Come along on a ghostly journey...

The Jefferson Hotel Ah, the historic old Jefferson Hotel... one of our favorite places to stay in the city. Not only because of the ghost stories associated with the place, but also because of the beauty of the old hotel. It is truly a grand old place, and well worth a visit. It dates back to the 1800's, and has a colorful history - it was once a cotton warehouse, and some say that the restaurant of today was once a dance hall where ladies of the evening picked up customers to take up to the rooms in the hotel. Who knows for sure - I can just tell you that the building just seems to ooze history. It's incredible to walk down the hall and wonder about the thousands of people whose footsteps preceded you. The Old Staircase The stairway leading up to the second floor is delightfully creaky, and has known to be the site of paranormal activity. The owners have heard footsteps on the stairs when the hotel was empty, or in the early hours when the hotel is quiet. Visitors have felt taps on their shoulder and tugs at their hair as they stopped on the stairway. Aside from all that, though, the stairs are fun to climb and hear them creak like they've done for many, many years. The Upstairs Hallway There is a single hallway upstairs, and one directly beneath it downstairs. The rooms are on either side of the hall, and there have been strange things reported in almost every room: ghostly orbs in photographs, phantom figures that appear during the night, knocking on the headboards, and some have even reported closet doors that open and close by themselves. Our Night In Room 20 It is hard to find a room at the Jefferson Hotel that doesn't have a ghost story or two. We were there during a week when several rooms were open, so we selected Room 20. Oddly enough, Room 20 is on the first floor directly below Room 19. We had a little excitement there, which is described in the paragraphs below. Before I tell you what we experienced in Room 20, I have to mention that we've stayed in several different rooms in the hotel over the years, and they each have their charm - and a ghost story or two. There's nothing scary or evil at the Jefferson Hotel, but a "former guest" or two may be making an occasional visit. Room 20 was special for us because soon after we stayed there, it was closed to the public!!! (cue scary, dramatic music) Okay, okay, cut the scary tune... it was actually turned into an apartment for one of the most delightful ladies in Jefferson, Texas. Apparently people ask for Room 20 after reading this website, and when they're told that it's not for rent, all kinds of stories are spread. Like I said, though, it's now simply an apartment. We are very happy to have had the chance to stay there, though. Our stay was back in the 1990s, and the first thing that we thought was strange happened the first afternoon after we checked in. While unpacking, we tried to open the armoire (marked by "A" in the diagram below). There were no handles on the doors, so you had to grasp the door by its inside edge, lift up, and then pull the door open - it was not that easy to do. We put our clothes in the armoire, closed the doors, and started talking about what to do that day. The subject of the Jefferson Hotel ghosts came up, and as we were talking, one of the armoire doors slowly swung open. Had we not had to go to the trouble that it took to close it up just minutes before, we would have written it off as an unbalanced piece of furniture. There is just no way that it could have happened like that, though. After a wonderful evening in Jefferson, we came back to the room and turned in for the night. The room had two beds facing each other, and a bathroom that is labeled "B" in the diagram below. We decided on Bed #2 because it had a better view of the television that was on a small table on the opposite side of the room from the armoire. We turned off the television and lights about midnight. About 2:00 AM, we were awakened by a popping noise on the opposite side of the room. It seemed to be on top of Bed #1, shown by the dot in the diagram. The popping had an electrical sound, and although there was no light or ozone smell associated with the sound, we were initially afraid of some kind of electrical fire. The popping was irregular, and seemed to be moving around in the area of Bed #1. The sound then started moving toward us. Over the course of the next hour, in moved around the room in the path shown. It was right beside our bed, then moved over us, and continued around the room. We turned on the light several times just to see if there was anything there, and even snapped a photo or two that didn't show anything at all. There was no doubt that something was moving around our room, though. On the second night we slept in Bed #1 to see if anything different would happen, and the popping phantom visited us again, at approximately the same time. That night, however, it started on the Bed #2 side of the room, and moved around only on that end. For some reason, it did not approach us. It was a very interesting experience, and as always, we will be returning to the Jefferson Hotel soon. Sometimes we encounter something supernatural there, other times we don't, but the accommodations and hospitality are always first class, and the location in the center of the historic downtown district can't be beat. Lamache's Italian Restaurant And before closing, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Lamache's Italian Restaurant there at the hotel - it's the place that I was talking about that was reportedly once a dance hall. It's now an incredible place for Italian food, and you simply have to dine there while in Jefferson. Allow a little time for your meal - they do home-cooked meals from old family recipes, and there's no thawing out pre-packaged meals at Lamache's. The food is delicious, and since there are a few ghost stories associated with the restaurant itself, it's definitely a place worth visiting. Enjoy your stay at the Jefferson Hotel - there's no doubt that once you've experienced their hospitality, you'll be back again and again! Contact Information: Jefferson Hotel 124 W. Austin Jefferson, TX 75657 903-665-2631 Email: 124austin@sbcglobal.net Website: http://historicjeffersonhotel.com/

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