Most Haunted Places in America: The Hearthstone Inn
The Hearthstone Inn in Colorado Springs, Colorado is actually two Victorian mansions that have been connected, making one large, haunted edifice. The first house, built in 1885, was the home of Judson Moss Bemis and his family. The second house was built in 1900 and was a boardinghouse for those suffering the effects of tuberculosis, who needed the cool, dry air of the mountains to relieve their symptoms. Since 1978 the two houses have been connected and been known as the Hearthstone Inn bed and breakfast. It was sold to one David Oxenhandler in 1999.
It seems that the haunted history of the inn kicked into high gear after a lightning strike on the property in 1999. The day following this incident, a room change was requested by a seemingly frightened person who had only been checked into a third floor room for only five minutes, with no explanation given for the request. Workers went up to see what was wrong with the room, and they found a mahogany mirror face-down in the hallway. They placed it back on the wall. The next day the room was rented to another visitor, but they came down a few minutes later requesting a room change. They said that the mirror had floated off the wall and landed on the ground.
Other poltergeist-type activity still takes place at the inn, especially in what was once the Bemis house. The wait staff has given reports that drinking glasses will shatter in their hands, and one particular waiter says that his pen is routinely stolen from his apron, only to reappear attached to one of the curtains, outside of anyone’s reach.
The appearance of a full-bodied apparition resembling a laughing little girl has been reported in both houses, and the same ghost is said to have awoken the owner one dark night by jumping up and down on his bed. When the lights were turned on, no one else was in the room.
The Hearthstone Inn is also home to all the other ghostly tropes that make paranormal enthusiasts come from miles around. Cold spots appear all over the inn; orbs, mists, and streaks of lights are often captured on film; electronic equipment malfunctions or turns on and off by itself; and people feel as if they are being touched by unseen hands. EVPs are also a pretty common occurrence on the property.
Some, but not all, of the paranormal events that occur here are attributed to the ghosts of former tuberculosis patients that breathed their last on the property. One of the full-bodied apparitions, however, seems to be the ghost of Alice Bemis Taylor, daughter of Judson Moss Bemis. Mrs. Bemis Taylor is the one who donated her family home to the neighboring tuberculosis clinic. She is said to haunt all parts of the Hearthstone complex, and has always been one of the most active spirits residing there.
The haunting of the third floor room where the mirror is said to float off the wall is attributed to the ghost of a man who committed suicide by hanging himself there. He seems to be a particularly nasty spirit, constantly trying to scare away guests and locking maids in his quarters. In all, this seems to be a great place for the ghost hunter to spend a few nights. There seems to be paranormal events from across the spectrum here, from apparitions to EVP and back again.
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