A Recurring Encounter

This is not a conventional ghost story. It has a paranormal entity involved in it but it turned out to be a noble one as I found out... It was back in 1996, November 17th, when I was 21. I was on my way home to Harnai to visit my grand-parents house in Kokan region. I had left Mumbai late in the afternoon and had a flat tire on way so was delayed unexpectedly.
Harnai is a famous beach village in Kokan, There are two routes to go to Harnai. One via Khed -Dapoli where you take NH3 up to Bharana Naka and other via Goregaon-Ambet-Mandangad-Kelshi-Anjarle where you leave NH3 at Tole (a village, not toll) and take inner route after Goregaon. This is a short but pretty deserted and lonely route in the night. As I was getting late, I took this route.
It was about 11. 30 pm when I was on outskirts of Mandangad on way to Kelshi. I was surprised to see a girl waving her hand to my car. There was a small hill on right side of the road and a house at some distance from where the girl may have popped up.
Nevertheless, I stopped my car. The girl was about 15-16 years old. Coming close to passenger side seat, she knocked on the glass. I pulled down the glass and looked at her. She was strikingly sweet looking girl and there was a feeling of calmness on her face. She was wearing a salwar-kameez with the dupatta wrapped around her ears to prevent the cold. I asked her what was the matter, to which she replied,
"Mala Anjarlyala jaycha aahe, urgent aahe, sodtos ka?"
("I need to go to Anjarle urgently, will you drop me?")
I was bored on a long drive of about 7 hours and the delay anyway, and since Anjarle was on my way, I decided to give her the ride. At least I have found someone to talk to than just listening songs and driving. She sat on the passenger seat and we moved on.
We started talking after some time. Her name she told was Ratna and she had gone to see her uncle at Mandangad. She had missed the last bus that leaves at 10 in the night and had to reach Anjarle urgently as she was in 10th and had an early morning school. I was taken aback completely and asked her how her uncle allowed her to travel alone at this hour of the day to which she replied that she wanted to leave early, but uncle said he would drop her after dinner and he caught up with fever suddenly, so she had no option.
We kept on chatting on our way on different topics. In about an hour we had crossed Kelshi and were approaching Anjarle when she asked me to stop the car. I stopped and looked around. On my right side, there was a beach and on left was small hill...! Where was this girl going to go?
She got down from the car. I asked her where she was going to which she replied that her home was just behind the hill. I offered her to walk with her to safety of her house to which she replied very curtly,
"Nahi. Ithparyantach, pudhe nahi... Punha bheten kadhitari mi tula... Ja tu!"
("No, uptill here only, not ahead. I will meet you sometime again... Go away")
I noticed the change in her voice. She was pointing towards Anjarle village. Her face was motionless. I was about to say something but she gave me such a look that I decided not to argue more with her.
I got back in car and moved on. I reached my grandparents house in another half and hour and they both were surprised to see me reaching so late. I narrated them the whole incident and my encounter with Ratna. They both warned me not to stop there ever as that area is known for being haunted in the night. As I didn't believe in paranormal world then, I turned deaf ear to it and went to bed.
I had couple of rest days and visited Suvarnadurga fort which is an island fort like Janjira and Sindhudurga. I had a made few friends on my earlier visits to Harnai and we decided to have a day trip to Anjarle beach. After some time on beach, as we were relaxing, I saw a figure coming down the hill. It was a man of about 40 coming down on the road. He was surprised to see us as Anjarle beach is very lonely one.
I asked him where did he stay to which he replied he stayed on other side of hill. Something struck my mind... That was the exact location Ratna had mentioned...! I casually enquired about his family to which he replied, he had wife and 2 sons. No daughter. I asked him if there was another home nearby to which he replied, his was the only home there and rest all were fields. I asked him if he knows about a girl called Ratna staying nearby. He gave me weird look the moment I asked about her.
"Dada, Ratna mazi mulgi hoti. 10 varsha zali geli ti...!"
("Ratna was my daughter, she passed away 10 years ago.")
I had shock of life...! I could not utter a word for few moments... Slowly I gathered myself. How was it possible that the girl I met couple of days back was dead 10 years ago? I told him that I had dropped Ratna at that very point two nights back. He looked at me weirdly. I narrated him the whole story how I picked her at Mandangad after her uncle getting ill suddenly and her missing the last bus. He listened to it carefully and told me the other side of the story. Ratna was indeed coming form Mandangad on the night she had died. His brother was at Mandangad then who had got ill and Ratna had hitch-hiked a ride in a car after she had missed the bus. The car had met an accident at that very spot, as the driver was tired and felt asleep while driving. He survived with multiple injuries but Ratna had died on the spot!
