Cresent Hotel Sightings
On our investigation we had no sightings although a few of the investigators did have some personal things happen to them. We found an area in the dinning room where the temp droped below -20 degrees. On the third floor we had an EMF reading of 5 that was in an area of about 15 feet long. Some heard foot steps in room 218.
SIGHTINGS
The most often sighted apparition is that of a red-haired Irish stonemason, who the staff has dubbed “Michael.” Allegedly, Michael was one of the original masons who worked on the building of the hotel in 1885. However, while working on the roof he lost his balance and fell to the second floor area and was killed. This area now houses Room 218 of the hotel and is said to be the most haunted guestroom. Michael is evidently a mischievous spirit who likes to play tricks with the lights, doors and television, as well as often being heard pounding loudly on the walls. Several guests and employees have encountered strange sounds and sensations in that room. Others have witnessed hands coming out of the bathroom mirror and heard cries of what sounded like a man falling in the ceiling. On one occasion a patron ran screaming from the room, professing to have seen blood splattered all over its walls. Doors have slammed shut and some people have been shaken awake at night. One man, a salesman, was asleep in Room 218 one night when his shoulder was violently shaken back and forth. He awakened just long enough to hear footsteps hurry across the floor. He saw no one in the room.
Another often reported spirit is that of a young female who once attended the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women, which was open between 1908 and 1924. According to the tale, the young girl either jumped from or was pushed from a balcony to her death. Today, guests report hearing her screams as she falls. Her ghost is seen as a young lady dressed in an old-fashioned white dress. She has been seen wandering the garden but disappears when someone approaches her.
The confused ghost of Doctor Baker, the charlatan who ran the hospital in the 1930s, has been seen in the old Recreation Room and at the foot of the first floor stairway. Dressed in a purple shirt and white linen suit, and looking somewhat confused, the apparition appears identical to old photographs of the infamous “quack.”
There are also other spirits here. The ghost of a nurse dressed in white with her nurses hat and a gray apron has been reported on the third floor. Only spotted after 11:00 p.m., the time which they used to move the deceased out the cancer hospital, the ghostly spirit vanishes when she reaches the end of the hallway.
Another ghost of the hotel is that of a distinguished-looking man with a mustache and beard and who dresses in old-fashioned, formal clothing complete with top hat. He seems to favor the lobby of the hotel and a bar that is decorated in the style of the Victorian era. People who claim they have talked to the man say that he never responds, he only sits quietly and then vanishes. In an interview, a staff member recounted one odd experience with the silent ghost: "During the summer, we had two auditors work for us because we’re so busy. One of these men left the front desk to get a drink of water in the bar, after it was closed. He told me that he saw some guy sitting on a barstool, staring straight ahead. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t move. Our guy left to get his partner, who was still at the front desk. They came back and spoke to the man. They thought he was drunk".
When the man again did not respond, the two auditors decided to leave him alone and go back to work. As they looked back over their shoulders on the way out of the bar though, they saw that the barstool was now empty. The man was nowhere in the room.
"One of them started searching for the man," the staff member added. "He looked around the lobby, which is about 25 to 30 yards across, everywhere in that area. The auditor who was looking around went over to the steps (a staircase ascends from the lobby). The fellow from the bar was on the second-floor landing, looking down at him. He went up but as he got to the second floor, he felt something push him back down again. That’s when he got the manager and told him what had happened."
Room 424 has had several visitations. To go along with all of the stories, accounts and experiences, the hotel even has a legendary ghost photo from Room 202. No one knows who took it or why, but the photo contains a misty figure slouching in the closet of the room. The room was empty except for the photographer at the time.
Apparently a doctor and his wife spent their honeymoon there and the man, having second thoughts, pushed his wife down the stairs.
Another remnant of these old “hospital” days is a ghostly figure who calls herself “Theodora.” Most often seen by housekeepers in Room 419, Theodora courteously introduces herself as a cancer patient, before quickly vanishing.
The hotel’s Crystal Dining Room, is another place in the hotel that is said to contain frequent paranormal activities. Here, other Victorian dressed apparitions have often been encountered. Many have seen groups of 1890’s dancers, in full-dress attire, whirling around the room in the wee hours of the morning. Other reports tell of a 19th century gentleman who has been seen sitting at a table near the windows. When approached, he says, "I saw the most beautiful woman here last night and I am waiting for her to return."
In the dining room’s kitchen. the apparition of a small boy has been seen skipping around and sometimes pots and pans are said to come flying of their hooks of their own accord as well as a ghostly waiter carrying a tray of butter in the hallways.