'Hotel Paranormal' Episode 3: Four employees, guests recount the time they became paranormal targets of ghosts
Vulnerability is fodder for the paranormal. The time and place when your defenses are down are the perfect opportunities for other-worldly entities to strike. In the latest episode of Hotel Paranormal, Dan Aykroyd leads us into the narrative of four real-life testimonials from employees and guests who have been targeted by the paranormal while at a hotel. Peter Herman, Michelle Desrochers, Melissa McLennan and Lyn Slim rehash their first-hand encounters with those from the other side.
Peter Herman, Canada - 1986
Herman worked as a security guard at a remote hotel in the Canadian wilderness in 1986. He had lost his sign shop, which he owned and also had a residence in, to a fire, the year before. This job was a second chance for him, in a way, to start over and make a new living. But his vulnerable state of mind after having lost his home and assets to a devastating fire essentially weakened him. He was taking his regular rounds around the hotel premises after lights out when he heard what sounded like footsteps that ceased some seconds later. Soon after he heard a loud scream from a fellow staff, who had fled from the nearest restroom terrified after having seen a figure inside. Nobody was around at this time of the night and Herman was sure that whoever it was that had entered the restroom, should still be inside there. As he went in to investigate he had an ominous feeling that sent a chill down his spine.
The next time he was on his routine patrol of the corridors, one of the staff got a hold of him on the walky-talky and informed him that a guest had sent in a distress signal. He attended to a couple in their 70s who were woken up after the wife began feeling distressed. She repeatedly pointed at something straight across from her but there was nothing there, said Herman. Parademics arrived at the scene after she collapsed after hyperventilating from terror, and she was immediately taken to the hospital. Suffice to say, Herman was terrified at this point, but stuck in a financial bind there's not much he could do about it. One particular night, he was showing a new security guard the ropes when he felt a sudden burst of cold air from around him. The two had just finished scouring the area and turned around to a shocking site of chairs stacked above each other on a table. That convinced him that the hotel was definitely haunted.
On another occasion, as he was patrolling and had his guard up, Herman heard a loud banging sound come from the grand staircase in the hotel, when he saw a figure of what looked like a woman climb up the stairs. She was dressed in summer clothing and looked like she belonged to the 50s or 60s. As he passed her, he felt a freezing cold shiver, but when he turned back around, she was gone. He was just three feet away from a ghost. But he sensed that the ghost wanted something from him. It was only later that Herman learned why he was being targeted. He shared a similar past with the ghost, and it is highly like that the ghost was a victim of a fire that had taken place at the hotel.
Michelle Desrochers and Melissa McLennan, Romania - 2013
Transylvania has long been associated with dark superstitions and legends. Desrochers and McLennan were in the Eastern European country traveling and seeking an adventure. They found boarding in an ultra-modern, relatively new hotel. They intended to go exploring in the Hoia Baciu forest, which is said to be the most haunted forest in the world and is also known as the Bermuda Triangle of Romania. The forest is notorious for shadow apparitions, and often people who go in never find their way out. Whoever comes out of there seems like a changed person, but not for the better. Nevertheless, Desrochers and McLennan were equipped and ready to go and get to the bottom of the mystery of the forest after dark. As they trudged in deeper into the forest, they first caught sight of the figure of a man who looked at them peculiarly and then disappeared into the shadows.
They could feel and hear a strong presence in the forest with them. McLennan found some pretty pebbles on the forest floor which she took back with her as a memento. The duo then took out their investigative equipment, a spirit box, which allowed them to connect with whatever was in the forest. The voice that emanated from the device asked them to leave the forest immediately, and they hightailed it out of there and back to the hotel. But it seems that whatever it was in the forest had followed them back to the hotel. They set up a video camera that captured footage of a shadowy, transparent figure on tape that kept approaching them slowly. After what seemed like minutes, however, the footsteps were gone and so was the presence.
Luxembourg - 2004
Grief can render a person vulnerable to paranormal. Luxembourg is characterized by its beautiful medieval castles and scenic beauty. It is a perfect location for a getaway when the problems in life seem to never end. Having just lost her husband, Slim and her best friend decided to go on a little trip hoping that it would help ease her pain in some way. While on their journey, they made a pitstop for a night and checked in to a hotel. Slim described the eerie feeling that persisted since the minute she entered the hotel to the time that she got to her room, which uncannily was extremely cold. Tucked in bed and reading a book, that night, she noticed the bedside light flicker more than once and then heard a startling crash from the bathroom. She was a believer in the paranormal and had deduced that there was something going on in her room. The mirror was shattered, and Slim was sure it was the work of a darker, more malevolent force or a demon, perhaps.
Moments later she heard a loud growl from beside her that terrified her to her core. She immediately fled to the balcony was engulfed in a strange swirling mist. In her frazzled state, she started reciting the Lord's Prayer and prayed it would provide her some protection. She realized that pressure had dropped from the room, and she kept reciting it over and over again until she was able to sleep that night and wait for dawn to break. While checking out, Slim tried to talk to the creepy-looking concierge about her experience, but he would only dismiss her with 'I don't understand what you're saying'. But she was certain he was aware of exactly what was going on in the hotel.
'Hotel Paranormal' will air on Saturdays at 10/9c on Travel Channel.