The Crescent Hotel

So, I didn’t get to go on any exciting ghost hunting trips like I’d hoped to over spring break. (But I did head out to Wilson’s Cemetery with some buddies for old times’ sake!) Spring fever has fully taken hold of me, and I’m already looking forward to summertime. And as I think of vacation spots, haunted locations are sounding like a lot of fun.

And with money being pretty darn tight, I figure someplace nearby is the best of both worlds: vacation and thrift.

So, I’m thinking Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For most people, the main attractions of this town would be the cute shops and restaurants. But for me, it’s the hauntings.

The Crescent Hotel in particular is a hotbed of paranormal activity. Built between 1884 and 1886, the Crescent may have gotten its first ghost even before it opened its doors. During construction, a worker fell off the roof and his body landed in what is now room 218. Maybe that’s why room 218 is considered one of the most haunted rooms in the hotel. To this day there are reports of doors slamming in this room, and of apparitions.


The hotel had its ups and downs over the years, flourishing during some eras. In 1937, a quack named Norman Baker bought the hotel in hopes of turning it into a health resort. Baker had attempted to practice medicine before, and had been condemned by the American Medical Association for practicing with no license.

When he purchased the hotel, he remodeled it drastically. According to legend, he performed crazy experiments on the living and the dead, saying that he had a cure for cancer. Many of his “patients” died, but he is said to have hidden the bodies for weeks, until the bodies could be put in the incinerator. He may have even hidden bodies within the granite walls and tucked away jars of preserved body parts.

The hotel is still in operation and also has a spa. Guests and workers still claim to see apparitions and have run-ins with ghosts. The hotel is considered by some to be one of the most haunted places in the Ozarks, if not the nation, even bringing in the TAPS team a few years ago. Ghost tours of Eureka Springs and the Crescent are available, which I definitely want to check out!

Something Creepy in Cali

A couple of years ago, I watched this show on the Travel Channel called World's Creepiest Destinations. Of course, the show enthralled me, and I immediately wanted to hop a plane to any of the places mentioned. The show was pretty much a countdown of the top 10 creepy places on Earth, and the list included the likes of the Tower of London, New Orleans, and Salem, Massachusetts.

But the place that intrigued me the most was number 2: the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. If you think it sounds creepy, you're right.


Sarah Winchester (an heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune) started building the Victorian house in 1884, but didn't stop construction on it during her lifetime. Legend has it that Sarah had visited a fortune teller who told her that if she stopped building the home, the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles would come after her. Others say that after the deaths of her husband and daughter, she felt that ghosts were plaguing her.

So, to appease the spirits, Sarah sought the continuous noise of construction. For thirty-eight years, construction workers and craftsmen labored on the home. Work went on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It seems like a very expensive undertaking, but I guess her $20,000,000 inheritance helped out. There wasn't a master plan for the home, so it grew quite complex, and many rooms were remodeled more than once. Winchester's servants even needed maps just to navigate the home.

The home is called the Mystery House simply because it's such an oddity. The 160-room mansion had elements that wouldn't have been found in other homes of the time, such as modern heating and sewage systems, working elevators, and nearly fifty fireplaces. But on top of these fairly practical additions to the home, there are some elements that are just plain weird. There are staircases that lead nowhere, doors that open to blank walls, windows in the floor, and a recurrence of the number thirteen (13 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 13 panes of glass in some windows...). Some of these structural oddities could have been simply design error, or maybe Mrs. Winchester was trying to confuse the ghosties.

Sarah Winchester died in 1922, and construction stopped on that day. The home is now a historical landmark in California, and operates as a museum. Guided tours are available, and participants are guided through 110 of the rooms. This is definitely a place I can't wait to check out for myself someday!

Hometown Haunts

I’ve had a fascination with haunted places all my life. I’ve watched countless episodes of Ghost Hunters, and there’s no telling how many different countdowns of the world’s scariest places I’ve watched. Each location seems so different and interesting, and I can’t help but make mental notes to try to visit them if I get the chance. (Be on the lookout for my own personal list of the haunted places I hope to visit!)

Growing up, the places on television seemed so exotic, far away, and unreachable. So I looked to my hometown for enough haunts to whet my appetite. A few friends and I would go out to the most ‘haunted’ places we could find, and we would do our own mini-investigation. We’d take pictures, use a tape recorder to try to catch EVPs….and usually one of us would get spooked and we’d drive away quickly. But, hey, at least we tried, right?

