Supernatural Friday: Do Ghosts Get Clean Sheets While Haunting a Hotel? (Haunted Biltmore Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island)

From February 28^th through March 4^th a couple of weeks ago, I got to stay in what is considered one of the most haunted hotels for a horror writers convention. That’s the Biltmore Hotel at 11 Dorrance Street in Providence, Rhode Island (Lovecraft Country). That I had a couple of experiences, paranormal activity wise, just added to my enjoyment.

The first one happened Wednesday night, I brought my flashlight that can change from white LED to green LED to red laser dot, I set it to the green light, and used it when I needed to go to the bathroom. This way, I wouldn’t bother my two roommates and wake them up, or trip in the dark if I didn’t turn on the light. While I was in the restroom, the green light flickered. I peered at it closer, and it began to grow smaller and small, ready to go out. I said, “Really? You’re going to suck the batteries’ life,” shook the flashlight, and it came back on, so I managed to get back to bed, thinking I might have to replace the batteries in it. But the rest of the weekend, it remained strong when switched on. The second thing that happened to me was Friday night. Dead tired after seeing the mini horror films and enjoying the reception afterwards, Dee and I decided to go to bed and not go to the Monster Mashup. Our other roomie, Cat, did go. Dee put her headshot connected to her radio and fell asleep. I didn’t. It was while I lay in bed in the very quiet room, between Dee’s and my bed in the bedroom a loud whistle like someone blowing from their lips sounded in the air. I turned on the light by me and asked Dee if that was her, but she just snored lightly only. The next day she said maybe her radio, but I did as best as I could an imitation pf the whistle and she said, “No, it doesn’t do that.” I wondered why the whistle, but again who knows why? I also admit earlier on Friday night, when Dee and Cat went down to outside for Dee to smoke, I was alone and suddenly felt I was not alone. I just kept my eyes closed and finally the roomies returned.

I do know my streaming laptop wouldn't come up, no matter how long I charged it up. Funny thing, back to normal once home. Was it paranormal. or maybe just the Internet which was sort of wonky (not paranormal) or even the electricity? I'd brought my ghost box which wouldn't come up at all, but it was okay once home. But my EMF meter came on. Who knows why for all that.  Our room was 830.

Strange, but with possible explanations were the elevators stopping and opening and no one on the floor (these were the floors with rooms only). Some people mentioning odd noises in the hallways and no one else out there, or in their rooms.

I did used my pendulum Saturday afternoon since my ghost box didn’t come on. It said yes to being female, there since the 20s, and causing my light to start dying, plus my laptop. Still rather have done my ghost box, but maybe it did answer me with the pendulum.  

It would have been interesting to find out of HP Lovecraft has ever stepped into the hotel, or if his spirit has been seen there. After all, Providence was his stomping grounds and he would have been alive when it first was built and people stayed there.

History of the Biltmore

The Providence Biltmore Hotel is a historic landmark built in 1922. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, there are about 300 rooms and 2 ballrooms. It has 18 floors.

"Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye" was all the rage when 12-hundred guests gathered at the hotel for an opening night ball on June 6, 1922. The brick edifice was brilliantly lit and decorated with sprays of roses and carnations, the Providence News reported. Guests gorged themselves on a ten-course meal that included two seafood and two meat dishes. Then-Providence Mayor Joseph Gainer said the lack of a modern hotel had been holding the city back.

The hotel went on to fulfill its promise, becoming a social gathering point for Rhode Islanders and a destination for a host of celebrities, including President John Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, actress Audrey Hepburn, boxer Rocky Marciano and a young senator named Joe Biden. Even the dance floor was once converted into a swimming pool for Esther Williams and a skating rink for Sonja Henie. In the early years, the chef grew vegetables and raised roosting hens on the roof of the hotel so that celebrities like Benny Goodman could have fresh eggs. (Ah, here are those ‘chickens’ people claimed raised for Satanists I will mention later in this post.).

The hotel has also had its share of hard times. During the 1938 hurricane water filled the first floor. Hurricane Carol inundated it again in 1954.

By 1975 the Biltmore closed after its owner was unable to make a gas payment. Of course, it reopened, otherwise, Stokercon 2018 wouldn’t have been held there earlier this month. There are articles online that it was sold in October 2017 and will be part of a hotel chain in 2019.

