Perched atop the hills of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the Crescent Hotel is a stunning Victorian-era building with a chilling reputation. In fact, it is said to be the most haunted hotel in America!
Many guests and staff have claimed to have seen ghosts and evidence of supernatural activity.
Even if you don’t believe in ghosts it is true that the hotel has an eerie and unsettling history and recent finds have only added to the creepy allure of this haunted place.
America’s Most Haunted Hotel: The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs
Since its grand opening in 1886, the hotel has played many roles—from an exclusive resort for the wealthy to a makeshift hospital for dubious medical practices.
Over the decades, its history has been steeped in eerie tales of ghostly apparitions, tragic deaths, and paranormal encounters.
Today, visitors flock not just for its historical charm but also to experience the spine-tingling presence of spirits that still seem to linger in its halls.
History of the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs
So, let’s talk about the history and the ghosts of The Crescent Hotel.
Over the years many of the guests have reported not only ghost sightings but also strange, paranormal events occurring both in their rooms and in other areas of the Crescent hotel.
Here is how it all came about.
Michael the ghost
May of 1886 marked the opening of the opulent Crescent Hotel on its majestic hilltop location. It was built at a cost of almost $300,000 and was a showplace!
During the building of the hotel Irish stonemasons carved and assembled 18-inch-thick blocks of limestone from a White River quarry which was not too far away.
(The quarry was across the river from the small town of Beaver which is now known for the little Golden Gate Bridge of Arkansas.)
One of these masons is considered to be the hotel’s first ghost. He tragically fell to his death down into what is now room 218. This room is the most “active” of the haunted rooms. Guests have reported slamming doors, visions in the mirror, and opening drawers.
This mason turned ghost is called Michael by the hotel and many visitors actually request room 218 in hopes of experiencing paranormal activity.
Victorian Ghosts
The hotel attracted wealthy visitors during the Victorian years and several of todays ghosts appear dressed in Victorian garb. Much of this activity seems to be centered around the Crystal Dining Room where dancing Victorian ghosts have been seen in the wee hours of the night.
Staff have experienced decor being moved around when nobody was in the room.
Guests and staff have reported seeing a man in dapper Victorian clothing sitting and looking pensively out a window
Boarding School Days
The hotel began to struggle financially because there were too few guests coming during the winter months.
To help make more money the Crescent College & Conservatory for Young Women opened in 1908. This was run during the winter months while the hotel continued as a resort in the summer months.
The Crescent College was a boarding college for “fine young ladies” and according to my research several of the attendees went on to have celebrated lives.
This was during a time that education for women wasn’t highly valued yet many prominent families sent their daughters to study here. It was considered to be one of the most exclusive boarding academies in Arkansas. The tuition was a lofty $375 a year.
During the ghost tour you will learn that one of the hotel ghosts is said to be a young woman from the college who was pregnant at the time of her death.
Nobody really knows her story. Some speculate that the father of her baby was one of the professors at the school. She fell…or perhaps jumped…or perhaps was pushed…from her 3rd floor balcony and died from her injuries.
This ghost is seen as a mist-like apparition in a nightgown, sometimes jumping from the balcony, but also drifting in the hallway and on the back courtyard.
The Sad Days of the Baker Hospital
Due to the tough economic times of the depression the college was forced to closed completely.
In 1937 the hotel was purchased by a psychopathic con-man named Norman Baker. Thus began the creepiest time period of the Crescent Hotel.
Baker began a pseudo-scientific establishment which he named Baker’s Cancer Curing Hospital.
He was called Doctor Baker although he had no medical training. Patients were attracted to the “hospital” through the mailing of brochures that claimed he could cure cancer without surgery.
Many people, sick and weak and dying, came to the hotel to take his “cure” which consisted of a magical elixir which, of course, did nothing. He bilked families out of their savings by telling them that he could cure their loved ones.
On some occasions even after patients died in his care he would not tell their loved ones that they had passed in order to continue collecting payments.
It is probably not surprising that much of the supernatural activities are from these dark days. Many are associated with the basement morgue that was opened during this time of the hotel.
