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Ghostly Gatherings At The Inn

 

First, about the inn itself: A couple of years ago, I worked at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa, in beautiful Lake Lure, NC. The façade of the inn is pale yellow stucco with hunter green shutters. Inside, the lobby is very spacious and filled with the current owner's antiques and memorabilia from days gone by from the inn. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife stayed at the inn, during their trip to western North Carolina. Actors and directors from the movie "Dirty Dancing" stayed there as well as many other movie stars and musicians. This is a place to really get away from it all. Antiques tastefully dot the upstairs area and the rooms itself.

The original owner was a Dr. Lucius Morse. He fell in love with the area and wanted to build a hotel there. So around 1925-26, the inn was being built, and in 1927, it was finally opened as the Lake Lure Inn. It was said that he did not live to see the grand opening of the hotel.

During World War II, the US Army commissioned the inn and the men serving during the war would stay there and relax or recover from the wounds they had endured. There are many pictures of these soldiers and their families having a grand old time there at the inn.

The Ghost Stories:

When I first started working at the inn, I felt a little uneasy. It felt like there were a thousand eyes looking at you wherever you went. I was first made aware of the ghosts when I was working in the spa area. I was there late at night alone while cleaning and disinfecting the spa and washing the linens. I always saw shadows move down there. The spa was where I felt most scared when I was alone. Once, I was working the morning shift and was helping to do spa laundry. I walked through there alone while carrying some linen. I heard my name being said by what sounded like a man with a low gravelly voice. I dropped the linens and ran out of there as fast as I could. I ran into my supervisor's office and she remarked that I looked like I had just seen a ghost. I told her I didn't see one, but one called my name.

She thought it was funny, until something similar happened to her.

My supervisor had a great many health problems and she stayed in the bathroom a lot because her medicines made her nauseated. She said when she was in the bathroom, she heard someone say, "Are you okay?" She said she looked around and no one else was in the bathroom with her.

Many guests who have stayed there have reported that a woman would come into their rooms at night and either tuck them in or would stand there by the bed smiling at them. Some of the guests have packed the bags and left during the middle of the night because of that.

One housekeeper said that one Sunday morning, a lady walked by her wearing old-fashioned clothes and the housekeeper asked her if she needed anything. The lady replied, "No" and floated down the hallway. That housekeeper quit, unfortunately.

Other housekeepers have reported that glasses would break while they were in the rooms cleaning, that a couple of the TVs would turn themselves off and on at will, and the beds which were freshly made would have an imprint on them as if someone had sat on the bed.

There has been a rumor going around there for years that a lady was killed by her boyfriend or husband at the inn during the 30s or 40s. She had bellied up to the bar there and was flirting with a patrolman. Her boyfriend or husband became jealous and enraged. So later, when they got to room 215, he killed her. (Whether or not this is true, I'm not sure. I've done some research, but couldn't find anything to substantiate that claim.)

The night auditors have reported seeing a male figure in the dining room. He would be seen standing by the grand fireplace. They say this ghost looks like Lucius Morse, because there is a painting of him in the lobby. They also have reported seeing a smoky-like fog descending the grand staircase.

There have been two ghost investigations done at the inn in recent years. They have reported to catch the EVPs of a woman screaming, the EVP in the spa telling one of the investigators to get out of there and even called his name (like it did to me).

There are some speculations that the antiques that the owner has brought in may have some ghosts attached to them. They may very well be more than the three known ghosts that dwell within the ground of the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa. If you are ever out visiting Asheville and the surrounding area, take a trip to the Lake Lure area.

[note from the webmaster: this is an update by the author on 2009-01-26]

I have on Youtube, some EVPs I got from the inn I would like to share with you all.

Also, here is the link to the Paranormal Scene Investigators who investigated in the twice and got some substantial EVPS.

I thought maybe you would like to check that out for yourselves. Enjoy!

