For part one of Spooky Texas Traveler, we need to step back in time at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, Texas. Built in 1911, after the devastating Hurricane of 1900 that claimed 6,000 lives, the Hotel Galvez was erected (to draw back leery tourists) for the hefty sum of $1 million. Since then, presidents, actors and actresses, and other dignitaries have roamed the hotel's halls for over a hundred years.
Scent of the Dead
I had the pleasure of staying at the Hotel Galvez in 2011 for their 100 year anniversary, and as my family pulled into the circle driveway I could just feel that this place had history. It looms over you. So, once we made it to our room, it took one quick Google search to find out about the ghost on the 5th floor.The general part of the story goes like this:
A young, filled-with-love, woman was staying at the hotel on the 5th floor in a room that faced the ocean. Everyday she pined and waited for the return of her lover, a sailor. Tragically, the sailor's ship sailed into a storm and sunk. His love was told no one survived, and in a fit of utter despair, the woman hung herself in the hotel. The ending changes depending on who you ask. Some will say the sailor was truly dead. Others will say, with a bit of Shakespeare in mind, that the sailor returned alive and well.
With every good ghost story, there is a good haunting. And this haunting does not disappoint! I did some more research about the different guest "experiences" on the 5th floor, and what really intrigued me was the multiple reports of the smell of Gardenias floating down the hallway. Reportedly, it was the forlorn woman's favorite scent. So, with my wits about me, I went up the elevator to explore.
I meandered around the long, narrow halls for a few minutes and came to a dead end. It was a window with a wonderful view of the ocean near rooms 500, 501, 502 and 503. I turned around to head back to the elevator and BAM!!! the strong scent of Gardenias hit me. I stood there, stunned, for a few moments and then I started doing some serious sniff work. I bent down and smelled the carpet. No spray scent there. I approached the surrounding doors and sniffed around. No perfume was wafting through the door cracks. The smell was just in that one spot in the dead center of the hall, unmoving like a hovering cloud. I walked away (quickly) down the long hallway, turned to go down another long hallway before reaching the elevators.
I retrieved the rest of my family and dragged them back up to the 5th floor. They grumbled all the way up... until the elevator doors opened. We took about five steps off the elevator, and the invisible wall of Gardenias overcame us. My family dismissed it as air freshener. I made them walk the rest of the stretch to where I encountered the dead end before and let them look out the window for a bit. Take in the beautiful views family... before the ghost gets you! Anyways...
The family and I turned back to head downstairs and suddenly the smell of Gardenias overcame us again. It was now traveling back in the direction of where it originally came from. My family became a little puzzled and tried explaining it away while we waited for the elevator. Another family that was staying on the 5th floor joined us on our wait and overheard our debate. They kind of laughed and explained that the same experience kept happening to them, and to several other people on that floor... as well as other not so innocent things.
By the end of our stay at the Hotel Galvez, I think my mother was at least convinced that the place was haunted... because a lady sat on the edge of her bed during the middle of night.
So, what do you think? Was it just some devious maids playing around with Lysol? Or could it be a trace of tragic history? Also, I would love to know if you have ever stayed somewhere that was haunted. Do you even believe in such a thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment