NO. 75 Crescent Hotel
Nestled in the Ozark Mountains in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the majestic Crescent Hotel and Spa towers over the landscape, its Victorian architecture embodying an era of opulence. However, this hotel, often referred to as "America's Most Haunted Hotel," carries a darker history that belies its grandeur. It's a place where the lines between the past and present blur, creating a captivating tapestry of history and the supernatural.
Built in 1886, the Crescent Hotel was designed as a resort for the wealthy, boasting an aura of luxury and elegance. However, the hotel's glory days were fleeting, and it eventually found itself repurposed as a college and conservatory for young women in 1908, and later, as a cancer hospital under the infamous "Dr." Norman Baker in the late 1930s. Baker, a charlatan with no medical training, used the hotel to conduct questionable practices and fraudulent treatments. After these various transitions, the hotel was restored to its original purpose in the 1940s.
Over the years, guests and employees have reported a number of spectral sightings and paranormal experiences, contributing to the hotel's reputation as a hub for supernatural activity. The Crescent Hotel is believed to be home to several spirits, some linked to its varied history.
Perhaps the most famous ghostly resident is Michael, a stonemason who fell to his death during the hotel's construction in 1885. Michael is believed to haunt Room 218, with guests reporting a range of eerie experiences, from strange noises and cold spots to more direct encounters with the apparition himself.
Another commonly sighted spirit is that of a nurse pushing a gurney, believed to date back to the hotel's time as a cancer hospital. The nurse is often spotted in the basement and on the third floor, and her appearance is usually accompanied by the chilling sound of squeaky wheels.
The apparition of Dr. Baker himself has also been reported throughout the hotel, while the ghost of a woman in Victorian clothing, believed to be a former patient or perhaps a grieving loved one, has been spotted in the luxury suites and the lobby.
Today, the Crescent Hotel embraces its haunted heritage. It offers ghost tours for those brave enough to explore its haunted history, and it even has a "ghost concierge" to share tales of the hotel's spectral inhabitants and guide interested guests to the most paranormally active areas.
The hotel's commitment to preserving its historical and supernatural legacy has drawn the attention of various paranormal investigation teams, including those from popular TV shows like "Ghost Hunters" and "Most Haunted." Their investigations have produced some intriguing evidence, further adding to the hotel's haunted reputation.
Amidst the grandeur and ghostly tales surrounding the Crescent Hotel, there lies another fascinating chapter of its history unearthed quite literally. This tale begins in the spring of 2019 when landscape gardeners working on the hotel grounds stumbled upon an intriguing discovery - a cache of hundreds of glass bottles buried behind the hotel.
These glass bottles, dating back to the 1930s, are believed to be remnants from the hotel's grim stint as a cancer hospital under the guise of "Dr." Norman Baker. They were found to contain a variety of substances, from alcohol and spring water to a mysterious brown fluid that was later determined to be Baker's "cancer cure."
The bogus concoction, purportedly a miracle cure for cancer, was nothing more than a mix of watermelon seed, brown corn silk, alcohol, and carbolic acid, reflecting Baker's fraudulence and deception. The discovery of these bottles has provided a tangible link to the hotel's dubious past, grounding the ghostly tales in the chilling reality of the patients' experiences.
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