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Linden - Employees and patrons of The Linden Hotel have seen doors open of
their own accord, heard keys jangle and watched lights turn on and off.
They also
were startled by a radio that began blasting and heard a salt shaker clatter
to the floor.
Co-owner Sharon Flowers has heard a girl screaming in the basement.
"I heard a scream from the bottom of the basement," she said. "I went
downstairs, and there was nothing down there."
And an employee hired to wash dishes quit after one shift.
The problem?
"They heard somebody calling their name all night," Flowers said.
At Tuesday's Linden Historical Society meeting, she showed photos and
recounted stories of ghosts believed to inhabit the historic Linden Hotel.
Approximately 25 Historical Society members and guests attended the
presentation, held at the Old Mill.
Marion Wardie of Linden, a Historical Society member, said she tends to
believe the stories of the ghosts at the hotel, a historical building
established in 1840.
Dan Drew and his wife, Kim, who moved to an older home in Linden in October,
enjoyed Flowers' presentation.
"It was fun," Drew said. "We're a fan of old things."
Flowers' parents, Jack and Rose Furry, also attended the Historical Society
meeting.
"We had a very nice turnout," said Gayle Deschenes, Historical Society
treasurer. "It's nice to see so many members and guests join us, and the
presentation by the hotel was wonderful."
The ghosts don't seem harmful, Flowers said. "They don't try to scare you
most of the time."
But the spirits do seem to be "just a little mischievous." They make noises
and place a ghostly hand on people from time to time to let visitors and
staff know they are there.
A chef at the hotel had an unusual experience with a pot of melted butter,
Flowers said. The pot fell and spilled onto the floor, then returned to the
grill.
And the chef felt a hand on his back, letting him know not to back up. When
he turned around to look for the owner of the hand, no one was there.
Flowers believes the screams she heard from the hotel basement belong to a
little girl who died in a small fire at the hotel.
This ghostly child is at least one of the spirits that has been seen outside
The Linden Hotel. A patron with three small daughters of her own was at home
when she saw a little girl in her backyard, trying to get in the family's
pool. The mysterious girl vanished when the woman went to see who it was.
In addition, another mother and daughter were at the hotel for dinner when
the woman noticed her child was talking to someone. She asked who it was.
"The little girl of the hotel," was her daughter's reply.
Flowers said the ghostly child appears occasionally.
"She tends to visit some people from time to time."
At least three other ghosts are believed to make their home at The Linden
Hotel. Members of the Southeast Michigan Ghost Hunter Society visited the
hotel on two occasions, using digital cameras and electromagnetic field
detectors to search for spiritual energy.
The ghost hunters found floating orbs that changed colors from red to white,
and their photographs showed shadows they believe are ghosts.
"They found the face of the girl on the wall," Flowers said.
The child had blonde hair and wore a white nightgown.
A psychic who visited the hotel with members of the Ghost Hunter Society
said one is named Charley, a man who died of natural causes in the building.
Other ghosts include an Asian woman who worked at the hotel and had a love
interest there, and a man who appeared in uniform at a Civil War
re-enactment four years ago.
"The sash on the soldier comes halfway down and disappears," Flowers said.
Flowers' sister, Karen Stroud, had a ghostly experience while standing
behind the bar. The glass she picked up shattered - without being dropped.
Tales of the ghosts at The Linden Hotel are included in a book entitled,
"Ghost Stories of Michigan."
More information about The Linden Hotel - and its ghosts - is available on
its Web site, www.LindenHotel.com. The hotel, owned by Flowers and Mike
Furry, is located at 122 E. Broad St. in Linden |
