Haunted Bed and Breakfast

History of Center Street Suites Bed and Breakfast

Mt. Vernon, Missouri     

     The property now known as Center Street Suites Bed and Breakfast has a long history of ownership. Record of the property first appears in Lawrence County Probate Court records in 1840 when the land was given to Judge Wad H. Stroud as part of his pay. The property was sold several times until 1930 when Ruth and Dr. Hal D. Fossett bought the property. It then became the site of the Fossett Funeral Home.

     The Fossetts and their son, Max, lived in part of the home while using the other for the business. Dr. Fossett prepared the bodies for burial in the basement. During the funeral, the body was displayed in the hallway beneath the Victorian staircases. In 1941, Max joined his father in the family business.

     In 1951, both Ruth and Hal D. Fossett filed for a divorce. Ruth claimed Hal was insane. Hal claimed his wife had tried to poison him on several occasions. After a lengthy trial, the court dismissed the petition, giving neither party a divorce. The bitter trial led to the break up of the father and son relationship. In 1951, Max left the family business and opened his own funeral home one block away on West Cherry Street. Dr. Fosset died in 1966, and the property was sold in 1968.

     The property changed hands several more times. It was opened as Center Street Suites Bed and Breakfast in 2009 by the present owner, Alice Phillips.

The Haunting of Center Street Suites 

Picture taken during haunted tour of the establishment in 2014. The picture was taken in the attic by one of the participants. Notice ghost-like figure of a young girl over the shoulder of the blond young woman and orbs overhead.

     Alice Phillips (owner) has received chilling accounts of explainable events and occurrences from people who have lived in the house or visited the bed and breakfast.

Throughout House

·       People have heard a man and woman fighting. The woman is crying.

·       A tobacco scent of some sort, like a sweet pipe tobacco, has been smelled. People often hear knocking late at night.

Colonial Room (once used as a children’s toy room now a downstairs suite)

·       A young girl that had died of polio in the early 1900's has been seen in the room as a ghostlike figure.

Staircase

·       A figure of a woman has been seen with a Victorian style dress and light brown/blondish hair standing on the steps of the staircase. The woman does not appear as a ghost like figure. She appears as a whole person. The color and material of her clothing, shoes, and hair are clearly visible. 

·       A soldier in full dress has been seen standing at the foot of the stairs.

·       Many people have witnessed the two antique wooden rockers, one shaped like a train and one shaped like an airplane, rocking in full momentum on their own as if someone was riding them. 

Rose Suite

·       Several guests have heard light footsteps overhead in the attic.

·       Some guests report hearing faint music playing.

Royal Suite

·       The manager of the suites has had the bedroom door automatically close behind her.

·       She has also found the TV remote and guide in the center of the bedroom floor.

Princess Suite

·       Guests have reported being awakened late at night by knocking at their suite door.

Attic        

·       People have heard things falling in the attic and yet nothing is found. 

·       Neighbors have reported seeing a ghost-like figure staring out of the attic window.

·       Neighbors have reported seeing a soft-glowing sphere in the attic window.

Basement

·       Sometimes, even though the door to the basement has been UNLOCKED, people are not able to open the door. 

·       Voices muttering have been heard coming from the basement.

Carriage House

·        The prior owner reported a presence of something in the carriage house. He told Alice Phillips at the closing of escrow that he had spent $40,000.00 upgrading the home, but he felt that the home did not like him, and he had to move.

Historical Cemetery (behind Center Street Bed and Breakfast)

·       Ghost-like figures of soldiers on horses have been seen galloping from the cemetery over into the lower open area of the property; this has been witnessed by the neighbors.

·       White orbs have been seen zipping through the cemetery.

The Historic Elms Hotel & Spa

The Elms

A Haunted Missouri Hotel

     A resent stay at the historic Elms Hotel and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Missouri included an unexpected experience with the paranormal of the third kind.

History of the Historic Hotel

     In the late 1800s, Excelsior Springs was a popular tourist destination for people seeking to take advantage of the healing mineral waters of the springs. The luxurious Elms Hotel was built in 1888 to provide lodging for those who came to the town. Over time, hundreds of those who came to the “healing waters” were never cured and unfortunately died. Two devastating fires destroyed The Elms in 1898 and 1910, but each time it was rebuilt into an even grander hotel. In 2011, the century-old Elms closed and then reopened in 2012 after a massive $20 million renovation to the hotel, spa, restaurant, and grounds.

Famous Guests

     Many famous and infamous guests including politicians and notorious crime figures have soaked in the mineral water baths or soaked up the sun in the lush gardens of the Elms Hotel. In 1948, Harry S. Truman spent election night at the hotel. The boxer Jack Dempsey used the facilities as a training camp. The Elms Hotel was also a favorite playground for gangsters such as Al Capone and “Pretty Boy” Floyd.

Guests Who Never Left

     The Elms Hotel is also famous for the guests who checked in but never left. It is reported that a gambler killed by the mob prowls the lap pool area along with a woman who is looking for her child. A young woman dressed as a maid from the 1920s era is said to walk the halls of the third floor. It is believed by many, the sounds of banging on the pipes in the walls are the ghosts of the staff members who were trapped in the basement of the hotel when it burned in 1910.

