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Posted: 02-06-2006 21:51 Post subject: Hotel encounters anyone?

I just read this story over at About.com's paranormal section aand it scared me out of my wits. I have a feeling it's true too. It got me wondering, especially since i'll be going on vacation soon and will stay at a hotel, does anyone have stories of strange encounters at hotels/inns? I've stayed in lots of places over the years, sometimes alone, and often there has been an extra bed in the room or the bed I slept on had lots of space. If I had ever seen anyone looking like the guy in the story above I would have fainted! ( I hope Shocked

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Posted: 03-06-2006 00:56 Post subject:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=514047#514047

Glamour_Dust, check out the above link. It's an IHTM! about a hotel 'ghost'.

Posted: 03-06-2006 03:10 Post subject:

And also http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7866

Posted: 15-06-2006 18:57 Post subject:

Check out:

http://wirenot.net/X/Stories/Ghost%202/Ghost%20N-O/niagraonthelake.shtml

Contains references to other hotel hauntings in the same town.

Posted: 15-06-2006 19:07 Post subject:

I've always hated hotel bedrooms with two beds in them ever since i read M R James Oh Wistle and I'll Come. Gives me the heeby geebies laying there looking at that 2nd empty bed, and wondering what i'd do if the bedding suddenly rose up Shocked

Posted: 15-06-2006 19:42 Post subject:

I once woke up in a strange hotel room, but simply couldn't find the door, or the lightswitch. Desperately, I felt my way round the walls, looking for something I KNEW was there, all in vain. Very quickly, my spirit crushed, I vomited copiously and fell asleep. I guess it had something to do with the bottle of gin I had downed that I was trying to open the wall where the door is back in my room at home! Waking up next morning was fun too, playing hunt the puke. All with a very tender head and stomach. Never again. Well, not gin anyway!!

BUT SERIOUSLY:
Many years ago, whilst a slip of a lad, I worked as a trainee chef in a hotel, an old coaching inn. Being a small place, not PLC owned or anything, some nights were quiet, and we staff would congregate in the bar and drink away till the wee small hours, along with the odd guest who was there.
On one particular night, after service had finished, a couple of us chefs, the manager, couple of waiting staff and the night porter were in the bar quaffing ale, when the one and only guest came into reception, collected his key and declining joining us, headed up the stairs. A couple of minutes later he returned, with a strange look on his face, and told the manager someone was in his room, a woman, she'd obviously been given the wrong key.
That got all of our attention, the manager was on his feet and taking the key from the guest as he passed him, declared this was impossible and headed off up the stairs. The rest of us sat there wondering what the hell was going on, because we KNEW there was no-one else staying in the hotel that night.
Several minutes later, the ashen-faced manager and guest returned, large brandies were dispensed (Yep, I had one, just to be polite you understand), and the guest told his tale:
He had opened the door to his room, and was startled to find the lights on and a woman sitting on the end of his bed with her back to him looking in the mirror and brushing her long hair.
"Whoops, I'm sorry" he said, "I've got the wrong room"
The woman turned, smiled and said "That's alright", leaving him backing out of the door. As he shut the door he checked the number, he was right, it was his room, so he headed back downstairs to find out what was going on.
When the manager and guest returned, they found the room empty, the lights off, and the foot of the bed cold and undisturbed.
I'd love to be able to tell you more, but after that, us staff supped up and cleared off, leaving the seriously shaken manager and the night porter there to conduct a quiet search of the rest of the rooms just make sure no-one was somewhere they shouldn't be. I don't recall the guest saying he felt scared or even whether he was given another room, but I know the manager was never there late at night again! (Which meant more spirits emerging. Vodka and brandy, mostly. And profits disappearing, I guess!)

Incidentally, the night porter was always hearing and seeing stuff there, banging and crashing in the kitchens after everything was locked up, and once saw a man in a mirror, standing on a chair in the restaurant (!)
I NEVER liked being there alone, night or day.
Dunno how old the place was, but the pub next door (joined to it) used to have the holding cell for people awaiting trial by visiting magistrates, and a tunnel was found in the cellars there (which went nowhere in particular, I seem to recall).

Sorry for the length (oo-er)

Posted: 16-06-2006 09:44 Post subject:

Darn I came on this thread hoping the title was an invitation.....

How disappointed am I?

Posted: 16-06-2006 09:49 Post subject:

Where was this, LordRsmacker? Might be close to me - I could get a photo posted on the board if it is. Genuinely spooky tale - made my hair stand on end for a few seconds - great stuff!

That's the thing about hotels - you never know who has been (or still is!) there before you. At the very least, I often wake up with a panicky sense of "where am I?" in hotels, but nothing genuinely scary.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

I've just remembered (and not sure why it had slipped my mind, as it was only a fortnight ago). We'd popped up to Yorkshire for a couple of days, and were staying in a lovely little pub/hotel in the Dales. Super room, nicely appointed, nice view. But...