There’s the glass elevator tacked onto the front of the Biltmore in the 1970's. It hasn't worked in years. They even have a cute sign attached to it that I took a picture.

The Ghosts and the Legends

There is supposedly a local legend suggests that hotel ran as a satanic paradise complete with animal sacrifices, murders, and so much more. That chickens were raised on the roof to become sacrifices for these Satanic ceremonies.  Others say that the hotel housed vibrant parties run by the mob during prohibition (which Rhode Island rebelled against). During these parties it is believed that many murders occurred filling the hotel with ghosts of those slain inside. Now, these I take with a grain of salt, as didn’t find that on ghost books of Rhode Island, and the chapters on Biltmore do not mention this.

One of the main ghosts to occupy the hotel is a financier who lost all of his money in the Depression in 1929.  He was staying in a room on the 14th floor when he received the news that he was effectively broke and was so overwhelmed by it that he threw himself out of the window.  His ghost doesn’t just haunt the room in which he was staying but seems to enjoy wandering through all the rooms he passed during his fall.  Guests staying in these rooms have reported seeing someone fall past the window but never a body on the street when they rush over to look.

Other ghosts are believed to be the spirits of those murdered in the hotel during the 1920s and 1930s.  Raucous parties are heard as well as laughter and people are seen dancing – none of whom are present.

A former event planner at the Biltmore tells "intuitive medium" Pam Patalano who relays the story to NBC 10's R.J. Heim that she saw ghosts dancing in the empty ballroom during the middle of the night on numerous occasions.

The Director of Marketing at the Biltmore, Pamela Baldwin, says some guests have told her that they have seen, heard and felt things during their visits, although she hasn’t had any first-hand experiences.

If you search "paranormal activity at the Biltmore" online, you will find plenty of stories. Pam Patalano says, “25% would be accurate and real. The rest would be just fake, or you could debunk it, or chalk it up to something else.” But it's that 25% she finds fascinating.

Another story I found concerned a guest who stayed at this hotel. Her partner and she were asleep when the woman woke to something like a dog, walking back and forth on her pillow. She tried to wake her partner who was in a deep sleep. The next morning, the partner admitted to having the same thing that happened, but afraid to say anything. Another story is about the 3rd floor of the Biltmore Hotel that has claims by guests is that it is haunted by the sounds of children at play.

And after checking out the cool architecture of Providence, Rhode Island, check out the other ghostly hauntings and legends of this spooky state in New England.

Thirteen Spooky Rhode Island Hauntings and Legends

1) Drink At Your Own Risk: Legend has it if you drink from the fountain outside the Providence Athenaeum you may leave Rhode Island but are guaranteed to always return. Since the fountain is from 1873, it is not in the best condition and we recommend you don't test this legend out or you may never return to life itself. 

Also, look out for Edgar Allen Poe's ghost at the Athenaeum, as many locals claim he still visits there.

2) Rhody's Most Famous Vampire: Exeter resident, Mercy Brown who died of tuberculosis in the 1890s was said to be a vampire because her body (allegedly) never decomposed and her hair and nails (reputedly) never stopped growing.

3) A Bewitching Drive: The Witch Tree located in the middle of the intersection of Log and Mann School Roads is said to be named after a witch that lived down the road. Many residents claim if you drive around the tree three times and head in a certain direction you will be followed by a phantom; no chance it's a cop.

4) Campus Hauntings: With four major colleges in Providence, there is no doubt there are some eerie places around the campuses. Brown's University Hall, RISD's Homer Hall, Providence College's Aquinas Hall, Johnson & Wales' Xavier Hall and URI fraternity house Lambda Chi Alpha are all rumored to be haunted.

5) The Scariest House Ever: Harrisville is home to the real farmhouse that inspired the recent hit film The Conjuring. The Perron family experienced some unnerving events that resulted in them moving out. The home is now occupied by folks who claim they have experienced the spook but not to the same extent.

6) The Haunting of Sprague Mansion: After a chilling murder took place at the Sprague Mansion in Cranston, paranormal acitvitiy such as lights flickering, cold gusts and phantom foot-steps have been reported more than once.