There aren’t really all that many super-haunted locations in and around Lebanon, MO, at least as far as I know. But here are some of the most legendary ones that my friends and I used to explore:

Lonesome Hill Cemetery: I know, I know. Cemeteries are kind of a lame thing to “investigate.” But, hey, when I was in high school, everyone and their brother had heard the creepy stories about this place, and wanted to check it out. This was one of the first supposedly-haunted places I ever visited, and I was proud of myself for not being too scared. There is a large gate at the front, which is kind of intimidating. Some say they’ve parked their car just inside the gate, only to find that it wouldn’t start again until they pushed it off of the cemetery property. Plus, the large, somewhat-rusty archway is a bit spooky, too.

It’s a fairly large old cemetery, basically just a stone’s throw from I-44. It’s surrounded by woods, and people have told stories about seeing strange mists come out from behind trees. There’s one section of the cemetery, at the very back, that is said to be the final resting place of some witches. There are a few grave stones that are separated from the rest by a black chain, and these are supposedly ones where witches are buried. According to myth, it’s bad luck to unhook the chain.

Wilson Cemetery: This one was very difficult for us to find. It took us probably three or four months of on-again off-again researching to find the actual location. We had heard many people talking about scary things happening out there (like mists coming out of the woods, strange voices, etc.) so we naturally wanted to find it. It’s a good distance outside of town, and it takes about twenty minutes of driving on a maze of dirt roads to actually get there. It’s definitely a creepy place—it’s basically an abandoned family plot dating back to the mid-1800s—but I’m not convinced it’s haunted. It doesn’t really seem to have a caretaker, so the grass is often higher than the grave markers. Plus, it’s in the middle of nowhere, so maybe that’s why the legends have grown.

A couple of pics I took while at Wilson Cemetery. Those "orbs" in the first pic?
Just dust, most likely.

The Conway Mansion: Okay, so that’s just what we called it. But it’s an interesting little place. It’s just outside of Conway, MO, and it’s pretty much just a large old farmhouse, but many people claim to have spotted ghosties there. Granted, those people were probably trespassing, and in all likelihood drunk. I’ve never seen anything there, but I may try to look up the history of the property in more depth at some point.

Decaturville Mansion: This one was also a little hard to find. It’s between Lebanon and Camdenton, located a couple miles off of the main highway on a gravel road. I’ve only seen it in daylight, but it’s a bit spooky. It’s a rickety-looking old home, and has slave quarters. It was owned by a couple of sisters, according to legend, and is just one of those places I didn’t feel comfortable being near.

Crybaby Hollow: This area near Crocker is said to be haunted by the spirit of a crying baby. Other versions of the legend say it’s haunted by the ghost of a mother who lost her child. It’s basically just a valley on a narrow country road, and there is a small bridge. Some say that if you park your car on the bridge and put it in neutral, the car will rock and maybe get small handprints on it. We tried this, but honestly didn’t experience anything. The spookiest thing was that just after we put it in neutral, a car popped over the hill behind us.

A picture that Abyss Paranormal took before investigating Crybaby Hollow

Maybe these locations aren’t exactly brimming with paranormal activity. In all likelihood, their relative seclusion and slight creepiness is why so many legends came about. But, I spent countless hours at these places with my friends, and they kept my passion for the paranormal ignited. I’d like to think that maybe someday, even after I’ve investigated legitimately haunted places, the memories of my hometown haunts will still be with me.

Tools of the Trade

For a paranormal researcher, good equipment is a must. Good equipment means a better chance of capturing reliable evidence. And reliable evidence is necessary to prove or even disprove a potential haunting. Here is a list of basic equipment that any ghost hunter should have, plus some fancy-dancy pieces of equipment that I’m drooling over.

Notebook and pen/pencil: Never underestimate the power of old-school equipment. This is good for keeping track of personal experiences that you can’t capture on film, and for recording equipment readings.

Measuring tape: This allows you to get a feel for room dimensions and distances relating to any paranormal sightings you may experience.

Flashlight: LED lights are my personal fave. Be sure to pack plenty of extra batteries, because there’s nothing less useful than a dead flashlight. Plus, some say that paranormal activity has the potential to drain batteries, as the spirits may pull energy from the surroundings to manifest. It’s not a proven fact, but a few spare batteries don’t take up much room. Better safe than sorry! Or you could just go for a crank-light…

Digital camera: I use a Canon, which takes some good pictures. I’m sure some investigators use fancier cameras, but most any digital camera will do. Some researchers prefer 35 mm cameras over digital, because digital photos are easier to tamper with. If you go digital, spare batteries are always a good idea!

