Good afternoon, everyone – I’m stuck at LaGuardia and not sure when I’ll be able to get on a computer again:

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As we were waiting to see if our flight would be one of hundreds that have been cancelled today, I happened to see an article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation about 25 hotels listed on the Register of Historic Places that many consider to have the highest haunted quotient. I was eager to see if any were from Detroit. No luck. But there was one from New Orleans, which is almost Detroit.

The New Orleans entrant is Le Pavillon, built in 1907.

All those Corinthian columns: looks spooky. I’ve not stayed there, but have walked inside a number of times. Gets even spookier: opulent marble floors, statues, gaudy crystal chandeliers, and antiques and art in every direction.

Evidently, things are OK until you get to the third floor. That’s where “Phillipe” has for years pulled pranks on guests, housekeeping, and management. He (?) pulls out sheets while people are sleeping, stacks luggage left unattended in rooms, and misplaces items in the hallway. Why only the third floor, why only pranks and not something more difficult, and why “Phillipe” are all unanswered questions.

But that seems pretty tame. So, I came back to Detroit. Turns out we have any number of places some believe are haunted. Perhaps foremost is the Whitney Restaurant in Midtown.

Built in 1894 by and for David Whitney, a timber baron and the wealthiest Detroiter of his time, the Whitney has 52 rooms, 10 bathrooms, 20 fireplaces, and 218 windows. As one might expect, it has sumptuous woodcarvings throughout its 22,000 square feet.

The haunted part has multiple dimensions. Some claim to have seen David’s ghost roaming the house. Others have stated that the original elevator, one of Detroit’s firsts, operates on its own. Others yet say that lights go on and off without being switched and that chandeliers move without any drafts. And a number of people have claimed to have heard voices and laughter in the third floor and attic; indeed, “paranormal investigators” claim to have recorded these.

But the most exotic symbol of the suggested haunting is the Ghost Bar, on the third floor.

It just exudes mystery. If it isn’t haunted, it should be. Guests have reported that their glasses of wine move without being nudged by a human appendage. And some report feeling a cold presence moving behind them as they sit at the bar.

Very cool, so to speak. I’m glad we have such a worthy entrant into the most haunted historic places.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Rip

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