Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Haunt Jaunt

This week, I am back visiting areas in the Ozark region of southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas.  As I sit typing out my Two Thoughts For Tuesday, I am a bit pressed for time.  Hubby and I have been hanging out in America's Most Haunted Hotel for the last couple of days and are going to go out on a ghost hunt tonight.  Chances are I will have to fill you in on the results of our hunt sometime later tonight.  For now I will give you  a little history of the 1886 Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.


Thought Number One:   The 1886 Crescent Hotel

Built in 1886, the Crescent Hotel and Spa was built by Irish stonemasons in the Ozark Mountain town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  When the doors opened, the hotel catered to the “carriage set” of people living in and traveling through the town during the Victorian Era. It was a destination for the rich and famous. Tea dances were held in the afternoon while dance parties were held at night, with music from the in-house orchestra. For many years, the hotel enjoyed prosperity as a year-round resort for those seeking the healing properties of the springs that seem to be abundant all over Arkansas.

By 1908, the hotel was in decline and was opened as the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. It catered to wealthy young women while still

catering to the tourist crowd, but neither this nor the astronomical tuition charged to the students was enough to keep up with the constant upkeep and repairs needed. The school closed in 1924.  In 1930 it reopened as a junior college for four years.
It wasn't until 1937 that The Crescent Hotel entered it's most notorious period.




our arrival to the hotel on the backside of the building
While many believe that the history of hauntings at the hotel begin when it was still being built, when one of the builders fell to his death near where Room 218 is situated today, others believe that the darkest period of its history began in 1937 when Norman Baker bought the property.

Iowa-born Baker bought the hotel with the idea of turning it into a hospital and “health resort” despite his distinct lack of medical training. He was a charlatan with a history of swindling millions from individuals who believed in his cures for cancer and subsequent run ins with the American Medical Association.Baker was an entrepreneur, a con man, a salesman but the one thing he wasn't...was a doctor.  Despite having all of his “cures” for cancer condemned by the AMA, Baker relocated his patients from Iowa to Arkansas with the story that no patient would need surgery to cure their  cancer. Dr. Baker assured people that cancer was curable with the use of the area's mineral spring water and  a concoction of his own invention. His remedy was injecting his patients with a formula of glycerin, carbonic acid, and alcohol mixed in a brewed tea of watermelon seed, brown corn silk and clover leaves.
 


The front of the hotel taken from the trail that runs in front of it
 

 
There are no clear records as to the number of people died at Dr. Baker's Cancer Hospital. After three years he was indicted on a mail fraud charge and sent to Leavenworth Prison in Kansas.  He served 3 years of a four year sentence and moved to Florida. He died of cancer in 1958.

Thought Number Two: The Most Haunted Hotel In America


OK...I may be more than a little skeptical as far as "haunted hotels" go but because this hotel is supposedly chocked full of ghosts...who am I to deny their existence.  Over the last two days, I have given them every opportunity to sway me from the "unsure-kind-of-person" to the "hot-damn-there-ARE-ghosts" kind of person.  I have gone on not one BUT two ghost hunting excursions with a bunch of interesting people of varying belief levels.   I have traipsed through the rooms that are known to have the most paranormal activity levels.  I have gone into the portion of the hotel that once was a "pain asylum"...still no ghosts hanging around.  I even hauled hubby down to the old morgue (now maintenance room) and turned off the lights...WTF...not one ghost had the initiative to throw me a bone (invisible or otherwise) to prove to me the place is haunted. 

So far, the hotel seems not to be living up to it's reputation.  I would think I deserve a huge discount but doubt that management shares my opinion. 

 Still...who knows there is still tonight.


(PS  There are a number of books that have the stories of the resident ghosts including two that I bought down at the gift shop during my stay here.  Haunted Hotels of the West by Bruce Raisch
and Night Journey by Goldie Browning.)


Come
Join Top Sites Tuesday and be #1 on BlogDumps!
The purpose of this Meme is to encourage
Networking between bloggers and to have fun while doing it!
Make sure to visit all the other participants and leave comments

41 comments:

Just Keepin' It Real Folks said...

I hope some ghost scares the bejesus outta you so you run away screamin'. At least then you will get your money's worth!!! Can't wait to read your horror story with a comic twist!!!

Chubby Chatterbox said...

Fitting that this quack died of cancer. Interesting post.

Jewells said...

WHAT?!?!?! You are this close to me and not so much as a wave as you go by?? Excuse me while I go pout now! :p

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yeah, I'm one big ball of sensitivity to the paranormal too, LOL! I can never sense nuttin.

Cheryl P. said...

No pouting!!! I actually planned on coming back your way and dropping something off at my brother's place. None of that happened. We went back on some backroad (can't remember which highway # it was..as they are all steep and winding, I can't tell them apart) to take us to Crystal Bridges. THEN we got there and it was closed. Hell...what museum closes on Tuesdays. SOOOO, I am going to drive back in the next week or so. I'll shoot you an email and see if you are around.

