31 January 2020 | Haunted locations, Your Stories, Your True Encounters
In late July 2019, I stayed overnight in the Stanley hotel with my parents, niece, and nephew. They stayed in Room 330, while I was in a different room on the 2nd Floor, nowhere near their room. I had been to the hotel before, but never toured or stayed before. The last time I went, I trekked down the stairs near the front desk. This led to a sort of underground tunnel. In this tunnel, my brother-in-law and I came across a small lounge/bar. I spoke with a few employees there for just a few minutes. Right away, I felt something uneasy in the air, and these employees confirmed my feelings. There were rapid temperatures changes, and feelings that someone else was right next to me, and just generally a creepy vibe.
Fast-forward to the summer of 2019. This area “tunnel” was now inaccessible. There was now a separate entrance in a slightly different spot from the outside. This new entrance was a new basement level to enter from. As soon as I entered, the same lounge/bar/restaurant was in that space, close to where tours begin and end.
That evening, my family and I took the tour (led by Kira). At one point, we went into the music room in the lobby. Our guide was telling us about how Flora Stanley (founder’s wife) absolutely cherished her piano. One of the stories we heard was about a curious patron wandered too close to the piano, only to have the lid mysteriously shut on and break their fingers. After hearing that story, being a huge paranormal fan, I took pictures. Not realizing it at first, I actually caught a woman’s apparition near the piano. I thought it was way too coincidental for that image to appear IMMEDIATELY after the tale had been told.
Toward the end of the tour, we explored a room in the “underground tunnel” I mentioned before. It was now in a different spot than it had been previously. As our guide was telling us that a phantom black cat is often seen above the rocks in the corner of this room, a glowing pair of eyes seemed to catch my attention. Also, in that same room, there was a small cave-like opening. Our guide told us about a young girl who may be trapped inside. The first time, I heard nothing. But LITERALLY just a few minutes later, I stuck my head in again, and could hear what sounded like a young girl’s stuttered “Hello!”
Later on, after everyone had gone up to their rooms for the night, I did a little bit of exploring. I actually bumped into another lady patron from our same tour. She told me how she also saw the mysterious cat, completely unknown to me at the time.
Also on the tour, our guide told us about a dog that previously would deliver morning newspapers to guests’ rooms that had since passed on. In the middle of the night, I briefly woke to hear what sounded like scratching at my room door. When I met up with my family in the morning, I learned that my young nephew had heard the exact same noise at his room door within an hour or so of when I heard it. We were staying in completely different areas, and on different floors.
Also, I was in the bathroom in my room about midnight. From my angle, I couldn’t see the front door of the room. But I abruptly heard a loud bang, as if someone came into my room and slammed the door shut behind them. There was nobody else in the room with me, and just for reference, I clearly heard other people and hotel guests walking by in the hallway close to the same time. A little bit of time before that loud noise, I went around the guest area to have a look near the “haunted rooms”. Is it possible that one of those ghosts caught me, and returned?
Submitted by Danny Hibshman
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