When I first walked into the Inn, and the doors swung wide open, I jokingly said, “See, I knew it was haunted.” As I walked through the self-opening doors, I was met with an intense feeling of a presence, and I could feel goosebumps run from my head to my toes if you can get goosebumps on your toes. I was unsure who this was, but they wanted me to know; they knew who I was and why I was there. I found that peculiar, but it seemed they knew I was coming. I had a few detailed conversations with the front desk via telephone the same day as my arrival, and they might have been listening in. I spoke with Amanda at the front desk, and it seems that the entities residing or visiting this establishment are comfortable around her.
The entire staff was polite, pleasant and accommodating, and the Inn is spotless and well maintained. The Victorian-style building has an old charm feel and has earned a five-star review with its 43 elegant guest rooms and suites. Many famous people frequented the establishment in their day, including Thomas Edison, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, President William H. Taft, and John D. Rockefeller.
There are several places to find paranormal activity throughout the town, along with the Inn. If you want a ghost-hunting long weekend, this is a wonderful place to visit.
When I went up to room 312 and reached to turn on the light, it blinked twice before I even touched it. Then when I turned it on, it flickered several times as if to say, “We know you are here, and we know you can hear us.” I said to myself, “Yup, I hear you,” as I smiled, knowing this would be one of our best paranormal investigations yet. I could sense this was not their ordinary place to be, nor was it the expected time to be there. I felt honored as if they wanted to be here purposely for my adventure.
My arrival was in the afternoon. Since more activity would happen after sunset and late at night, I walked around with my still camera taking some images where I felt activity. I knew I was being watched, and I also felt as if I was being tested. I don’t ever force anything to come. My saying is, “I get what I get when I get it.” Forcing it for me seems as if maybe I am creating something, and that is the last thing I want to do. I want evidence. My background is as a fraud specialist, and I have compiled data and evidence for law courts. I have the same attitude toward ghost hunting. I either prove it, or I don’t.
Before I get started, I meditate, get in touch with my heart rhythm, and shoot for a hemi-sync type meditation to vibrate on a higher frequency, allowing things to come to me. Nothing comes unless I am thoroughly relaxed. An apparition can stare me in the face when I am stressed, and I will walk right through them. Deep meditation is part of any good ghost hunt.
I don’t investigate the location’s history in advance because I fear the thoughts might come from my knowledge, and my creative mind might be tempted to be influenced, so I go in not knowing anything. This way, I do not assume I am talking to a specific person. A perfect example of this is when I walked down the street to a store and heard the stories of the haunting of the basement; a woman took me to the basement to take pictures and see what I could sense. She said, “I am not going to tell you anything and see what you come up with.” I walked down the stairs, went directly to the presence, and told her where and who they were. I sensed a very dark spirit and a young boy who seemed frightened of me. The young woman said, “Maybe he is afraid of the dark entity and not you.”
“Good point,” I said as I walked back to where I felt furious, hateful energy. The message I received was, go away and leave me alone. The entity led me to believe that if I came back at night, they would be thrilled to engage with me. The young woman from the store told me I went straight to where the entity is known to be and said a little boy was known to be in the building. I was unsure if the entity was human or not and a little frightened but willing to go back at a later hour if they wanted me to. By going in without knowing facts, I test my accuracy and prove to the person that I can connect with the other side, which helps to have their support. Rarely am I wrong.
I learned some things during my investigation and more afterward—several entities are known to stay or come and go at the Inn at Jim Thorpe. A woman on the staff named one of the spirits Madeline. She is known to turn lights and televisions on and off and even blast the TV volume. According to Amanda, who guided me throughout the Inn, she shows herself on occasion and maybe the woman she sees on the front stairs. I sensed this was one of the main apparitions staying full-time at the Inn. Oddly, there have been several suicides at the hotel over several decades. One of those took place in room 104. I, for some reason, have an overwhelming sense of murder here very long ago, which makes me wonder—were they all suicides?
The Inn was built in 1833 and called the Swan Hotel, which later burned to the ground. A firefighter fell to his death while fighting the blaze. They rebuilt the hotel and then named it the New American Hotel. It became The Inn at Jim Thorpe in 1988.
