Haunting at the Oneida - Part 1 - Ghost Stories

I don’t believe in ghosts, nor do I believe in anything that falls under the heading of either the paranormal or the supernatural. Let’s get that out upfront. But that’s not to say I’m not intrigued by the case a new client brought to my office on Thursday.

The client is named Reginald, and he works for a five-star hotel located in midtown, which we’ll call the Hotel Oneida. The is one of those historical New York institutions that everyone is familiar with. The Oneida has been in business since the 1800’s, and thus has a great amount of history and romanticism attached to it. During prohibition, for example, the hotel secretly operated the most elegant “speak-easy” in New York for its rather wealthy clientele. Every U.S. president has stayed in the hotel at least once since 1860. The roof has an enormous pool which has an unrivaled view of the New York cityscape. Its reputation is among the highest in the city.

And, like almost every major hotel in any major city, the Hotel Oneida supposedly has a ghost. Or several ghosts, depending on which legend you choose to believe. In 1942, a daughter shot both her parents in their room after they prevented her from marrying a boy who didn’t live up to their financial standards. In 1875, a man drowned his wife in the bathroom tub, then threw her body out the window to try to pass it off as a suicide. In 1950, a man hung himself from a chandelier in the grand ballroom. None of this is very unusual, of course. If you imagine owning a hotel that houses countless guests per year, it’s only mathematically logical to expect some amount of tragedy to occur over time.

These stories, of course, give rise to legends of ghosts that supposedly continue to walk the hallways. And again, this is to be expected in any major hotel. Strange occurrences like showers turning on without warning or flushing toilets often go unexplained by the management and ultimately wind up as part of the mythology of these buildings. And to some extent, I think any good manager would encourage it. Because at the end of the day, there are no ghosts, and everyone knows that (i.e. they’re not losing business). But a nice romantic or spooky ghost story to talk about before you go to sleep gives a certain amount of character and intrigue to any hotel.

But things have changed. The hotel recently switched hands, and a new manager, Reginald, was brought on board. Reginald is a tall, skinny man in his 50’s. He is almost completely bald, and his brow hangs far out over his nose. He’s originally from England, and has clearly adopted an accent of the highest class. He’s not outwardly snooty, but then again, it’d be almost impossible to say that he’s not snooty either.

His transition into his new position was not an easy one. Many resented the new ownership of the hotel, and resented it even more when a series of firings left a number of long-standing employees without a job. Reginald claims he was not fully behind the lay-offs, but was merely acting for people higher up. Of course, as manager, he takes all the blame, and he’s already detecting a cold attitude from almost all his staff. That, he says he can deal with.

But something else is going on, and guests seem to be pointing fingers at the supernatural. He has received numerous complaints over the past two weeks of various unexplained phenomena. Incredibly loud banging will be heard on bedroom doors in the middle of the night, yet when the guests open them, the hallway will be completely empty. Sink taps will start running without warning, then stop just as suddenly. Footsteps and laughter are heard in adjoining rooms that are supposedly empty. And last week, a woman claims to have opened her closet door to see a man hanged from a rope staring back at her. The man vanished, she claims, but it was too much for her. She checked out immediately.

I’m much more likely to believe in whacko guests than I am to believe in ghosts, and so is Reginald. Regardless, the disturbances are clearly real at this point, and Reginald considers them to be harassment of his customers, most likely by former employees who still have access to the building. He wants it to stop right now, which is why he’s hiring me. The house dick they originally had on staff was one of the many laid off recently, and despite Reginald’s begging, he wouldn’t come on to help with the problem. I know the guy very well, and will probably still be able to get some help out of him on my own.

In the meantime, Reginald has asked that I stay in the hotel for the weekend and keep a constant eye on exactly what’s going on. All expenses paid, of course, and on top of my regular salary. And in the end, ghosts or no ghosts, you always say yes to a free vacation.

If the hotel has internet, I’ll see if I can post sometime this weekend. If not, I’ll try to have something on Monday. I’ve gotta pack a bag now.