Jerome, AZ

This trip was exciting. The whole town is supposedly haunted. We stayed at the Jerome Grand Hotel. It was built in the late 1920's as a hospital for the copper mining town of Jerome in central Arizona. This building was considered the most modern hospital in Arizona at the time.

The highlight of the hotel is the original Otis company elevator built in 1927. This elevator has two doors that must be shut in order for it to operate and require a key for the elevator to move floor to floor. Of particular note, from the haunted perspective, is the fact that a workman died at the bottom of the elevator. The legend says he was either murdered, crushed by the elevator, or the more likely scenario is that he had a brain hemorrhage. What is strange is that they hurried the coroner's examination to lessen any investigations into the death. Other events in the hotel include the haunting of various rooms by ex-patients and the sound of coughing from rooms where there are no guests. There are also reports of strange lights and shadow figures throughout the building.

The rooms are the original hospital rooms with the hardwood doors and period furniture.  The hotel was refurbished with 95% of the floor plan being original to that of the hospital.  They even left the room lights intact in the ceilings above the door in each room.

Unfortunately, there was no activity taking place when I visited.  Maybe next time.

Catfish Plantation Part III

We visited the Catfish Plantation after spending a day in Waxahachie. For the first time we I was able to talk with a waitress there about working in a haunted restaurant. She explained that sometimes things will move off of the tables on their own. She has also been touched and poked and earlier that week a mixer had launched off of a refrigerator unit in the kitchen. She said that the "creepiest" part was when the door to the hallway where the restrooms are located open on it's own. I'd agree with her about that part. That hallway just doesn't feel like the rest of the place. You really do get a sensation that you are not alone.

The Menger Hotel -San Antonio part 2

On July 4th I returned to the famous Menger Hotel. I was fortunate enought to be able to spend 2 nights in this really cool hotel. My wife and my mother were along for a tour of the local Riverwalk scene. We stayed in the old portion of the hotel on the 4th floor. The old stories tell of a hispanic maid that was killed in one of the rooms up there by a jealous boyfriend. I think it happened oin the '30s but I can't be sure. Anyway, I thought the whole experience was cool to see this beautifull hotel. As luck would have it, My mother was the one with the ghostly story in the morning. She awoke at 2 am to the sound of an old fashioned push carpet sweeper being used outside of her door. Unfortunately, she didn't open the door!! We met our floor's housemaid on the way out the next morning and got a good view of the inside of the maids closet. There were no carpet sweepers other than an electric vacuum in there! I also got a shot of the King Ranch suite's door. I supposibly haunted area of the hotel. I also got to visit the famous Menger bar. This is the historic place where Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders to fight in the Spanish American War. Overall, It was a great time. I look forward to going back.

The Stone Lion Inn

The Stone Lion Inn in Guthrie, Oklahoma was our next stop. If you want a definition of a victorian style house then this is it. After I had made the reservations for this weekend getaway it was cool to see the TV series "Ghosthunters" showcase the inn 2 weeks before we visited it.

This is a nice bed and breakfast nestled in a quaint little town, but there are things to be aware of that the inn doesn't explain real well on their web page. Mainly, there are no TV's, no phones, no clocks, and no radio and no way to lock your rooms unless you in it. If you want to disappear from the modern world, this inn is a good start. It's very obvious that the inn makes a majority of its money from the "murder mystery dinners" each weekend. So, I would suggest visiting during the week if possible.

As for ghost stories, the resident ghost is believed to be that of a young girl who died of fever in the house back in the early 1900's. This ghost supposedly haunts the upper floors where one can hear the sound of children's footsteps and a rolling ball. It's hard to confirm this as that the floors are original wood and any movement in your room causes the boards to creak. So, with a full house you can hear footsteps and creaking all over.

The house was then used as a funeral parlor for a number of years. This adds some uniqueness to the decor because in the foyer is the actual mortuary table.They actually serve coffee and orange juice on it! Kinda creepy. While taking pictures in the foyer I finally got some pictures of Orbs. Orbs can be lots of things. They can be spirit energy, dust, or moisture in the air. So the fact I got a picture of one does not mean I caught a ghost red handed. Still I've taken 100's of ghost hunt pictures. I've been in areas with more dust than this and I've never gotten orbs before. Cool.

