'Tis the season for thoughts of witches, goblins and ghosts as Halloween draws near. Special programs and reenactment of strange eerie goings-on, in addition to stories of actual ghost visitations, are in store for visitors to some of the old renovated hotels, which are part of the 160 National Trust Historic Hotels of America. Some "unexplained happenings" have been explained to me by hotel operators. "Some guests just don't want to leave the architectural splendor, history and service of the hotels and have left their mark in some unexplained happenings when they were forced to leave because of the refurbishment of their favorite abodes." The Brown Palace Hotel in Denver related a weird story about a dowager, Louise Crawford Hill, who lived in room 904 of the hotel for 15 years, from 1940-1955, when she ruled Denver society. Tours recounting the history of the hotel and their permanent guests revealed that Mrs. Hill had a very unhappy love affair and was heartbroken. While these tours were conducted, the hotel's switchboard was bombarded with calls from room 904. The hotel operator responded, to find only static on the line. The mystery of the calls continued even though there was no furniture, lights, wallpaper, carpet or telephones in the room. When reference to Mrs. Hill was eliminated from the tour, the calls ceased. Another tale of intrigue involved the Riverboat Delta King Hotel in Sacramento, California and the mysterious disappearance of a young actress named Dorothy Millette. The boat had just left San Francisco en route to Sacramento. Her body was found in a swamp and was ruled a suicide. It was determined to have been caused by the death of her former lover, Hollywood producer, Paul Bern who had just married the famous Hollywood star, Jean Harlow. During the restoration of the boat in 1984 to the Delta King Hotel, several sightings of a "filmy woman" resembling Millette were reported. As a result, the hotel's theater, which is located on the lowest level of the boat, is the setting for many ghost stories, relating the saga of the young actress. The moral to the story as retold time after time is that "love never dies." A visit to the Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, North Carolina, may give you the sensation of seeing a mysterious Pink Lady or "a real dense smoke that resembles a flowing pink pastel." Stories have been told by hotel employees and guests for 50 years about a young woman dressed in pink who fell to her death in the Palm Court atrium in 1920. But the stories persisted about room 545, located above the Palm Court atrium floor, and the cold chills experienced by hotel employees who attempted to enter the room. Much research has been done to determine the cause of this phenomena. The results are that this is not a fantasy, for the Pink Lady is actually a ghost. Closer to home is the lingering resident, Clover Adams, at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C. She committed suicide in 1885, with suspicion that it was murder, even though she did suffer bouts of depression and was still grieving over the death of her father. She lived in a mansion which is now the site of the Hay-Adams Hotel. The hotel staff have identified the fourth floor of the hotel as the favorite striking place for Clover Adams. They report that there are unexplained openings and closings of locked doors of unoccupied rooms, clock radios mysteriously turning off and on, the sounds of a woman crying softly in a room or stairwell, or a voice asking a housekeeper, "what do you want?," when the room appears totally empty. Some housekeepers have been called by name and others have received a hug while cleaning rooms. There is some activity by Clover Adams at Halloween, but she is most active during the first two weeks of December, the anniversary of her death on the fourth floor of the Adams residence which is now the location of the hotel.An easy motor drive to New Paltz brings you to Mohonk Mountain House, a 131-year-old Victorian Castle, bringing you to the perfect setting for "Exploring the Unexplained." Ed and Lorraine Warren, noted authorities of ghosts and the supernatural deliver current real-life spooky stories and slide shows. The Warrens investigated the infamous Amityville House in our own backyard and founded the New England Society for Psychic Research. Halloween takes no holiday at Mohonk Mountain House and the Warrens will present their findings on everyday ghosts at the castle on the weekend of January 19-21, 2001. Call 845-225-1000 for more details.Copyright by Marcia Abramson
