Amy Lu's View

The main thing I look for in a hotel is a workout room. The second thing is a bar, but I can usually find one nearby so that’s not a dealbreaker. (A free breakfast can definitely be a perk, but is sometimes more hassle than it’s worth). 

So when I saw one of the recommended Baltimore hotels for the church convention/conference we were attending had a workout room AND a bar, that was good enough for me. The hotel, The Lord Baltimore, was relatively close to the convention center and other attractions, was more or less reasonably priced, and touted itself as “historic” which sounded interesting. 

I didn’t give the hotel much more thought or do much research into it, so I was surprised when we got there and learned that one of its “selling” points is that it’s reportedly haunted–with a reputation as “one of the most haunted hotels in the country.” 

I don’t believe in ghosts with my brain as a literal reality (no offense to those who do) but I believe in them with my emotions. Thinking about ghosts excites me and freaks me out. I’m safely at home and it’s light out and I’m still a little creeped out while I write this. So even though I wanted to take one of the ghost tours that the hotel offered, I knew it would be a bad idea. I’m not what one would call a skilled sleeper under the best of circumstances, and Chad would make me sleep in the hall if I kept him up because I was scared after a ghost tour. Plus, they did sound like a little much–they included a psychic (not to be a hater but that’s just not something I can take seriously). I didn’t even let myself google to find out more about the hauntings (I waited until I got to the airport). 

Even though we didn’t go on the ghost tour, we did get to overhear a snippet of it on the Friday night of our stay when we were in the skybar on the 19th floor. The tour guide said the 19th floor was the most haunted, and in fact the cause of most of the hauntings, because so many people jumped off it during the stockmarket crash of the 1920’s. 

And the next night–our last at the hotel– we got to talk a bit with a delightful hotel staff person about the hauntings. We were once again at the skybar, when the lights briefly went out. “Sorry!” we heard her cry as she fiddled around with some lights. “I didn’t mean to do that. It must have been the ghosts.” 

She then told us about some of her encounters with ghostly happenings, including seeing a girl with a red ball. (I’ve since learned this girl is Molly and her whole family committed suicide by jumping off the 19th floor). But she said the ghosts didn’t mean her any harm and they didn’t scare her. 

So did I experience any haunted happenings? Well, once when I was in the elevator, the young man who was in before me wasn’t able to select the 5th floor (elevator shenanigans are one category of reported hauntings) but that doesn’t seem too compelling. And even though we spent a fair amount of time in the hotel bar–another reportedly highly haunted spot at the Lord Baltimore–we never saw an apparition…no odd patrons in anachronistic dress. Although I was so focused on getting food and drink that I probably wouldn’t have noticed a ghost unless they stole my provisions.   

I did have a nightmare where I woke up screaming (sleep disturbances are also attributed to the ghosts) but as I said before, my sleep is usually less than smooth and I wake Chad up because I’m having bad dreams at least a couple of times a year. (In case you’re wondering, this dream involved me being chased by something, thinking I had made it to safety and closing the door, only to have a skeletal hand with long painted fingernails squeezing into the crack between the door and the frame. I would like to think a ghost would give me a more interesting nightmare. If I indulge in self-directed pop psychology, I interpret this dream as arising from my angst over how my hands are aging and how I avoid painting my fingernails to draw less attention to them). 

The only really mysterious thing that happened during our stay is that I lost my eyemask that I wear while sleeping (or attempting to). (No, I don’t wear it for the sake of any beauty treatment, but because I’ve become almost comically sensitive to any light when I’m trying to sleep.) I checked the hotel thoroughly when I packed but it never materialized. So maybe a ghost swiped it? And I couldn’t blame them–they are probably willing to try anything to get some rest!   

When we talked with the hotel employee that said the ghosts didn’t scare her, she explained “We’re all just energy, and they’re just another type of energy now.”

I like that. I don’t necessarily believe it, but it feels right. And beyond what it may or may not say about what happens after we die, the “energy” we put forth (or “bring” as the cool people now say) while we’re still alive definitely impacts each other. Like it or not (and as a Midwestern GenX German I often don’t) moods and feelings and emotions are contagious. That may seem obvious, but it’s a life lesson I’m only recently learning. 

I don’t think we can do much (or anything) to affect what happens to our energy when we die, but I want to try to be more intentional and thoughtful about the energy I’m putting out in the world now, and more aware of if I’m letting others’ energy haunt me. I’m not necessarily going as simplistic as a “Good vibes only” motto but maybe a “No gratuitous bad vibes” approach. 

But be warned: If I do end up being a ghost, I’m going to haunt everyone and every place and every thing I can. Just as in life, I’m going to want all the attention I can get.