Haunted Brandon Inn
I make it a habit to clear the energies from any and every hotel room I stay in. It’s necessary if I want a good night’s sleep. Believe me, I’ve slept in many a haunted space!
The two most haunted hotels I’ve ever slept in were the Brandon Inn, in Brandon, Vermont; and a Super 8 in Rawlings, Wyoming. (Perhaps I’ll share what happened in Rawlings one day…)
When I was staying at the Brandon Inn for the first and only time, I literally scared a ghost.
The Brandon Inn has quite a history, marked by over twenty different owners over 200+ years. It actually began as a one-story tavern opened by Jacob Simonds in 1786.
My hotel room was on the second or third floor. It was supposed to be the most haunted room at the hotel, but no one had told me it was. I didn’t even know the hotel was haunted. Those who had made the reservations, were curious to see if I would experience anything paranormal sleeping there.
I had eaten a wonderful dinner at Café Provence. It was one of those meals where I couldn’t help but eat every morsel and crumb. It was so delicious! Chef Robert’s culinary delights are magnificent! Later in the evening, after successfully completing my first Psychic Gallery in Vermont, I was experiencing a serious digestive situation. I had to hurry! I always refuse to poop in any hotel lobby restroom when I’m on business - it’s just not professional! So, I hurried to the hotel elevator. It was one of those old fashion ones with a see through, metal gate. It moved at a snail’s pace. The sweet and proper elevator man, politely asked me “What floor?” There was barely enough room in the elevator with him and I in it. All the way up to my room, he smiled like the Cheshire Cat. (I learned later there hadn’t been an elevator man for decades. The man I saw had been a devoted employee and had died a long, long, time ago. His picture can be seen in a group historical photo in the lobby.)
I rushed into my hotel room, and made a bee-line for the bathroom, noticing the bathroom window shade hadn’t been pulled down, and it was too tall for me to reach, especially with a full bowel movement demanding to be released. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but I did!
Relieved, I flushed the toilet and washed my hands, then turned to the window to pull down the shade. It was darker than dark outside, not like Chicago at night. Imagine my shock and surprise, when I saw a bearded man, standing right outside the window, looking straight at me! He had a hat and suspenders on and looked like a miner or mountain man. In that moment, I saw him, he saw me, and we both screamed! I pulled that shade down so fast, which wasn’t an easy task!
Frightened, I did not return to the bathroom the rest of the night. In the morning, I walked in and before I tended to my business, I peeked carefully behind the window shade. The coast was clear. It was a beautiful day. I realized how high up my room was, and there surely was no ladder or ledge outside the window. It was far too high for anyone to be standing there in the late night. (Now that I think about it, although it looked like the man was outside, what if he was behind me?!)
Another morning, as we were getting ready to depart, I took a good bath in the iron clawed tub. It had a shower curtain that wrapped around it. I was all soaped up and singing, when a small, childlike, female hand pushed through the shower curtain and touch me. I thought it was my manager trying to get my attention. I pulled back the curtain a little bit, so as not to exposed my fabulousness, poked my head out, and said, “I’ll be finished soon…” but there was no one there. No one. Freaking spooky!
Later I went up to my manager’s room and asked her why she had tried to get my attention while I was bathing. She looked at me puzzled and said, “Akeeya, I just woke up, I didn’t go to your room.”
As we were ready to leave the Brandon hotel, the door to my room closed on me, right before I got to the threshold, and wouldn’t open – from the inside or the outside! It wasn’t locked. We, including the hotel manager, couldn’t open the door, no matter how much we jiggled and pushed. The spirits wanted me to stay. It was necessary to have a good conversation with them BEFORE the door opened up on its own. My manager and the hotel staff were witnesses.
Many Blessings,
Mamakeeya