I was not convinced still. It was possible that the girl I was talking about was a different girl with same name, Ratna.
I walked along with him to his house on other side of the hill. The moment I entered his house, I saw a girl's photograph on the wall with flower garland around it. No doubt it was the same girl whom I had met couple of days earlier. She was the daughter of the farmer who had passed away 10 years ago! As I was standing there, suddenly a thought crossed my mind. What would have happened had I insisted on walking her to the house? How would have she reacted at that? I had met her on 17th November and to my astonishment, her brother said that it was same day that she had met her end 10 year earlier. I had cold sweat down my spine. I enquired carefully with the family if anyone had encountered or felt her presence ever around or if anyone had seen her like I did in last 10 years to which everyone replied negative. I made few enquiries in Anjarle and Harnai village as well as in Kelshi during my stay if anyone had given ride to a girl from Mandangad. I could not find a single person who had met her ever.
After my vacations were over, I drove back the same road to my home. I could not separate her thoughts from my mind and tried to have clarification as much as possible. I had no doubt in my mind that the girl I had met was the farmer's daughter as I could make it clearly from her photograph. The details she had told me about her activities on the night she died were matching perfectly with the night 10 years ago. Some questions which remained in my mind were:-
1. Where was she in these 10 years?
2. What made her to come back suddenly after 10 years?
3. Of all the people, why did she meet me that day exactly 10 years after her death?
4. Why did she say, "I will meet you again!"?
Was I supposed to have another encounter with her?
I was sure of one thing that she didn't have any intention to hurt me or scare me. Had that been her intention, she had all the opportunity as I was with her for an hour or so.
As days passed on, slowly the memories of my encounter with Ratna faded. I had joined a new job and was really busy with my office and other activities. I had not visited Harnai for a couple of years now though I had met my grand-parents when they had visited us in Mumbai. It was very difficult for me to find vacation from office, but this time around I managed to get a week's leave from office and decided to take a trip to Harnai. The moment I thought of trip to Harnai, Ratna's memories came rushing back. Will I meet her again this time? What if I meet her again? What should I ask her? What would she do if at all I meet her? I was not afraid and was now looking forward to the encounter. I left Mumbai late keeping in mind to reach Mandangad by about 11 in the night, but this time there was no signs of her. I waited at that spot for 10 minutes anticipating she would make an appearance, but no avail. Thinking that it was a chance encounter I moved on.
Another year passed and I happen to visit to Harnai again as my grand-father had organized a get-together of all family members at his home. My parents had left earlier and I was supposed to join couple of days later. I was once again on way to Harnai, leaving Mumbai late in the day. Busy with daily schedule, Ratna's thought had been out of my mind for a while now.
I left NH3 at Tole phata and had reached Mandangad at about 11. 30 and as I reached the same spot where I had picked her about 3 years back, I saw her again! This time though, she was not waving down to me, but was expecting me to stop. As she approached my car, I looked at my watch and the date on it showed 17th November! She calmly opened the door of the car and got in without a word. It was the same salwar-kameez she was wearing and same calm expression as it was 3 years ago! I was not scared at all at her presence, cause I was sure she didn't mean to hurt me. As we moved on, she asked me,
"Mi kon he tula kalala aahe, bhiti nahi vatat tula?"
("You know about me now, are you not scared?")
I told her that I was surprised to know about her but was not scared as I knew she didn't intend to hurt me at all. She nodded understandingly but warned me though that everyone is not like her and some are really nasty ones.
I had so many questions in my mind. After my first encounter with her, I had taken keen interest in paranormal world and had read lots of stuff and met few people in this field. And now I had a paranormal entity sitting right next to me in my car. It was a situation of its own kind.
I started asking her questions one after the other and she answered all of them with detailed information. The information she gave me was so detailed that I can not give it all here. As I had already read many books on this subject it was confirmation of what I had read from her. She told me what exactly happens at the time of death and immediately afterwards.
I asked her where she was for 10 years after her death and our first encountered to which she replied that she was in 'Bhuvar-lok' in form of Sukshma Sharira (small physique) which is made up of thin air.
