Lafayette Hotel – Investigation
January 25, 2019
Marietta, OH
Investigation
The Lafayette Hotel has withstood tragedies and the test of time. After a fire destroyed the original structure, the Hoag family stepped in to rebuild. In 1918, the Lafayette Hotel was officially opened and brought in all kinds of clientele. It was so popular that the Hoags decided to add on, including a restaurant and bar area. Since the passing of the Hoag’s and attempts to modernize the hotel, the Lafayette has regained its’ original façade and hand crafted, ornate wooden finishes. The beautiful hotel is still fully operational, and normally booked up. Every floor of the structure seems to hold its’ own tale of the paranormal, which we were able to find out for ourselves.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by the Hidden Marietta organization and given a historical and paranormal tour of the facility. The tour itself was very informative and lasted a little over an hour which allowed our investigation to commence around 10:30 PM and we took advantage of the free reign investigation until about 2:00 AM that morning.
Our equipment case grew once again, this time we added a brand new Rempod to the mix and a new 4K night vision camera. The equipment list for that evening included two recorders, an EMF reader, a K2 meter, two night vision video cameras, SB7 spirit box, laser grid pen, light up balloons, and an Ovilus. We utilized everything at our disposal except for the balloons.
The communication throughout the night came in waves and it seemed to be consistent in a few hot spots throughout the hotel. The most communication seemed to come in the Servants Staircase and the Ballroom. The pipe room was active for a short period of time. We quickly realized that if there were too many people in a specific area that the paranormal activity seemed to dwindle. We seemed to capture some residual communication throughout the hotel, specifically in the main ballroom area, understandably so. The overall feel to the hotel was lighter and inviting. We never really felt anything that was heavy or dark. We did manage to capture a photo or two but the most activity we received was communication through the spirit box via the recorders and video cameras. We did seem to capture a few orbs in the pipe room but there was not a lot of visible evidence here.
Below are our recordings and videos, which we captured throughout the evening. We marked the locations where we feel we received some kind of communication from the other side – voices, noises, anything and everything we captured. Let us know your thoughts if you get the chance to listen and watch some of the footage. We also commented on the Ovilus communication due to the fact that it does not speak the words aloud, rather we simply read them off as they came through.
As always, you have been warned, some of this is not for the faint of heart and can be slightly explicit:
Deck
It has been reported that a mist will move from side to side on the deck, almost like it is pacing. There are even rare occasions where the mist will take the form of man who will saunter over to the railing, cross his arms, and just overlook the river below. This man has been identified as Reno Hoag.
Photos:
- We snapped a few photos around the deck in all directions, but we did not capture anything aside from the gorgeous view of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers.
Recording:
- In the frigid cold air, we did not spend much time outside on the deck, but we did attempt to make contact with Reno. Unfortunately, we never managed to hear any response from him. Maybe the cold scared him off too.
Video:
Sometimes we will get differing communications from multiple devices so we checked the videos as well for any type of communication, again, we came up with nothing.
Hallway
There is said to be a woman who wonders the lobby and its’ staircase in a full white Victorian gown. She has been known as the gray woman, appearing in a gray mist and full bodied from time to time. It’s possible that she also wonders the halls, not just the lobby. We didn’t conduct and investigation but we did decide to snap a few photos here on our way to our next location.
Photos:
- We thought we captured a few empty hallways, creepy enough we thought, until we looked closer. Toward the end of the hallway on the left side, it appears as though there is a white mist. We attempted to debunk this to no avail. It seems that there is nothing to reflect off in that spot. There were emergency lights pointed down and red exit lights. The emergency lights would not have reflected on just that area alone and the exit light would have been red. The room at the end of the hall was empty all evening and the light was off. Perhaps we captured the mysterious gray woman, clad in a white dress wondering the upstairs hallway.
Servant’s Stairwell
The story in this particular stairwell describes the tragedy of a young girl who mysteriously fell down the steps and broke her neck. She died slowly at the base of the stairwell before her father found her lifeless body. This little girl has not been identified, even though the historians at Hidden Marietta keep their eyes open for any information here. This little girl has been spotted when you’re at the bottom of the stairs and look up. She has been seen peering over the railing and even running up and down the steps. He giggles are contagious and footsteps echo throughout the area on what seems to be a regular basis. We stopped in the cold steel stairwell, nothing fancy but fitting for a secret stairwell, and we had an eerie feeling moving down the stairs so we set up for an investigation.
