Haunted Hotels & Hotel Ghost Encounters (IHTM)

[blessmycottonsocks]

Bit long this one -sorry bout that.

Recent hotel stay in the Algarve. Because of flight and transfer delays we didn’t get to the hotel until almost 1am – by the time we went through the check in process at the hotel desk, we didn’t get into our room until around 1.30am, but I wasn’t going to be miffed about it as we received a free upgrade from a 2-bed apartment to a 3 bed one.

Anyway, the hotel bar area closes at midnight, so in order to “come down” I sat up into the wee small hours having a few beers on the balcony, while everyone else went to bed. Little noises kept coming from the kitchen area, I’d go and look and the noises would stop, went back out to the balcony and my beer can had completely disappeared. Searched high and low for it but it was nowhere to be found – had to get a fresh one from the fridge. Went back to the balcony, and I kept on hearing people talking, again from the kitchen area – went to look, and nobody there.

I then decided that I must be tired and hearing things (see my creepy insomnia post) and went to bed.

Nothing to note the following day / night, nor the next one. On the afternoon of day 3 of the holiday, my daughter and her boyfriend announced that they were going up to the apartment from an afternoon nap, (yeah right) but came back down to the pool area again after only 30 minutes saying that they could hear people walking around inside of the apartment, people speaking in Portuguese coming from the kitchen, and internal doors opening and closing. I told them that the noises must be coming from the apartment below, but they both shook their heads and said the noises definitely came from inside of our apartment.

Things kept on going missing and didn’t show back up again, including the apartment door keys, which I religiously kept in the inside of the main door. Again searched high and low and they couldn’t be found, so Mrs DT went to reception to ask for a replica key, and although she said that the hotel manager was polite and friendly, something was “off” about him, and he was acting shifty and wouldn’t look her in the eyes, like he knew something she didn’t.

On the day we checked out, I thanked the manager for the upgrade but did say the apartment was a bit odd and had anything happened in there, and all I got in reply was laughter and “of course not Sir”.

Thinking about it though, in the height of summer and the hotel packed to the rafters, why would they give out a free last-minute upgrade, unless there was something about the apartment that was undesirable ..?

You weren't overlooking the beach were you?
When we stayed in Albufeira, we were many floors up but with a balcony overlooking the beach. Into the early hours, people talking on the beach sounded almost like they were in the room with us!

 

[Dick Turpin]

You weren't overlooking the beach were you?
When we stayed in Albufeira, we were many floors up but with a balcony overlooking the beach. Into the early hours, people talking on the beach sounded almost like they were in the room with us!

No Bless. The hotel complex is around 2 miles inland. The pool area closes at 8pm as well and all was quiet.

 

[hunck]

I don't know. When I worked as night porter at The Red Lion Hotel in my home town, the owner of the place didn't want the bad publicity fearing it might put potential guests off. I gave a small investigation crew a couple of hours in there anyway when I knew she wouldn't be about.

I'd prefer not to name the hotel I now work in but the owners there aren't at all squeamish about their place being known in small circles as being haunted. Both hotels were designed and built by the same man in the 1890's. DrPaulLee knows about both locations.

I wonder how figures stack up - whether a haunted reputation would be an overall positive or negative. My feeling is positive, based on no research whatsoever.

Have you experienced any weirdness at your current hotel?

 

[Swifty]

I wonder how figures stack up - whether a haunted reputation would be an overall positive or negative. My feeling is positive, based on no research whatsoever.

Have you experienced any weirdness at your current hotel?

All I've seen is someone walking into the kitchen from the restaurant on our CCTV except when I lifted my head, no one walked in or was in the restaurant. I put that one down to tiredness as well as the other peripheral vision stuff although that one wasn't peripheral. Reflective glass and metal surfaces also lend themselves to playing tricks on the mind on top of tiredness.

The 'vantablack' woman who walked past me directly in front of my vision at The Red Lion was vivid although, again, I was tired and closing the bar down. 'She' was also seen on separate occasions, captured on a phone, shown to me but then accidentally deleted under a minute later by someone then again seen following me upstairs by someone outside the building who asked me about it. She was also mentioned by a medium who told me she was following me around because she thought I was a bellboy from the WW1 era and the medium was unaware of all three previous experiences.

At my current place (hotel), one member of staff in particular reports experiences seeing something similar but it's a man instead. 'He's' the one she says good morning to.

 

[Eyespy]

I think Ibis has nailed this, staff or unofficial guests were camped out on the roof minimising accommodation costs. If there was an external staircase they would had easy access to to top floor facilities when rooms were empty.

Pity really, quite like the idea of flip flop hopping ghosties.

 

[hunck]

I think Ibis has nailed this, staff or unofficial guests were camped out on the roof minimising accommodation costs. If there was an external staircase they would had easy access to to top floor facilities when rooms were empty.

Pity really, quite like the idea of flip flop hopping ghosties.

Doesn’t account for the vanishing beer/keys etc though..

 

[IbisNibs]

Doesn’t account for the vanishing beer/keys etc though..

How's this: Boldest and most agile one gets in through the window, takes the keys and sneaks out. When the coast is clear, uses keys to let whole crafty group in to sample the beer and play pranks with flip flops. Have you never been a teenager before?

 

[hunck]

How's this: Boldest and most agile one gets in through the window, takes the keys and sneaks out. When the coast is clear, uses keys to let whole crafty group in to sample the beer and play pranks with flip flops. Have you never been a teenager before?

I’m liking your perseverance with this theory but I think your timeline is wrong - the beer went missing first, keys & other stuff later. Dick Turpin said he went from the balcony to the kitchen, found nothing there so went back to the balcony & found his beer gone.

Assuming he didn’t go to the toilet or stop to make himself a sandwich whilst in the kitchen, that wouldn’t allow much time for a teenager to jump down from the roof, take his beer & ciimb back on the roof again undetected.

Maybe @Dick Turpin can get back & tells us how long he was away from the balcony.

 

[Dick Turpin]

I’m liking your perseverance with this theory but I think your timeline is wrong - the beer went missing first, keys & other stuff later. Dick Turpin said he went from the balcony to the kitchen, found nothing there so went back to the balcony & found his beer gone.

Assuming he didn’t go to the toilet or stop to make himself a sandwich whilst in the kitchen, that wouldn’t allow much time for a teenager to jump down from the roof, take his beer & ciimb back on the roof again undetected.

Maybe @Dick Turpin can get back & tells us how long he was away from the balcony.

Not long. When I heard the noises going off, I went straight into the kitchen to check it out and nothing, so went straight back to the balcony, and noticed my can of beer had gone astray.

And yes, I did turn the kitchen lights on lol

 

[kesavaross]

And yes, I did turn the kitchen lights on lol

That rules you out of being in the X Files.

 

[IbisNibs]

Assuming he didn’t go to the toilet or stop to make himself a sandwich whilst in the kitchen, that wouldn’t allow much time for a teenager to jump down from the roof, take his beer & ciimb back on the roof again undetected.

Oo! Oo! Hiding in the cupboard! Hiding in the cupboard! The teenager was hiding in the cupboard!

 

[Sgt Girth]

Hey! Don’t rule out aliens…..Creatures from the 17th dimension might fancy a Stella Artois now and again…(other brands of beer are available!!)

 

[hunck]

Oo! Oo! Hiding in the cupboard! Hiding in the cupboard! The teenager was hiding in the cupboard!

Ha ha! Ok you've cracked it.

Next!

 

[Bokononist]

Sorry in advance, this is a long post for only minor weirdness. Last summer we (my girlfriend and I, our four-year-old boy, and my mother) stayed in a place in Burgo de Osma, which is a small town in Soria, about 200km north of Madrid. It's a lovely area, full of castles, monasteries, natural parks, medieval villages etc, and almost unknow to tourists from outside of Spain. Anyway, we stayed in an apartment in a building right in the main square of the town, which was very old, and of which the top floor had been converted into a few tourist apartments. It was a classic, old-style Spanish building with a wide wooden staircase in the middle of the building leading up the each floor. The apartment was refurbished but obviously old, with creaky wooden floorboards and rattly windows that didn't close properly. Some rooms had been reorganised to make it more liveable - the bathroom clearly hadn't always been a bathroom and the main bedroom was connected to another room by double glass doors. This was being used as another bedroom, which was fine for us a I put our 4-year-old boy in it, leaving the doors open so his bed would be almost beside ours.

On the first night I was awoken at about 3am by a really loud bang from right beside me, in the kid's room. I waited a second for him to start crying as he had obviously crashed out of bed, hitting the side table on the way. When he didn't, I jumped up, worried that he might have really hurt himself. Of course, he was fast asleep and nothing was out of order. I checked outside the doors and in the hall, but there was nothing that had fallen or I could see that could have made such a loud noise. It potentially could have come from the outside hall but I looked there and saw or heard nothing, but anyway the sound had been right beside me. I didn't hear anything any other night but I did wake up at around 3am every night with that slightly oppressed feeling you get when you have had an odd or disturbing dream but don't quite remember it. I don't think there's anything odd about that really, the place just felt a bit freaky.

The second or third morning there, my mother and my kid were in the kitchen area, which was an extension of the living room, again obviously part of the refurbishment. My mother heard an old woman say 'hola' right behind her and turned, alarmed, to see who had come into the place. Nobody there. It could easily have been her imagination, but the boy turned around too to see who it was. I guess the sound could have carried from somewhere but the kitchen area itself had no windows and the doors led into a bedroom and the bathroom, plus the voice was right behind her. Also, if it had carried so clearly, we would have expected to hear more of whatever conversation was going on, but there was nothing.

That was about it really, nothing else out of the ordinary happened. Anyway, long post for little reward but there you go.

 

[Dick Turpin]

Another longish tale from me about a hotel room - sorry.

I have literally just got back home from a weekend trip away to the market town of Burton upon Trent. The reason for the weekend excursion to the old brewery town what that Burton Albion hosted a league one home game against the Orient on Saturday, so a trip up the M1 was required. The game ended up a bore draw, but that's football for you.

Anyway, the hotel that we chose to stay in for the weekend could accommodate all four of us in one room, was modern, as was the Beefeater pub adjacent to it. So modern that the last time I was in the area, (which was only 2 years ago I don't think it had been built.

There were four of us on the trip -me, Mrs DT, Junior DT who is 11 and his 11 year old class mate (Stanley).

On the Friday evening we were eating dinner in the Beefeater pub, when my son, went to use the toilet, he came running back to the table less that a minute later saying he will never go into that toilet again. I asked why and he said he saw a black smoke like mass floating in the corner of the toilet. I went to investigate but couldn't see anything amiss, so put it down to his imagination.

Friday night around midnight I was still awake (but only just) and the others were all asleep. Mrs DT and I shared a double bed and the two boys were in singles. Stanley doesn't like the dark, so I left a lamp on for him on the far side of the room. As I was just about to drift off to sleep, I heard someone walk across the room and turn the lamp off. Assuming it was Mrs DT (but thinking it odd that I never felt her get out of bed) I sat up and put my bedside reading lamp on, to tell her that she needs to keep the lamp on for Stanley, but there was no-one there. Mrs DT was out for the count as were both boys. I had to get out of bed and turn the lamp back on myself.

This morning as we were getting ready to go down for breakfast, my son asked me where I went to last night. I replied no where, but he told me that he was woken up in the early hours and could see me standing by the room door, then he said I opened the door and walked out of the room. Well it wasn't me I said. What was I wearing I asked, and he said just a dressing gown - I don't own a dressing gown and due to the mild weather Mrs DT didn't take hers with her on the trip.

Over breakfast, Stanley (who is a very polite, quiet and intelligent boy) told me he saw a figure early this morning standing in the middle of the room. I asked him to describe the figure and I got the impression that what he was trying to describe was that of a medieval monk. I googled an image of a monk on my phone, and he said yeah that looks about right.

Mrs DT booked the hotel / weekend online, and I didn't even know that there was beefeater pub next door to it until we got there. It was only as we were driving home and discussing the weird turn of events that I found out the pub's official name is "the Merry Monk".

Now I'm trying to research online what was on that land in years gone by.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

No shortage of history around those parts @Dick Turpin :

https://fred.eu5.org/history-hunters/burton2.html

Plenty of paranormal goings-on, too:

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/hotspots/burtonontrent.php

 

[Dick Turpin]

No shortage of history around those parts @Dick Turpin :

https://fred.eu5.org/history-hunters/burton2.html

Plenty of paranormal goings-on, too:

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/hotspots/burtonontrent.php

Cheers Paul.

I didn't realise how steeped in history Burton is. It certainly makes for interesting reading.

One of the great things about being a football fan is that I can get to visit parts of the country, that I normally wouldn't even think of visiting.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Cheers Paul.

I didn't realise how steeped in history Burton is. It certainly makes for interesting reading.

One of the great things about being a football fan is that I can get to visit parts of the country, that I normally wouldn't even think of visiting.

My only visit to this area was back in 1994. A spur of the moment trip up from Devon on a Tuesday to see Forest play Hereford in the League Cup (2-1, Collymore scored twice).

Left early enough to visit the Castle but drove back that night. Not a fan of either team but myself as an Exeter City fan and mate who was a genuine Mancunian Man Utd fan fancied watching a top-flight team.

 

[Iris]

On one of the trips to Tasmania with my daughter in Queenstown when I was having dinner at the hotel I felt someone tap my shoulder. When I turned there was noone there.
When I told my daughter later she said she had felt it as well.

 

[Swifty]

Cheers Paul.

I didn't realise how steeped in history Burton is. It certainly makes for interesting reading.

One of the great things about being a football fan is that I can get to visit parts of the country, that I normally wouldn't even think of visiting.

I used to live in Burton on Trent for a while so this is interesting to me thank you.

 

[Floyd]

Now I'm trying to research online what was on that land in years gone by.

Just fields D, certainly for a good while.
There could have once been something there of course, though;

 

[Swifty]

Another longish tale from me about a hotel room - sorry.

I have literally just got back home from a weekend trip away to the market town of Burton upon Trent. The reason for the weekend excursion to the old brewery town what that Burton Albion hosted a league one home game against the Orient on Saturday, so a trip up the M1 was required. The game ended up a bore draw, but that's football for you.

Anyway, the hotel that we chose to stay in for the weekend could accommodate all four of us in one room, was modern, as was the Beefeater pub adjacent to it. So modern that the last time I was in the area, (which was only 2 years ago I don't think it had been built.

There were four of us on the trip -me, Mrs DT, Junior DT who is 11 and his 11 year old class mate (Stanley).

On the Friday evening we were eating dinner in the Beefeater pub, when my son, went to use the toilet, he came running back to the table less that a minute later saying he will never go into that toilet again. I asked why and he said he saw a black smoke like mass floating in the corner of the toilet. I went to investigate but couldn't see anything amiss, so put it down to his imagination.

Friday night around midnight I was still awake (but only just) and the others were all asleep. Mrs DT and I shared a double bed and the two boys were in singles. Stanley doesn't like the dark, so I left a lamp on for him on the far side of the room. As I was just about to drift off to sleep, I heard someone walk across the room and turn the lamp off. Assuming it was Mrs DT (but thinking it odd that I never felt her get out of bed) I sat up and put my bedside reading lamp on, to tell her that she needs to keep the lamp on for Stanley, but there was no-one there. Mrs DT was out for the count as were both boys. I had to get out of bed and turn the lamp back on myself.

This morning as we were getting ready to go down for breakfast, my son asked me where I went to last night. I replied no where, but he told me that he was woken up in the early hours and could see me standing by the room door, then he said I opened the door and walked out of the room. Well it wasn't me I said. What was I wearing I asked, and he said just a dressing gown - I don't own a dressing gown and due to the mild weather Mrs DT didn't take hers with her on the trip.

Over breakfast, Stanley (who is a very polite, quiet and intelligent boy) told me he saw a figure early this morning standing in the middle of the room. I asked him to describe the figure and I got the impression that what he was trying to describe was that of a medieval monk. I googled an image of a monk on my phone, and he said yeah that looks about right.

Mrs DT booked the hotel / weekend online, and I didn't even know that there was beefeater pub next door to it until we got there. It was only as we were driving home and discussing the weird turn of events that I found out the pub's official name is "the Merry Monk".

Now I'm trying to research online what was on that land in years gone by.

