Part 3: Socialite
A heads up to the start of this post, there was not much activity for me. Nothing happened that was a phenomenal experience but a few odd things did happen that I am happy to share. Unfortunately I also don't have any great pictures to share with you. I took several pictures but nothing significant appeared and anything I would post in here would just be repetitive of my 2011 post from the investigation then.
My group started in the basement of the Concert Hall where a spirit, who has been named Lucy, is said to reside. Karl said there is also two newer haunts: a male, who is mischievous, as well as an animal spirit. We sat in a room of the hall, which I believe to be a green room, along with Karl and Chip. Someone was using an ovilus (spirit box) that is supposed to capture words from beyond and we got some interesting "hits" such as names and direct responses to our conversations that seemed to fit. I'm not sure I buy into this device because there is also a lot of random words that come through...from lots of ghostly chatter or just randomness of an electronic device? Not convinced but not dismissing it.
My personal experience in there is hard to describe. For the most part, I did not feel uneasy or scared in the least. I was sitting on a couch next to Chip and there was a woman sitting close to me in a chair. Three times during our time in there, in between myself and the woman (who says she is sensitive), I felt this sudden change in the air. In a small pocket, for a short amount of time, I could feel what I can only describe as fresh, clean air. It came on first as a smell...again a clean, fresh smell. Not sure how else to describe this. When I put my hand out in this pocket, it was just different than the rest of the air. Not quite "tingly" or static, but almost. Not cold, yet slightly. Not a perfume smell, but just fresh. This would happen for maybe a minute and just as quickly as hit came on, it was gone.
Next we visited room 217, the famously haunted "Stephen King Room" where King stayed and was inspired to write The Shining, where Jim Carrey checked out after only a few hours and will not speak of his experience...and where a maid was nearly killed from an explosion and is said to eternally visit. For most of our time in there, I was drawn to looking at the bathroom for some reason. I was sitting on the bed so was looking directly at the bathroom entrance so maybe it was just natural but something told me to keep looking there, as if something would happen. Later, the woman who claims to be sensitive said there was a woman in there and that at one point, she walked out to the back corner of the room and suddenly left.
Early on, I swear I heard a woman whisper - first from my left and then suddenly from my right. No one else heard it so I want to dismiss it. Not too long after, I heard another whisper to my right but this time two others heard it.
I was on the bed with Mike and at one point, he had sudden chills up and down one arm and goosebumps to prove it. I couldn't feel anything and the air was not cold around him. Was he touched? Was it isolated to just him? We're not sure. This was his room for the weekend and the night before he felt someone sit on the bed and heard someone pacing back and forth in front of the bed throughout the night. Clearly, something strange happens in that room!
Next we went to room 401, the Lord Dunraven room. The group before us apparently had some crazy experiences, most notably incredible black shadows. I would have enjoyed seeing Chip's reaction to a black mass that came straight at him...he insisted that the investigation end right then and there because something menacing was with them. Chip had earlier mentioned that it takes a lot to frighten him...this apparently was one of those experiences that made him want to leave immediately!
Hearing this left me excited and I even sat in the porch-like room, which is where some of the black shadows were originating. Unfortunately, no experiences for us. Like two years ago, I sat in the closet waiting for something to happen (women are supposed to experience touching and hair-pulling and this is the closet where Jason of Ghost Hunters witnessed it opening on its own) but again, nothing happened.
Lastly, we went to room 418, which is where I had some significant experiences in 2011. The sensitive woman said that a little boy was interested in me, playing peek-a-boo from the bathroom I was sitting in front of and hanging out near me. Early on, I said out loud that I was a mom to a little boy and that I like to play, in hopes of attracting just this attention. Did it work? Not sure but I didn't experience anything first-hand. The lead investigators in the room were keeping a little toy dog in the room so I played with that and put it in the bathroom for the boy to play with but nothing happened from this experiment. Its not that I don't necessarily believe that this woman was actually experiencing this but I just can't back it up.
This was the end of the official investigations and I felt disappointed that nothing significant happened. Sure, there were a few odd things but nothing I could say was a true paranormal experience. Oh well, I was there for more than just that.
By some strange cosmic luck, I ended up being able to stay the night in room 401. The room was auctioned off and the woman that won the bid decided not to stay. I am lucky to be friends with Mike and he knew that I was sleeping on the floor of Janet's room (my choice) and offered me the room. At this point, it was 3:30am and we had been listening to all of Ben's stories...in 401...for the past 3 hours so needless to say I was hesitant. But my final decision was based on the fact this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I could hope for that experience I had been waiting for (spoil alert: nothing happened).
Trying to fall asleep proved to be a difficult task. The room - the closet to be exact - is next to the elevator, which makes it very noisy. This is not your typical elevator but an old-time elevator that is very rattling. You can also hear every whisper and every footstep outside the room in the hallway. It was not uncommon to hear someone outside going back to their room or just roaming the 4th floor, looking for an encounter (can't say I blame them!). So every time I would start to calm myself from fear (what the heck was I afraid of anyway?!), I would hear some noise to shake me up again. Finally I decided on ear plugs and fell asleep shortly after.
I took several pictures of the room before bed, mainly to document where items were positioned in order to "prove" that something had been messed with overnight. To my dismay, when I awoke, everything was as it was. No pulled sheets, no clothes neatly put away, no jewelry displaced, no open closet doors, no broken glass cups. Oh well...next time?
Even without grand paranormal experiences, it is an experience in itself to stay at the Stanley. It never gets old and it never disappointments. I will close with my view from the room in the morning....so beautiful!
Part 1: Lectures
Part 3: Socialite