Photos:
- During our walkthrough, we snapped a few photos with our cell phones looking up to where the girl has been seen after we got the feeling someone was there just watching us. While we investigated, we took a bunch of pictures but unfortunately did not seem to catch anything significant.
Recording 1:
- Not much occurred through this first recording session but at 3:07 K2 meter was set off.
Recording 2:
- During this next recording is when it seemed to pick up quite a bit starting with our camera battery being drained at the 1:29 mark.
- At 5:49 the K2 meter went off, spiking near the red.
- We heard “Hello” at 6:15 on spirit box. Following this around 6:53, multiple people felt tingling sensations on their arms.
- As we attempted to get a name of the little girl, around 10:03 “Alice” appeared on Ovilus. Following this, “Alice” could be heard whispered at 10:16. This was interesting because it did NOT sound like it came over the spirit box.
- At 10:21 “Slave” appeared on the Ovilus, possibly referring to the servants’ stairwell itself.
- Around 11:02, “My name” was heard through the spirit box followed by “Kate” appearing on the Ovilus at 11:37.
- At 11:56 “Guy” was seen on the Ovilus.
- “Kate” was again heard being whispered through the spirit box at 12:04.
- Around the 13:07 mark, “Lash” was seen on the Ovilus followed by our camera being completely drained at 13:17.
Recording 3:
- After taking a moment to swap out cameras, we continued our conversation with the little girl. This time, it seemed like she wanted more than just to tell us her name.
- Right away, at :18, “Help me” appeared on the Ovilus followed by the spirit box shooting out “Help me” at 1:00.
- At 1:42 “Weight” appeared on the Ovilus so we proceeded to ask if there is a weight on the little girl and, at 2:03, “Yeah” was heard through the spirit box.
- Once again, around 2:28, “Help me” was heard through the spirit box.
- Shockingly, at the 2:40 mark, “Daddy no” was seen on the Ovilus.
- It was silent until 5:41 when the K2 spiked. We tried to get her to do it again and at 5:58 the K2 meter did jump again.
- Right away, around 6:00, numerous people’s legs began to tingle.
- At 8:43 “Kate” could be heard through the spirit box.
- The Ovilus produced the word “Beard” at 9:20.
- Around the 10:08 mark, the K2 meter lit up followed by a very quiet, possibly timid voice, saying “I’m scared” at 10:18 on the spirit box.
- At 10:41 “Fear” was seen on the Ovilus.
- Then at 11:20, one of our guests names’: Charlotte, had her name appear on the Ovilus.
- At 11:50 the K2 meter lit up but that was the end of any communication.
Video 1:
- The two video sessions tend to match up with the first two recordings before our camera life died. There was nothing too different in either one, nor was their any abnormal movement caught on the video cameras.
- At the 1:25 mark, the camera’s battery life was drained temporarily.
- At 3:04, the K2 meter went off, touching yellow then red.
Video 2:
- The camera battery being drained at the 1:30 mark.
- At 5:50 the K2 meter went off, spiking near the red.
- We heard “Hello” at 6:18 on spirit box. Following this around 6:55, multiple people felt tingling sensations on their arms.
- At 10:07 “Alice” appeared on Ovilus. Following this, “Alice” could be heard whispered at 10:18. This did NOT sound like it came over the spirit box.
- At 10:24 “Slave” appeared on the Ovilus.
- One oddity between the two is the words “My name” was never heard on the camera unlike that of the recorder but “Kate” did appear on the Ovilus at 11:38.
- At 11:57 “Guy” was seen on the Ovilus.
- Again, another oddity, we did not hear “Kate” through the spirit box even though the recorder did pick it up.
- Around the 13:04 mark, “Lash” was seen on the Ovilus followed by our camera being completely drained.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-cPKjXrAtQ]
Video 3
- This video was recorded from the second camera so there is some overlap but it does match up with the recordings beginning at :28 with “Help me” on the Ovilus and “Help me” at 1:10 on the spirit box.
- At 1:52 “Weight” appeared on the Ovilus so we proceeded to ask if there is a weight on the little girl and, at 2:13, “Yeah” was heard through the spirit box.
