Haunted Hospitality National Trust Historic Hotels of America(r) Highlights Favorite Ghostly Tales

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 2007-Make the past come alive at Historic Hotels of America.  These hotels offer a haunting array of "permanent" guests-spirits of those who checked in but have yet to leave. 

Apparitions range from characters such as the "night-shift nurse" at the Admiral Fell Inn in Baltimore; "solemn John" at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans; and the "cigar-smoking man" at The Blennerhassett in Parkersburg, W. Va.  Questions remain:  Who is the young girl bouncing the ball at The Driskill in Austin, Texas? Who is helping the maintenance manager at the Napa River Inn in Napa, Calif.?  Who is the "woman" guests see on the sixth floor of the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Mass.

For a listing of nine spine-tingling stories and 50 additional tales in our "eerie archives" visit: http://www.historichotels.org/press_release/1/69

For a listing of 16 Halloween-themed events, visit: http://www.historichotels.org/press_release/1/69#Events

Here is a sampling of stories:

The Night-Shift Nurse
In May 2007, room 218 of the Admiral Fell Inn in Baltimore, Md., was occupied by a scientist attending a lecture at nearby Johns Hopkins University.  In the early morning, the gentleman was awoken by the sound of creaking floor boards.  Looking up from his bed, he saw the image of a tall, slender woman dressed in a black skirt and red sash with a white cap on her head.  She proceeded to the other bed in the room and walked around it as though she was checking upon an invisible occupant.  When the guest spoke, "Hello?" the woman turned and smiled at him and proceeded to walk through the wall on the far side of the room.  The inn's main building was constructed in 1889 as the Anchorage Mission House, a hospice for sick and injured sailors.  It is believed the spirit was that of a Mission nurse who was dutifully tending to one of her sick charges.

A Helping Hand
Built in 1886 as the Hatt Mill building, the Napa River Inn in Napa, Calif., seems to be frequented by the spirits of the Hatt family.  One night, a maintenance manager was straightening the shelves in an upstairs storage area.  The employee was frustrated, unable to move an especially heavy box. Stepping down from the ladder, the worker noticed the box lifted itself in the air and with one giant heave, shoved itself across the shelf, which runs the entire length of the room. Could it be one of the Hatts was lending a helping hand? 

Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Historic Hotels has identified more than 200 hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture and ambiance.  To be selected for this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old, listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or recognized as having historic significance. 

# # #