Encounter with the Paranormal

     Many visitors and staff at the Elms Hotel have reported paranormal activity from unexplained noises to a fleeting glimpse of one of the spirits. My sister, aunt, niece, and I experienced several unsettling late-night occurrences while staying at the hotel in July of 2015. The four of us agreed we felt an unearthly presence in the hallway on the fifth floor near our rooms 500 and 501. At mid-night on the first night in the hotel, we were startled by a knocking at our door and the door handle slowly moving up-and-down.  When we investigated, no one was at the door or in the dimly lit hallway. Spooked, I quickly called the front desk and reported the incident. I was informed the door handle couldn’t be operated from the outside because of the new card key system. I inquired if anything like this had been reported for room 500 before. The desk clerk hesitated and then answered, “Yes.” She suggested, “Someone wasn’t trying to get into your room, but something was trying to get out!”

     The last night of our stay proved to be the most intriguing. A little after midnight, my niece was awakened by someone sitting down at the foot of her bed. Before she could open her eyes, she felt long slender fingers wrap around her left leg near the ankle.  Immediately, a paralyzing, electrical current pulsed through her body. It didn’t hurt, but set her entire body tingling as if she had been shocked. She could not pull away from the grip on her leg, scream, or call out for help. Eventually she managed to pry open one eye wide enough to see through the lashes. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a glowing women dressed in white. She looked at my niece, removed her hand, and vanished. Staff member from the past . . .  former guest?  The encounter with the “Lady in White” was fascinating. Why she chose my niece, what message she was trying to convey, and her identity remain a mystery.

Haunted Basin Hotel

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

     The Basin Hotel is one of Arkansas’s real haunted hotels. The hotel has long been the source of eerie tales, unusual happenings, and many ghostly hauntings.  According to town history, by 1880 an elegant, four-story hotel known as the Perry House was built on the site of the healing spring which gives Eureka its name. Eureka Springs grew rapidly because of the water. The healing waters attracted the rich and those looking to get rich. Gambling, drinking, and prostitution were popular activities available at the seventeen saloons in operation. Many notorious outlaws were drawn to the boomtown including Frank and Jessie James, the Younger bothers, Belle Starr, and members of the Dalton Gang.

     Like most other buildings in Eureka at that time, the Perry House was built completely out of wood. In 1890, it fell victim to one of the four fires that completely leveled Eureka Springs. William Duncan built the Basin Park Hotel from local limestone in 1905 on the site of the old Perry House. Duncan died in 1907, but it’s believed that he continues to roam the halls of the Basin Hotel in a brown suit and derby.

     Besides William Duncan, there are legends about visitors who checked into the hotel, but who also never really left. Patrons in rooms 307, 308, and 310 repeatedly report sightings and encounters with a young translucent woman with steel blue eyes and cotton candy blonde hair; a little girl with braided hair in a yellow dress; and man in a cowboy hat and duster, with a six shooter strapped to his hip. Stories involving floating orbs, moving objects, and late night shouts of “Fire!” are frequently reported to hotel management.

          Blood Moon, to be published in 2016, is a fictionalized account of the mysterious and unexplainable events we experienced during our recent stay at the Basin. In writing our story, we tired to stay true to the history of the area and the hotel. We focused on facts and true incidents that have occurred at the establishment. We personally look forward to revisiting the Basin Park Hotel in the future and investigating further the spirits of the paranormal kind.

Vampires vs. Werewolves

Favorite Quotes from Wolf Stone

by

Members of the Black Widow Society

     "Have you noticed that werewolves have great abs?" Angel asked remembering the werewolf standing naked in the   demolished doorway of the train.

     Financially embarrassed after her big losses at the Chinook Casino, Raven focused on the hidden cost associated with werewolves. "You'd have to take up coupon clipping to afford the tick and flea powder for their shaggy asses."

     Consider this, urged Jaylyn, digging her toes deeper into the sand, "Try taking a vampire to a restaurant. There's nothing they can order off the menu."

     "Yeah, they're worse than vegetarians," Angel spat.

     Mona didn't hesitate, "The vamps win hands down! Dark hair, magnetic eyes, and prefect bodies; vampires are sexy!"

     Raven shivered and said, "I don't care how "hot" a vampire is; he's still a walking corpse!"

Paranormal Fiction

Popularity of Paranormal Fiction

The demand for entertaining paranormal novels has skyrocketed. Fans of this genre have an unquenchable thirst for vampires, werewolves, and other worldly creatures that prowl the dark side. They crave realistic-fiction that is laced with romance, erotica, and humor. They enjoy an adventure with mystery and magic where battles are fought between humans and beasts of the night. The Sookie Stachouse vampire series by Charlaine Harris and The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice are two examples of our favorite paranormal novels. 

Dark Side Series

CC Brown has crafted two edgy paranormal novels in the Dark Side Series with a third on the way. The stories are set in the real world, the world as we know it…with a small twist; creatures that go bump in the night. The trilogy takes the reader on an action-packed journey filled with dark secrets, night creatures, and electrifying passions as good battles evil.

Book #1 in Dark Side Series

     Black Widow Society

The sacred relic of the undead... the Vampire Bible has fallen into the hands of a paranormal-artifact dealer, Koleen O’Brien. An eBay bid and an annual vacation lead Koleen and her five friends to San Antonio to deliver the book to a wealthy Texan. They are clueless to the fact that a pack of blood-thirsty vampires are stalking them to reclaim the Bible. Immortals meet their match as they discover that these women aren't typical mortals; they're members of the Black Widow Society! Black Widow Society is available at amazon.com.