- Once again, around 2:38, “Help me” was heard through the spirit box.
- Shockingly, at the 2:50 mark, “Daddy no” was seen on the Ovilus.
- It was silent until 5:51 when the K2 spiked. We tried to get her to do it again and at 6:08 the K2 meter did jump again.
- Right around 6:10, numerous people’s legs began to tingle.
- At 8:53 “Kate” could be heard through the spirit box.
- The Ovilus produced the word “Beard” at 9:30.
- Around the 10:18 mark, the K2 meter lit up followed by a very quiet, possibly timid voice, saying “I’m scared” at 10:28 on the spirit box.
- At 10:51 “Fear” was seen on the Ovilus.
- Then at 11:30, one of our guests names’: Charlotte, had her name appear on the Ovilus.
- At 12:00 the K2 meter lit up but that was the end of any communication.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl4H1p3gmSQ]
Basement – Pipe Room
According to many stories and reports, the basement has multiple spirits wondering about, unsure if they are still alive. One of the more intriguing tales is that of the Grinning Man. This man has been seen throughout the lobby and in the basement rear room, also known as the pipe room. He first starts with just a grin, then the rest of his body appears. He is typically seen in a brown suit just watching guests from afar. However, some employees have stated that he has lunged at them, possibly in an attempt to scare them off and give him his space. Other reports claim that if he is provoked, he will actually react physically. One particular occasion reports that he slapped a group of young people trying to poke and prod at him. So naturally, our next stop was down in the basement, winding and weaving through hallways and ultimately and unknowingly being drawn into the pipe room. We sat on the floor, and even before we had an opportunity to record it, our Rempod lit up and buzzed.
Photos:
- We began taking pictures in the pipe room but also moved to the hallway adjacent to the room. There was a lot of energy down there it seemed, but there was also a lot of dust and dirt. The photos did not reveal any movement, but as you will see later, we caught orb movement on the video camera.
Recording:
- As we started to introduce ourselves and ask if anyone is with us we heard “Do you know me?” through the spirit box at 1:14.
- Viva entered the room and commented that she respects some of our guests standing instead of sitting and at 2:30 a “No” was heard seemingly in response to her comment.
- As we asked if the Grinning Man was with us, at the 3:35 mark we heard “Not him.”
- We asked if the spirit could set the Rempod off again and, if it would, Viva would leave. At 3:44, it did buzz and light up. So Viva left.
- At 7:13 “Leave me” was heard through the spirit box.
- The camera battery was drained at about 8:43.
- We said we would leave if whoever was with us would move or speak to us but nothing else was recorded. However before we left, at 9:30, 11:12, and 12:40 three different occurrences of orbs could be seen on the camera.
Video:
- This video paired up with the recorder, however, we could make out a few orbs on three different occasions in the video.
- We asked if anyone is with us and we heard “Do you know me?” through the spirit box at 1:15.
- At 2:31 a “No” was heard seemingly in response to Viva sitting down.
- We asked if the Grinning Man was with us, at the 3:36 mark we heard “Not him.”
- We asked if the spirit could set the Rempod off again and, if it would, Viva would leave. At 3:45, it did buzz and light up. So Viva left.
- At 7:15 “Leave me” was heard through the spirit box.
- The camera battery was drained significantly at about 8:44.
- At 8:54, an orb could be seen moving across the screen, rising off the floor and creating a cold spot next to Dan.
- Another orb manifested from the wall behind Dan, starting at 11:02, and cut across the screen before we lost track of it.
- The final orb we captured began at 12:40 and seemed to rise out of the floor and again disappear into the wall.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSZ2yPswHkg]
Ballroom – Rear Room
There have been reports of disembodied voices echoing out of this rear room. Mr. Hoag and even servants have been reported as being seen and identified in this area. One of the wildest stories we’ve heard recently is that of employee doppelgängers trying to draw employees in and then disappearing into walls. They are so distinct and recognizable that some of the employees actually mistake them for the real person! We began by setting up our laser grid and Rempod in this room in hopes of capturing some of the spirits mingling and walking about. We attempted to communicate with anyone who was in the area, but we didn’t seem to capture much communication until we made our way out into the Main Ballroom. However, we did feel a cold spot right around the time the Rempod activated.
