10/31/2026
👻 **THE GHOST OF THE HOTEL: A TRUE HALLOWEEN STORY** 🎃
People often ask us (especially this time of year) if The Hotel is haunted. After all, the business is nearly 100 years old, and the building itself is even older.
Well, the answer is… **YES!** 👀
One of Michael's favorite stories is about a mysterious fellow we have come to call “The Newsy.”
🕯️ **It all began in the 1970s…**
My brother, Joe, was closing up for the night. As he walked from the kitchen into the dining room, he noticed a customer standing at the end of the bar.
As he approached, he asked, “Can I help you?”
The gentleman winked at him, turned, and walked toward the back of the dining room, where there are no outside doors.
Joe followed close behind. But when he reached the spot where the man had gone…
**He was gone.**
No doors. No way out. The man had simply disappeared.
Joe described him as a short fellow wearing baggy pants, suspenders, a big mustache, and a “newsy” cap, like the ones newspaper boys used to wear.
🕯️ **Fast forward to the 1990s…**
We had a chef working here named Dan. He had Native American roots, was a very spiritual guy, and was usually quite the talker.
One day, I walked through the kitchen while he was cleaning up. He was unusually quiet. I went upstairs, came back down, and he was still quiet.
I asked him if everything was alright.
He asked me, “Have you ever seen a spirit here?”
I told him my brother had mentioned something years earlier and asked what he had seen.
Dan explained that he had been mopping the kitchen when he saw a man walking down the hallway toward him. The man looked at him, turned, and walked straight through the CLOSED door to the boiler room and basement.
I asked Dan to describe the man.
And that's when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
**He described the exact same fellow my brother Joe had seen decades earlier!**
Keep in mind, Dan and Joe had NEVER met. 😳
🐾 **And then there's the dogs…**
Back then, I had a yellow Labrador named Kassee. Ever since Dan's encounter, Kassee absolutely refused to walk past that boiler room door.
He would either hug the opposite wall and scurry past it or simply stop, turn around, and refuse to go any further.
Today, I have a Golden Retriever named Kooper… and guess what?
**He does the EXACT SAME THING!** 🐕
He won't walk past that door either. Although, in Kooper's case, a little chicken can sometimes convince him to brave the passage. 😂
So, what do YOU think? Coincidence? Or does “The Newsy” still call The Hotel home?
If you're ever here, just remember… you might not be the only one dining with us! 👻
**Happy Halloween from all of us at The Hotel!** 🎃🖤
