21 June 2019 | Haunted locations, Your Stories, Your True Encounters
The U.S. Hotel on South Juniata Street in Holidaysburg, PA, dates originally to 1835. Adjacent to the western end of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Allegheny Portage Railroad, it was a stopping point for many people traveling west for the majority of the 19th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1871 and rebuilt in 1886, by brewmaster, Engelbert Gromiller. It no longer functions as a hotel but is now a restaurant of some renown.
The hotel, like many old buildings of its kind, is purported to be haunted. I had the opportunity to eat here recently and I can tell you the food is superb. Having some extended family in the Alltoona, PA area, we met for brunch and had a great time. Our discussion during brunch, of course, turned to the hotel and whether or not it was haunted.
After our meal, one of my relatives, who’s friends with the owner and chef, talked them into letting us tour the second floor. With giddy anticipation we climbed the stairs. The second floor appeared as you might think.. many rooms under various states of renovation and disrepair, mainly used for storage and that sort of thing. There were a couple of rooms that were still set up exactly as they would’ve been, complete with bed frames and dressers. A community bathroom was called out ‘Gentlemen’ and ‘Ladies’
There was even a makeshift ‘chapel’ with a would-be pulpit and pews.
Now, I am a die-hard skeptic, but I’m fascinated with all things ‘haunted’. So take this for what it’s worth. Toward the middle of the ‘tour’, I was standing in the center of the hallway just taking in the environment. Trying to imagine what everyday life would’ve been like. Just then, someone or someTHING brushed into my arm. It felt like someone ran a finger from mid-bicep, on the back of my arm, down to the end my elbow. I turned around to say “what” to the person behind me. There was no person. Everyone was in front of me at that time and I had been standing still! I definitely didn’t walk into anything and it wasn’t a cobweb. Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared though.. just.. fascinated. We finished the tour and met back downstairs. I told my buddy about what had happened and his eyes grew large. He told me he’d experienced the exact same thing and in nearly the same place!
Was it a ghost? I don’t know. It was definitely something. The only thing I know for sure… they make one hell of a good brunch!
Submitted by Kenneth Conrad to Weird Darkness and My Haunted Life Too
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