Quality Inn at General Lee's Headquarters

Friday, February 24, 2012

Guests Report Strange Happenings In Their Suite!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009, Early Afternoon

I was in the breakfast room restocking for the next morning when a young couple approached me.  They told me they had been directed to me by the other hotel staff.

The young couple then related to me the following, which occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 18, and Wednesday, August 19, in the Oakridge Suite: 

"We were lying in bed and started to see a bright red light coming from the bathroom.  At times it appeared to be blinking, at other times it pulsated, and at other times it remained a solid, bright red.

"We went into the bathroom, turned on all the lights, and saw there was nothing in there to create the light effect.  As soon as we turned off the lights and went back to bed, the bright red light started once again, blinking and pulsating."

Both the young man and woman witnessed this.  The young man added that he also saw green and purple lights blinking and pulsating; however, the young woman only saw the red light.

Both said the lights were very bright.  Eventually, the young man fell asleep, but the young woman was mesmerized and stayed awake most of the night watching the lights.

They told me that this happened on both nights of their two-night stay in the suite at approximately the same time and for the same duration of time.  Neither of them were afraid, just unnerved.

I explained to the young couple that we have heard many accounts of paranormal activity from that particular suite, as well as on the entire property.  I told them that this was the first account of this nature that I had ever heard about in that suite. 

To allay their fears, I also told them that no one has ever been harmed in any manner by anything that has occurred on the property.

The left very excited and happy to have had the paranormal experience in the suite.

On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the brigades advancing with Union Major John Reynolds' First Corps. was the infamous Iron Brigade, consisting of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin Infantry, the 19th Indiana Infantry and the 24th Michigan Infantry.  The 2nd and 7th Wisconsin, along with the 19th Indiana and the 24th Michigan regiments were immediately ordered into battle on McPherson's Ridge, with the 6th Wisconsin held in reserve.

Two of the regiments on the north side of the cut, the 56th PA and the 76th NY had been flanked and forced back to Seminary Ridge. The other regiment, the 147th NY had not heard the order to retreat and was even now fighting an entire brigade of Confederates, led by Brigadier General Joseph Davis, nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

When it appeared that the Confederates were about to move against the Iron Brigade on their right flank and to completely overrun the 147th NY, the 6th Wisconsin, let by Colonel Rufus Dawes, was ordered to charge across the Chambersburg Pike (now Rt. 30) and into an open field to stop the Confederates.  Sheltered in the unfinished railroad cut about 175 yards at the end of that field was the 2nd and 42nd Mississippi Infantry and the 55th North Carolina Infantry.  After a desperate and bloody battle, the 6th Wisconsin, with support from the 95th NY, captured the 2nd Mississippi battle flag, losing 168 of their men in the process. This field where the 6th Wisconsin charged into an unrelenting hail of musket fire and where so many brave young men lost their lives sits within feet of The Fireside Suite and The Oakridge Suite, along with the western-most wing of the hotel.  

Is it any wonder why we have accounts of paranormal activity in those two suites?

Ghosts Locking Doors Again

Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 7:10 a.m.

At 5:30 a.m., I went outside to unlock the restroom doors.  There is a separate restroom for the ladies and gentlemen.  I always check to make sure the doors are totally unlocked by opening each door.  They must be unlocked for cleaning each morning by a housekeeper.

At 7:10 a.m., one of the housekeepers came into the office to ask me for the men's restroom key.  I asked her why she needed it, and she told me that the door was locked.  I explained to her that I had unlocked it and had checked to make sure it was open.  She said it was locked now.

I mentioned that perhaps someone was using it.  She took the key and soon came back and told me that no one was in the men's room when she unlocked it. 

The civil war spirit soldiers are so mischievous!  They just love messing with me.

Ghosts Turn On the Radio Again

Monday, August 17, 2009, Midnight

I was in the office gathering together my paperwork to start the audit when, once again, I heard loud music coming from the laundry room. 