Cheryl P. said...

It probably would scare me but what a great vacation story it would make. We left today and headed home. Nary a ghost to be seen.

Cheryl P. said...

I thought the same thing. How karmic. The story about how this guy made himself into a doctor and got rich is pretty interesting. In the 3 years he ran his hospital in Arkansas, he made over 4 MILLION dollars and that was during the time of the Great Depression. He had hospitals in Iowa and Mexico as well.

Cheryl P. said...

I am not all that intuitive half the time to living things so I don't stand a chance "sensing" spirits. I talked to several people that were there for the sole purpose of ghost hunting and claim to have had a lot of paranormal experience. Who knows??? I saw zip, nada, nothing.

Wendy said...

Ah...Cheryl. I am so truly truly disappointed. Surely if ANYONE could convince the unusual (aka ghosts) to show up, then surely it would be you, for the notoriety you would give them on your blog. Maybe they are just luddites, living in the 1900's. Pity!

Cheryl P. said...

Wendy!!! You are a genius...of course that's it. They are intuitive enough to know that they would end up as blog fodder and think this whole "computer thing" is nonsense. They were definitely ignoring me. When we were down in the morgue the little device that is supposed to pick up electrical energy and it didn't beep once. I would of thought, it should of at least detected ME.

Riot Kitty said...

I will be curious to see how your night goes. Now, of course, the Ghostbusters theme is in my head...

Trina said...

Oooooo Ghosts! Have fun with that. I try not to fool around with ghosts much, I've had a few experiences or run-ins enough to know I'm just not into it. LOL

I grew up in haunted houses and so many freaky things happened all the time.

Clicks!

--Trina

Wolfbernz said...

Hi Cheryl,
Despite the building being haunted, it looks like a really nice place. How much of the old architecture and designs are still in place or has it been remodeled and updated through the years?
Great thoughts and good luck finding a ghost!
Clicks for you!
Wolf

Jo-Anne said...

Well I don't know if that old hotel is haunted or not but I do know that I believe in ghosts and have experienced things that make me believe but have I seen a ghost well not that I can recall and I think I would remember if I had............others in my family have though, like my brother who has seen Uncle Arthur wondering around his house, my brother lives in what was Uncle Arthur's house and my grandparents and another aunt & uncle have seen my mums sister around my grandparents house on a number of occassions.......so yes I do believe

oldereyes said...

Hi, Cheryl -


Sounds like a really fun trip even if you don't see any ghosts. The building is gorgeous. I'm looking forward to hearing if you see anything on your last night. Fun post.


Bud

Cheryl P. said...

I believe that other people have seen spirits and had paranormal experiences but I, like you, have not.



The 1886 Crescent Hotel has a lot of videos on You Tube. T.A.P.S Ghost Hunters filming an episode for the SciFi Channel, have a video of an apparition they caught on camera down in the old morgue. When I was down there, I didn't feel or see anything.

Cheryl P. said...

Yes it was a fun outing. Eureka Springs is an interesting little town. How people ever built all those homes into cliffs, is beyond me. The streets there all resemble Lombard St. in San Fran.



Our last night was uneventful as far as seeing or sensing ghosts. The other ghost hunters that were part of our group on Monday night were an interesting cast of characters though.

AletaObrien said...

Poetic justice that the doctor died of what he was "curing"/killing people from...
Ahhh, haunted homes. It's a funny feeling though, isn't it. We have a lot of "haunted house" tours in New Orleans and of course, they are mostly given at night time. Lol

lisleman said...

you bought 2 of the books at the gift - ha the ghost of the con man still roams the place. When I read you were in the Ozarks I figured you were out on a boat. My brother lives on the Missouri Arkansas border.

L.C. Griffith said...

I love your pragmatic attitude towards spooks. Two nights in a "haunted" mansion and I would be needing a whole bottle of Xanax. LOL! I have a very active imagination;)
I will be waiting to hear how your ghost tour turns out. Perhaps you'll have a siting! Have fun whatever the results.
Leah

babs (beetle) said...

My father had many experiences when working in old castles (He was a restoration artist). He saw many physical things appear too. I have had a few unpleasant experiences, but Mo has seen plenty. They were mostly not scary ghosts, but just people walking around. Once, when sitting in our garden, a family walked past us and through our garden wall. Mo quite casually told me. It was as if they were living life on another 'layer' that just overlapped with ours for a moment. People call them ghosts, but I wonder is it just people's energy that hangs around? I do think you have to be 'open' to see these things.

Cheryl P. said...

I have been to New Orleans a couple of times but have never taken one of the "haunted" or "cemetery" tours. I would think they would be fascinating there. Your city has a really interesting history.



The ghost hunting groups at the Crescent also happen at night.

Cheryl P. said...

