Real Haunts

Is the Savoy Hotel in Kansas City haunted?

Built in 1888, Hotel Savoy in Kansas City, Missouri is billed as the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi. Kansas City, Missouri has been named “Haunted House Capital of the World” by CBS News. That seems a bit grandiose, but the city definitely has a LOT of history and a LOT of hauntings.

The Savoy is no stranger to hauntings and is one of the most haunted hotels in the United States. With a storied past of hotel deaths, full body apparitions, spirits haunting rooms, and paranormal activity in abundance, it’s on our list of must stays when in Kansas City.

Unknown to a lot of people is that the historic district of Kansas Cityis absolutely booming. A hearty testament to a thriving economy, the delights of this midwestern city are on a real turn around. One such benefit is the increases to the tourism industry. While there are many more commercial options if one is looking to stay downtown, there are some more historic hotels that offer every modern amenity that also includes a real old-world charm. One such place is the Muehlebach Hotel, which has been a downtown mainstay since 1915.

With construction beginning in 1914 and ending in 1915, George Muehlebach was a man with a vision. The original founder of the Muehlebach Beer Company (which was later acquired by Schlitz in 1956), George boasted of the grand ballrooms, meeting rooms, and all the other luxurious amenities that he could cram into his towering hotel. It was such a popular stop that even the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Babe Ruth, Frank Sinatra, Helen Keller, and even Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman were regulars there. However, by 1976, the hotel was acquired by the Radisson Chain before being further turned over to the Mariott brand. But despite such changes in ownership, the hotel still has managed to keep its ghostly flavor alive.

Is the Muehlebach Hotel Haunted?

A ghostly apparition named the Blue Lady is the premier spirit at the Muehlebach. Reports from hotel guests and staff alike describe her as a younger woman with blonde hair that’s tucked underneath a blue fedora, while she’s also dressed in a blue-colored flapper dress of 1920s style. Those who have encounters the Blue Lady have noticed a substantial drop in the room temperature and those who have gotten up close say that she appears frazzled and lost as if looking for something.

Running water faucets in a room, lights flickering on and off are some of her more spirited trademarks in this historic hotel. However, one thing about her is very unsettling to guests, and employees especially. She has been spotted the most on the first floor of the hotel in and around the lobby area, sometimes sitting or standing with her head in her hands as if sobbing, but no sounds are emitted. Even more chilling is that during such ghostly emotional breakdowns, her spirit simply disappears. The prevailing theory is that she was a Kansas City theatre actress who is eternally looking for a lost lover who may have perished in the hotel.

The hauntingly beautiful reasoning behind the Blue Lady is that even in death, love still seems to find a way. Today, the Muehlebach Hotel has been considered a “wing” and has been absorbed and renamed into the Kansas City Mariott Downtown. Despite the name change, the lost love ghost that haunts this hotel is something that will never change no matter how long the time.

The area of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is synonymous with President Abraham Lincoln’s speech given there during the time of the Civil War. It was a speech where President Lincoln assured that new freedoms were to be won and the United States would never be destroyed as a whole. Months prior, Gettysburg was the site of over fifty-one thousand casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg. One hundred and fifty-six years later, visitors to the Gettysburg Hotel are finding it is busy with supernatural activity.

Is the Gettysburg Hotel Haunted?

The Gettysburg Hotel was originally constructed in 1797 in the form of a tavern named Scott’s Tavern. After a few years, it was purchased by a retired local sheriff who continued in the tavern tradition while slowly adding on rooms to accommodate weary travelers to the area. In 1863, the year of both the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg address, there is a local legend that the spare rooms on the site of the tavern were makeshift medical rooms to help with the battle site overflow of wounded and dying victims. Sometime during the 1890s, the tavern was purchased by a new owner who formally began construction and remodeling on the tavern’s site. In 1893, the Gettysburg Hotel officially opened for business.

Over the next few decades, more and more amenities were added such as electricity, hot running water, and a fine dining restaurant. The visitors to Gettysburg were quite eager to stay at what was the finest hotel in the formerly battle-worn area.

The Nurse Who Haunts The Gettysburg Hotel

Into the twentieth century is when the first paranormal ghost sightings began to occur. The most popular of these sightings are of a Civil War-era nurse named Rachel. Clad in period piece nurse’s clothing from the Civil War, Rachel has been seen walking throughout the halls, as most reports do not have her floating. In fact, her ghost has been sighted on the outside sidewalks as well, fully walking before disappearing entirely. The origin of her name is a complete mystery as is her purpose there. She can be seen appearing in guest rooms, opening up their dresser drawers, rearranging items, opening, and closing closets, and turning the lights on and off.

The prevailing paranormal enthusiast theory to this is she is somehow must have died nearby during the Battle of Gettysburg. With the Gettysburg Hotel being a former tavern that served as an impromptu medical location during the Civil War, this makes the theory of her ghostly existent that much more valid. Her behavior in the rooms is very nurse-like, as she opens, closes and inspects things, keeping everything very orderly. She has not been known to be malicious or violent in any capacity. Just recognized by guests and the staff as a spirit who still sees herself eternally attending to the injured Civil War soldiers and the recently deceased ones.

Civil War Spirits

Aside from Rachel, another Civil War-era spirit has been seen roaming the many halls of the Gettysburg Hotel. His name was James Culbertson of Company K from the Pennsylvania Reserves and he was a much-respected soldier for the ultimately successful Union forces. Legend has it that Culbertson was brought to the makeshift medical tavern during the Battle of Gettysburg. Despite his many attempts to want to return to the battlefield, he succumbed to his penetrating gunshot wound hours later.

Guests have reported over the years about seeing a pale and faint looking spirit of a man dressed in Civil War Union forces attire, suffering from what appears to be a bloody hole in his torso. In very rare instances, Culbertson’s spirit has been known to speak and remark about wanting to join the battle and keep fighting. Lingering cold spots are also known to accompany him any time that he appears.

The hotel contains a small ballroom area, and a younger woman in Civil War period dress has been known to appear and swiftly moves around from side to side as if dancing to music unheard. At times in the ballroom, the ghostly apparitions of Civil War soldiers have been seen at times near her dancing spirit, possibly serving as ghostly protection. A former employee of the hotel claimed that while in the basement late one evening, he heard a set of footsteps behind him. He looked back in time to see a simple dining cart that was used for hauling dinnerware glasses, begin rolling on the flat surface. It traveled an estimated twelve feet before turning completely around and coming to a total stop.

These days, the Gettysburg Hotel is one of the most visited hotels in the area considering it sits across from the Gettysburg National Military Park. The hotel has once again undergone renovations, granting it a popular four-star review online with many guests praising the modern amenities. While being so close to all the historical significance, the Gettysburg Hotel is truly one of a kind in regards to actual spirits from the Civil War still making their silent presence known.