Now I re read this thread, I think the old hospital used to be there from memory but I could be wrong.

edit: a history of old Burton hospital stuff: (what was the name of the street your hotel was on?)

http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/amenities/burtonhospital

 

[Dick Turpin]

Now I re read this thread, I think the old hospital used to be there from memory but I could be wrong.

edit: a history of old Burton hospital stuff: (what was the name of the street your hotel was on?)

http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/amenities/burtonhospital

Sorry for the no reply Swifty.

It's a modern development called Mercia park, on the A5121.

Hope that helps yer mate..

 

[Swifty]

Sorry for the no reply Swifty.

It's a modern development called Mercia park, on the A5121.

Hope that helps yer mate..

It's been about 25 years since I've lived in that area but I remember the old hospital was: .. leave the A38, drive over the bridge then you could take a left through the new redbrick estate which is where the old hospital used to be .. there were some people claiming their new homes were haunted that were built on the grounds of the old hospital at the time. Maybe search The Burton Mail archives and you might find some anecdotes?. Was the Beefeater on Duke Street?.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_upon_Trent_Infirmary

 

[Floyd]

It's been about 25 years since I've lived in that area but I remember the old hospital was: .. leave the A38, drive over the bridge then you could take a left through the new redbrick estate which is where the old hospital used to be .. there were some people claiming their new homes were haunted that were built on the grounds of the old hospital at the time. Maybe search The Burton Mail archives and you might find some anecdotes?. Was the Beefeater on Duke Street?.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_upon_Trent_Infirmary

See map;
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...host-encounters-ihtm.3117/page-7#post-2303896

 

[Swifty]

See map;
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...host-encounters-ihtm.3117/page-7#post-2303896

Thanks Sherbs and I might be completely wrong but I've got a memory of you'd drive down the Branston road, take a left before you got into Burton on Trent town then drive into what became a red brick industrial estate. The largest white building seen in that image manufactured Pirelli tyres, the red spot in that image became a drive through McDonalds. I remember that because I was giving a girl/co worker who was a friend driving lessons there one night using my car and she managed to hit a lamp post and knock it down then we did a runner after I'd calmed her down. Anyway, I think the old demolished hospital was on the left hand side on that road. That's where the new housing development was built about opposite other side of the road to that red spot. She paid to get my car fixed and we never got caught for the lamp post so I know that area pretty well.

 

[Dick Turpin]

As a new year treat, I took Mrs DT for a new year’s weakened away to an ancient inn, in rural Suffolk. I tried to book the Crown inn, in Bildeston, which is a well-known haunted pub, but they were fully booked, so we booked into a 15th Century inn a few miles away. I googled the inns name and history, and no ghostly tales were to be found, I thought okay never mind (well not every ancient inn has to have ghosts do they .)

However, at the hotel and right outside our room, I noticed a small glass display cabinet. The cabinet was empty save for a curios looking thing sitting on the middle shelf. I opened the cabinet and took the object out and discovered it was a small set of binoculars. On looking through them I discovered they were infra-red. It was quite spooky looking up into a darkened hallway in a very old building with those infra-red glasses on. I assumed they were for guests who were caught short during the night and had to nip out to use the bathroom (no ensuite bathrooms you see).

Couple of hours later, I’m sitting at the bar chatting to the barmaid and I’m asking her about the history of the place, and jokingly asked her that as the building was so old, was it haunted..? - all I got in return was a smile and the words “no comment”.

Later that evening, we went off to do a bit of exploring on the upper floor of the pub. We came across a door in a secluded part of a corridor. It couldn’t be a bedroom as the door had no number on it, so I assumed it was a bathroom or toilet, I tried the door handle and it opened and discovered that behind the doorway a set of stairs leading up to the pub’s attic, although it didn’t look as if it ever used. There was no light switch, so I shone my mobile phone up the stairs, but couldn’t see much, so closed the door again, but from what we could see stairwell was undecorated – it must be used for storage I thought.

The next morning the barmaid who has served us the previous afternoon was serving breakfast, and I asked her about the door. Her eyes widened and she asked me to stay away from that part of the pub. I told her that I had opened the door as it was unlocked, and she looked worried. Did you go up the stairs she then asked me, no was my reply as it was too dark, and we couldn’t see a light switch anywhere. She looked relieved when I said that. I’ll tell the caretaker to lock it right now she said. Served us our food and rushed off to obviously to speak to someone about getting that door locked.