My brother also lives on the Missouri-Arkansas border. We spent our childhoods between Chicago and "a town no one has ever heard of" Arkansas. He moved back there as soon as he retired from working for the state of Illinois.



The books I bought are pretty interesting if you like history. One of them lists all the hotels that are supposedly haunted. Maybe I need to go visit others as the ghosts at the Crescent ignored me.

Cheryl P. said...

No those snotty ghosts ignored me. The place is supposedly crawling with them and not one of them appeared for me. Some of the other hotel guests claimed they felt or heard things.



I think it would be really interesting. The ghosts there aren't demonic or anything...they just happen to still live in the hotel....if a person believed that ghosts can reside in a hotel.

Cheryl P. said...

Babs, I find that fascinating!!!! I love to talk to people that have had unusual experiences like that.



All the people that have reported sightings at the 1886 Crescent Hotel describe the ghosts as being benevolent. I wasn't fearful but I think your right about having to be really "open" to it. I have just enough doubt that I am not a good "ghost hunter". I believe there is something to it as so many people have had the experience of seeing things, hearing or feeling things...I don't doubt that. It's more that I am doubtful that I am "in tune" enough to pick up on something myself.

babs (beetle) said...

The funny thing is, that the scary experiences I've had in the past have been totally unexpected. I certainly wasn't tuned in, or even thinking about ghosts. One incident was when I lived in a furnished flat in London. I was going downstairs to the toilet and I heard a man's voice call my name from behind, in a very urgent way. I turned and of course nobody was there. I was so frightened by it that I didn't use the toilet, but ran straight back upstairs. My partner was busy tearing a page out of a magazine. She had brought me a present and it was in the magazine with the price, so she wanted to get rid of it before I came back up. Was that a mischievous ghost, calling me back up just to catch her? Was it something else? If you haven't already, read my old post "A house in North London' to read a real haunted house story. Now that was a scary house!

Nicky said...

I think the reason you didn't see any ghosts is because you aren't a hot teenaged cheerleader staying at the creepy hotel with all your hot teenaged cheerleader friends and buff athletic boyfriends during spring break. That always seems to be when the ghosts come out. :-)

Cheryl P. said...

I had forgotten your posts about the North London house but remembered them as I went back and reread them. OMG, that is scary stuff. I, too would of been packing my bags.


Hearing a man's voice from nowhere wouldn't thrill me either. Although, I have to think if a house was haunted and the ghost was just mischievous or playful , I probably wouldn't be frightened. The entity you describe in the North London house seemed more malicious would have me moving.

Cheryl P. said...

Who wouldn't come out for a hot cheerleader? No wonder we didn't see a ghost...there was only one cutie in the bunch and she had seen ghosts in the hotel. She stays there regularly.



Probably a good idea not to go on ghost hunts with cute cheerleaders. I only want friendly ghosts not the kind that make great plot lines for slasher movies.

Jewells said...

I'm ALWAYS around. Well, physically anyway, mentally? That's questionable on my best days! ;) Touch base when you head this way...Morgan and I will buy you lunch! xoxo

babs (beetle) said...

I think there are varying degrees of haunting in places. I use 'haunting', for want of an explanation of what it is we feel or see.

meleahrebeccah said...

I would totally be way too scared to stay there, let alone ghost hunt! I am such a baby when it comes to things like these!

meleahrebeccah said...

AHHAhHAhHAHhAHHAhhAH @ Nicky

Cheryl P. said...

I might take it more seriously if I felt like there was any danger to it. All the ghost stories there are about friendly ghosts...but of course they weren't friendly enough to come around to visit me.

meleahrebeccah said...

:)

Oliva Ins said...

I absolutely love this article I am big fan of most haunted programmer actually watching one now , lol.
Do you want to follow each other ?:)

www.olivains.com

Robyn Engel said...

Sorry you didn't see a ghost. Can you get a refund?


The first stories makes me furious. Only 3 years in jail, and that was for mail fraud? Then he hopped to Florida. Geeze, sounds like OJ. Those poor cancer victims. It's outrageous that he got away with all of that.



xoRobyn

Cheryl P. said...

I sometimes watch programs dealing with the paranormal but I find it more interesting to take haunted tours. I like the camaraderie and hearing the stories of the other people in the group. I must not be very perceptive. I haven't ever had any kind of encounter or sensed anything out of the ordinary. Still it's fun.



Sure...I'll go over and visit your blog as well.

Cheryl P. said...

Funny that you should say that Robyn...my husband said the same thing in the car on the way home. He was kidding, of course, but suggested that the Crescent Hotel should give discounts if they didn't provide a haunting experience.

Bupu2 said...

That's my idea of a good time! I do hope you get to see a ghost. Just a tiny one. :D

Cheryl P. said...

Quite disappointing that I didn't see a ghost. Didn't even feel one. Supposedly one of the ghosts, a little girl ghost, goes around poking people in the belly. Not one poke for me. :(