Jeannie Bellefeuille
Night Clerk
June-August 2002

During my brief stint as the night clerk, a number of “unexplainable” events occurred. I did get “weirded” out a few times, but I never actually felt frightened or threatened in any way. That is important to point out, as I generally consider myself somewhat of a “wimp” when it comes to scary stuff. In fact, my concern about staying up all night, every night, in a large old “haunted” hotel, almost kept me from taking the job in the first place. By profession, I am a 6th grade Catholic school teacher. The night clerk position seemed like a great summer diversion. It certainly turned into the most unusual job that I have ever had.

The job description was pretty basic. I arrived at work at midnight. I was always careful to lock the kitchen door and the lobby doors before I went up to check in on the 2nd floor. The bartender was still in The Pub, until The Pub door was locked at closing time. I would go about my duties, cleaning, vacuuming, rolling silverware, dusting and whatever needed to be done. When the bartender would leave, I would recheck all of the 4 doors. I never found one unlocked. Afterwards, I would continue with my duties.

Now that I have given you some background, I can tell you about some of the “strange” happenings that I experienced. I was a little nervous on my first night. As with any new job, I wanted to be sure that I made a good first impression. I vacuumed the dining room and made sure that all of the tables were set with placemats and silverware. I was slightly disgusted that, on several tables, the silverware seemed to have been thrown on haphazardly. But I straightened it all out and went to check the bathrooms. A few hours later, I went to double-check that everything was clean. When I checked the dining room, many of the sets of silverware had been moved! Now, being a good Catholic, I said a half dozen “Hail Mary’s” and straightened them all again. Then I went to The Pub and found a fire blazing in the fireplace! Not so unusual, except that it was about 90 degrees outside. I didn’t panic, but I did leave The Pub quickly and said a very heartfelt “Our Father”. I figured there was a reasonable explanation, but I haven’t heard it year. The owner insists that the gas connection to the fireplace is turned off during the summer.

Other odd occurrences included lobby lamps that would go on without explanation. Sometimes I could turn them off, and other times they would stay on. I eventually unplugged one particular lamp that became too creepy. Also, the faucet in the waitress station would turn on occasionally, but would only run for a minute and then go off. The silverware was moved so often, that eventually, I just gave up trying to straighten it until just before I left at 7:00am. And then there was the cold. And I mean COLD! As I said, this was summer, and I usually wore shorts and a sleeveless shirt to work. But….after the first two nights, I learned to bring a sweatshirt and pants. At about 3:15am it got so cold that I could almost see my breath!

There were a couple of decorative “throws” in the lobby. I would put on my sweats, wrap the throws around me and curl up in a chair for the coldest 20-25 minutes ever! It was weird, but I could almost set my watch by those “cold spells”. I prayed a lot from 3:00-4:00. I took comfort in the fact that the newspaper lady would show up around the same time. She never said anything, but I’m sure I looked ridiculous wrapped up like an Eskimo in the hottest part of the summer!

Without a doubt, the strangest “encounter” happened in mid-July. The bartender had left for the night at about 12:30am. I had checked the doors and just finished vacuuming the dining room. I went in, to vacuum The Pub, and was startled (OK, really freaked out) to see a young man standing at the bar! My mind was racing to figure out where he had come from and how he had gotten in. He was a nice enough looking guy in his mid 20’s. He asked if he could get a beer. I said I thought so, and checked out the taps to be sure they didn’t “lock” at night. Seeing that they did indeed work, I asked what kind he would like. He asked what “my” choice would be, and I jokingly said, “I like the brand with the canoe handle!” He laughed and said that would be fine. “What do I owe you?” he asked. I told him I had no idea, because I was the night clerk and not a bartender. I asked him if $2.00 sounded fair. He produced a $10.00 bill. “Oh, now we have another problem” I told him. “I do not have access to any change”. So, I told him that he would either have to have 4 more beers, or he could see if he had any other money. He checked his pockets and came up with 5 quarters. I explained that it was his lucky night and that beer happened to be on sale for $1.25. I was still trying to figure out where this guy came from! He gave me the quarters, thanked me, and went to the lobby. He headed up the steps, and I breathed a very deep sigh of relief. Clearly, this guy was a hotel guest! I did throw in a few “Hail Mary’s”, just in case. So, I did my work, straightened the silverware (twice that night) and put the quarters in the drawer of the front desk. End of story.

The next evening was my night off, but my family went into The Pub to have a drink after attending a play that my daughter was in. Kelley (the owner) was there, and I laughingly revealed my “ghost” story from the previous night. I explained that it was the guest that had stayed there. She went a little white and disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, she asked which room he was in. I said I had no idea, I was just glad I knew how he had gotten into the building. When she pressed about the room number, she said she would need to make sure that “housekeeping” cleaned the room. I told her, “Just look for the room with the empty beer glass!” She laughed and went to check the rooms. None of the rooms had been slept in! No one had checked in or out, and the beer glass was never found! I think I’ll go say a few more “Hail Mary’s”!

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