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6.8.9

Newport, Oregon: A Haunted Hotel?

The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon is a unique place with an interesting history. The hotel is in the Nye Beach area; which until recently was exceedingly funky and charming. Now they've gone upscale and the looming, out of place, over priced condos and stores are a gloomy statement on things to come. The juxtaposition of old, shambled structures with tall cold modern buildings is typical in many beach towns. That aside, I still love the area and spend a lot of time there.

The hotel is named after the writer Sylvia Beach,(1887 - 1962) a fascinating woman in her own right. Each room in the hotel is decorated with a particular writer in mind; from the Dr. Seuss room to the Edgar Allen Poe room, complete with raven and pendulum above the bed. There's a Jane Austen room, Ernest Hemingway... just lovely rooms, most with a fantastic view of the ocean. There's a library and at dinner in the downstairs restaurant, guests are encouraged to participate in word games. There is no radio, no TV, no phones and no wi-fi. The building has been in existence since at least the 1900s, having gone through several renovations.

Any old building that's gone through structural changes, and sits near the ocean, (for the ocean seems to be a great magnet for ghostly activity) is probably going to haunted, and there are those that believe the Sylvia Beach has ghosts. It's also rumored that the current owners will not have anything to do with anyone researching haunted activity in the hotel. I haven't checked this out recently for myself, but I did start to ask the woman at the hotel desk about six years ago; she refused to talk to me and it was clear I wasn't going to get anywhere. Someday I'll try again.

I came across a post titled "Haunted Honeymoons are Real" on the Trip Advisor message forum. (you'll need to scroll down a few posts to read it) and there are allusions to the hotel being haunted on some regional paranormal sites. Sometimes it's possible for the public to visit the floors of the hotel and the rooms, if they're open and not registered to guests. I've done this a couple of times, and, while on the second floor a few years ago, I felt extremely uncomfortable.

I felt very creepy, cold, clammy, and there was an oppressive feeling in this spot. I could very faintly see a misty kind of shape near a doorway. To be fair, it's hard to know if the faint image in the image is a camera malfunction (image taken with an Instamatic 110) or something paranormal. Regardless, the feeling I had that day in that spot was very real. Whatever that energy was, it did not like me being there one bit; it wasn't a pleasant entity at all.

Someday I'll indulge myself and stay at the Sylvia Beach and explore the hotel for spirit activity.


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