(old photo of a “creepy man” snagged off the web to give a face to our guy)

In the first season when we all lived here together there was an odd visual that took place one afternoon. One of the housemates saw a man -a stranger- walking in the second floor hallway passing room #12 area going toward the back stairs. This was unusual indeed and they pursued him as he entered a room. They asked one of the other housemates in the room, “Who was that? And where did he go?”

The man was nowhere to be found. He’d seemingly vanished.

The second spotting of possibly this same man took place when Nancy Coplin and her crew were filming for an actual ghost investigation in the hotel one night. They were part of the Pennsylvania Ghost Hunters Society. The halls were dark. A man -a stranger- stepped in front of them and actually spoke. He apologized for possibly getting in their way. Then when Nancy’s crew came outside and asked the rest of the hotel folks who the man was no one had any idea. Nor could he be found. Nor would he be found because they were in the hotel alone. There was no one else in the building.

A third story took place where a man -a stanger- was spotted in the second floor hallway while the hotel was supposedly empty. And then he was gone. These stories are all associated with the second floor hall.

The forth spotting took place on the afternoon that newest hotel resident Aimee Kast was moving into the building. She was carrying boxes of her things from the first floor up the stairs to the second floor. She was in the building entirely alone. Suddenly when she reached the top of the stairs she screamed with fright as she saw a man down at the other end of the hallway. He was back by room #12 area and the back stairs. S he dropped her things and ran out of the building and would not return inside until I got home later that evening.  “I saw a man,” she was completely freaked-out. “He was just standing there at the end of the hall.”

After that we sort of lost count.

A recent spotting took place just this month when make up designer and model Amanda Lovell visited the hotel.  She was up very late talking.  She was new to the building.  About 5AM she stopped sharp and looked at a door. She asked me, “You don’t see that?” I didn’t. “A man, right there! What the hell are you doing in here?!” She claimed she was looking at a man standing just a few feet away. After a moment she said he just went away, without saying anything, as if he just wanted to spy on us.  When she described his long coat and strange brim hat, and as a little dressed up, the description seemed to match the other ‘man in the hall’ sightings from over the years.

A week later Sarah Ireland, long time visiting guest to the hotel, said she saw him too, same spot, standing behind her, through a mirror.

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PSYCHIC IMPRESSIONS OF MAN IN THE HALL?

Psychic Sydney Mulligan discussed a man-ghost who lurks around the building. She felt he enjoys toying with people. She said he dresses kind of old fashion. She felt he used to live here back in the day. He was kind of a hillbilly hotel village idiot who had some position here of employment within the hotel. She said he thinks of himself as kind of a dandy, imagining himself well-dressed, and he did dress up, but he was really just “off”. She said he’s part of the place now.  She also believed he had a second friend-ghost who was a doctor who would visit from Philadelphia. She thought this doctor was kind of a dark figure.

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THE MAN IN THE HALL GHOST IS ALSO IN THE 2ND FLOOR HALL BATHROOM

There is a funny story associated with this potential creepy man-ghost. Everyone visited was aware of “him”.   And many a guests didn’t like to go alone to the bathroom at the end of the dark hall because they claimed they felt him or imagined he was lurking around back there.   The bathroom at the end of the second floor hall has a radio in it that is connected to the lights. So when one turns the lights on the radio turns on as well. But there is a time delay. So the radio kicks in about five seconds later.  One evening Stephanie Conrad went into the bathroom and closed the door.  She was all alone. She wasn’t worried about any man in the hall or in the bathroom with her now. Instead, she was thinking to herself, she claimed later, how ghosts were stupid, how she’d never seen any ghosts, how the man in the hall wasn’t real, boo, ghosts are dumb, etc. Then the radio kicked in and began to play. The song playing was, Girl Watcher by the Okaysions!   “I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher…  Watchin’ girls go by, hey, my my.   I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher…   Here comes one now”

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FOOTSTEPS OFTEN HEARD IN THE HALL

The painter and sculptor George Turner moved into the Grand Midway Hotel for a few weeks while he worked on his beauty statue. He stayed on the third floor. He carved her from wax with a knife and spoon.   One afternoon I was doing some work reading in the the Cairo Room, room #6 on the second floor, when George came downstairs and said from outside the door in the hallway, “I’m going up the street to get a cup of coffee. I’ll see you in a few.”