Once again, I walked into the laundry room and saw the radio on one of the tables.  Once again, I checked to see if the alarm had been set to go off at midnight.  It had not been set.  Once again, I saw that the radio button had been turned to the "on" position and country and western music was blasting out at me. 

Okay, boys, you can listen to this all day long when the housekeepers are here.  But, I need quiet now to concentrate on the figures and do my calculations for the audit.  I then proceeded to turn the radio off.

Thankfully, I never heard another note from that radio the rest of the night. 

Ghosts Apparently Like Music

Saturday, August 15, 2009, Midnight

I was in the office gathering my paperwork to begin the hotel's audit when I heard loud music playing.  The music seemed to be coming from behind the closed door that leads into the laundry room.

I opened the door and slowly stepped down into the laundry room.  Sitting on one of the tables was a radio playing music at full blast.  I immediately checked the radio to see if the alarm had been set to go off at midnight, and it was not set at all.  It was then that I noticed a separate button for the radio and it had been turned "on." 

I laughed, turned it off, and went back to begin the midnight audit.

The radio had been playing country and western music.  With all the good ole Southern boys we have at the hotel, I wasn't surprised.

Ghosts Opened Locked Door In Front Of Guest!

Saturday, June 13, 2009, 8:10 p.m.

I was checking in a guest and explaining the amenities.  During my explanation, I have to move to my right to direct the guest to our ice and beverage machines, which are located outside.

As I turned, facing the lobby side, private entrance (which is always locked), I heard a click and watched the locked door open.  I immediately said:  "That door is locked!"

The guest just stared at me like I had lost my mind.  I quickly looked at the door and determined that it was still locked even though it was wide open.

I walked the two feet to the door to close the "locked" door and continued my run-down of the amenities at the hotel with the guest.  The guest could not get out of the lobby fast enough and practically ran out.

After the guest left, I tried opening the locked door.  It would not budge.     

Thursday, February 23, 2012

I Asked And The Ghosts Did It!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 1:48 a.m.

Courtney stopped by the hotel for a visit.  (When you work the crazy hours we do, our sleeping patterns are generally way out of whack.)  We were both in the lobby at the front counter, sitting at different computer terminals.

Earlier in the evening, I had closed the french doors that lead into the breakfast room because it keeps the lobby cooler.  When the doors are closed, they are secured from the bottom in a small niche in the floor.  In order to open the doors, you have to turn the handle on the door itself.

Courtney and I were chatting when we both heard a noise coming from the direction of the french doors.  We both looked over at the doors, and they were open.

I walked a few feet over, checked the doors, and then closed them again.  Three minutes later, we heard the same noise coming from the same direction and, once again, saw that the french doors were open.  Once again, I checked the doors and then secured them.

At 1:57 a.m., Courtney and I were still sitting in the lobby behind the front counter.  I heard a click to my right and watched the private, locked door from lobby to the breezeway open.  No one was there and the lock was still in the "lock" position.  Since this happens all the time, Courtney and I just looked at each other and smiled. 

At 2:07 a.m., Courtney and I decided to try an experiment.  We sat in our respective positions behind the front desk, still sitting at different computer terminals, several feet away from the french doors.  I asked the civil war soldier spirits to open the french doors again.

As we both watched, we saw the door handle turn down, heard the same noise we heard before, and watched as the french doors opened. 

After we composed ourselves (we were laughing), I checked the french doors once more and then secured them once again.

They did not open up again the rest of the night.    

Phantom Campfires

Monday, April 27, 2009, 12:30 a.m.

This was relayed to me by my co-worker and fellow night auditor, Courtney.

Courtney stepped out the side, private lobby door for a moment.  As soon as she opened the door, she was enveloped in what she has frequently described to me as "campfire" smoke.  (Courtney is a former camp counselor.)

Courtney said it lasted several minutes, but then slowly dispersed. 

The hotel sits on Day One battlefield, in an area where there are no camps or any camping allowed for miles in all directions.