Camcorder: I don’t have one, so I tend to use the video feature on my digital camera if I need to. But camcorders are great for capturing extended periods of the investigation, and make it easy to review evidence once the investigation aspect is over.

Digital recorder: These are much easier to deal with than tape recorders, and produce less machine-created background noise. Digital recorders are often used to capture EVPs, and can also be useful in documenting events of the investigation. (I personally use a really cute and tiny Sony one.)

Digital thermometer: Temperature changes (especially dramatic cooling) can be associated with paranormal activity. Digital thermometers help monitor such changes, and can help identify “cold spots” associated with manifestations. Besides being easier to read than traditional mercury thermometers, digital ones are more accurate. This is on my wish list…

EMF meter: This, too, is on my wish list. EMF meters measure Electromagnetic Frequency. A high EMF reading can be associated with paranormal activity, or more natural causes like power lines or electrical equipment. By finding a location’s “baseline” reading, it’s easier to find potentially natural causes, or watch for possibly paranormal spikes.

Thermal camcorder: Besides the really cool tie-dye-looking effect, these ultra-spiffy cameras capture temperature changes visually. These make it easy to see cold spots, because different temperatures register as different colors on the screen. These can be super-expensive, but I would totally buy one if I weren’t a poor college kid.

These are just some bare-bones pieces of equipment, but are commonly used in paranormal investigations. You may already have some of these things lying around, so preparing for an investigation really isn’t all that difficult! Happy hunting!

Terminology

Spring break is around the corner, and to be honest, I hope to squeeze in some ghost hunting adventures. You may be wondering just what it is that a ghost hunter (or paranormal investigator, for professionalism’s sake) is really looking for or may accidentally find.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Ghost Hunters, you probably have a good feel for some paranormal jargon, but here’s a brief intro into some common paranormal terms. Visit The Atlantic Paranormal Society for some more glossary terms, tips, and other information.

Anomaly: Occurrence or condition outside of normal experience. Basically, lots of experiences out in the field can’t be completely understood as fully normal or paranormal. Things like unexplained smells, touches, or feelings while in the field are anomalies.

Apparition: Manifestation of some quasi-physical entity. Though commonly reported, apparitions are tricky to catch on camera. So, capturing one on film is like the Holy Grail of paranormal investigation. But be wary of photos/videos claiming to feature an apparition: due to the relative ease of tampering with video and digital evidence, hoaxes are abundant.

Debunking: Dismissing or explaining a so-called paranormal event or experience as something normal or at least physically explainable.

Entity: Disembodied “consciousness” which may be referred to as a ghost, presence, apparition, or even demon (if obviously resentful or malicious).

EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon): Disembodied “voices” or other sounds imprinted on recording equipment. EVPs can be captured on tape recorders, but for less static and clearer sound, a digital recorder is an investigator’s best friend. EVPs are relatively hard to find, and take a lot of patience in order to sift through possibly hours of silence.

Floating Orb: Usually a whitish or even bluish spherical image that appears inexplicably on film or other photographic equipment. Again, be wary of “orb evidence,” as it’s easy for amateurs to mistake things like dust particles or even bugs that happen to show up in photos as orbs. If you find an “orb” in one of your own photos, is it perfectly round, and quite crisp-looking? Congratulations, you probably caught a dust speck on film. If it’s a little uneven, mist-like, or a tad smeary-looking, you may have a legitimate orb.

Haunting: Ghostly presence or manifestation attached to a specific place or person. Hauntings are divided into four basic types--Intelligent, Poltergeist, Residual, and Demonic. (For more explanation of the distinctions between these hauntings, TAPS and ProofParanormal have great information!)

Materialization: A ghost or apparition forming visually. (This is something I haven't experienced, but would love to!)

Matrixing: Natural human tendency for the mind to "fill in the blanks" or interpret visual, audio, or other sensory information as familiar. Matrixing could be responsible for less-than-stellar paranormal "evidence" like people seeing images of a face or something in a random picture, or for seeing faces (other than their own) in mirrors.

So, this is by no means an exhaustive list or anything, just some of the terms I personally find interesting. Learning about these terms can help you understand what's easily misconstrued as paranormal, and help you appreciate the occurrences that may very well be paranormal. As an investigator, the key is to know what is considered good, legitimate evidence, and what is easily debunked.

I encourage you to get out there and dive into the world of paranormal research, even if you just start out surfing the web for famous cases or definitions. Have fun, and happy hunting!