Overview
Say the word Georgetown and many paranormal enthusiasts and horror hounds are quick to respond with “where The Exorcist film took place.” By a rather large margin, they’d be correct in this factual assertion. However, there is another Georgetown approximately 2,708 miles away sitting in the middle of California. It is precisely in Georgetown, California where the eerie Georgetown Hotel and Saloon is located and it is most definitely haunted.
Is the Georgetown Hotel Haunted?
El Dorado County is home to Georgetown which was originally founded in 1849 by a wealthy prospector named George Phipps. At the time, this area was a burgeoning gold miner’s dream as chunks of it were being pulled from local mines. Naturally, to keep up with the flow of prospectors the Georgetown Hotel and Saloon was eventually built in 1852. Details on original owners and builders haven’t survived the ages and this was reinforced by the hotel suffering two devastating fires with one in 1856 and the other in 1896. One such casualty not of the fires was said to be that of a prostitute with the name of Myrna. She was a regular at the hotel’s saloon looking for prospectors who were down on their luck from not finding any gold. One night she was caught between two brawling clients and fell from the hotel’s second-floor window to her death in a freak accident. Myrna may have been buried long ago, but is she responsible for the paranormal activity at the Georgetown?
One of the more fascinating aspects of the Georgetown Hotel is that the decor is still best preserved over these many decades. Wood trim, flooring, and certain antiques are wholly original to the time period of the saloon’s heyday. With simple lighting fixtures, there’s a natural dimness to the hallways and rooms which of course is a great contrast to the presence of light orbs! Orbs have been seen in rooms all throughout the hotel, and from guest reviews, they’re not in any malicious red or solid black colors. Aside from light orbs, rooms number five and nine are both believe to be haunted by the spirit of Myrna.
Guests have reported seeing the faint apparition of a frail-looking woman, in period piece clothing, who looks to be in great distress. There have been any negative reports of her ghostly spirit being malicious or violent, but with a sighting she brings about a ghost of cold air to the room area. Another sort of activity comes up in the form of EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) where people have either purposely or inadvertently caught a disembodied woman’s voice on tape. The responses that have come across include, “yes”, “help”, “hey you pssst” and the mysterious name of “Lulu.”
Today the antiquated and popular Georgetown Hotel and Saloon operates on the town’s main street area and is a fixture for tourists and locals who come in to enjoy a cold drink at the bar, some hearty southwestern cuisine, and a possible sighting of Myrna in their room!
I’ve been to the Georgetown Hotel dozens of times. It’s a favorite stop for motorcyclists riding the twisties on hyw 49. I’ve heard the story of the prostitute who fell to her death, but the story I heard was a jealous man had pushed her off the front balcony. She apparently haunts room #5. After hearing that room #5 was also the most haunted room in the hotel, of course I had to stay the night. It was a birthday gift from my wife (who actually does not share my love for the paranormal. We’ve had things follow us home from our trips, but that’s a different story). We rode my motorcycle there and hung out with locals through the evening at a bar down the road. We settled in, made drinks and sat out on the balcony until my wife could no longer stay awake. She went to bed (with the lights on) as I walked through the halls and again, sat on the balcony to smoke a cigar.. and drink. It was late and very quiet. Come on, man… something’s gotta happen! No luck. I did one last walk through the hotel and went to our room. Very uneventful night, if you don’t count getting drunk with the locals. We left the next morning with no ghost story to tell. But growing up in haunted houses, I knew ghosts don’t regularly show themselves, but I’m glad we gave it a shot. Very rustic/quaint hotel the saloon is nice. In the dining area, there is a painting that (supposedly) shows an image of a ghostly “cowboy.” The image wasn’t there until after one of the fires. I don’t know if I believe that story, but you can see a dark silhouette in the painting. If you’re in Georgetown, the hotel is worth seeing. Mainly because there isn’t much else to see in the town.