The Hauntings of the Haywood Park Hotel

ASHEVILLE, NC -- Premier builder W.E. Grove constructed today's Haywood Park Hotel complex in the early 1920s. From 1923 to 1937, the building was known as Bon Marche, Asheville's first upscale department store. Ivey's Department Store then occupied the space for 38 years before the classic-revival Haywood Park Hotel opened its doors in 1985 -- apparently to people and ghosts alike. Among the many stories recounted to us is this [unedited] TripAdvisor review:

“Haunted?”

Reviewed December 6, 2011 by an2nini

from New Orleans, Louisiana

 

Am I the only one who had a paranormal experience at this hotel??? It's a great place to stay but I got really scared so we checked out one day early. This was back in January of 2007. I woke up around1:45 a.m. to use the bathroom. I was in one of the beds with my young daughter and my husband was in the other. The suites are large (very nice) and as i walked toward the bathroom, I could hear a man and a young girl conversing back and forth. It was very muffled but I heard it. I back up to check on my daughter and husband and of course, they were both sound asleep like they were seconds before when i got out of bed. As i got closer to the bathroom, i heard a little girl's voice singing "lalalalala..." very faintly. I couldn't understand why I would hear someone talking in another room? outside the hotel room door? - because it was beginning of Janauary and the hotel was virtually empty. I thought only 3 of the 8 rooms on the floor were taken. Also, why would a young kid be awake at the time of the morning? Anyway, I proceeded into the bathroom and as I'm about to sit on the toilet, very LOUD in my ear, I hear a man's voice say "GOOD MORNING!" It scared me sooo much! I ran out the bathroom hitting my thigh on the point of the dresser. Jumped back into the bed with my daughter and just lay there quietly, listening. Never heard anything else and eventually I drifted off back to sleep. I told my husband about it first thing in the morning. It was so surreal but I know what i heard! This happened on our 2nd night there and although we checked out one day early, it was not because of the hotel itself, which I thought was really nice. If you want to try and have an encounter with something "unknown" - I would recommend staying there.

 

The Orb Defined

An orb is loosely defined as "the soul of a once living person or animal that appears in photographs as a spherical[ly] shaped light." Both ghosts and spirits can manifest as an orb (The Orb Controversy, Miller's Paranormal Research, 2001). Many paranormal investigators pooh-pooh most orbs in photographs as dust, small flying insects, light refractions, et.al. Whatever. All I know is that we, at Ghost Hunters of Asheville Tours, get a lot of them. 

An orb is the lowest-energy manifestation of a ghost or spirit. Ghosts need energy to manifest and move, but cannot create energy -- only steal it. Common sources of such paranormal theft on our tour include lightning, electrical wiring, cell phone batteries, even us! Once ghosts' reservoirs are full, they tend to be conservative with their supply so most often choose to manifest as orbs since these take the least amount of their energy.

If you get an orb in a photograph, you might want to zoom in on it as faces and words can sometimes be embedded in them.

A last, sobering thought regarding orbs: Guests reveal that the most orbs they've ever gotten in photographs are at Ground Zero.

The Lincoln Ghost Train

The following undated newspaper article was found pasted in a late 1860s scrapbook:

 

A PHANTOM TRAIN

THE DEAD LINCOLN'S YEARLY TRIP OVER THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD



A correspondent in the Albany (N.Y.) Evening Times relates a conversation with a superstitious night watchman on the New York Central Railroad. Said the watchman: "I believe in spirits and ghosts. I know such things exist. If you will come up in April I will convince you." He then told of the phantom train that every year comes up the road with the body of Abraham Lincoln. Regularly in the month of April, about midnight, the air on the track becomes very keen and cutting. On either side it is warm and still. Every watchman when he feels this air steps off the track and sits down to watch. Soon after the pilot engine, with long black streamers, and a band of black instruments, playing dirges, grinning skeletons sitting all about, will pass up noiselessly, and the very air grows black. If it is moonlight clouds always come over the moon, and the music seems to linger, as if frozen with horror. A few moments after and the phantom train glides by. Flags and streamers hang about. The track ahead seems covered with black carpet, and the wheels are draped with the same. The coffin of the murdered Lincoln is seen lying on the centre of the car, and all about it in the air and the train behind are vast numbers of blue-coated men, some with coffins on their backs, others leaning on them.

It seems then that all the vast armies that died during the war are escorting the phantom train of the President. The wind, if blowing, dies away at once, and all over the earth a solemn hush, almost stifling, prevails. If a train were passing, its noise would be drowned in silence and the phantom train would ride over it. Clocks and watches would always stop, and when looked at are found to be from five to eight minutes behind. Everywhere on the road, about the 27th of April, the time of watches and trains is found suddenly behind. This, said the leading watchman, was from the passage of the phantom train.

