THE ORIGINAL SPRINGS HOTEL, 506 N HANOVER ST, OKAWVILLE, IL 62271
Is that ghostly apparition or simply the vapour from the hot springs? You could find yourself asking that after staying at the Original Springs Hotel in Okawville, Illinois.
Enjoy a massage, bathe in the hot pool, and then retire to one of the hotel’s individualised guest rooms for some much-needed rest and relaxation.
Luxury aside, this vacation area is teeming with unseen entities just waiting to be found by paranormal investigators.
THE ORIGINAL HOTEL IN THE SPRINGS
The Original Springs Hotel in Okawville has been a staple of the community for decades, catering to tourists from neighbouring St. Louis and Springfield who stop by for a quick soak in the mineral springs on their way home.
The first structure opened in 1867, but a terrible fire in 1891 put an end to it. But the community was not willing to part with its prized possession, and so the hotel was rebuilt in 1893 and has stayed at the same location ever since.
Tinsmith Rudolph Plegge, who had noticed the high mineral content of the water at Okawville, partnered with a nearby farmer to construct a bathhouse there in September 1868.
In 1884, a lady named Anna Schierbaum, who was disabled (before then, she was simply termed “invalid”), immersed in the pools and claimed the mineral water cured her. They opened a hotel there on Easter Sunday, 1887, after she pushed her husband to do so.
There is an elegant restaurant, a mineral bath, an indoor pool that was established in 1893, and plenty of ghosts at this hotel.
The Springs Tragedy
Three of the hotel’s proprietors have tragically committed suicide. Ben Schierbaum, Anna’s son and the hotel’s new proprietor following her death, shared his mother’s fondness for the springs and its mystical healing qualities.
His mental health plummeted after his wife of four years left him while he was working as a hotel super. Unfortunately, he committed himself at the hotel after failing to overcome his feelings of melancholy and isolation.
Conrad Paeben, a new proprietor of the hotel, took over in the 1920s. The hotel had a special place in his heart as well. He improved the hotel by installing heaters in each room so that it could serve customers throughout the year and so remain profitable despite the economic downturn.
But as the Great Depression progressed, the hotel, like many others, suffered, and Paeben, like many others at the time, fell victim to mental illness. Also, he committed suicide at a hospital close to the hotel.
Tom Rogers, the hotel’s last proprietor and a man whose love for the establishment bordered on obsession, met an untimely end. Some visitors’ stays were negatively impacted by his habit of spending the day strolling the corridors.
Employees discovered his body in Room 350 one day, but they had no idea what caused his death or that he had been depressed. Nonetheless, the death was ruled a suicide and became the last fatal incident to occur at that hotel.
HAUNTED HISTORIC HOTEL OF SPRINGS
The famous hosts of Ghost Hunters have helped to chronicle the ghosts at Original Springs Hotel, much to the delight of paranormal investigators.
Although the hotel owners said on the programme that employees have seen things moving about behind their backs and that they have seen apparitions all throughout the facility, visitors have reported far more extreme paranormal activity.
A visitor in Room 350 was so frightened when she felt someone rub against her legs in the middle of the night that she reported the hotel to management.
Others purchase a room on the hotel’s terrifying third level only to experience the paranormal activity there. Tom Rogers, the proprietor, was discovered dead in Room 350 on the third floor.
Staff and visitors alike have reported feeling a ghostly presence on the floor, and several apparitions have been seen on the same.
The owners informed Ghost Hunters that some of the cleaning crew won’t go down the stairs at the end of the third floor corridor because it gives them the creeps.
A waiter at the hotel claimed to have seen a mysterious white figure, dubbed “the lady in white,” in and near Room 350.
Residents on the third floor have reported hearing loud sounds at night, while some have said that studying images from their trip, in which a spectral figure appeared, validated their fears of spiritual presence.
A few claim they were even trapped in empty rooms with no way to escape.
Ghosts may also be seen on other floors than the third. Some people reported to have seen a friendly-appearing individual on the second level.
Employees avoid the second level like the plague because they claim to often hear sounds emanating from empty rooms up there. When one visitor arrived at their hotel and saw another person already occupying their room, they wanted to be relocated.
Paranormal activity has also been reported in what historians believe was formerly a casino—the laundry room.
Old-time music has been heard, and staff members have reported sensing a presence.
They claim to have experienced cold spots, the presence of unseen people, and the sounds of footsteps, music, and voices all around the hotel.
STAYING AT THE FIRST HOTEL IN THE SPRINGS
Weekend rates at the Original Springs Hotel start at $85 per night, with weekday rates starting at $70. The spa and the excellent restaurant are also included in a number of different package deals.
The cost of a two-night stay in a standard room starts at $135 per night, while the cost of a Jacuzzi suite is as high as $225 per night. This includes two mineral tubs, wine and appetisers, and two chicken dinners.
