Haunted Hotels
The fasted growing segment of travel these days ‘rests’ (in peace) in the meteoric rise of ‘Special Interest’ getaways. Just peek over the gravestones to the number of Ghostly Tours on offer and you’ll be astounded.
Last year alone, the number of hotels, bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, inns and manors boasting resident ghosts has increased ten-fold. And it appears there is no end in sight to those ghoul-seeking guests who are ‘coming out of the closet’, ‘seeping thru the walls’ or vaporising around the ceiling chandeliers. It’s a lot of fun, with a few goose bumps guaranteed.
If the tender-soft, terry-cloth robe goes ‘missing’ from your room, just blame it on the room-sharing ghost. The hotel can simply bill the earlier occupants, even if they checked out in 1886!
To name all the ghostly hotels and beds to bunk down in would take volumes, but on a recent trip to the Western United States, we rattled a few RIPs of our own, and slept among the long-departed and spirited previous occupants. This is just a sampling of the most memorable and happily haunted hotels we hovered around.
Nevada Has Great Ghosts…Too Many to Mention!
Nevada’s known for its abandoned ghosts towns and haunted hotels, so in order to experience it first hand, we stayed at one of the most historic on the Silver State map, the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah.
When Tonopah’s Mitzpah Hotel re-opened 12 years after closing, the staff quickly noticed that some of the old guests had never checked out. The hotel was originally opened in 1908 to accommodate the carpetbaggers and wealthy silver miners who owned the mines.
After a two million dollar renovation, the Mizpah finally re-opened in 2011, and paranormal investigators jumped at the opportunity to check out some of its rumoured hauntings.
Guests have reported sightings of two children (one girl and one boy) running through the halls and laughing on the fourth floor. Two kids, according to the hotel’s staff, who were previous guests of the hotel enjoyed their time there so much that they decided to make it their permanent home. The two have never left, and in the afterlife, have been known to play comical tricks on guests.
A happy haunting by the reluctant Mizpah Hotel hooker! ‘The Lady in Red’ was murdered here, it’s said, in room 512, where ghost enthusiasts most often request to stay.
Even if, it costs a wee bit more! However, don’t forget to step outside after dark, the nighttime Nevada sky is hauntingly, amazing! We’ve never seen so many stars showcased!
By 1906, Tonopah had gone through the initial boomtown phase and had assumed the appearance of a substantial and permanent town with stone buildings and sturdy frame houses. Tonopah was a “civilised” and an orderly town where people were not afraid to go out at night alone. The town had its red light district as well as its uptown ladies who considered themselves pillars of society.
They despised their less fortunate sisters. However, whenever the ‘hat was passed’ to help some destitute miner’s family, the working girls contributions exceeded those of the respectable ladies of the town every time. Nowadays, just drive into town, parking’s free and walk the boardwalks. You might not be alone but remember, the long-ago departed in these places are keen to make new friends!