Listing

Newbury Township, Ohio is a half hour drive east from the city of Cleveland. This small and rural hamlet contains some of the more amazing small town scenes that could only be imagined in the mind of Norman Rockwell. To the center of this sleepy little community lies the Punderson Manor, precisely on the edge of Punderson Lake. Set with English-Tudor style construction and rooms, the spacious manor is a magnificent architectural achievement. It is also magnificently haunted.

Is the Punderson Manor Haunted?

Lemuel Punderson originally purchased the land the manor now sits on back at the turn of the twentieth century. Punderson held onto the property for years before he died, and the land was sold to a man named Karl Long who in 1924 constructed the original manor.  However, Long died near the end of the process and the property became owned by the State who officially stepped up finishing the construction in 1956 which resulted in twenty-nine guest rooms with fourteen European style baths, twenty-six cabins, library, and a fully furnished dining and guest hall. The manor was being fashioned into a spacious getaway resort for area Clevelanders, who came away relaxed and refreshed, but also with tales of paranormal encounters.

The Ghosts of Punderson Manor

The most frightening story was reported by a trio of coworkers some years ago. Late one evening they had finished tending to their evening tasks and were going to pass through the empty dining hall and into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. On their way through to the kitchen, they all stopped short as a man was hanging from a noose in the middle of the dining room.  Paralyzed with fear, they watched as he twitched and swayed from the rope as if freshly hung. Minutes later as the sun began to come up, the trio watched in complete disbelief as the hanging man simply vanished before their eyes.

That’s not the only vanishing ghost, a woman in white Civil War-era attire has been seen going down hallways, and if approached, she is said to appear startled and floats frantically away to hide. The most popular ghost on the premises is named “Pundy” and is thought to be the spirit of the original property owner, Lemuel Punderson. He has been known to turn lights on and off in guest rooms as well as shutting doors or even pulling out bookshelves in the library. His spirit is not deemed malevolent at all by hotel staff and many are said to think of his presence as harmless.

Punderson Manor Lodge & Conference Center is currently a very popular and lasting luxury resort for travelers. Golfing and hiking courses have been allotted on its lake area which is also often the site of weddings and banquet events. Such unbridled success is possibly just one of the reasons why Punderson’s spirit hangs around to this very day, forever observing the happiness his property brings to others.

Professional athletes sometimes have encounters with the paranormal. Several NBA players have reported strange happenings when they stay here.

The owner and his family lived in the hotel, and his bad behavior may be responsible for the ghosts that haunt the halls. A maid named Effie is reported to have jumped to her death after having a child by William Skirvin and being locked up in the hotel.

People have heard a child crying when there wasn’t one on the floor. It seems that Effie and her baby may still be at the hotel.

Is the The Heathman Hotel haunted?

Some reports of hauntings from hotels are of a fairly benign nature with guests reporting strange noises or apparitions spotted in hallways, but the spirit or spirits in Portland, Oregon’s Heathman Hotel, one of the most haunted hotels in the United States, seem to take a somewhat more sinister approach to alerting people to their presence. Not content to simply make an appearance now and again, these ghosts climb into bed with guests, swaddle them in bedclothes and stare at them menacingly from shadowy corners.

Haunted Rooms End in “03”

A column of rooms ending in the number “03” are said to be particularly haunted with the most activity reported in rooms 703, 803 and 1003. One story says that a guest once jumped or fell from a window in this row of rooms although this is unconfirmed. At least one psychic has also reported that the spirits are friendly, but that may offer little comfort to the guest who wakes thinking that an intruder has entered their hotel room in the night.

Guests often report the sensation that someone has climbed into bed next to them. One person woke to find someone standing at the foot of the bed while another says a man ran from his closet, but security could later find no sign that anyone had been in the room. Meanwhile, odd shadows lurk on video taken in the hotel, and guests say that on returning to rooms, they sometimes find items such as water glasses and towels moved around. When key cards are checked, there is no recorded activity from staff or anyone else in those rooms.

It’s not just the guests who report encounters with restless spirits. Housekeeping staff say they have had trouble entering the rooms on occasion. Room 703 seems to be the main hotspot for spectral activity, and in the 1990s a psychic confirmed this. It is also believed to be the room from which someone jumped and is frequently requested by ghost-hunting guests.

However, hauntings have been reported in other places as well. A guest in room 510 saw the apparition of a woman sobbing in a chair, and the person who jumped would have landed in the space that is now the hotel library prior to its construction. Ghost enthusiasts are likely to be rewarded with a stay in the Heathman, but they might want to bring a companion and take turns falling asleep at night.

Heathman Hotel’s Haunted Rooms

• Rooms ending in the number “03” are said to be particularly haunted with the most activity reported in rooms 703, 803 and 1003.
• Room 703 has had the most reportings of haunted activity.
• Room 510 was reported to have the ghost of a woman crying in a chair.
• The Hotel Library has seen activity.