Haunted Places in the News – Hotels, Restaurants, a Haunted Mansion, and Romney

Ghosts and haunted places are usually in the news during October. This year is no exception. Here are a few of the most popular ghost-related stories, this week. Click on any headline to read the full story.

You can tell that ghosts have gone mainstream when people running for president include haunted sites among their campaign stops.

Governor Romney side-stepped the question of whether he actually believes in ghosts, but talked about which of the ghosts he’d like to meet.

(Note: If you’re thinking of leaving a political comment… don’t.  However, if you’ve been to the Golden Lamb Inn and have something to share, I’m interested. The site has a history that could support ghostly activity, or it might be more hype than hauntings.)

Here’s the opening of that news report -

Mitt Romney visits Rob Portman’s ‘haunted’ hotel

“LEBANON, Ohio—Mitt Romney joined a long list of presidential aspirants to visit the Golden Lamb Inn on Saturday, a historic hotel owned by Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman long rumored to be haunted by ghosts.

“Built in 1803, the site is the oldest hotel in the state. At least three people have died on the property, and locals say some of them never really left…”

The following video starts out with some dated music and a few silly special effects.  Have patience, and watch their EMF meters, as well.  The video gives a good overview of someone’s first ghost investigation, and it was at the Golden Lamb Inn.  EMF, orbs, and some EVP were recorded.

But, Governor Romney isn’t the only one interested in making headlines with haunted places.

Journalists are eager to show off their own lists of haunted places, and restaurants are an easy choice.

While some restaurants — like Nashua, New Hampshire’s Country Tavern — boast actual ghosts, most eateries can only claim poltergeists.  In my opinion, that’s because restaurants have an unusual amount of water available (all those glasses of water on tables, when patrons are seated), but it might be something else altogether.

(Note: Poltergeist activity is associated with water… maybe.)

This next link includes a dozen haunted restaurants.  One is among my favorites, Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter.  However, I was surprised to see the Queen Mary on this list of restaurants, too.

Haunted Restaurants – Ghosts in Restaurants

» Haunted restaurants abound in America, waiting to be explored by specter-seeking guests. But Judy Kahlor of the St. James Hotel in New Mexico says, “You have to be careful what you wish for; you just might see something.”

Haunted hotels are in the news, as well.  I’ve already expressed my concerns about the very normal explanations for elevated EMF throughout the Lizzie Borden house — and why that’s a problem for investigators –  so I’m not sure I’d include it in this list, but some of the others creepy hotels and B&Bs sound interesting.

HowStuffWorks “10 Hotels That Will Scare the Daylights Out of You”

“If you see a stack of paper beside your husband’s typewriter with this typed over and over, we have some advice for you, especially if you and your husband are caretakers of a seasonal hotel in the mountains of Colorado…”

However, in addition to the usual haunted hotels and restaurants, here’s an interesting list of sports haunts and curses.  Not a whole lot of information in the article, but it’s a good starting point for further research.

HAUNTS and CURSES- tales of the supernatural in the world of sports – ChicagoNow (blog)

“Considering golf’s lengthy history, it is no wonder that so many of its have reports of hauntings. One of the most famed stories originates from Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, which is said to be home of Catherine Sutter’s spirit, roaming the grounds …”

If you’re around central and western Pennsylvania — where you’ll find some really creepy landscapes, even in broad daylight (check around Oil City, for starters) — here are some haunts to investigate.  Mechanicsburg’s Frankeberger Tavern sounds worth looking into.  The rest of the sites in this article sound pretty tame, to me.

Midstate haunts: 5 places in central Pennsylvania where ghosts abound – PennLive.com (blog)

“Any town or community with a lengthy history will have its share of ghost stories. Central Pennsylvania is no different. Tales of spirits and the paranormal abound in the midstate — and it’s not just the Gettysburg battlefield that’s haunted. Here are …”

And, finally, a non-ghost story. Well, not a real one, anyway.

I’ll admit it: I’m an unabashed “Disnoid.”  (That’s what some Disneyland and Walt Disney World cast members affectionately call slightly-rabid Disney enthusiasts like me.)  So, though I’ve never considered moving to Georgia, this replica of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion could make me think seriously about packing my bags for the Peach State.

Move into Haunted Mansion copied from Disney

“Why trick out a haunted house for Halloween when you can just buy yourself a copy of Disney’s Haunted Mansion…Hurt measured the real-life Disney Haunted Mansion at Disneyland to come up with a faithful…”