Why did she chose me to communicate that to after 10 years, to which she replied that, it was because I was the first person with whom she could communicate at sub-conscious level. There was some more relation between us which she did not disclose. It is not possible for everyone to interact with a paranormal entity and it's the other way round as well. Paranormal entities can not communicate to everyone as well!
Why could I not see her last year on my way to Harnai?
She could not take a human form that night though she was able to see me waiting for her to appear.
How long would she be in this state and would make appearances?
She said, her life span was supposed to be few more years in mortal world and because she had died in an accident, she had to spend those remaining years before she could progress to next lok which is "Swarga lok" or re-born in "Bhu lok" which is mortal world unless she's instructed otherwise. I asked her how long was the span but she replied, she didn't know exact amount of time.
What if I wanted to meet her sometime or somewhere else?
She said that she had no restriction of place, but she can not meet me frequently whenever I wanted to as it would be interfering with the strict restrictions to which every paranormal entity is bound to and would prolong her stay in Bhuvarlok.
We had reached the spot where she had died and she recounted the whole incident to me how it had happened. She had died instantly after she was thrown out of car after the accident and her head had hit a stone. We continued our conversation for some time. She had been helping people near death to get used to paranormal life after their death as this was her assigned task. After some time she said, its time for her to go now. I asked her,
"Mala punha bhetshil?"
("Will you meet me again?")
She replied that she can meet me anywhere as she had said earlier, but I have to be very careful to be alone and it can be preferably after evening. Also I have to ensure that the meetings are not frequent. I assured her that I would not want to interfere in her world and would be glad to meet her when it is possible for her and she herself appears before me again.
I got in my car and moved on. I had met her for second time!
I didn't have any encounter with Ratna for year or so after that.
My dad had retired from office and we were looking to get a new home in suburbs. We had almost finalized down on an apartment and were about to sign a deal. After discussion with the property dealer for the price and bank regarding the loan, I came back home exhausted after a long day. I have a habit of taking a walk after dinner. As I was too tired that day, I just went to terrace of my apartment for a stroll. As I entered the terrace, there was no body there. I began walking up and down on the terrace and as I started my 3rd round, I saw someone standing on the other corner. I wondered who it can be as I had the door behind me and was certain that whoever it was didn't come that way.
Walking at a normal pace I reached over near that person and it was none other than Ratna! She had appeared on my terrace this time! I was happy to see her again but before I said anything. She said very curtly,
"Nako jaus tya gharat, tula hech sangayala aale aaj, ti jaga changli nahi tuzyasathi"
("Don't go there, I came today only to tell you this. It is not a good place for you.")
I was startled! Why did she say that? It was a really nice apartment and we had bargained a lot with the property dealer and I had taken enough pain to get loan from the banks and now this girl was putting me off. I asked her why she insisted me on not taking that apartment but she refused to give me any details. She flatly told me that it was not good for me and my family, that's all. I could sense a definite concern and urge in her voice about stopping us to move there. That moment itself I decided to cancel the deal. I told her I won't go there at which point she smiled and just went away to other corner of the terrace and as I was watching, she just mixed away with thin air and disappeared.
Later on I came to know that previous owner of the apartment had committed suicide and prior to that there was a murder that had occurred in that apartment! Perhaps that was the reason Ratna wanted to keep me away from there.
I had few more encounters with Ranta. I asked her once if I can take a picture of her but she refused. She had told me many details of life beyond death and different kinds of paranormal entities and about the powerhouse we call it as god. My wife also happened to see her once before we were married. I clearly remember the date as it was 10th September 2005... The last time we had seen her... She told me that time had come for her to move to a different life and we won't meet again. She blessed us and left without ever coming back.
To this date, I have never seen her again. I hope wherever she is in whatever state she stays happy. I wonder what it was between two of us that kept her bringing back again and again, I only guess that there was some sort of relation between us for sure.
I have encounters with paranormal entities after that but I will share those later sometime. If anyone is interested in the information Ratna gave me about life after death, I would be willing to share.

A Haunting In Indian Railway

This unforgettable incident took place in October this year when we (my father, mother, sister and myself) were on my way to North Bengal to celebrate the Durga Pujas (a festival of Bengal). . We boarded the Teesta Torsha express from Sealdah. It was going good until night when my uncle called us up and told us that 19 oil tankers were derailed at Kishanganj. We were now 34hours in train.
