Haunted Hotel in America”, that sits on a mountaintop overlooking beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The quest, for those who opt for an additional night, will included the Crescent’s sister hotel, the majestic 1905 Basin Park, in downtown Eureka Springs and just steps from the famous Basin healing spring, the one that first put Eureka on the map back in the nineteenth century.
The spaces known to be the most active at the Crescent Hotel will be open for investigation from midnight to dawn. On Saturday nights, the Crescent Hotel ghost hunt will be orchestrated and led by our ever-popular resident investigator, author of seven books about the supernatural and founder of ARPAST, the awesome Larry Flaxman! Those who choose to stay an extra night will be able to explore the Basin Park Hotel, with Larry in the lead –when the entire building hotel will be closed and empty except for event participants.
A plethora of events have been planned for the weekend. They include receptions; midnight champagne toasts to the ghosts; fully-costumed experienced ghost tour guides always on hand to facilitate the event; all the amenities of the famous 1886 Crescent Hotel including breakfast in the Crystal Dining Room Restaurant and socializing in the newly-expanded SkyBar; the gallery of historic photographs on the fourth floor; the new Crescent College and Conservatory Museum; as well as the unique and picturesque Ozark Mountain village of Eureka Springs to explore – all this and T-shirts, too! (And perhaps a few surprises…)
ESP17(Please note: programs for each weekend are identical)
Activities
GUIDED INVESTIGATION OF THE MOST ACTIVES AREA OF THE CRESCENT HOTEL – rooms 419, 3500, 218, 101 (Governor’s Suite, new this year) and of course, Norman Baker’s MORGUE – led by our resident paranormal investigator, the renowned LARRY FLAXMAN, author of seven books and founder of ARPAST. Saturday nights.
GUIDED INVESTIGATION OF THE BASIN PARK HOTEL, which will be closed and completely empty for this event. Led by the great Larry. Sunday nights.
INDEPENDENT NOCTURNAL INVESTIGATIONS – free roam from midnight to dawn with participants conducting their own search for our “guests who checked out but never left!”
Scheduled Events
NIGHTLY GHOST TOURS at the 1886 Crescent and1905 Basin Park hotels, geared especially to ESP investigators. Learn the history of the hotels and the town, hear the stories behind the sightings and identify the most active areas of the buildings.
STORY CIRCLE Gives participants a chance to relate their experiences of the supernatural, here and elsewhere, and to hear the stories of other ESP participants – hosted by long-time favorite tour guide Aunt Reba.
A SÉANCE Under controlled circumstances and with the assistance of trained psychics, participants will attempt to communicate with some of the better known departed spirits of the Crescent Hotel such as Norman Baker; the “Girl in the Mist”; and of course, Michael, the mischievous stonemason!
TECHNOPHILIA, or “My gadget is more sensitive than your gadget!” Participants will contrast and compare ghost-hunting equipment with other paranormal investigators. This gives participants the opportunity to show off their favorite toys and to drool over the ones they don’t have… yet.
SONGS IN THE KEY OF THE DEAD: a performance in words and music by popular duo Victoria Ralph and Bobby Matthews who will ask the questions: “Why do people seek scary experiences?” and “What is it that scares us the most?”
IMMERSION – a theater experience with no “fourth wall.” Vince Johari will be the featured paranormal entertainer and guide into this realm of spirit communication.
On-Going
ESP TESTING – Participants will investigate the phenomena known as telepathy, thought transference or remote viewing for personal evaluation. The tests will continue as they become more elaborate allowing participants to learn more about this fundamental mystery of human mental capacities as well as a chance to test their own PSI potential!
PSYCHOMANTEUM – Opens up the conduit to one’s own mind – or is it simply “the Other Side”? In ancient Greece, trained priests attempted to contact the spirits of the dead in a specially constructed, completely silent, subterranean temple called a psychomanteum. Reached through a complicated underground series of tunnels, the inner sanctum contained a still pool of water and single candle. In the process known as scrying, the initiate would gaze into the pool until visions appeared. A modern version of this sensory deprivation chamber was created by Dr. Raymond Moody, employing a soundproofed, mirrored room. Past participants have reported startling results.
Those who participate will experience the psychomanteum at the highest point in the Ozark hills. Whether one believes that the images come from “in there”, “out there”, or can find no distinction, the psychomanteum provides a rare and unique experience for the adventurous.
PSYCHIC SALON
Psychics Lisa Dawn (Shustah cards); Michelle Rasmussen Foster (Intuitive Angel Readings); and Margo “the Charmreader” will be available throughout both ESP17 weekends to give readings and to enable future appointments to be made.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
NOT REALLY A DOOR, a one-hour, two-actress, keep-‘em-guessing, supernatural, comedy-murder-mystery-thriller, created especially for our guests at “America’s Most Haunted. It has the distinction of being the second longest running-play in Eureka Springs history! (Note: there will be no prizes for those who identify the longest, just the accolades of fellow participants.)
FLICKERING TALES – genuine Ozark stories of witches, monsters and ghosts, delivered by trained storytellers.
PLUS
Awaiting participants will be receptions; midnight champagne toasts to the ghosts; fully-costumed experienced ghost tour guides always on hand to facilitate the event; the amenities of the famous 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa including breakfast in the Crystal Dining Room restaurant, socializing in the expanded SkyBar, the historic photograph gallery on the fourth floor; the Crescent College and Conservatory Museum; as well as the unique and picturesque Ozark Mountain village of Eureka Springs to explore. All this and T-shirts! (And maybe even a few surprises…)
>Snacks and beverages available in the “small hours” at both hotels.
>Shuttles available between hotels during certain hours
>Discounted rate for extended stays by ESP17 participants Monday-Thursday, Jan 9-12, at both hotels
This Event Sells Out so please Reserve Your Spot by booking online for a 2 night or 1 night ESP Pkg:
