A Haunting at the Thomas House Hotel
Part One Was Spooky; Part Two is Scary
This is a continuation of the previous newsletter where I recount my experience at the Thomas House, a haunted hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee. Because I speak on events that I didn’t experience, I’ve had the friend who joined me on this adventure “fact check” the story below. I hope it serves as a terrifyingly spooky end to this Halloween season.
After speaking with the ghost of a little girl named Sarah, it was our groups turn to head down the spookiest-looking hallway of the entire hotel. It had guest rooms in the upper 20’s and 30’s, and while the rest of the hotel had an almost vintage feel to it, this hallway was definitely different. No nice carpets or painted walls. More sterile.
At the end of this hallway was a couple of rooms and an old church pew, which my friend and I sat on (after making sure no one else was taking it). It was dark as our guide explained that the ghost of a man who was accused of assaulting a young girl lived here, after being killed by a mob. He wasn’t a particularly friendly spirit, and his presence also invited shadowy figures.
While some in our group felt ill or even like they were being pushed around when leaning against the walls (and also that there was muttering coming from one of the empty rooms), I was having my own “moment,” if you will. You know that feeling when you get scared and goosebumps appear on your arms? How you can feel your fear concentrate in between your shoulder blades as this cold, sharp feeling?
While I was dealing with this, the couple sitting on the bench next to me were arguing. The woman was mad at her boyfriend (or husband, I can’t quite remember) for poking her in the back repeatedly. Unfortunately for her, she woke her boyfriend up from a particularly deep sleep, if his snoring was to be believed.
And while I didn’t know this until much later, my friend was also dealing with her own issues. Something kept knocking her sunglasses off of her head. When she held them in her hands, it almost felt like something was trying to grab them from her. Even worse, she kept feeling something touch her face, almost like it was trying to turn her eyes elsewhere.
What we would later learn, while we debriefed over our midnight snack, was that another couple down the hall had seen something particularly scary in our direction. They saw a shadowy figure peeking out from what appeared to be a doorway multiple times during our time down this hallway, but when they eventually went to investigate after our session was over, they realized that there wasn’t a doorway for this shadow to peak out of.
In fact, what they thought must’ve been a doorway was actually the bench where me, my friend, and the couple were sitting.
No wonder we all had experiences.
After a little bit of wandering on our own, my friend and I eventually decided to call it a night. We had an early check out the next morning, and I had a long drive to get us back to Nashville. After messing around for a bit, we jokingly told the ghosts not to mess with us while we tried to sleep.
I remember saying, “Now, I have my alarm set for the morning, so don’t feel the need to wake us up.”
Knowing that our room wasn’t particularly known for any hauntings (besides the sound of a cleaning cart in the hallway at odd times in the night, which I was fine with experiencing), it was easy to fall asleep. Especially because we kept the bathroom light on, just in case.
I remember sleeping well enough that night. Sure, the light from the bathroom woke me up a couple of times, but for sleeping in an unfamiliar bed with my best friend, I wouldn’t say it was too bad.
And then morning came.
You know when you’re walking quickly around something, so you put your hand on it almost like you’re spinning around that object? Like when you’re making a bed and you’re cutting corners, so you put your hand on the corner of the mattress to walk around it?
That’s what woke me up. A quick, contained sinking in the mattress by my feet.
Then, walking up the side of the bed I was on, I heard three, clear footsteps going from my feet toward my head.
Then, a second later, something cold rested on the top of my head.
I didn’t really know what to do, so I kept my eyes closed and pushed myself toward the middle of the bed. I kept hoping I would go back to sleep, but my heart was pounding, and I couldn’t help imagining what I would see if I opened my eyes. For a long time, I laid there wondering if the tapping sensation I felt in my legs was all the tension I was hoarding in my body or Casper trying to get my attention.
Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I woke my friend up.
Everything stopped then. I still had over an hour until my alarm went off (the darn ghosts had woken me up around 6 a.m.), and my poor friend did her best to stay awake as I pulled my legs to my chest to ward off anymore poking.
Later, I told our guide from the night before what had happened. She was surprised. As far as she knew, nothing had ever really happened to anyone in room 19 before. I guess I should’ve felt honored, but in that moment, I was just excited to head back to Nashville.
For the next three days, I slept with my TV on. Only over a year later do I finally think it would be interesting to go back to the Thomas House sometime. But only if I can share a room with someone.