Blackburn Manor
Man, if the walls of Blackburn Manor could talk. In the early 1900s, a hospital was built, which later became a sanitarium. Sanitarium’s during this time period were difficult places, to say the least. Whether they housed the mentally disabled or those afflicted with diseases like tuberculosis, few wanted to be confined to these places. Particularly for those dealing with mental disorders, sanitariums were often overcrowded and the treatment could be harsh and sometimes barbaric. For many, these places were their last stop in life.
Since its sanitarium days, Blackburn has seen a number of uses, including that of a frat house. I can only image living in a haunted fraternity.
Those who spend any time around Blackburn report hearing the voices of children playing. Doors slam and footsteps sound in empty corridors. Most chilling, the ghosts of sickly looking figures in hospital gowns wander. Their long dead eyes betray what must have been a sad, painful life and lonely end.
Geiser Grand Hotel
Opening in 1889, the Geiser Grand Hotel still operates today and is known as a very elegant place to stay if you’re around Baker City. After more than a century of life, the hotel is home to a bevy of ghost stories.
The hotel’s former owner, Maybelle Geiser, is said to still reside in room 302. She seems to be a benevolent spirit, perhaps just continuing to help her guests enjoy their stay. There is also a headless apparition that appears to be a chef. I really wish I could have found the history behind this guy. We all gotta go sometime, and to leave a headless ghost is for sure a cool story.
Croisan (Crow-Shen) Creek Road
Haunted roads are some of my favorite supernatural stories. In Salem, Oregon, the Croisan Creek Road fits the bill.
The tale behind the haunting is actually a tragic one. It is said that a little girl chased a ball into the road one day. She was hit and killed by a passing car. To this day, motorists report seeing a ball rolling out into the road in front of them, seemingly appearing from nowhere. Following quickly behind the ball is the phantom of a little girl. When the drivers slam on their brakes, both the girl and the ball vanish into thin air.
Some say they also see a little boy near where the girl is spotted. He seems to be waving at cars to get them to slow down. When the drivers give him a second glance, he’s disappeared. No one quite knows who the boy might be. Perhaps another victim of Croisan Creek Road.
Sharkbite’s Cafe
Celebrating over a hundred years of existence, the building that is today the Sharkbite’s Cafe has seen a lot. Employees and diners claim that some of that history is still there.
One ghost story tells of a boxer that met his end in the ring during a fight held in the building. He doesn’t seem to fully manifest, instead the living see a distinctive shadow upon the walls, though there is no living person there to cast it.
At one point in its history, the site of the cafe was said to have housed a brothel. Back in the day, brothel’s could be violent, ugly places, filled with desperation and sadness. One unfortunate prostitute is said to still walk the grounds of the cafe. It’s horrific to imagine that she might be trapped in a place that likely brought her grief, despair, and an untimely end.
Hot Lake Hotel
Long known to Native American tribes, the area around the Hot Lake Hotel was first discovered by white settlers in 1812. The hot springs were believed to heal any number of ailments, making the spot a desirable respite for those traveling the Oregon Trail.
A hotel was built on the spot in 1864, but remained way off the beaten track for the next 20 years until the railroad arrived and business began to pick up. In the early 1900s, a doctor purchased the property and turned part of the hotel into a hospital. In addition to traditional treatments, Hot Lake offered a dip in the famed healing waters of the hot springs.
After a fire destroyed a large chunk of the building, Hot Lake began to decline. The property changed hands a number of times and was used as a nursing home, asylum, and a pilot’s training center, to name a few uses.
Today, Hot Lake is known for a host of hauntings. Spectral figures are seen walking the grounds. Be they former patients or hotel guests, no one knows. The ghost of a man wearing work clothes is believed to be a gardener who committed suicide long ago. The living also claim to hear screams in the darkness when they go to Hot Lake. It’s as if the long dead are searching for someone, yet doomed to never find what they’re looking for.