Photos:
- With both of us running our cameras, we did not capture any photographs of this rear area.
Recording:
- As we began, there was not much activity. It wasn’t until about the 6:01 mark that one of our guests felt a cold spot near the Rempod’s location.
- We asked, if someone was close by, if they could move closer to the Rempod. At 6:17 the Rempod was lit and buzzed.
- Outside of that one movement, there was not much activity. We’re afraid that we had too many people in a small location and either scared them off or we polluted any communication we had with all of the voices and noises echoing inside the room.
Video:
- We unfortunately did not capture the Rempod activity or anything much in the video. However, the camera battery did die shortly before the Rempod activity.
Ballroom – Main Ballroom
The main ballroom, which hosted the first annual Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo the following day, has witnessed its’ fair share of events in its’ lifetime. Some of the more typical paranormal experiences include loud party noises and echoing conversations throughout the area. On top of just noises, most likely residual, there has also been a woman spotted occasionally. Another fascinating story told of a skeptic who pretended to dance with some unknown entity on the middle of the dancefloor. Little did he know that he invited a woman dressed in white to dance with him. A cold chill was sent down his spine as the woman placed her ice-cold hand on the small of his back as she accepted his invitation. He did not last on the dancefloor, or in the hotel for that matter, much longer that evening. This area also has hosted a doppelgänger of a current employee. We began our investigation stationary, however, as the noises grew, we made our way around the ballroom with the spirit box and began to pick up many different voices and communication.
Photos:
- Just like every area we investigate, we began by snapping a bunch of pictures. We did not seem to turn anything up on our photos, however, one of our fellow guests did manage to pick up a moving white mist as well as the silhouette of a man (or woman) in the back of the ballroom.
Recording:
- Before the recordings began, we felt a cold spot next to us and Viva sensed that there was a man standing behind us. We asked if they can speak and heard “What?” through the spirit box at :55. At 1:01, “What?” was repeated.
- At 1:02 we heard “Bruce” through the spirit box after we asked what their name was. Not long after, at 1:07, “Ben” could be heard through the spirit box. We seem to have gotten a third voice and spirit that followed that at the 1:12 mark as we heard “Steve.”
- We asked if there is also a woman here and heard “I found you” at 1:56 as if they pointed out Viva as the woman in the room. If the spirit was reiterating that they were not a woman, at 2:03 we heard on the spirit box “I am a man.”
- We seemed to pick up some residual conversations, not directed toward us, but rather someone stuck repeating the past. This started sporadically at 2:09 when we heard “Pour the vodka.” Then at the 2:18 mark we heard “Formally.”
- As the camera battery died suddenly, we asked why the spirit stole the camera’s energy and at 2:59 we heard “I still don’t know.”
- At 3:12 we heard “Coward” through the spirit box. Viva began laughing and said that she was dying in response to the coward comment. As if the spirit was concerned, at 4:01, we heard “Rest.”
- At 4:08 “Look in the camera” was heard through the spirit box. We asked who was there and wanted us to look into the camera. We heard “I am” clearly at 5:11.
- As we began to roam around the ballroom with the spirit box, we heard “Guys” at 5:35.
- At 6:08 we heard “We are” after we asked if anyone is here with us. We then heard “Hello” at 6:14.
- We followed up and asked what their name was and heard “Eve” at 6:25.
- The residual communication and conversations picked up at that point starting with “Gorgeous” at 7:09. We heard “I’m still” at 7:11, “Hit in the face” at 7:16, “I’m still” repeated at 7:21, “Where’s the other” at 7:41, and finally “Hey” at 8:13. All of these words and saying came through the spirit box. Keep in mind if these are residual, we were picking up bits and pieces of past conversations that have remained in the ballroom due to the left over energies from past events.
Video:
- We asked if they can speak and heard “What?” through the spirit box at :55.
- At 1:01, “What?” was repeated.
- At 1:02 we heard “Bruce” through the spirit box after we asked what their name was. Not long after, at 1:07, “Ben” could be heard through the spirit box. We seem to have gotten a third voice and spirit that followed that at the 1:12 mark as we heard “Steve.”
- We heard “I found you” at 1:56.
- At 2:03 we heard on the spirit box “I am a man.”