There were no animals or other people in the building. But instead of George leaving, I heard him walk away down the hall, wood creaking and solid footsteps.  Then in about a minute I heard George walk back up the hall and stand just outside my door…  Then I heard George walk away far down the hallway, wood creaking and footsteps again…  Then I heard George walk back up the hall and again he seemed to be standing, hovering? waiting?, just outside the door. This went on for a few minutes. It was so odd, I was wondering just what the hell George was doing out there.

Then I heard the downstairs door swing open on the first floor as George came in… George wasn’t even in the hall! He was just returning with his cup of coffee from up the street having been gone the entire time.

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THE MISCHIEF GHOSTS -by Deanna 12/27/10

A few days post Christmas and my space in our room was a mess.  The clutter took on a life of its own and a change was needed fast.  Blair eyed the room & thought adding a tall bookcase from the room next door might help.  Everything in my secret room was reshifted around and with the added bookcase I got busy reorganizing.  Blair got called in to work.  I was then the only one in the hotel.  After a bit I stepped back into the main bedroom.  I’d been hearing footsteps upstairs off & on as I have in the past.  I usually don’t give it a second thought, it’s just the norm here. Something was different this night.  I listened closer almost not wanting to breathe.  I heard a door open, then close.  Our bedroom door was shut and I was unable to tell if the door I just heard was on the second or third floor.

I stepped out into the hallway, listened for a minute, but heard nothing more.  I went back into our room, shut the door, and just then heard a yawn/groan that sounded like it came from the opposite end of the second floor hallway.

I usually don’t get rattled, but that did it for me.  I threw on my coat and went to see Blair, at that moment I needed to get out of there.  I probably shouldn’t have left the hotel, I really should have stood my ground, but I was feeling extra sensitive and creeped out.

Shortly after I told him what happened,  Blair got off work and we headed back to the hotel.  We went up to our room so I could show him my newly organized space.  As soon as we entered my area, I noticed one book pulled forward from the rest of the books.  It caught my eye immediately because it was so obviously out of place.  I looked at Blair and he asked what was wrong.   I told him when I left all of my books were perfectly lined up.  I’m a bit anal about that and believe me they were organized by size.  The shelves were full, snug even, so the fact that this book was not in line with the others caught me off guard.

I do want to mention I didn’t feel threatened, but there was definitely a feeling of mischief and something/someone wanting to make me aware I wasn’t as alone as I thought. I know from previous experience that moving things around seems to kick up energy.  My mistake was letting a little fear take over me.  I won’t let that happen again….  (and won’t be moving any furniture around for a while either!!)

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THE MAN IN THE HALL STORY -by Joey 

The man in the hall…I am so grateful that I was not the only person to see him.

Me and Jim were there alone. He was outside fixing his chainsaw and i was in his room getting dressed. I opened the door to leave but I turned around to get my sandwich off the dresser. When I turned around again to go out the door I saw a real-looking guy walk past the door towards the back stairs. I went into the hall and he was totally gone. In 2 seconds he’d vanished.

I ran outside and told Jim. He told me to stay outside by the door and watch the front and the back doors incase the intruder tried to get out. He grabbed a weapon and went to search the hotel.

A while later Steve came home from baseball or something like that and Jim came out and we told Steve about it. I was told again to guard the door and yell if anybody came out. We all figured it was some local guy wanted to see inside the place and that he was just hiding.

They searched the entire building. never found anybody.

I didn’t get to see his face, just his back as he walked passed. He had short dark hair and was fairly tall, that’s about all I remember of that.

There you go blair, I told you I would post them some day.

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Bloody Worker Story

A worker was installing door knobs as a unique decor into the doors on the ceiling of the hotel halls.  He was standing on a chair, stretching upward.  He inserted a door knob into the door and it somehow unexpectedly locked into place.  So he started pulling down on it.  There was no explanation.

“I don’t know what’s holding it up there,” he joked.  “A ghost from the other side.”

I’d looked away.  Then I heard the chair crash.  I looked back and he was on the ground!

“I swear to god,” he said, incredulously, “It was like that chair was kicked out from under me!”