Conclusion

After researching The Baker Hotel for the past week, and really reviewing my material, I am certain that the hotel is haunted. There is to much evidence and to many people that have encountered ghosts for it to not be haunted. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after reading the stories of the hotel, I changed my mind. I know it sounds childish that I do believe it is haunted, but I have encountered a ghost myself at my grandpas house. All of the feelings they were getting, the things they saw, and the things they heard were all very similar to the ghost that I saw. Researching The Baker Hotel has been interesting and I have learned many new things conducting this research. Hopefully I won't see any ghosts this Halloween!

Evidence

According to Lewis, he encountered many things when he investigated the Hotel. First, there were many different types of smells in all of the hotel. He smelt coconut, cigars, soap, burnt rubber, and a floral purfume. Also, he heard many loud noises all at once. Specifically, he heard a bang, which sounded exactly like a shotgun that was being fired. Also, as they were going to the basement, they heard footsteps that sounded like they were being chased. On many occassions, he felt very cold, as if ghosts were all around him. Dusty Rainbolt of DFW, captured what appeared to be, two very distinct "ecto mist" apparitions in the 14th floor ball room. Another photographer/investigator, Weems Hutto, was taking still shots with a 35 mm camera at the same time and captured what appeared to be another ecto mist above the first photographer. Another psychic who accompanied the team reported "seeing" an old woman in a wheelchair in the southeast corner of the ballroom who kept saying, "I can't do it", "I can't do it". One of her co-workers, Donna who was the physic, felt hesitant and nauseous as she moved toward the west end of the fifth floor. She said someone was trying to make the team "sick" so they would leave. She refused to go any farther in that direction. Later, members of Lone Star Spirits who visited the area began to choke and cough at the same spot, unaware of Donna's earlier experience. So, as you can see, there have been many sightings and documented occurrences of ghotsts at The Baker Hotel. It would be very interesting to investigate it and find out for our own self! 

"Investigating Ghosts of the Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells, Texas." All about Texas - Texas History, Travel, over 2500 Cities, Towns, Ghost Towns; Texas Attractions, People, Historic Places, Illustrated. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. <http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/MineralWellsTexas/BakerHotelGhosts2.htm>.

Lewis, Ghouli T. Baker Investigation Report. Rep. 2004. Print.

Stories of The Baker Hotel

Stories of ghosts began long before it ever closed. According to Hopkins, on one occassion, a porter who used to work there and was the first known to witness the ghost of the women on the seventh floor; she was probably the mistress of the hotel mananger. Terribly depressed from her affair, she jumped off the top of the building and killed herself. No one really knows what year this occurred in, but the suite she stayed in was the southeast corner of the seventh floor. Many people have reported smelling her perfume and her spirit is said to be very flirtatious with men she may fancy. Also, Ronny(he managages The Baker Hotel),  reported one night he was near the main lobby on the first floor when he heard the distinct sound of a woman in high heals walking across the lobby. Thinking the footsteps to be those of Jane Catrett he yelled out her name; however, the footsteps faded away and upon further inspection, Ronny found himself all alone. Later he discovered that Jane had not been in the building that day. According to Simmons, on another occassion, a man claims while he was ghost hunting that a gorgeous man stepped out of one of the shower stalls. He claims he was about six feet tall, had blonde hair and tan skin, and was totally naked except for a white towel that was around his kneck. As he stared at the ghosh for several seconds, the ghost winked at the ghost hunter and then completely dissolved. Also, when the ghost hunter got his pictures developed, in one of the pictures there was a ballon with the word "yo" on it and a screaming women in the far mirror. After reading these blogs, I am truely convinced that this tretorous hotel is severely haunted!

Bob Hopkins. "Ghosts of the Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells, Texas." All about Texas - Texas History, Travel, over 2500 Cities, Towns, Ghost Towns; Texas Attractions, People, Historic Places, Illustrated. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/MineralWellsTexas/BakerHotelGhosts.htm

Trana Simmons Mae. "The Baker Hotel." TMSimmons Index. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://www.iseeghosts.com/bakerhotel.htm>.

Background

The Baker Hotel opened on November 9, 1929 with a bang. As the years went on, the hotel began to get better and better. By the 1940's, the hotel was fully air conditioned and many people began staying there. Many famous people have stayed at The Baker Hotel. According to "Baker Hotel," the list includes, Glen Miller, Lawerence Welk, Clark Gable,and even Lydon B. Johnson. The hotel stayed very busy and it was so popular that even the federal government gave it a lot of publicity. According to Polstone and Carter, by the late 1960's, many health resorts all over the country began losing business. When Earl Baker was 70, (Earl was his nephew), he found out that the hotel was going to be shut down. Several Mineral Wells business men tried to keep the hotel up and running, but by 1972, the hotel was shut down for good. Still to this day, the hotel sits vacant and vandalised.

"Baker Hotel (Mineral Wells, Texas)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Hotel_(Mineral_Wells,_Texas.

SGHA, Cody Polston, Bob Carter. "Ghost Hunt of the Baker Hotel." Southwest Ghost Hunter's Association. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. http://www.sgha.net/baker/baker.html.

The Baker Hotel

During the next week I will be exploring The Baker Hotel. This hotel is located is located in Mineral Wells, Texas and is said to be extremely haunted. I have chosen this topic because I love to do research about things that are haunted and believe that this once miraculous hotel is now haunted. There have been many sightings of ghosts throughout the years, and many people have done investigations. For example,lights have turned on and off by themselves in the Brazos room and the sweet smell of chocolate similar to milk duds can be easily detected at times. The smell also seems to accompany the presense of orb phenomena. One day it would be very interesting to explore the hotel inside and out. It is going to be very interesting throughout the week getting information and learning more and more about The Baker Hotel, especially with Halloween coming up!