The route taken by Lincoln's funeral train, in large part, still exists -- marked by ancient railroad beds and towns. New Yorkers who commute daily from bedroom communities along the Hudson River, north of Manhattan, don't realize that they are traveling the same route as the 16th President's funeral train. So it is for thousands of unknowing railroad passengers.

[Taken from Bloody Crimes by James L. Swanson]

The Ghost in the Choir Loft

In 1982, photographer Chris Brackley took a picture of the interior of St. Botolph's Church found in the Parish of Knottingley, England. The earliest architectural feature of this church has existed since Roman times with updates and refurbishings taking place throughout the centuries. Brackley's aim was to take a photo of the historical nave and chapel of the church. He got more.

High in the church's loft, seen in the upper right-hand corner of his photograph, appears what seems to be the transparent form of woman. Brackley says there were only three people in the church when he took the picture, and none of them were in the loft.

Zoomed in view of the ghost

According to London Paranormal Database Records: "Mr. Brackley was later contacted by a builder who recognized the ghostly face of someone he had seen in a coffin in the church."

Oujia Board Defined, Part III

Ouija boards are, admittedly, one of the tools we've used in investigations. We've taken all precautions and sometimes the Boards have worked for us and sometimes they haven't. The time it's worked best...

At an undisclosed location(!), we had gotten several photos of an apparition of a bald man in overalls. With the Ouija Board, we found out his name was Edgar. He'd been killed by a knife wound in his side, and despite the police being aware of the murderer's identity, there was never an arrest made. Edgar is understandably miffed. We asked if we could take his picture, he replied affirmatively, and you can see what we captured in the photo above towards the lefthand side. (I see a woman in a long gown though, not Edgar. It's a pretty clear apparition though.) We know Edgar was killed in "80," but are unsure what century as he bid us good-bye.

This was two years ago. In the time since, we've had two affirming eperiences. Someone using a Bob's Box outside the building asked who was present. Three ghosts answered including one named Eddie. Another time we had a youth on a Ghost Hunters of Asheville tour who could talk with spirits. Not knowing this story, he independently told us he'd spoken with a child in front of the building who said he knew Edgar, but he wasn't there right then.

It was a memorable evening. We got a photo of a woman in a mirror, a shadow person and lots of orbs -- the mirror picture as at the right. So yes, Ouija Boards can work. Yes, they can be fascinating. But yes, they can be dangerous. Use with caution.

Ouija Board Defined, Part II

Ouija Boards serve as vehicles or spiritual gateways to facilitate communication between the living and dead. There are, however, sound ways to use them – not only to get good results, but to also use them safely without infiltration or manifestation of evil spirits.

Using an Ouija Board (Safely)

* Draw a closed protective circle of salt around the area where the group and Board will sit.

• * Don’t use the Ouija Board alone as the planchette can be subconsciously moved. The optimal number is three players, sitting on the floor with legs crossed and knees touching. Contact supposedly helps with spiritual connection.

         * Say an opening prayer to strengthen the group psychically and protect against
            any unfriendly entities.

* Place a silver coin on the board. Silver can stop an evil presence from leaving the board.

          * Lighting white (the color of goodness and purity) candles is believed to be a form
             of protection.

* Record the session to capture all information. Recorders work well for this.

* “Clean” the board before and after use and between each question by moving the planchette back and forth between “YES” and “NO.”

* If a planchette begins to move in a continuous circle, the spirit is making a portal. Close the board immediately.

* The planchette moving with figure 8 movements indicates the devil, evil spirit or demon. Again: Close the board immediately.

* If the planchette moves to “GOODBYE” on its own, end the session. Allow the spirit to leave.

* Close the Board by moving the pointer to “GOODBYE” and flipping it. This is critical. If not properly closed, a spirit may remain with the board and/or manifest itself physically.

* Many people say a closing prayer. The least that should be done is thanking the spirits for their time.

Ouija Defined, Pt. I

Nearly everyone is familiar with Ouija Boards, having seen them in the toy and game aisle. Hasbro markets Ouija as a harmless parlor game, but there are plenty of people who consider the Board anything but harmless. As is said: Forewarned is to be forearmed.

The History

Ouija Boards have been around so long, no one really remembers where they came from – or when. Morocco, China and Egypt are some of the places cited; spirit and talking boards other names. The Ouija moniker is said to have either originated from the Moroccan city Ouija (Oujida or Oudjda), the Egyptian word for good luck (which it isn’t), or a combination of the French and German words meaning “yes."

Ouija Boards were patented in London in 1854 and arrived in the United States in 1890 as a harmless parlor game. A spiritualist, Pearl Curran, redefined the Board as a portal to speak with spirits during WWI. Ouija was most popular from the 1920s through the 1960s.

