Palmer House Hotel, Restaurant & Pub

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Where Stories Begin and Writer's are Born...  Every story deserves to be told. This is the perfect event for new authors and seasoned veterans. A weekend to inspire, enlighten, and help you tell the story that's been waiting to be read.  Special guests include: Jeff Belanger, Richard Estep, Varla Ventura, Amy Glaser, and Kat Neff.  Check out more about our guest line-up and schedule: https://www.darknessradio.com/writers-weekend-lineup-schedule

Authors, editors, and publishers are coming together to help you take the next step in your journey.
Whether you are dealing with writer’s block, rejections, insecurity, or just not sure how to begin or even how to break out of your comfort zone and try to write in different genres, this weekend retreat has it all.
Real authors, sharing real ideas and insights, and advice from real publishing houses on how to get seen and noticed.

ALL at the historic Palmer House Hotel!    Rooms are 1st come - 1st served. Reserve your room for Friday & Saturday night - get Thursday night free!  Hotel Reservations are not included in the ticket price. That is separate from the event tickets.

Tickets for this unique event are $239.
https://www.darknessradio.com/The Writer's Retreat Weekend

Join Adam Berry for a Boo-tique Adventure retreat weekend at the famous Palmer House in Sauk Centre, MN. Featuring NEW owner Dave Schrader, along with Kevin Swanson (Paranormal Tech), and an "add-on" ticket Gallery reading with psychic medium DeEtte Ranae.

A Boo-tique Adventure You Don’t Just Attend… You’re Part Of. Join Adam Berry, new Palmer House owner Dave Schrader, and Kevin Swanson (Paranormal Tech) for an intimate haunted weekend at the historic Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre, MN. This is a small, capped event with a limited capacity of just 60 people… for a reason.

What This Event is All About…     This isn’t a convention.      It’s not a lecture series.

It’s a weekend built around being in it together. You’ll spend your time: Talking, not waiting in line. Investigating, not watching. Getting to know people, not navigating a crowd. There’s structure to the weekend, but there’s also space for conversations, for questions, for those moments that tend to happen when things slow down and you’re paying attention.

The Palmer House
The Palmer House Hotel has a long reputation for activity, and its history is noteworthy. The old Sauk Centre House, the town’s first hotel, burned to the ground on June 26, 1900. Then, in 1901, Ralph L. Palmer and Christena J. Palmer built The Palmer House Hotel. Frequently featured on paranormal shows like Ghost Adventures and The Dead Files, it is considered one of Minnesota's most haunted sites. The Palmer House has 19 distinct rooms with private bathrooms. There’s also a café, restaurant, and pub on site!

You won’t be cycling through it with hundreds of people. You’ll be there, in smaller groups, with time to actually sit in a space and see what happens.

Our Boo-tique Weekend
You can arrive early, settle in, and ease into things Thursday night. If you book a room for Friday and Saturday night, THURSDAY night will be included for FREE. Please note rooms are not included in the ticket price. You will get an email after you secure tickets with the PASSWORD to use to book your own rooms. Want to stay longer? Book an extra night on Sunday to rest, relax, and maybe even do a bit more investigation on your own.

Friday starts with a casual check-in and time to meet everyone, followed by a mix of structured activities and something new we’ve been working on. Paranormal Traitors is a live, interactive group “murder mystery type” experience that leans into the psychology of trust, perception, and group dynamics. That night, we head into an experiment-based investigation. Not just walking around in the dark, but trying something a little different—paying attention to how we interpret what we’re experiencing and how that changes when we work together.

Saturday opens things up more. We begin the day with a Gallery Reading with DeEtte Ranae (add-on tix). There’s a group discussion where everyone has a chance to share experiences and perspectives, followed by a talk and Q&A with Adam Berry about fear: what terrifies us the most and why?? Also, how it affects what we think we’re experiencing.

We’ll also spend time preparing for the night’s investigation. Not as a formal class, but as a way to get everyone on the same page with what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we want to approach it.

Saturday night is a full group investigation, broken into smaller teams, with time to actually explore and not feel rushed.

Both nights tend to run late. The conversations after are often just as valuable as anything that happens during the investigation itself.

Reserve Your Spot: $345 ALL IN - Limited to 60 attendees - Your ticket covers the full weekend experience!   

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haunted-palmer-house-hotel-paranormal-weekend-retreat-tickets                                           

Tickets Include (tickets DO NOT include hotel room)

All scheduled programming and group activities     /     Two nights of investigation at the Palmer House Hotel     /     Small-group exploration time         Open discussions and Q&A     /     The space to spend time with the hosts and other attendees in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or staged               There’s also an optional gallery reading with DeEtte Ranae available during the weekend.

Also, a very limited VIP investigation (10 people add on tix) with Adam Berry either on Friday or Saturday. You VIP timeslot will be assigned at check-in.

