7-13-03
Paula Egan Wright
Room 13
Adult
Ever since I directed a play in a haunted theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I’ve been curious about ghosts and haunted places, and when I travel, I try to go and see peculiar places with eerie stories associated with them. A couple of years ago, in France, I stopped in a supposedly haunted castle, on the edge of a creepy forest. In that castle, there had once been a witch trial, and the place even had its resident black cat! I’ve also gone ghost hunting at the famous Bullack Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota, at the Baldpate Inn in Estes Park and at the Fairplay Hotel in Colorado. While each visit gave me a strange feeling and a sense of not being alone, nothing particularly significant happened. However, here in room 13, on the night of a full moon on the 13th of July, I am convinced I’ll see, hear or feel something, and this will be my account.
Right now it’s 10:30PM. I’m here with four children who are playing a dice game “Zilch” and are gambling with an assortment of candy. I keep smelling cigarette smoke and that’s odd because if I detect the smell, I avoid it like the plague. There’s also a very interesting breeze on my shoulders-it doesn’t feel like the air conditioner because it only seems to be hitting my neck.
I set my alarm for 2:55, so I was out in the halls by 3AM. It was oppressively hot in the room and surprisingly drafty in the halls. I started my vigil by sitting between rooms 12 and 13, and I heard little creaking sounds, as though someone were in room 12. But I glanced in and there was no one-the bed wasn’t even made. Eventually, I moved to the uppermost stair landing and then I heard more creaking sounds. I slowly made my way down to the lobby. Sitting on the stair landing and looking into the lobby was a weird experience. The wind was blowing outside and so there were shadows everywhere-on the carpet (shadows from the moving flags outside) - and reflected in the mirrors. Suddenly, I heard music-listening with attentive ear, I noticed it was “Fur Elise”. I ventured down into the lobby & realized it was a CD player left on. I sat down there, mesmerized by the moving shadows in every direction and also aware of how chilly it was! I didn’t feel scared, but I didn’t feel alone, either. After sitting there awhile, I returned upstairs to my spot between rooms 12 and 13. It was breezy, and I heard footsteps overhead (I was already on the top floor). And, many times, it felt like the doors were opening around me and that a face would appear any moment.
I wish I had more scientific equipment with me to read temperatures changes, electro magnetic changes and to detect sounds. While sitting in the hall upstairs, I heard the sound of a squeaky door and then I heard voices. But as I moved down the hall, I realized there was a truck outside loading things, and maybe the driver was talking to the person helping him unload?? Interesting visit, in any case.
Finally this morning, I noticed that a candle was missing on the table outside our door. My son asked the cleaning lady, and she said she’d moved it. So much for the ghost arranging furniture----maybe!
