The Haunted Hotel 5
My VERY, Very good friend Robyn came all the way over from Down Under. She arrived from the land of Oz last Saturday. We headed straight from the Austin airport to San Antonio, kid-less and carefree. I can tell you that I was in MUCH need of a break, not many get their break in the form of a beautiful Australian Goddess, but I did!
This is part 1 , day 1 of our adventures. Some of my posts this week in recounting our explorations may seem like a Texas history lesson for you, but I learned a lot about this great state while acting as a tour guide for my friend.
Our hotel reservations were for a hotel with a reputation for being haunted. The Menger Hotel was built in 1859 and is only 100 yards away from the famous Alamo, where 189 brave men and women stood to defend Texas. There are wonderful stories and mysteries of shutters closing all by themselves, stacked glasses becoming unstacked and apparitions in the elevators, hallways and rooms.
The hotel itself is a beautiful San Antonio historical landmark. The lobby and hallways are filled with museum-worthy artifacts, turn of the century furnishings and amazing art. Everywhere you turn, you find a treasure that makes your mouth drop. The elegance of the hotel has attracted historic figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Mae West, Babe Ruth, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. It really felt like a step back in time but with modern amenities and conveniences!
It was so surreal to imagine that the first guests probably arrived on foot or horseback. Although the parking situation is so bad, I kind of envied those past guests! The men that ran the vallet service had such chaos to deal with but did so with smiles and kindness but what a mess! 
The 3 story tall ceiling of the original lobby has an amazing and beautiful stained glass window that lets in colorful natural light. Our room was just across the hall from this ceiling and we paused to look at it many times.
We requested our room be in the oldest section of the hotel to increase our chances of ghostly visitors. They advised us to take lots of pictures in the event that there might be something near that we couldn’t see. I clicked and I spied and I sneaked and I clicked some more…. I’d jump out into the hallway to grab photos at random moments….. I even got caught by a group of men returning to their room in my jammies… or were they ghosts? hehehehe
But even if I didn’t capture any ghosties (as my Australian friend called them) on camera, I DID have one claim of a paranormal experience. There are a zillion “normal” reasons to explain my experience, the most likely being that I WANTED one to happen, but let’s ignore that and just assume that this was a “ghostie”. Here’s my tale:
I awoke in the middle of the night for an unknown reason. As I lay there with my eyes still closed – I realized I was cold…. at the same moment the little hairs on the back of my head raised up and I had a split second of awakefullness that made me realize, “I’M IN THE MENGER, MAYBE IT’S A GHOST!!!!”. I leapt straight out of bed, fully expecting to see an apparition, but alas nothing. Perhaps it was an overactive imagination or maybe, just maybe it was a ghost passing through my room….. who’s to say?
Fact or Fiction, Haunted or Not, Spirit or Imagination…. it was a great night!
