Haunted Hotels in Arkansas

Built in 1886 by the Eureka Springs Improvement Company and the Frisco Railroad the Crescent Hotel was, at that time, the most luxurious resort in the Midwest. The cost of the building was $294,000, a virtual fortune in that age.

During it Victorian heyday the Crescent offered all the amenities of privileged class. There were tea dances in the afternoon and night parties with an in-house orchestra. The guests were offered picnics on the spacious grounds, hiking and streetcar rides through downtown. A large coach, known as the Tally Ho, took guests on outdoor excursions and a stable of one hundred horses was kept for early morning riders to canter around twenty-seven acres of remote mountain trails.

People were drawn to the Eureka Springs area and the Crescent to drink and bathe in the magical healing water that flowed from spring-fed streams into rock basins. The believed the water cured them of all ills, internal and external.

All too soon those romantic, idle years were gone and the Crescent fell upon hard times. The public quit believing in miracle water. In the fall of 1908 the building was opened as a woman's college but guests were still welcomed during the summer months. The Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women closed in 1924. The hotel was abandoned until 1930 when it was opened a junior college. That lasted until 1934. In 1937, Norman Baker, bought the old Crescent Hotel and opened a cancer hospital. He called his facility the 'Castle in the Sky' and claimed any cancer sufferer coming to him would leave completely cancer free. It was learned, however, that Dr. Baker was not a physician at all and had been convicted for practicing medicine without a license.

Federal authorities began an investigation of the Baker Hospital and claimed it to be a fraud. Baker was arrested for mail fraud and sentenced to four years in Leavenworth. It was reputed that Baker didn't heal any of his patients but in fact hastened their death.

It wasn't until 1946 the the Crescent became a hotel again. It flourished for a while then in 1967 a fire swept through the fourth floor and nearly destroyed the entire building. Today, the Crescent has been completely restored and once again enjoys the reputation of being a unique turn-of-the-century Victorian experience.

Some people that work in and visit the Crescent claim to 'see' its ghosts of which there are several. One of the oldest is a young Irishman named Michael who worked as a stone mason on the original building. He lost his footing on the roof and fell to the second floor to his death. Room 218 is where he is said to visit. He is a sprightly ghost who enjoys upsetting the guests with his tricks, like knocking loudly on the walls. One guest left 218 in hysterics during the night when they reported seeing blood splattered on the wall.

A nurse, dressed in traditional white, frequents the third floor. She pushes a gurney along the hall toward the area that was once Dr. Baker's morgue. Guests have claimed to have seen the doctor himself standing at the foot of the front stairway. He appears confused and is dressed in a white linen suit. When the old switchboard was still intact the operators would frequently get 'calls' from the basement area that was no longer in use. That was Baker's consultation room. Some of the ghosts even speak. Theodora, as she calls herself, occasionally talks to housekeepers near Room 419. She states that she has cancer. The Crystal Ballroom is the scene of many nightly ghostly figures. Most are dressed in formal attire and seem to be dancing. One gentleman is waiting by the window and tells the wait staff that he met a beautiful woman who never returned. A gentleman in Victorian dress sometimes crosses the main lobby. A waitress in the Crystal Ballroom encountered a bride and groom one evening. She said the groom looked directly at her before he disappeared. There is a small boy often playing in the kitchen and a young woman, from the college days, screams as she did when she jumped from the upper balcony. Near rooms 202 and 424 a ghostly butler carries a tray of butter down the hallway.

Sources:
The Crescent Hotel and Spa at http://www.crescent-hotel.com/
America's Most Haunted Hotel at http://www.americasmosthauntedhotel.com/