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, MunstersBabe, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

intothdark (1 stories) (13 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-04-14)
It sounded like 'shasta you are bad bad" I didn't really hear a not bad or not mad it sounded like bad bad as if she/he were talking to a child. 😲 That EVP is so creepy! I hope you figure it out!

Intothdark
ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-02-10)
Wow what an interesting story. I did make out some things being said in the evp but I'm not positive. Thanks for sharring I realy enjoyed reading and listening to. I hope to hear from you soon and take care
MunstersBabe (10 stories) (32 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-27)
About the tunnel: It is now bolted shut. It started in the laundry room and came out somewhere across the street. I thought it might be some kind of escape tunnel for the workers who were in the basement, in case of a fire or perhaps a bombing (it was dug during the war). Noone can get into it now, however. I don't think there was ever a power plant there to give the inn its electricity. All I know is that you can contact the owner George Wittmer for any kind of specifics on the building itself: http://www.lakelure.com/

He should be able to tell you more things about it than I could.
Cholulteca (148 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-27)
Thanks for sharing, sounds really like a very interesting place, gosh, one more in my "to do" list! 😁
Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-27)
Like Rhodes I am curious about the tunnel. Do you think it was original to the hotel? Is there any possibility that it was a conduit for a power generating plant? Sometimes large structures that require a lot of power--hospitals, factories, hotels--have a detached power plant and a underground tunnel by which the power is conveyed. Thanks.
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-27)
Hello MB and thank you for an antriguing account! I would have liked to spend a weekend at the Inn and get a "reading" of this place.

It sounds like it has a rich history and not a very happy one at all times. War can leave a strong imprint on time.

I'm fascinated by the tunnel you mentioned in your previous comment. You said it leads to a room. Is the room still there? I wonder what that was used for but I won't let my mind wander as it seems to sometimes make the weirdest connections!

Do you think you could try an EVP in the tunnel? Does anyone have the original blueprints of the construction? I wouldn't be surprised if the tunnel and the connecting room are not included of course.
dreamergal72 (6 stories) (793 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-26)
I had seen that movir dirty dancing but didn't know about the spirits/ghosts living there very interest.
MunstersBabe (10 stories) (32 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-26)
To Kecoughtan: The spa was not put in the basement until about 5 years or so ago, when the inn closed down for winter renovations. However, there is a tunnel in the laundry area that went under the parking lot to another large building adjacent to the hotel. Noone knows why it's there. The spa is across from the laundry room, and behind it is the pantry for the restaurant. The restaurant has seen its own visitations late at night when no one but the night auditor is there.
MunstersBabe (10 stories) (32 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-26)
Actually, I am friends with one of the girls who does the laundry at the inn. I will ask her what's going on there. The PSI have a website in which you can go hear their own EVPs:

Http://www.paranormalsceneinvestigators.com/psihome01.htm

I also have some of my own EVPs that you can listen to and draw your own conclusions to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AzieOO7Hew&feature=channel_page

The PSI are holding a conference there in February, and it's pretty expensive to attend. One of the people from Ghost Hunters International is supposed to be there.
Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-26)
Thanks for sharing your experiences and the hotel's past with us, MunstersBabe. I knew a portion of "Dirty Dancing" was filmed there, but was unaware of its rich history and paranormal activity. Do you know anyone who still works there so we can get updates? When you described your discomfort in the spa area it ocurred to me that if wounded soldiers convalesced at the hotel the most severely injured may have been unable to swim and may have instead taken therapy in the spa area. It is strictly conjecture on my part and unconnected to any specific encounter, but I have to think that between their wounds and the trauma of combat that there were intense emotions in there.
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-26)
Wow, that sounds pretty scary! So many people have experienced these things, and those EVP recordings... Sounds like a good ol' genuine haunting to me, and an intelligent one at that. Hopefully someone will be able to put these restless spirits at ease, although I bet the paranormal activity makes it a tourist hotspot too.

Blessings,
DA

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