7) The Old Abandoned Mental Hospital Trick: The Ladd School in Exeter, an abandoned mental rehabilitation hospital with a not so pleasant past has locals and curious trespassers claiming they have heard disembodied moaning, crying and whispering. Ghosts and glowing orbs have been reported to wander the grounds. It was torn down in 2013, leaving Rhode Island without the haunted abandoned mental hospital that is required by New England's by-laws.

8) Watch Out for Children: Tower Hill Road in Cumberland is said to be a paranormal hot spot. Total strangers have reported the same sightings of a ghost boy and his dog, a little girl who lingers in the same spot and a toddler ghost on a tricycle.

9) Hello, Dolly: Foster is where Dolly Cole, an alleged witch, vampire and murdered prostitute haunts the dense forests where she was killed. Those who say they have encountered her ghost can barely speak of the experience.

10) Uninvited Guests at the Biltmore: In 2000, the Biltmore in Providence was named "America's Most Haunted Hotel" for good reason. With stories of murders, ghost encounters and visitors disappearing forever, this place will definitely have you shaking in your boots. (Which I blogged about in this article.)

11) The Devil Went Down to South County: Devil's Foot Rock in North Kingstown is said to be a spot that Satan himself visited as he was leaping around New England. He met a bride in Little Rhody whom he tried to bring back to his fiery abyss. During this process his hot hooves were imprinted into the granite.

12) The Mysterious Rune: The legend of the Narragansett Rune Stone is that it has a medieval inscription on it that only appears for 20 minutes each day at low tide. Real or hoax?

13) Make Yourself (Un)Comfortable: In the woods of Narragansett you will find the Witches' Altar and Druids Chair, a mysterious circle of stones around an altar-like stone. The druids chair is a curved stone placed off to the side of the circle. Use your imagination to come up with what could go on there.

BONUS: Even though the Red Headed Hitch Hiker of Route 44 is a legend of nearby Rehoboth, MA, we thought he was worthy of mentioning. Creepy stories have been told of the hitch hiker having a distorted face, bugged out eyes and creepy giggles.

Supernatural Friday: Did a Black Cat Cross Your Path Today?

I own a black cat. Love her.  I can’t ever see her as devilish or evil. And yet, black cats are in the United States considered bad luck if one crosses your path. Plus they are associated with witches around Halloween. What started this for our furry black felines?

These obsidian felines were not always feared or a part of superstitious lore. Dating back as far as 3000 BC in Egypt, cats of all colors, including black ones, were held in high esteem. To kill one was considered a capital crime. One of their goddesses had a cat head, Bast.

The Nordic goddess, Freya was also a fierce warrior as shared with us by Ethan S. One of the many names by which she was known was the Mistress of the Cats, and it was said that the chariot in which she sat was drawn by a pairs of great cats with fur blacker than the midnight sky.

Then around medieval times, cats taken care of by old women who practiced healing and lived alone were considered familiars if the old woman (and sometimes man) were accused of witchcraft and convicted, burned at the stake. As for why particularly black cats, it seem to superstitious people, once the cat went out into the dark of night they appeared to disappear, except for their yellow or green eyes. The same would go for black dogs too. Of course, we know that the animal having black fur and the night being pitch black, well, yeah, they seemed to vanish.  Plus black cats born in May seemed to be strongly associated with witchcraft and were often drowned. It is bad luck to discuss family matters when a black cat is present, lest it be a witch in disguise.

Evil omens and harboring the ability to change into human shape to act as a spy or messenger for witches or demons are some of the mostly widely known legends of black cats (in the US). When settlers arrived in the Americas, they already had a deepening suspicion of anything associated with the devil. Due to the sisterhood of witch and black cat, anyone caught with a black cat was severely punished or even killed. Similar superstitions led people to kill black cats during the Middle Ages, increasing the rat population and the spread of the bubonic plague.

A legend in Wales tells about one black cat. When people arrived in this town that had been ravaged by the Black Plague, the only living creature they found was a single black cat. The black cat is now the traditional mascot of Kidwelly!

In Great Britain and in Ireland, black cats are considered good luck. One way this might be so, English monarch Charles I held a belief that when his treasured black cat passed, he claimed that his luck was gone and he was arrested the very next day and charged with high treason.  Also, in the UK, a black cat crossing your patch is a sign of good luck.

Some bad luck a black cat might deliver:

If you are driving and a black cat crosses in front of you, you should turn your car around or receive bad luck.

