This blog post was updated on October 5, 2018.
As Halloween nears, a weekend getaway with a few ghosts is sometimes just what the traveler ordered. And while there are countless hotels in the United States that boast of being America’s most haunted accommodations, many contend that property is in only one place. Buried in the full oak trees of the Ozark Mountains, you will find the 126 year old Crescent Hotel and Spa in the town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. As a member of the Historic Hotels of America, this hotel has become known for its permanent guests of times since past.
A Little History: The Crescent Hotel often gets pegged as America’s most haunted hotel. This title is mostly tied to the hotel’s history. While the Crescent Hotel opened on May 20, 1886 as a resort for the carriage set, Norman Baker would buy it in 1937 and turn into a cancer treatment facility until 1939. The basement was used as the morgue, hence the claims of some guests that never seem to leave.
A Spooky Location: The Crescent Hotel sits up in the northwest Arkansas town of Eureka Springs. A stroll through the town presents a trip back into Victorian times. It is no wonder the town has landed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Crescent Hotel enjoys a spooky location on top of the town on a hill.
Ghost Tours: To learn all about the tales of the historic hotel’s ghosts, you can join a nightly ghost tour. The Crescent Hotel Ghost Tours take those who either don’t have enough courage to stay the night or guests of the hotel through the haunted spaces and stories. You will learn all about the famous guests that never checkout out including Michael, the Irish stonemason who fell to his death while building the hotel and even Morris the cat that supposedly has extended his nine lives. Guests on the tour also get the chance to roam the basement, a space that was once used as a morgue. Tours take place nightly at 8PM and cost $19.50 per person.
Haunted Rooms and Spaces: If you want to make a special room request for ghosts, you might try Room 218. This is reportedly one of the most haunted rooms in the hotel. It is said that Michael the stonecutter who fell to his death in the hotel’s construction met his end around here. Oddly enough, this is one of the Crescent Hotel’s most requested rooms. You can also find the spooks in other spaces in the hotel including the staircase from the second floor to the lobby. Supposedly the old hotel physician during the Victorian Era still hangs around here smoking his pipe.
Other Notables: If all of the talk of ghosts has you a bit spooked, the Crescent Hotel is home to some other notable attractions besides those from beyond the grave. The hotel houses the Welte Philharmonic Salon Model 4 Organ. It is thought to be one of only three still in existence today. The organ was made in 1912. If you need a drink to calm your nerves after the ghost tour, you can do so at the hotel’s Sky Bar. It perches in a fine location for a drink, some 1,430 feet above sea level over the Ozark Mountains.
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Photo: doug_wertman
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