Guests have reported seeing spirit shadows throughout the Inn. We found an abundance of activity in our photography, as have many of the guests over the years. There are reports of objects being mysteriously moved, doors opening and shutting, sounds of children laughing in the hallway when no children are present, sounds of someone crying when no one is near. Also lights going on and off and even mists in pictures that the guests take, just as in ours. Several reports of the smell of cigarette smoke and even chairs being turned upside down.
Amanda had many paranormal experiences working at the hotel for many years. She toured me around, but it was a little early in the evening for activity. Usually, around midnight things would be more active. Amanda worked until ten, so we started a little earlier. She had vast knowledge and spoke of her in-depth experience—some of which intrigued me to no end.
We headed into the basement, where several rooms and a bar were. (see in the images) Amanda opened the door to one of the rooms, and I was blasted with a significant bout of nothingness. It was an eerie nothingness, almost as if there were some meaning behind how profoundly I was hit with this non-feeling. I didn’t say much as we moved on since I felt nothing.
We went through a large room with a pool table, and it was as if something was egging me on to go deeper into the basement. We walked slowly as I took many deep breathes to center myself to be more receptive to communication with the other side. I had an eerie sense as we entered the bar area. We were only in the room for a few minutes, and we both heard several knocks as if they were saying, here we are.
“You heard that too?” I questioned to be sure, and of course, Amanda said yes since it was quite apparent. We walked over to the bar in the corner of the room where I believed the noise came from. I was drawn to that area of the room. I sensed a slightly heavy-set man sitting at the corner of the bar drinking. When I put my infrared camera on, the camera would not record. I watched through the viewfinder and tried to get the camera to work. The image in the viewfinder shook at the right bottom. It appeared as if many different circles were flashing on and off, shimmering for about two to three seconds. It looked like tinsel on a Christmas tree glistening only in small circular form. I asked Amanda if she saw it happen, but unfortunately, she did not, and the camera was not recording; it was malfunctioning. This activity was clear evidence of energy or apparition in this corner of the room sitting at the bar.
I took some still images where I felt the presence, and you can see the two orb-type circles in the pictures. They moved from one shot to the next. I knew who this entity was, but I feared insulting my guide because I had already mentioned heavy drinking in connection to this apparition in our conversation. Still, I knew this was someone who was there to watch over her, and he stays here often. I explained to Amanda that the presence was a very heavy drinker, which was why he liked sitting in the bar area. After I said that, the entity revealed to me that he was Amanda’s father. Not to insult my new friend, I did not mention it; at that moment, I spoke of the apparition being an alcoholic, so I saved that conversation for later.
I believe Amanda is also sensitive and is very much in tune with her sixth sense; hence the apparitions show themselves to her. You also have to be sensitive to see or feel them when they do, and Amanda has this gift. It might not be a gift when she goes into the maintenance room. (see images) There is dark energy in this room, and it is something to fear—it often makes Amanda very uneasy. I got the impression she did not like to go into this area. I felt the dark energy, and it had me on edge, which doesn’t happen too often.
We walked upstairs to the restaurant, and I felt a presence appear. I asked if an employee passed who worked at the hotel. I sensed that she came once in a while to watch over things and my guide. Amanda advised me that a woman who did work there passed and described her with dark hair. I also saw her at some time having blonde hair, although she was a brunette. Sometimes I read two people at once, or I see them when they were younger, so the appearances can be slightly different. We spoke about Lin, who worked at the hotel and had passed. Amanda explained the story as I felt her presence. Lin only comes on occasion and is not one of the leading spirits who reside at the hotel. She is not stuck, nor is she unhappy. She comes from a peaceful place and only visits for a short time to ensure all is okay at the Inn at Jim Thorpe.
Amanda and I chatted for a bit, and her father came up in conversation. I gently mentioned that the man in the basement drinking was her father. I did not want to insult her since I had mentioned a drinking problem. Amanda said it could be very well since he drank heavily when he was alive. She showed me a picture of him, and the instant I saw it, I knew the man in the corner downstairs was him—there was no doubt in my mind.