Day 2: We suffered a lot as the train stopped for hours at stations and the attendants switched of the A.Cs in the train. We were tired and slept off after we reached NJP at 12. 30 at night. After some time, I woke up for some fresh air as I was feeling uncomfortable being confined in a small area for so long. So I went out and after refreshing myself, out of sheer curiosity, I opened the door latch. The train was stationary. I checked the cell info, which showed that it was GAISAL and the time was 1.28A.M by my watch. It was steady when suddenly a gust of wind passed through me. Then I heard the honk of an engine which was gradually approaching closer. Then suddenly I heard a loud noise as if there was an explosion. Then our train began moving with a jerk and suddenly I regained my senses and everything was as quiet as before. I closed the door latch and as soon as I looked behind, I saw a shadowy figure which suddenly disappeared within a second! I quickly went back inside. I kept thinking about what had happened exactly as I did not believe in paranormal activities before and thought it was just a dream.
Day 3: We reached my maternal uncles home by morning. I decided to surf the net and check whether anyone had experienced the same at GAISAL...
Then, to my surprise, I found out that GAISAL was the site of one of the worst railway accidents in history of Indian Railways!
I have some questions in my mind which will remain unanswered. 1) The first question is, have anybody else experienced the same? 2) If so, why don't the drivers experience? 3) Or was it just a dream?

A Ghost Scared of Yamraj

I have heard the stories of ghosts and paranormal experiences of people in older times from my grandmother. But today, no one believes in such things because we are living in the 21st century where such incidents are considered to be a symbol of mockery. But the supernatural happening that occurred to me a few days back compelled me to believe that in this world, there is a real evil. I was sleeping when I saw a man in my dream. He looked sad and flogged. He was painfully thin and there was a bruise on the side of his cheek, the size of a man's fist. He was trying to convince me of something. Then he looked back and told me "Get Lost" as he told that Yamraj (Hindu god of death) was approaching. His blutering hadn't worked so he began to whine. He then told that if I failed to rescue him from Yamraj, then he will haunt me every night and he won't let me sleep. I was terrified.
My dream broke from fear I felt even during the sleep. To my horror, I saw someone sitting beside my bed who looked still. His figure was similar to my father but he was not my dad. I recognized him from his cheek. He was the man which came in my dream. He looked so real that I asked him about his problem. Now with an aggressive face he turned towards me and he passed through my body. I was paralyzed. I gave out a loud shout which awakened my parents. They asked me why I shouted. When I told them all this, they were not convinced. They thought that I had seen a dream. But I'm sure that it was something more... More than a dream.
From that day, I never saw him again and he had never haunted me. Maybe god Yamraj has sent him to a proper place where he deserved to be!

A Drive Back Home

I am sharing one of my recent experiences. Although, I still cannot figure out the reason of this, but it actually happened to me. It was already dark and I was returning from Pune. Tired of driving at a stretch, but fully awake. I was crossing Lonavala, there is a strange thing happens in a section, it's about 500 meters stretch and you will face that the speed of the car starts dropping down, even though you press your accelerators, but nothing happens, the speed drops quickly, even though it's not a climb, it's a straight road. I haven't got the clue of this. But never mind, this is not what I want to share.
There is a high accident prone area in the Ghats and you will notice, an accident happens every second day in that road. But surprisingly most of the accidents happen in a particular section of the road only. I noticed an accident on that stretch on Wednesday night while coming from PUNE and something weird happened with me on Thursday night in the same section.
While I was driving slowly in the line of other cars, I was drained out in myself with full day's of meeting and work. But it's not that, I was hallucinating because of that. I could clearly remember that, I was alone in my car and suddenly, I saw a man sitting in my back seat. I now also I can remember his face. He was a average looking guy, clean shaven, wearing white shirt, smiling at me. I saw him from my real window and smiled at him. I was surprised, thinking that when I didn't stop my car anywhere, neither given anyone a lift, then how come someone can enter the car. I felt that something was wrong, and when I saw again, there was no one. Still I am not getting the whole situation or incident which happened to me.
But then it was not over, I was coming out of this, and then suddenly I saw the same man, running parallel to my car. I got a shock, that how come cars behind me are not blowing horns to him? He came here my front door window and again smiled at me, but this time, I was freezed. It was so much shocking that I forgot that I was driving the car. But fortunately, I recollected what I was doing and got a hold of it.