The gambling world holds the belief that as you are driving to a casino, if a black cat runs across your road or path, you should not go to the casino. Most players believe that black cats bring bad luck.

Crossing paths of a person is considered an omen of misfortune and death—kind of like the banshee’s scream heralds death for the person who hears it. Things are a bit more complicated in Germany. In Germany though, if a black cat crosses a person’s path from right to left, that is a bad omen, and yet, if done from left to right,  the cat is granting favorable times.

Pirates in the 19th Century believed that if a black cat walks towards someone, that person will have bad luck. But if it walks away from someone, that will bring good luck to that person. If a black cat walks onto a ship and then walks off it, the ship is doomed to sink on its next trip.

Sailors often sought out a black cat to become a ship’s cat, as it brought good luck. Fishermen’s wives kept black cats at home in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands while at sea.

In Japan, black manekineko (beckoning cats) are a wish for good health.

Dreaming of a black cat us considered lucky for the dreamer.

Black cats protect their human’s house from evil spirits, and it is said, take away the bad energy in the house.

From Scottish lore, a strange black cat on a porch brings prosperity to the owner.

It is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors. So, for those looking for a boyfriend, get a black cat!

Not just black cats, but all:

Cats should never be bought with money. Doing so means they will be bad mousers. (Shelters looking to get their cats adopted, this might be a good ploy to use.)

And last, but not least, a story about a black cat by Edgar Allan Poe.   Black Cat

Supernatural Friday: Last of #TherearenoeyedropsinHell Blog Tour for How the Vortex Changed My Life

Today, is the last stop for the #TherearenoeyedropsinHell blog tour for my new urban fantasy release, How the Vortex Changed My Life. 

I want to talk about why I felt Richmond and nearby Chesterfield County made a good area for this new fiction novel of mine. It’s a very paranormal loaded spot. Just as all of Virginia is. After writing five nonfiction ghost books, I learned a lot. Where else would a serial killer who dresses in a white bunny costume and brandish a hatchet at a bridge in Fairfax? Forget that man with the hook—Bunnyman is creepy, downright creepy. Ghosts seem to be just wanting to haunt the Commonwealth. Especially in Virginia’s haunted Historic Triangle and Petersburg and its Tri-Cities area.

Richmond has a vampire connected to the train buried under the hill in Churchhill, and his tomb is located in Hollywood Cemetery. Does he wait for his next victim, maybe the last to leave as dusk settles over the tombstones? People talk about seeing a werewolf in Henrico. I wonder if like the old classic Universal monsters, if the werewolf battles the Richmond Vampire?

Most of all, Poe may not have been born here, but he was raised here, went to college in Charlottesville and had his honeymoon in Petersburg, so Virginia must have been dear to his heart (his beating, telltale heart). He is considered Richmond’s native son.

So, where else would Larry and all those demonic beings, plus that vortex, come to, but Richmond? At least, Larry can get eye drops from any drugstore in town.

Leave a comment,  telling me if you agree Richmond is very paranormal or not, leaving your name, to be entered in this short blog tour’s giveaway, where one winner will win a gift certificate of $20.oo from Amazon, where you can buy the paperback copy of , or the Kindle version, plus stuff on Amazon (you might think about one of my books even). Check this blog, http://pamelakkinney.blogspot.com/ this coming, Monday,  October 16, 2017, at Noon, Eastern time, to see if your name is picked. If it is, you will need to leave me a comment with your name and email (don’t worry, I must approve comments and I won’t post it on my blog, just email you, so we can get you your prize).

Pamela K. Kinney

Buy the book:

How the Vortex Changed My Life available on Kindle and in trade paperback

You can visit the past three blogs I stopped at:

    October 8, 2017: I Smell Sheep Reviews: http://www.ismellsheep.com/

    October 9, 2017:  KMN Books: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com/

    October 10, 2o17: https://www.carolsmithwrites.com/single-post/2017/10/10/This-Week-Pamela-K-Kinney-Is-Guest-Blogging

Cat Viggolone just can’t get a break. She'd gotten married, but that ended when the husband left her for his younger secretary. She'd wanted children. That flew out the window along with the cheating husband. There’s the career, but working a window at the Virginia DMV can’t really be classified as a great career choice. At thirty-three, her life had become positively dull. then the vortex opened.