We trekked to the outside rear of the Inn, which is adjacent to the courthouse. Something was happening at that building, and my mind went to a place where there was a more significant tragedy at the spot we were standing. It was of a grand scale and seemed to be many decades ago. I could not pinpoint it, but it was a huge event. Something of a grand scale happened here at some point in history. I questioned if there were Indians in the area before the hotel was built. Could we possibly be standing on an Indian grave? I was not sure. I hope to go back to figure this out. We started to head back to the front of the Inn.
Amanda stopped and looked at me and said, “Something just tapped me on the back.”
“They want our attention. How did they tap you?” I asked as I turned around, and she took a few fingers and tapped twice above my shoulder blade. On the second tap, chills ran through my body, which is validation that I am on to something, or I should say, “we were on to something.” Because Amanda is also very much in tune with her innate abilities, the apparitions are pretty aware of this; they like to show themselves to her. The ones who want acknowledgment that is.
If you look in the image outside the building above, you will see something green floating in the picture. This spot is where Amanda and I stopped after the entity tapped her on the back.
THE WOMAN ON THE STAIRS
Amanda told me a story of “the woman on the stairs.” There had been someone there investigating like we were in the past and created what she called a “spoof.” She believed the story was an exaggeration and not accurate. One night she was outside smoking, and inside, they were playing the video on the computer at the main desk; when the apparition on the stairs said, “Turn that thing off!” Whoever this entity was, was not impressed with how the story was portrayed. I could not get a positive, clear sense of who this woman was. Amanda is uncertain but suspects she is possibly Madelyn, an entity that regularly roams the hotel.
The woman on the stairs communicated with Amanda several times; one other time, she said, “Turn it off,” and when Amanda said no, she said, “Turn it off now, or I won’t sit on the stairs anymore.”
There has been activity outside of the Inn on occasion. When Amanda left at night while sitting in her car several times, she saw a man out of the corner of her eye. At first, she thought it was a human but soon realized he was a spirit. Her co-worker Melinda has also seen the same spirit outside of the hotel.
Room 104
I was told of the activity in room 104 and ventured down the hallway by myself. At this point, my infrared video camera came back to life and started recording. I walked through the hallway near room 104, and I heard a male voice and two syllables. The voice seemed to have a Hispanic accent, or I sensed a Hispanic male. It was very loud, and I was happy I got it on tape since the camera finally started working now that we were out of the basement. I quickly exited the area a little spooked and was looking forward to reviewing the video once I got home. When I got home, the sd card was corrupted. Spirits often interfere with recording equipment.
There was a lot of activity on this night for being earlier in the evening. I hope to return and spend more time with Amanda and try to figure out what happened in the rear of the building, was there a murder here many, many years ago and who the lady on the stairs is. I will also explore the rest of the town and possibly even run a ghost hunting photography weekend if they allow it. How much fun would that be?
Guest Experiences
Another great stay at The Inn!
KaLovesToTravel49
Another great stay at The Inn!
"This is my 5th time back and it was the best stay yet! The room was impeccably clean {I called ahead and requested it to be so}, Beds were very comfortable, 4 pillows which I love, clean bathroom with new shower curtain, coffee maker & microwave. I requested a mini fridge and they had it there for myself and my friend.
I was in 217 which is one of the smaller rooms but big enough for 2 GF’s to be comfortable. We did have a spirit visitation which was scary but fun after it was all over with! There was lots of activity at the Inn and elsewhere in the town that weekend.
Shout out to Linda who got us the 2nd night stay when it was booked for weeks. She went above and beyond her duty when the others told me to call back and check fr cancellations. Loved the 2nd floor balcony to people watch and relax!"
Email - Ghost Story
Piano Notes
We checked into room 317 Thursday around 4 pm before our night on the town we relaxed a bit in the living room are where both my spouse and I heard a single piano keynote and other in the evening we heard the same piano keynote again but from a different area of the living room then the next preparing for check out again the same. Also, on our night’s stay we were relaxing in bed we heard a knock near our bed. We were both amused more than anything and welcomed our visitor.
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