Although, I have a unique interest of reading and experimenting whole lot of paranormal stuffs, but to understand this and give a explanation of such incident is hard for me.

Haunted Beach Resort

Anand is my best friend since school and one of the few ones whom I have been in regular touch. Like me, Anand too is interested in the paranormal and we have experienced one such occurrence together as described in my story "The Ghostly Hitchhikers". Anand and I are both Engineers by profession and hence life is very hectic. We rarely get a chance to meet each other though we are in constant touch on phone or via e-mail.
This incident happened couple of years back when we were in Mumbai, India. Due to a couple of public holidays in India falling in line together, we had a long weekend of around five days ahead of us. Since we had not taken a holiday for quite sometime due to our busy schedules, my wife immediately suggested that we go to a beachside resort for a couple of days to unwind. I immediately called Anand to check his availability. Anand and his wife Jyo immediately agreed and the plan was finalized within minutes.
We decided to go to a beachside resort at Murud which is around 180kms away from Mumbai and takes around 3 hours to reach. Murud has a pristine beach and is a very popular destination among tourists. There is also a fort named Janjira in the middle of the sea. Janjira fort is also famous for being the only fort along India's western coast that remained undefeated. Since all of us are interested in history, it seemed like an interesting proposition for us. Another thing to be noted at this point of time is that Murud is just 7kms from Kashid and one has to pass through Kashid to reach Murud. The highway leading to Kashid is where we had met the Ghostly Hitchhikers a couple of years ago. Though this incident was at the back of our mind, we nevertheless decided to go ahead with our plan.
We started for Murud at 7.00 am in Anand's "4X4" SUV. It was a clear morning and we managed to reach the resort at around 10.00am. Anand and I were very careful not to mention our previous experience to our respective spouses since it would frighten them and dampen their spirits. We checked in at the resort which was really very beautiful. It was situated on a hill very close to Murud beach. It had a great sea facing view from the front and a dense forest cover at the back which made us feel one with nature. We immediately rushed to the beach where we had a great time swimming and splashing around in the water. We came back to the resort at around noon, had a quick lunch, rested for a while and then set off to see Janjira fort which we were all anxious to see. The visit to the fort was great and we were back in the hotel by around 8.00pm. After a lavish dinner consisting of several local delicacies we decided to retire to our rooms. I was tired but Anand insisted that we go to his room for a game of cards before hitting the sack. My wife and Jyo too didn't mind and so we went to Anand's room.
Immediately after entering his room I suddenly felt a chill in the room which made me feel uneasy. I told Anand about it but he shrugged it aside and suggested that it might be the cool sea side breeze which might have made me feel that way. We played cards for around 2 hours and really had fun. At around 12. 00 am we decided to call it a day. We had however not reckoned that this would be the start of our ordeal and chilling events to follow.
The long day had taken its toll on us and my wife and I immediately fell off to sleep. It must have been around 1.30am when I heard a knock on my door. I cautiously opened the door and was surprised to find Anand outside. He looked a little worried and told me that after we left Jyo suddenly started feeling very cold and started shivering. Anand had found it surprising since he felt no such chill. I asked my wife who is a doctor to accompany me to Anand's room with her medicine box. Upon entering his room, I felt uneasy and could immediately sense that something was amiss. Two woolen rugs had been wrapped around Jyo but she was still shivering and her teeth were literally chattering. When my wife examined Jyo, she was stunned to find that though Jyo was feeling feverish and her body had become icy cold. Shrugging aside her fear my wife gave her a couple of tablets which would put her to sleep and give her a much needed rest. We did not want to leave Anand alone in this condition and decided to be with him. This was perhaps the best decision which I took considering the events which happened subsequently.
Anand was sitting on the bed, caressing Jyo's hand gently to put her at ease. My wife and I made ourselves comfortable on a couple of chairs available in the room. It was around 3.00 am, my wife had dozed off and I was about to follow suit when something really creepy happened. Jyo suddenly sat up straight in her bed with a look in her eyes which we had never seen before. Anand, who was sitting beside her tried to put his arm around her to comfort her. She suddenly shrugged herself free from Anand, caught him by the neck and pushed him. The force with which Anand was pushed was so great that he was literally flung like a puppet, six feet away from the bed. To do that to a person like Anand who is close to 6"3 inches tall and weighs around 90 kgs really required extraordinary strength. Jyo suddenly said the following words "Mujhe Jaane Do... Jaana hai " (Let me go... I have to go!) This still is a mystery to all of us. The voice that said those words certainly wasn't Jyo's. Jyo stood up as if in trance and was trying to go to the balcony. I have to admire the courage shown by both my wife and Anand at this point of time.