In the early hours, I found myself half-awake, with the feeling that someone was standing by the bed. Now, half-awake is half-asleep, so I sort of knew I was probably dreaming, but I had this nagging feeling that a figure was standing there, looking at me in a not-unkindly way. Despite feeling sure that I was imagining this, I tried to sit up and say something. Of course, I was unable to do either (sleep paralysis, dontcha just hate it!). After about ten seconds, I finally managed a small grunt, and once my vocal chords had started to respond, I managed to wake myself fully with a short yell, and that broke the spell. We were alone in the room, it was just getting light outside, but still very early, so with a quick "sorry, I was dreaming", I lay back down and we both slept until breakfast.

The cynic in me says that, given my experience, a lot of ghostly encounters in bedrooms can be put down to sleep paralysis and that strange realm between sleeping and waking, but just as with UFOs, there will always be a small percentage of cases which defy "normal" explanation.

Posted: 16-06-2006 11:54 Post subject:

Had none really screaming in my sleep in a small French Hotel doesn't count. Laughing

Posted: 16-06-2006 12:20 Post subject:

Stayed in a hotel in Glastonbury that used to be a nunnery/abbey. Mrs Heck reported feeling a cold spot as she walked across one particular place in the room (that previously had been the library). Being the cynical sort but open minded I looked around for an obvious draught or vent but could find none, it was however possible with my hands to delinate the cold spot started near the ground and continued to about five and a half feet. There was a definite change in temperature at the edge of the 'field'.

Now I'm a bit of an amateur Parapsychologist and I was carrying an EMR meter which showed very little background radiation (apart from of course near electrical fixings and features and cables). However when I passed the meter through the 'field' there was a visible increase. I couldn't see a visible reason for this and the readings seemed to appear only where the cold feelings existed.

Suddenly and without warning the readings stopped and appeared to return to background levels and equally and just as strangely the cold spot vanished, no temperature change could be felt.

As I mentioned earlier I could see no obvious explanation for this, there was no air-con in the room (the building was listed and largely structurally the same as when it was originally a abbey/nunnery) and the EM didn't extend beyond the 'field' precluding a mains cable.

It could have been a refirdgeration unit in the celing of the floor below, it was impossible to determine from the geography where the kitchens were located, but I would assume that cold air even from a refrigeration unit wouldn't rise.

All in all very very odd.

As a post-script Mrs. Heck had a vivid dream that night of a nun standing at the bottom of the bed offering her a tiny statuette of the Virgin Mary, the woman, she reported, wasn't threatening in any way but felt 'warm' and almost welcoming.

Posted: 16-06-2006 13:21 Post subject:

This isn't a hotel encounter as such, but a similar tale.
When my wife and I got married, for our honeymoon we decided to book a Gite in rural France.

It was one of those converted farmhouses out in the French countryside, quite rural and secluded.
It was a long drive and we arrived very late, somewhere between 1-2am.
We managed to find the place eventually in the complete and utter darkness. To say this place was rural is an understatement.

Feeling rather tired, we dragged in our bags, made a drink and found the bedroom.
There was only one room upstairs, with a kitchen, bathroom and living room downstairs.
We flopped into bed and settled down, my wife fell asleep quickly, leaving me laying in the moonlight.
Before I fell asleep, I began to hear voices, both male and female talking quite loudly, I couldn't make out what they were saying due to my very limited French.
I thought it a little odd but figured it was the neighbours having a party or something and I went to sleep.
Later, I woke up to some more odd sounds, a faint banging and more voices.
I listened and thought the voices sounded very close to the house, as I continued to listen, I noticed the sounds were actually coming from the bathroom and living area Shocked

Taking stock, I decided to go downstairs and investigate, now not knowing where any light switches were I had to go down in the moonlight.
I crept downstairs and the voices did indeed get louder, taking a deep breath I stepped into the living area, at which the voices stopped and then moved into the bathroom Confused

I decided at this point not to follow the sounds and said out loud "I'm going back upstairs now." At which the noise stopped.

The next morning, I thought maybe it was the neighbours after all, I looked out of the window and found that the nearest other house was around a mile away!

The sounds continued for our entire stay and made for rather interesting listening.

Posted: 16-06-2006 14:50 Post subject:

hyikes, oooh cold shivers cold shivers brrrr

Posted: 16-06-2006 16:42 Post subject:

Posted: 16-06-2006 16:44 Post subject:

Ssssshhhh! You tart!

Posted: 16-06-2006 19:33 Post subject:

That's as maybe - just keep the moaning down in future. Anyone would think you'd seen a ghost or something the way you carry on.

I wouldn't mind but this happens EVERY time. God only knows what you really get up to when I'm asleep.