Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal

45. Haunted Inns

~ Chapter 45 If testimonials in countless books and articles are to be believed, spending the night in a quaint old hotel might provide an encounter with an extra, ethereal visitor. In the course ofthirty years ofparanormal investigation , I have had the opportunity to experience many "haunted" sites. These have included burial places, like England's West Kennet Long Barrow (where I failed to see the specter of a "Druid priest" that allegedly attends the ancient tomb); religious sanctuaries, such as Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada (where the apparition ofthe first bishop's wife did not materialize); theaters, including the Lancaster (New York) Opera House (where a spectral "Lady in Lavender " was a no-show); houses, like the historic residence ofWilliam Lyon Mackenzie in Toronto (where ghostly footfalls on the stairs were actually those of real people on a staircase next door); and other sites, notably inns-the subject ofthis investigative roundup. (Most ofthe inns citedall personally investigated-included an overnight stay, staff interviews, background research, etc. [Nickell 1972-20001). Why haunted inns? Obviously, places open to the public have more numerous and varied visitors, and hence more opportunities for ghostly experiences, than do private dwellings and out-of-the-way sites. And inns-meaning hotels, motels, guesthouses, bed-and-breakfasts, and other places that provide overnight lodging-offer much more. They not only allow extended time periods for visitors to have unusual experiences but also insure that the guests will be there during a range of states from alertness through sleep. Almost predictably, sooner or later, someone will awaken to an apparition at his or her bedside. 290 ""'l" Real-Life X-Files Appearances of the Dead The experience is a common type of hallucination, known popularly as a "waking dream," which takes place between being fully asleep and fully awake. Such experiences typically include bizarre imagery (bright lights or apparitions of demons, ghosts, aliens, etc.) and/or auditory hallucinations . "Sleep paralysis" may also occur, whereby there is an inability to move because the body is still in the sleep mode (Nickell 1995). A good example of an obvious waking dream is reported by "A.c." She was asleep on board the Queen Mary, the former ocean liner that since 1971 has been permanently docked at Long Beach, California. As the woman relates: "I awoke from a deep sleep around midnight. I saw a figure walking near my daughter's sleeping bag toward the door. Thinking it was my sister, I called out. There was no answer. It was then that I noticed my sister was lying next to me. I sat up in bed and watched the person in white walk through the door! Another example reported at the Hotel Queen Mary is credited to "H.Y.": I was awakened from my sleep and observed the image of a person standing in front of my bed. There were no apparent physical features, but it appeared to be holding a flashlight, with a light shining out of it that was brighter than the form itself. I watched as the image swayed back and forth. When I called my roommate the image backed up. I called again and the vision backed up even further, toward the door. I reached for the light switch and tried to turn it on. The light switch seemed to spark and wouldn't turn on all the way. Finally, my roommate woke up; the light came on, and whatever it was, was gone. We slept with the TV on the rest ofthe night. It was a great experience, and I had a lot of fun! (Wlodarski et al. 1995, 33, 35) To be sure, not all sightings of ghostly figures are of the wakingdream variety, many in fact occurring during normal activity. Some are like the report of"J.M.;'who was at the Queen Mary's Purser's Deskwhen, he stated, "I caught a briefglimpse out ofthe corner ofmy eye, of someone or something moving;' or like that of"P.T.;' who said, "I saw something move out ofthe corner of my eye ... a briefglimpse of someone or something" (Wlodarski 1995,32,36). Actually, the illusion that something is moving in the peripheral vision is quite common. The typical cause may be a "floater;' a bit of drifting material in the eye's vitreous humor, although a twitching eyelid or other occurrence is also possible. Haunted Inns Such an illusion...