Anand and I used all our might and pinned down Jyo to her bed while my wife ran out to get help. We got a couple of housekeeping staff from the hotel in the room within a couple of minutes. I immediately told them to help us shift Jyo to my room. It took five of us to lift Jyoti and shift her to my room. All this while Jyo was only uttering the words "Mujhe Jaane Do... Jaana hai ".As soon as she was laid on the bed in my room things started to return to normal. Jyo stopped resisting and soon fell asleep much to our relief. All of us were shaken by the turn of events. We thanked the bewildered Hotel staff for their help. I noticed that it was around 5.00am at that time and perhaps with the coming of daybreak the hold of the spirit on Jyo had weakened OR Shifting her out of that room had helped.
We decided to check out the next morning. Though a little tired, Jyo was perfectly fine the next morning with no recollection of the previous night's events. She was however surprised to find herself in our room. Anand however put her at ease and told her that he would explain everything once we left the hotel. While Anand was settling the hotel bills, I was called aside by one of the hotel staff who, under the condition of anonymity told me that the room had been the scene of a gory incident a couple of months back.
A couple had checked in, they had a big fight which lasted late into the night. The man walked out off the room leaving the lady behind. After sometime the lady flung herself from the balcony of the room killing her instantly. The police had made some enquiries but were unable to trace the man who had accompanied her that night. The case was subsequently closed. The housekeeping staff had themselves felt a creepy feeling sometimes in the room, though no incident was reported by any of the occupants who occupied it after that.
We decided to let the matter rest but before leaving, advised the manager of the resort to do some sort of purification or a cleansing ritual to free the tormented soul. Whether he performed the ritual or not is not known to us since we did not visit the place again. We were just happy at that moment to have escaped without any harm.
Anand subsequently told her the events which had occurred that night. She was shaken at first, but has now come to terms with it.
However what would have happened if Anand and I would not have been able to subdue Jyo that night is a thought which still gives me the shivers.

Jharkhand Highway Nightmare

My uncle runs an optical fibre laying company for cellular service providers. For this purpose he has to travel all through the nation in order to pick up tenders and do the concerned job. This story which I am about to tell happened last year during the month of December near a village in the state of Jharkhand.
We were crossing this village dead at 2am in the morning. My uncle, me, his friend and the driver were in the car. We were dock tired owing to all this travelling. In order to cross the village we had to cross a bridge. The bridge was so narrow that it could allow only one car to pass at a time. We heard many spooky things about this village but never believed things such as 'ghosts'. The driver was constantly telling us to halt the car at some motel because he believed that crossing the village at this hour was a bad idea. But, we didn't listen to him and we pushed further in order to reach the targeted destination.
Nearing the approach to this bridge, we stopped at the side of the road to take a leak. A few 100 meters ahead of us we saw some of the bushes rattling. We could see that because the headlights were still on. I presumed it to be a rabbit or some random animal. But it was not what I had expected. What it actually was blew our minds.
When we started the car and were ready to move suddenly a women wearing a red wedding saree was seen crawling on to the road as if she needed help. Half of her clothes were torn as if she was raped. As we got closer she sprang up and stood in front of us with her back faced away. The driver screeched to a halt. She slowly turned and then what we saw blew our brains out. She had a barbaric face, like the one you get after someone smashes your head with a huge rock. Blood all over her face and slowly coming closer to the car.
The driver was in such a state of shock that he passed out. My uncle screamed to turn the lights off, but the driver was so bewildered by the sight he couldn't so. I sprang up, took out the lights and we sat down quietly. The noises which the entity was making could be heard and slowly faded away.
At this time the driver was shifted to the back seat and I drove the car as fast as I could and parked it to a nearby motel. Nobody spoke, we were at a state of trance. We woke up the next day and hurried off never to visit back the Village again. Certainly not in the nearby future.
The question is that what would have happened to the bride on her day of marriage remains a mystery.