- We seemed to pick up some residual conversations, not directed toward us, but rather someone stuck repeating the past. This started sporadically at 2:09 when we heard “Pour the vodka.” Then at the 2:18 mark we heard “Formally.”
As the camera battery died suddenly, we asked why the spirit stole the camera’s energy and at 2:59 we heard “I still don’t know.” - At 3:12 we heard “Coward” through the spirit box. Viva began laughing and said that she was dying in response to the coward comment. As if the spirit was concerned, at 4:01, we heard “Rest.”
- At 4:08 “Look in the camera” was heard through the spirit box.
- We heard “I am” clearly at 5:11 after we asked who was there.
- We heard “Guys” at 5:35 as we began to roam the ballroom.
- At 6:08 we heard “We are” after we asked if anyone is here with us.
- We heard “Hello” at 6:14.
- We asked what their name was and heard “Eve” at 6:25.
- The residual communication and conversations picked up at that point starting with “Gorgeous” at 7:09.
- We heard “I’m still” at 7:11, “Hit in the face” at 7:16, “I’m still” repeated at 7:21, “Where’s the other” at 7:41, and finally “Hey” at 8:13. All of these words and saying came through the spirit box. Keep in mind if these are residual, we were picking up bits and pieces of past conversations that have remained in the ballroom due to the left over energies from past events.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9fpUCUIObY]
Basement – Women’s Bathroom
The women’s room in the basement has been one of fear by the female employees who used to use this restroom often. I emphasized USED to use this room because of the common occurrences of women getting locked in the stalls inside the bathroom. The employees were not able to carry cell phones with them so when they were locked inside, they had no one to call or even any way to light the area once the lights turned out on them. Now, they are permitted to grab their phones if they are going to head down to that bathroom. It has also been noted that there is a partially angry, partially sad woman that has been felt and seen in the room. She has been heard crying and sometimes pounding on the stall doors. If the entry door is left open, she will close it, and sometimes even slam it shut. This woman has also been spotted in the mirror behind some of the guests who walk in on this woman unexpectedly. This woman is said to have perished in the fire which destroyed the original hotel that stood on the same foundation the Lafayette Hotel is currently located. This was the location we decided to end our night at, but unfortunately we did not seem to much luck. At one point we even closed the door and sat in the stall but there was nothing there that seemed to care too much. It’s possible that they only react to women or even in small numbers (we had 5 people in the room). We still documented our photos, recordings, and videos below. If you see or hear anything that we did not, please let us know!
Photos:
- We only snapped a few pictures of the area as the light tended to bounce off the plethora of mirrors a little too much. The photo of the stall if the one we ended up attempting to get locked into at one point.
Recording:
- You can hear a lot of echoing of our voices and the pipes kicking on and off from the pipe room which was on the other side of the wall, so there may have been too much noise pollution. However, we just never seemed to get any communication in this area.
Video:
- Just like the recording, we did not manage to capture anything of significance on the video.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cvtejSOfg]
With the long-standing history of the grounds since 1892, including two hotels, there’s no wonder why there would be so many spirits trapped here. Stretching from tragedies to memorable times, the Lafayette Hotel seems to attract everything from sad and angry spirits to happy, playful ones. After our investigation of the hotel, we felt as though there was definitive intelligent communication in quite a few locations but heavily recognizable in the Servants Stairwell, the Ballroom, and the Basement Pipe Room (even just for a minimal amount of time). Residual hauntings appear throughout all of these locations but particularly in the Ballroom where many spirits seem to have found energy from past events in the afterlife. The Lafayette Hotel feels more inviting with spirits who just want to communicate and own their space. We never really felt any negative energy or spirits who wanted us gone, aside from a minimal communication in the Pipe Room, but even then, we simply made an agreement to leave if they would interact with us.
After spending time here, speaking with those who have worked here, and analyzing our data we gathered during our investigation, we believe that the Lafayette Hotel does in fact have a number of spirits present. They do seem to be tied to certain areas of the hotel and most spirits are intelligent and active. Aside from the video in the Pipe Room and the photographs in the hallway and ballroom, there did not appear to be much physical evidence, but rather all communication thanks in part to the spirits’ energy and the availability of the spirit box and the Rempod. Based on our experiences, we do believe that the Lafayette Hotel holds many active spirits.
What did you think?
Drop a comment below.