Ghost-hunting at 1886 Crescent, America's most haunted hotel
Guests of the hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, get a two-hour ghost tour, and those who stay report seeing at least seven spooky figures regularly, writes Teresa Bergen
A palatial hotel built in 1886, the Crescent is recognised by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the United States' Dozen Distinctive Destinations. More commonly, it is known as America's most haunted hotel.
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In Eureka Springs, a small Victorian town in the state of Arkansas, which is known for the Ozark Mountains, caves, hot springs and being the home of Wal-Mart and former American president Bill Clinton. The University of Arkansas' sports team is named after razorback hogs; this is not New York.
Scary enough to justify a two-hour ghost tour of the premises. The tour covers at least seven ghosts apparently seen regularly by visitors, ranging from a little girl who pokes guests in the stomach to nurses pushing dead patients on gurneys down hallways. In 2005, prominent ghost hunters captured what appeared to be a ghostly human image on camera in what was once the morgue. At least once a month a guest will spend the night in the lobby (below), choosing to endure bright lights, uncomfortable Victorian sofas, loud swing music and the piercing yellow eyes of two hotel cats rather than the solitude of their dark room.
Although built as a hotel, the Crescent fell on hard times during the Great Depression. In 1937, Norman Baker, a quack, turned the building into a "cancer curing" hospital. He eschewed painkillers and concocted "cures" from watermelon seeds and cornsilk. The ghost tour features a séance in Baker's morgue and a visit to the "parts room", where the dubious doc saved human remains in jars of formaldehyde. For obvious reasons, many unhappy ghosts date from the "cancer curing" period.
Quite pleasant, with Victorian wallpaper and headboards, and modern plumbing and mattresses. Options range from the basic king room (right) to the governor's suite, which features two king bedrooms, wet bar, tub with jacuzzi jets and a balcony. Luxury Craftsman-style cottages are set apart in woodlands surrounded by walking trails.