Haunted Hotel & Houses in Arkansas

Welcome back to the Spook Shack! I am back from my long break of moving my website over to here! It was exciting to explore some of the haunted hotels and houses in Arkansas. There were actually so many to choose from, I think Arkansas has a lot to offer for spooky things, but I never really thought of Arkansas being spooky.

Without further ado let’s get into these haunted Hotels & Places:

Beard and Lady Inn

Originally named the Chester Inn, the inn built in 1887 doubled as a hotel and dry goods store. The Inn’s brick construction saved it from the massive fires in 1908 and 1936. It also survived the town-wide floods in 1934 and 1957. In 2003, they converted it into a bed and breakfast and an antique store before restoring and opening it to the public in 2019.

Many people, including some employees, have reported strange activity in the Inn. A man named Clarence froze to death on the balcony of room 4 after getting drunk in the Butler’s Saloon years ago. Many people hear footsteps. Some feel the presence of someone there. Many believe that The Chester Inn (aka The Beard and Lady Inn) served as a brothel between WWI and WWII.

Many people have reported seeing two ghostly women named Ruby and Pearl, mostly train riders. The women dressed in old fashioned clothing wave from the second floor of the hotel at passersby. People claim that Ruby and Pearl were “ladies of the night” from the time when the hotel also served as the brothel. If you would like to stay or learn more of the history from this hotel this is their website.  Maybe if you stay you’ll experience hearing the footsteps or see two women waving to you from the second floor.

The Crescent Hotel, Arkansas

This hotel has a pretty interesting past of being both a girls’ college and a cancer hospital where a “Doctor” Norman Baker claimed to have a cure for cancer.  Some claim the Crescent Hotel as America’s Most Haunted Hotel.  Rumor has it that Irish stonemason, Michael, still roams room 218, where he fell to his death during the hotel’s construction.

Another spirit comes from the time it was a cancer hospital.  Around room 419 Theodora, a patient in life, is seen fumbling with her keys. Theodor tidies up for guests after they leave the room. Breckie, a child who died from complications of appendicitis in the hotel, has been seen bouncing a ball around the hotel.

Dr. John Freemont Ellis, who was the hotel’s in-house doctor in the late 19th century, is often seen near room 212.  Some people can smell his cherry pipe tobacco when they go near the room. The “Hotel General Manager”, Morris, is a cat that is known to haunt the grounds.  Morris was the “General Manager” for 21 years and is buried on the grounds.  Many people regularly see and hear him all through the hotel.

One of the biggest mysteries/phenomenon happens in a particular spot on the 3rd floor, where the hotel connects to an annex built onto the hotel when it was a hospital.  Many guests have grown faint and even some fainted.  Some say that it is a portal to the other side.  This phenomenon comes in spurts with it happening over several weeks/months and then nothing for a while.  No one can seem to explain the loss of consciousness. It doesn’t last very long and completely recovery from it is almost immediate. Learn more about some of the investigations of the hotel at this website.

The Allen House

Many believe that this house in Monticello, AR is haunted! Some say that it is the most haunted house in America, but we have seen many claims like this before. Who haunts this house? It is said to be the daughter of Mr. Allen, Ladell. The story goes that Ladell consumed cyanide and died eight days later. After Ladells death, her mother sealed off Ladell’s room and it wasn’t opened for almost four decades by new owners. The current owners found a cyanide bottle on the closet shelf. As well as 90 letters about a secret relationship that Ladell was in. The secret relationship is what led Ladell to consume the cyanide along with a bottle of rum.

The house was divided into apartments. Many people experienced hauntings even after the house split. Many claim to see a woman standing in the window of what many believe to be Ladell’s bedroom. This is a house you can tour on their website. For more information this article has a few different videos linked on it as well as more information.

The Clayton House 

William Henry Harrison Clayton and his wife, Florence, bought and renovated it. This was to fit them and their seven children who lived in the home from 1882 to 1897. Some of them might have never left.  Many people have seen a woman dressed in a linen shirt and brown skirt around the house. Some believe that this is the apparition of Mrs. Clayton. Most say that she has a more calm energy.

The second ghost is not as calm. This ghost is described as “The Tall Man”, he dresses in black, wears a hat. He stomps around angrily, slamming doors, and plays music sometimes as well. This article claims that there was an EVP of a man shouting angrily. The article states that a carpenter doing some repairs in 2007 and 2008 took pictures before doing the repairs. When the images came back, there seemed to be a woman in one of the photos. 

King Opera House

This opera house seems to have a phantom of its own named Charles Tolson.  When Tolson was alive he was a talented actor and owner. Tolson owned Tolson Stock Company, a traveling acting troupe. They had been performing at the King Opera House for a week in September 1903.  A young 17 year old girl named Allye Parchman had, allegedly, wanted to run away with Tolson.

Unfortunately Allye’s father, Dr. Parchman, was told that she would be at the train depot at 7:45.  When Dr. Parchman saw Tolson, Parchman called to him. As Tolson turned, Parchman fired his first shot and missed Tolson.  Tolson started to run and Parchman shot him a second time, hitting him in the back just above the hip.  The second shot caused Tolson to flip around. The last shot fired, and struck him in the chest.  Luckily for Tolson it hit a pocket watch. Unfortunately, he did end up dying at Belle Point Hospital on Oct. 5 1903.

Though many believe that Allye had fallen in love with Tolson and did want to run away with him, the truth isn’t clear. Tolson was happily married to a woman in his acting troupe. Many people report feeling watched.  A director says that one night they closed up like normal. All the lights were on the next morning.  Some people have even seen the full apparition of Tolson dressed in long black Victorian coat, top hat, and cape.  If you would like to learn more about this crazy happening check out this website. PS you can book a tour of it as well!

Thank You for Reading!

I hope you enjoyed learning all about the haunted hotels and houses in Arkansas! If you still can’t get enough of spooky Arkansas check out their cryptids! Let me know what you think about these haunted houses in Arkansas. Do you think any of these locations are haunted? Let me know down below! Also share and let your friends know all about these haunted houses in Arkansas and don’t forget their cryptids too! Check out the other states’ haunted places and cryptids as well.