Full Weekend Experience

This includes everything listed above. Lodging and meals are handled separately through the hotel and local options. Once you book you ticket you will be emailed a secret password to mention when calling the hotel for your reservations.

Capacity: We are limiting this to 60 attendees. That number isn’t random. It’s what allows the weekend to feel the way it’s supposed to feel. Comfortable, conversational, and immersive without being overwhelming. Once those spots are filled, we won’t expand it. Most people who come to something like this aren’t just looking for evidence. They’re looking for the experience of being in a haunted location, late at night, in a place with a history, with a group of people who are paying attention in the same way you are. This weekend is built around. Connection, exploration, expansion of ideas, interactive moments, and memories that will last a life-time.   If it sounds like the kind of weekend you’ve been looking for, we’d love to have you there.

SCHEDULE
Thursday August 13, 2026
Everyone who books a room at the Palmer Hotel on Friday and Saturday nights will receive Thursday night complimentary! Please let the hotel know when you are booking if you are coming in on Thursday. While we don't have any mandatory activities planned this is a great opportunity to arrive a day early, get settled in, and prepare for a wonderful weekend. The cafe, restaurant, and bar will be open AND there will be LIVE music for all to enjoy. We will all be hanging out at the bar, meeting our fellow attendees and getting ready for a fun weekend.

Friday August 14, 2026
2pm - Official check-in - You may have arrived on Thursday or you may be rolling in before two and we are here to check everyone in OFFICIALLY for the weekend's festivities.
3pm - Happy Hour Mixer with Meet and Greet - Join your fellow attendees at the bar for a cocktail and conversation. You will have an opportunity to purchase event merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies, hats, books, totes, and more!
4:30pm - Paranormal Traitors - BRAND NEW!!! You may wish to watch behind your back as this new group murder mystery game unfolds for all of our attendees. I was so inspired by the TV show the Traitors that I worked with a few friends of mine to create a LIVE and interactive version we can call our own. Attendees will be grouped together as either 'poltergeists' (traitors) or 'investigators' (faithfulls). During the game our evil poltergeists will try to turn our investigators into ghosts. But, can our investigators, along with the help of our dearly departed ghosts, be able to sniff out who among them are the poltergeists before it is too late?!? Please note: I know some are shy; you are not required to participate in this fun activity but all are welcome.
7:00pm - Dinner on you own - Enjoy! The restaurant at the Palmer will be open and there are other places around town to have a great meal.
8:00pm - VIP add on investigation with Adam Berry - 10 attendees only
9:00pm - 12am - Ghostly Investigation Experiment: we don't want to give away all the good but this fun and interactive exploration will open your mind to new ideas to help channel your own energy and abilities.
12am - Bar Talk - If you want to go to bed we won't judge. Take this time to hang at the bar and share any of your finding and discuss our fun ghostly experiment. Did you gain any insight into the Palmer Hotel and did others also share in those feelings. Use this time to connect with your fellow attendees, make friends, and embrace the weird. Also, if you are staying at the Palmer House, you can investigate, quietly, for as long as you wish.

Saturday August 15, 2026
11:00am - 1:00pm - ADD ON TICKET $20- Gallery reading with DeEtte Ranae. This add on ticket can be purchased at check-in, during Friday's activities, and before the gallery reading.
1:00pm - Lunch on your own
2:30pm - Round table with the group - We are all in the paranormal for a reason and we may have more in common than we think. This portion of our event is about connecting with each other, sharing our own experiences, and discuss our favorite paranormal topics. We all may have more in common than you think
4:00pm- Adam Berry - What terrifies us the most and why?? Discussion with Q&A
5:00pm - TBA
6:00pm - Investigation Preview and How to - Yes, many of you may know how to investigate ghosts and others may not. This isn't a class but a way to understand the activity at our location before we investigate. Yes, we will learn about the history of the Palmer House and we will also share ideas on possible group experiments, plans of action in specific locations, talk about equipment we want to use, and get excited for our evening.
7:00pm- Dinner on your own
8:00pm - VIP add on investigation with Adam Berry - 10 attendees only
9:00pm - 12am - Group Investigation - We will break off into smaller groups and joined by Dave and Kevin we will break out our equipment and explore the halls and rooms of the Palmer Hotel. This is the time to learn, grow, explore, and use all of the skills we've talked about this weekend to explore the afterlife and those who may still be lingering around.
12am - Bar Talk- Fun hangout to discuss tonight's investigation and experiences. But the night isn't really over. As always, if you are staying at the Palmer House, you can investigate, quietly, for as long as you wish.

Sunday - GOODBYE! The weekends been fun and full of memories! We can't wait to see you all again. No rush to leave- you can always book another night and hang around until Monday!