The Oklahoma County Line BBQ Restaurant

Passing through the northern area of Oklahoma City, we were able to visit another haunted restaurant. What fun is a Ghost Hunt to a haunted hotel if you don't eat at haunted places along the way? The place was crowded so pictures of the interior were not really an option. Plus, the tables are in recesses along the walls, so the dining is almost a totally private experience. The stories about the place talk about how it was a speakeasy type club during prohibition and there was a death there. Furthermore, the ghost only seems to come out at night. Bummer. All I know is the that the BBQ was good and it was worth the stop. I felt The BBQ was a little better in the Austin County Line BBQ but then, in my mind the only real reason to go to Austin is for the BBQ. It was still a cool place to eat.

Catfish Plantation

Upon returning from San Antonio, Ann and myself felt the need to stop and explore one of the great catfish restaurants in Texas. Of course, I'm referring to the Catfish Plantation in Waxahachie. Oh, did I mention haunted restaurants? As luck would have it, we arrived before the restaurant was opened for business and therefore were the first customers allowed in. This was an excellent opportunity to take some pictures of the building including the one found in this post.

Now, I've been to the Catfish Plantation several times, I've enjoyed the great food and the country atmosphere with my wife and even my mother, and nothing has ever happened to me or anyone else. Until this trip.


After snapping all of the pictures I could of the place and finally sitting down to enjoy the fried dill pickles, a middle aged couple came in and were seated in the middle room of this small house. The man was talking with the woman reading out the menu but when he came to a section on the menu about the "ghosts" located in the building his tone changed. He laughed out loud and in a mocking voice said "So when do the ghosts come out?" Immediately, the lights on the ceiling fan in the front room where we were seated gave an audible buzz, flickered and almost went out. At the time, I was looking into the other room where these people were seated and their lights did not flicker. Ann was looking towards the lamps on the wall also in my room and they did not flicker either. Only the lights in the ceiling fan. Ann and I looked at each other with the expression of "Did you just see what I did?"

Oh, I understand that it can be logically explained away as a coincidence and a mere electrical power surge. After all, there were thunderstorms in the area, although it wasn't raining at the time and there had been no thunder. But only on one light fixture in the whole restaurant? Only once during the entire visit? And cool enough, only with the perfect timing as in response to the man in the other room making fun of the ghosts and mocking them. Hmmmm.

I'll upload a picture of the room soon.

The Menger Hotel -San Antonio

We just returned from a beautiful trip to San Antonio. The weather was hot and steamy as always. What makes this trip worthy of mentioning is that we stayed in a location where I finally got the opportunity to photograph the Menger Hotel.

Not only is the Menger a historical building full of expensive and extravagant antiques and style, it also reportingly haunted. There have been many stories and sightings associated with the hotel and I hope to conduct a ghost hunt there one day. One highlight to this trip was the chance to spend some quality time in the hotel walking around looking at the pictures on the wall and eyeing the old ledgers they have on display dating to the 1890's. Also, being able to sit in the same bar that Col. Theodore Roosevelt signed up some of the famous Rough Riders was a unique twist

Alas, nothing extraordinary occurred, but there is always next time.

Catfish Plantation

One of the best site for supernatural dinning is at the Catfish Plantation in Waxahachie. This restaurant is the best of both worlds. It's been documented as a haunted site in more than one book. The most notable being Haunted Texas Vacations by Lisa Farwell and A Texas Guide to Haunted Restaurants and Inns by Robert Wlodarski. It's supposedly haunted by at least three ghosts. The first ghost is a woman named Elizabeth. There is also a female spirit named Caroline and finally a ghostl named Will. I've eaten at the Catfish planation twice in the past 2 years . Even if nothing paranormal happens, this place has the best catfish dinners I'v ever eaten.


http://www.catfishplantation.com/

1st blog of ghost hunting

This is a first journal entry dealing with the interesting art of ghost hunting.