But Does It Work?

Ouija believers say the Board helps us to communicate with the spirits of the dead. In contrast, psychologists cite the ideomotor effect – the unconscious movements of individuals that involuntarily move the Ouija’s planchette. Laboratory studies have proven the phenomenon.

The Dangers

·        You never really know who you’re communicating with. A spirit can masquerade as anyone: angels, the famous, loved ones. The spirit you’re communing with may be devious, deceptive and dangerous.

·        Paranormal researchers believe the Board attracts confused souls, spirits who died a sudden or violent death, even spiritual “delinquents.”

·        Spirits can use the Board as a doorway to enter the physical world. You can unwittingly release an evil spirit that can make for an uncontrolled and volatile situation.

Next Week:  Using the Board and Safety Tips

Spooked, Freaked, Scared

One of the most frequently asked questions on the tour is "What has been your spookiest experience [on the tour]?" Ghost Hunters of Asheville's Downtown Interactive Tour is a family-oriented, kid-friendly tour so there really wasn't much of an answer to this ... until now.

It was an intimate, adult-only tour. There was an opportunity to enter a darkened, extremely haunted, venue. Paranormally sensitive guests and psychics had warned that a very angry ghost inhabited this structure. An older balding man in overalls, the spectre doesn't even realize he's dead. He is angered by ouside presences and photographic evidence points that he has chased away most of the numerous spirits who once inhabited the place.

Walking through a dark, haunted facility, armed only with flashlights, was thrilling, fun, and exhilarating -- until we came to the doorstep of a basement room. I lack the words to adequately describe the foreboding, heaviness, all-nerves-on-alert feeling that literally slammed my psyche. I asked a guest to take a picture of the room. It was filled with pilot blue orbs in every photo he took. There would be no paranormal photos in any other space of the building.

It may seem a fairly innocuous experience (e.g., What's the big deal?), but to someone who has never before felt this type of presence, it was shatteringly disturbing. I actually felt dirty and shaken until mid-day the following afternoon. It was, for all intents and purposes, my first truly paranormal encounter. That I "called" it -- verified by photos -- increased my awe and shock.

I've purposely stayed paranormally insensitive, but have noticed a recent intuitive awakening. I guess you can't be around this stuff as much as I am without it affecting -- and changing -- who you are. Nonetheless, I find it jolting. Believing something is "out there" is very different from experiencing what is out there.

What is Going On at the Battery Hotel?

Built in 1924, Asheville's 14-story Battery Park Hotel is currently inhabited by three known spirits. We've frequently gotten paranormal photographs at the Hotel, but some Ghost Hunters of Asheville guests have run into a recent problem: They are unable to take a photograph of the TOP of the hotel. This has happened twice in the past five outings. Pictures of the main lower story clearly appear, but when some people try to photograph the upper stories, they get only a black screen. Not a dark screen, mind you. A totally BLACK screen. Switching back and forth, top to bottom, multiple photographs, these guests get repetitive results: Perfect pictures on ground level, black photos above. I've been told that ghosts are blocking energy from the camera, making it impossible to take a photograph.  The real question is, though, what are the ghosts trying to prevent us from seeing? Hm-m-m.

Photo courtesy of City Development, City of Asheville, North Carolina

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Nearly all photos featured on the Ghost Hunters of Asheville tours were taken during our nightly ventures. This is a rare exception.

The story behind the photo...

The Mountain Xpress newspaper sponsored a photographic event known as "A Day in the Life of Asheville." They put numerous throw-away cameras around town for people to pick up and snap pictures with them. This image was captured on Asheville's infamous Eagle Street. The spirit originates from one of the corner windows above Limones Restaurant. It is an excellent example of a rare photo allowing a glimpse into the daylight world of the paranormal.

Spirits are always around us although -- photographically -- orbs, mist and such show up far better at night-time as the camera flash helps illuminate and reflect the many colors and anomalies in haunted locations.

Man Naked!

Yet, another first for the Ghost Hunters of Asheville tour tonight. While surveying the multi-windowed historic Battery Park Hotel, we captured a full moon -- and it wasn't of the planetary variety. I've been asked what has been my weirdest experience on the tour and I always ask for clarification: Does the questioner mean paranormally or courtesy of the locals?!

The tour was particularly interesting as we had three guests who were hardcore ghost hunters. David and Jennifer of Naples, FL had all the bells and whistles equipment and Matt has been on numerous investigations as a member of a Mississippi Paranormal Investigation team. Jennifer got orbs at almost all our haunted venues and Matt was a wealth of information for all -- perhaps the most well-versed guest I've ever hosted. The spirits responded!