Sucked up into a corridor just outside of Hell, she meets Connor, a werewolf, and Larry, a demon that looks like a blue-eyed eyeball. They escape back to earth, only to find that the vortex has opened up in downtown Richmond. The town is going to hell, literally. Besides a grayness seeping out and turning all living things into zombies, monsters and demons are invading Cat’s world.

Will Cat and her new friends (including an angel named George) be able to stop the vortex before it claims the entire planet? Cat’s life is definitely no longer humdrum and ordinary.

Connor and I arrived at some stone steps. We clattered up them and into the Richmond Public Library. After we stepped into the foyer and passed the circulation desk we looked around, unsure of where to go. I saw a room to the left of us, pointed at it, and we slipped inside. Rows and rows of books in shelves lined the area like soldiers marching behind each other. A portly man in khaki pants, white shirt, and a blue, flowered tie sat behind a desk. He looked up and smiled.

"Can I be of assistance?" His smile faltered as he stared past me.

He's seen Larry. This won't be good.

He stood, his forehead wrinkling. "That's pretty life like. What is it? A balloon? I can't see any string attached to it."

Deciding not to beat around the bush, I blurted, "He's not a balloon. He's an eyeball—actually, he's a demon."

The man said, "Are you trying to say that whatever it is, is alive?"

"Kinda. I guess demons are sort of alive."

The librarian walked over to us and poked at Larry. Larry didn't like it and started that weird bleating noise he could make and bumped against the man. He bumped him so hard, he almost knocked the librarian over. The man managed to stay on his feet, and took a couple of steps back as he wiped the finger on his pants as if Larry had given him cooties.

Connor grabbed the librarian by the same finger and squeezed hard. The man cried out.

Connor let go. "Larry doesn't like people poking at him." He glared. "It's rude. Besides, how would you like it if I poked at you?" Connor proceeded to do just that.

The librarian stumbled back. "Okay, okay. But what is that thing? The lady called it a demon, but demons aren't real. Right?"

Connor snorted. "That thing is a demon like the lady said and if it wasn't for him, I'd been dead within hours after I got trapped in Hell." Larry bumped against Connor and made another noise I never heard before, like a cat's purr. "I find Larry is a lot more 'human' than you humans are."

"Well, you look as human as the rest of us," said the librarian with a snotty attitude, "and that eye beastie definitely doesn't." He narrowed his eyes. "This library is for humans only. I mean, non-human things can't get a library card issued to them." He saw Connor give him a glowering look and inched away. "Well, I'm pretty sure that's the rules."

I spoke up. "We're not here to borrow a book." I snuck a look at the front entrance. "We needed a place to hide in. You see, a monster is after us. A very big monster. And there are others outside like it and Larry here. A vortex opened not far from here and downtown Richmond is turning gray and I don't mean Confederate gray either. Richmond's new address is now a part of the Hell dimension. The whole world is doomed. And I don't think it really matters whether Larry can be issued a library card, or what species can use this library."

The librarian's mouth opened and shut in shock, his eyes bulging and looking like tennis balls. He sputtered, "You're nuts." He cut a glance at Larry who hovered closer to him. "I think you guys are pulling something on me. That thing has got to be fake."

I grabbed him by his ugly tie. "Look, Hell is taking over Richmond, and soon, Virginia, not long after, the U.S., and from there, maybe the world. So, get over it.Larry is not fake. He's a demon, plain and simple, but maybe you can't comprehend it. I know I couldn't at first. That means no more people checking out books, no more Christmas, cute fluffy kittens, no more anything good and right for humankind. Just demons, Hell, and the end of life as we know it."

The librarian ripped his tie out of my hand and looked at me like I'd sprouted horns and a pitchfork myself. I must have been tougher on him than I thought.

A growl reached my ears, along with an awful miasma slamming up my nostrils. I reeled around. With an African American lady librarian clasped in one clawed paw and a patron speared by the claws of the other, the monster that had been chasing us stood by the circulation desk. The patron kept screaming while the librarian hung unconscious and limp like a wet noodle.

I watched with horror as the monster snarled and slurped the patron's head into its mouth, effectively cutting off the screaming. The librarian with us took off, yelling something about monsters not being in his job description.