Here are just a few of the sightings:
- Theodora is a ghost who lives in Room 419. She is said to introduce herself as one of Dr. Baker’s patients who is looking for her room key. Theodora has even been known to tidy up or repack bags after the guests leave the room to have a meal or go into town.
- “Doctor” Baker himself has been seen in the hotel lobby. He wears a purple shirt and white linen suit and his appearance matches that of known photographs of the charlatan.
- A nurse pushing a gurney has been seen in the area of the “hospital’s morgue and the squeaky wheels of a gurney have been heard on other floors.
- People report hearing screaming or voices when no one is around especially near the morgue.
- Some people report feeling faint while on the 3rd floor.
Fortunately Baker’s time at the Crescent Hotel did not last long. He was arrested for mail fraud and sent to Leavenworth prison in 1940.
It was those fancy lying brochures that convicted him.
Other supernatural sightings at the Crescent Hotel:
- A man in Victorian clothing who says, “I saw the most beautiful woman in here last night and I am waiting for her to return.”
- A bride and groom in Victorian wedding clothes was seen by one of the hotel staff who subsequently quit her job.
- Pots and pans flying off of hooks in the hotel kitchen have been experienced by a chef of the hotel.
- There have been sightings of a young boy who is called “Breckie.” He is believed to be the ghost of Clifton Breckinridge Thompson who was the 4 year old son of the college president. The little boy died of complications from appendicitis. He is said to still bounce his ball in the hallways and loves to hang out on the second floor.
- Morris the tabby cat: Morris was around until the 1970’s. Guest say they can still feel him rubbing against their legs.
- Dr. John Fremont Ellis was the in-house doctor for the hotel in the early years. Some say they can smell his cherry pipe tobacco near his former office which was room 212.
The Hotel Falls into Disrepair and Comes Back to Grandeur
During the next years the building had various owners and experienced various levels of restoration and neglect. In 1967 a fire destroyed much of the south wing of the hotel and it seemed that it might never be grand again.
Although there were some more owners and various restorations it wasn’t until 1997 when Marty and Elise Roenigk purchased the historic inn that the fortunes of The Crescent Hotel really began to change.
The new owners announced, “In five years, we pledge to have this ‘Grand Lady of The Ozarks’ back to where she was 100 years ago.”
I suspect that the residents of Eureka Springs were skeptical of this claim. However, by 2002, after spending 5 million dollars in renovations, the hotel had been fully restored and was once again presiding grandly over the town.
Recent Chilling Discovery at the Crescent Hotel
In 2019 the hotel’s landscape gardener made a discovery. She dug up some strange bottles. Soon it was realized that the bottles were identical to those that had been used on one of Norman Baker’s advertising posters and brochures.
Some of the bottles even had what appeared to be tumors floating in liquid in them.
Yikes!
This hit the Arkansas news hard. I remember the whole state was talking about it.
Archeologists from the nearby University of Arkansas were called. The state crime lab was called, a hazmat crew was called, and…eventually the dig moved forward.
The site turned out to be the lost dump site for the infamous con-man Norman Baker. As each bottle, surgical tool, and specimen jar was unearthed it became clear that the stories and rumors about the Dr. Baker years were not only true completely true but were probably way worse than had previously been believed.
This has simply added to the mystery and allure of the Crescent Hotel.
Although the hotel leans heavily (and dare I say, happily) into their ghostly reputation it is also a perfect place for those who just want to experience a stay at a great historic hotel.
The Ghost Tour at the Crescent Hotel
In fact, one of the main attractions at the Crescent Hotel are their ghost tours.
We took the ghost tour and it was so much fun! They start every night at 6:30 and last about 1.5 hours. You get to hear the stories of many of the hotel’s spirits, learn about the various guest sightings, and see the infamous morgue of Dr. Baker.
It was fun but a bit scary!
Staying at the Crescent Hotel Today
You absolutely do not have to believe in ghosts to enjoy a get away at the Crescent.
Personally, I have never experienced anything supernatural or even creepy while staying there. Even though I definitely keep watch for unusual happenings or misty apparitions!
We have a post here with a review of the Crescent Hotel!
And here is a list of some more of our favorite places to stay in Arkansas!
Thanks for stopping by!