The crescent hotel

This story takes place in Eureka Springs Arkansas. The town itself is known as being a "haunted town" (Maybe it's all the limestone they have). It's a tourist town located in the Ozark Mountains in northern Arkansas. If you have never been here, it is definitely a place to visit and one of the most famous places to visit here in this small Victorian town is an old hotel which is set on top of a beautiful mountain. It is known as the 1886 Crescent Hotel. This hotel is known as one of the most haunted places in the United States. My husband and I have visited this hotel on at least 5 occasions (we live only 45 minutes away, and I feel addicted to this place. I always feel the need to go, as if it's calling me back). Of course, others have explored and toured this hotel as well, including TAPS (ghost hunters). Here is a little back story on the Hotel first:
It started construction in 1884. Now keep in mind, this was a time when the "healing waters" of the Ozarks had become well known across the nation. People from near and far were swarming to the area in hopes of curing their ailments and easing their pains. The developers of the Crescent Hotel & Spa planned to take advantage of these many travelers by building the most luxurious resort in the country. Immediately, the well-to-do of the nation began to flock to the luxurious resort hotel. Once there, the guest could not only enjoy the healing waters of the spa, but also a stable of 100 sleek-coated horses, tea dances in the afternoon, and elaborate parties every evening with a full in-house orchestra. However, the prosperity was not to last. After the turn of the century, people began to realize that the acclaimed "healing waters" didn't have the curative powers that the hotel and the city were so known for. Little by little, people stopped coming to the beautiful resort.
From 1908 to 1924, the building was utilized as the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. However, after operating for 16 years, the revenues from tuition was not high enough to maintain the costs of running the large building and the Women's College closed. After sitting abandoned for the next six years it briefly reopened as a junior college from 1930 to 1934.
In 1937 a man named Norman Baker arrived on the scene and bought the aging hotel for the purpose of opening a cancer hospital and health resort. Advertising miracle cures that required neither surgery nor painful extensive tests, the Baker Hospital, alleged that its patients would walk away from the "resort" cancer-free.
However, what was unknown to the many desperate patients who flocked to the hospital was that Norman Baker's "miracle" was nothing more than a scam that he had been purporting on unsuspecting patients for years. The man had absolutely no medical training and had been convicted in Iowa in 1936 for practicing medicine without a license! (Scary huh?) Also, the American Medical Association had condemned the many elixirs that were sold for a number of different ailments, including cancer.
While operating the "hospital" Baker was being investigated by federal authorities and in 1939 was finally arrested for mail fraud. One US Postal Inspector estimated that Baker had made as much as $500,000 per year, selling his "miracle elixirs" through the mail while in Eureka Springs. Baker was convicted to serve a four year sentence in Leavenworth. The investigation revealed that over the years Baker had defrauded cancer patients out of approximately $4,000,000. It has been said that many of Bakers patients never returned home after checking in for "treatments". However, more than a dozen people ended up missing. As the story goes, Baker had each of his dying patients write to their loved ones to tell them that they had been cured, and were going to leave the center (and for some reason they were never seen again). He never admitted to killing anyone, but after Baker's death in 1958, a nurse who worked with Baker said that the people who died from "treatments" were most likely buried on the property somewhere after their agonizing deaths.
Over the next several years, the hotel passed through several hands as repairs and more restorations were made. On September 6, 2002, After 5 million dollars in renovations, the grand hotel had been fully restored to its original stately glory.
Now, on to the paranormal stuff: Staff and guests alike tell stories of a number of ghosts that are still said to inhabit this beautiful old hotel.
The most often sighted apparition is that of a red-haired Irish stonemason, who the staff has dubbed "Michael". Allegedly, Michael was one of the original masons who worked on the building of the hotel in 1885. However, while working on the roof he lost his balance and fell to the second floor area and was killed. This area now houses Room 218 of the hotel and is said to be the most haunted guestroom. Michael is often being heard pounding loudly on the walls. Others have witnessed hands coming out of the bathroom mirror and heard cries of what sounded like a man falling in the ceiling. Yet other guests have been shaken during the night, and on one occasion a man ran screaming from the room, professing to have seen blood splattered all over its walls!
The lingering spirit of a nurse, dressed all in white, is often seen pushing a gurney on the third floor. Only spotted after 11:00 p.m., the time which they used to move the deceased out the cancer hospital, the ghostly spirit vanishes when she reaches the end of the hallway. Others who have not seen the apparition have reported the sounds of squeaks and rattles that sound like a gurney rolling down the hallway.