Wonder what they were hiding up there…?

In any case as the hotel was in Suffolk, it reminded me very much of the short MR James story “Rats”

 

[IbisNibs]

The stairs could have been a safety hazard, and therefore by being accessible could be a potential insurance or regulation violation. Lovely spooky story. Your tale would make the start of a wonderfully spooky movie.

 

[Dick Turpin]

The stairs could have been a safety hazard, and therefore by being accessible could be a potential insurance or regulation violation. Lovely spooky story. Your tale would make the start of a wonderfully spooky movie.

Good point @IbisNibs and actually I could get closure on this story.

The barmaid in question was a young girl of around 25 years of age - pleasant and chatty, and over our 3-night stay Mrs DT and the young barmaid became quite friendly with each other. She explained that she was finding it hard to make ends meet at the moment, as she had a 2-year-old boy at home and the father of the little boy is a pot smoking recluse who doesn’t work.

Money is tight she said, and Christmas was tough with hardly anything for the little boy to open on Christmas morning. Mrs DT told her that we had dozens of our son’s old toys at home stored in the garage, and that she was welcome to them for free. Also, we have several suitcases of clothes that would be suitable for a 2 year. All of them brand new and some unworn with the labels still on, and she was welcome to them as well.

Bless her, she got a little misty eyed when we told her that. So, this weekend we shall have a clear out of clothes and toys, and the following weekend take them all to the town where she lives (a 40-minute drive from where we are, but I don’t mind) and drop everything off.

I shall ask her about the secret staircase, and is it for safety reasons that she was worried about me going up those stairs.

Keep you informed.

 

[SimonBurchell]

I had a strange night last night, I don't know if it was a ghost but it was odd. I've been hiking in the West Country, and yesterday I hiked across bleak, frozen Exmoor, out of Exford, across Tarr Steps, and down into north Devon. I had booked a night in an inn in a small village. The inn, unexpectedly, did not have the rooms actually in the pub, but in new-build cabins/bungalows out back. My room was very nice, fantastic in fact. The cabin/bungalow has a little lobby, then two doors to two different suites - so two sets of guests can potentially be in the one building.

I had dinner in the pub at about 7pm, then headed back to my room... I had asked for an early 7.30am breakfast, so planned to be up at 6am to get all my hiking gear in order, I therefore hit the sack by 9pm to be properly rested.

First, I was well asleep. I am a light sleeper so odd sounds will tend to wake me. I was jolted awake by the sound of something sliding/dragging in my room, followed by a clunk. It sounded very close. I wondered if rats were in the room and were up to mischief, checked my gear (all in order, nothing out of place) and listened out for more sounds... there were only clicks and slight bumps that were attributable to the thermostat/radiators. After a while I fell asleep again.

I was awoken by the sound of a key into the shared lobby, and voices of a man and woman talking, as if they were coming in from a late night out. Damn, I thought, I don't have the building to myself. They carried on talking, although I could not distinguish what was being said, and I heard a key in the other suite door, and heard them entering the room next to mine. I fell asleep again.

At 6am my alarm went off, and I got all my kit together, very conscious that the noise I was making might disturb my neighbours, then had 15 minutes or so before breakfast. I found out what the first sound that woke me up was by a little experimentation. The shower unit was spacious, allowing a straight sliding door rather than a folding door. I had discovered when I showered that the door would not stay open, there was a slight slope, so the door would slide shut if left open. By sliding the door open and closed, the sound that first woke me up was of the shower door being deliberately slid shut and firmly closed, over about 4-5 seconds. If left to shut on it's own, it did not make the sound I heard. I had shut the door myself to keep as much if the humidity trapped as possible, and it was shut when I went to bed. It was still shut when I got up in the morning.

When I went to breakfast, I cast a glance at the window of the neighbouring suite. To my utter surprise, the curtains were fully open and I could see the double bed inside... perfectly made up, with towels neatly folded in triangles exactly as my room had been when I entered. No-one had been in the other suite at all.

It's giving me goosebumps just thinking about it. A very puzzling night indeed.