Now here's something incredibly creepy. The basement of this Hotel, was once used as the morgue, and this area still houses "Dr" Baker's old autopsy table and walk-in freezer! Also located on the third floor is the laundry area, where a hotel maintenance man once witnessed all of the washers and dryers inexplicably turning on by themselves in the middle of the night.
The hotel's Crystal Dining Room, is another place in the hotel that is said to contain frequent paranormal activities. Here, other Victorian dressed apparitions have often been encountered. Many have seen groups of 1890's dancers, in full-dress attire, whirling around the room in the wee hours of the morning. Other reports tell of a 19th century gentleman who has been seen sitting at a table near the windows. When approached, he says, "I saw the most beautiful woman here last night and I am waiting for her to return."
The apparition of the greedy "Doctor Baker" himself, has also been seen in the old Recreation Room in the basement and at the foot of the first floor stairway. Dressed in a purple shirt and white linen suit, and looking somewhat confused, the apparition appears identical to old photographs of the infamous "quack".
Another remnant of the old hospital days is a ghostly figure who calls herself "Theodora." Most often seen by housekeepers in Room 419, Theodora courteously introduces herself as a cancer patient, before quickly vanishing.
One other often reported spirit is that of a young female who once attended the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. According to the tale, the young girl either jumped from, or was pushed from a balcony to her death. Today, guests report hearing her screams as she falls.
On my first visit to this historic hotel I entered the lobby and was greeted by a cold burst of air. My husband and mother were both with me at the time and neither of them felt the cold rush that I got. While in the lobby, a female guest was complaining to the front desk that she kept getting a text message every few hours on her phone, but there was no number there. The text kept saying 12-31-01. She couldn't understand it. The front desk told her that he was baffled as well; however, the Hotel was closed on that exact date because of a terrible ice storm and the people who were staying at the Hotel were stuck there for a good week. That just freaked her out and she returned to her room.
I immediately went in to use the bathroom (after hearing how haunted it was) and was a little disappointed. Nothing ghostly happened in there.
The Hotel, however, was beautiful. The spiral type staircase went from the basement to the 4th floor. On our way up the stairs all 3 of us got the feeling of vertigo and my husband started feeling sick. He said it was like an inner ear infection or something. He just felt so incredibly dizzy.
As we made our way to the 2nd floor, we decided to ditch the stairs and use the elevator (big mistake). I got in the elevator and instantly got the feeling as if I was going to have an immediate panic attack, and I don't have panic attacks! I told them that I would take the stairs and meet them on the 4th floor to see the beautiful view. I kept finding myself holding on to the railing for dear life.
I passed another guest on the stairs who was having the same problem. He laughed as he passed me and said, "You know a 5-year-old died a while back on this very staircase. He was on the 4th floor and had an inner ear infection. He lost his balance and fell all the way down to the basement. Died instantly. Since then these stairs have been impossible to climb without hanging on." I thought... "Inner ear infection?! That's what my husband mentioned and we had no idea about that." Scary.
Upon reaching the 4th floor, I noticed there was a nice little restaurant and bar up there, right across from what used to be Dr Baker's office! It was even labeled as such. They also had old diagrams hanging on the wall of the human body that Dr Baker used to use. That really freaked me out. My mother said that most of the weird happenings are probably brought on by the fact that they still have all of that old stuff from when it was a hospital. Somehow that would not surprise me.
The view was gorgeous from the 4th floor. We took a lot of pictures in and out of the hotel. I got lots of orbs and weird specks of light. You can Google the Crescent for pictures and see other ghostly pictures that have been taken by others.
It's a scary place, but also very awesome place to go ghost hunting. You don't even have to be a registered guest at the hotel to go in and explore. The front desk and housekeepers are used to curious people coming in to see one of the most haunted hotels around.
Of all the times we have been to this Hotel, we never saw anything like a ghost pushing a gurney or a woman dressed in a Victorian gown, but on my last visit to the Hotel I kept hearing the name Michael whispered in my ear over and over again. It felt like a guy was following me and whispering in my ear. I think my husband thought I was losing it until he went in to use the bathroom and all of the water faucets came on while he was in there. I was outside the door and no one else came in or out the entire time he was in there.
We haven't been back since then, but I would jump at the chance to go right back there again. I am very much intrigued with this place and just love to hear all of the strange paranormal happenings that take place there. Thank you for reading my story. I hope it wasn't too long.
If you ever find yourself in northern Arkansas in the Ozark mountains, maybe you'll want a nice haunted place to spend the night:)