Palace Hotel & Bath House – Haunted Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
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Full Address: 135 Spring Street, Eureka Springs, AR 72632
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Nestled in the heart of Eureka Springs’ historic downtown district sits the Palace Hotel & Bath House. This Victorian-era building has been welcoming guests since the late 1800s during the town’s heyday as a healing water destination. The hotel’s elegant facade and vintage charm attract visitors seeking both history and the paranormal. Former guests, staff members, and paranormal investigators report consistent supernatural activity throughout the property.
The Palace Hotel has earned its reputation as one of Arkansas’s most haunted locations through decades of documented encounters. Guests frequently report unexplained phenomena including disembodied voices, phantom footsteps, and apparitions appearing in mirrors and hallways. The building’s connection to Eureka Springs’ spiritualist movement adds another layer to its haunted legacy. Several entities seem to have made the hotel their permanent residence, refusing to check out even in death.
The hotel operates both as a functioning inn and an acknowledged paranormal hotspot today. Current owners embrace the building’s ghostly reputation while maintaining its historical integrity and Victorian atmosphere. Both skeptics and believers find themselves confronting unexplainable experiences within these walls. The Palace Hotel stands as a testament to Eureka Springs’ mysterious past and supernatural present.
Historical Background
The Palace Hotel & Bath House was constructed in 1901 during Eureka Springs’ golden age. The town attracted thousands seeking healing from the natural springs believed to cure various ailments. Wealthy visitors from across America flocked to establishments like the Palace for extended stays. The hotel combined luxury accommodations with therapeutic bath treatments using the region’s famous mineral water.
The building’s original owner, Dr. Alvah Jackson, was a prominent figure in Eureka Springs’ medical community. He designed the bath house facilities to offer the most modern hydrotherapy treatments available at the time. The basement level housed elaborate bathing chambers where guests received various water cure therapies. Dr. Jackson’s medical practice operated from the first floor until his death in 1924.
During Prohibition, the hotel’s basement allegedly served as a speakeasy and illegal gambling establishment. Local legends suggest criminal activity and violence occurred during these underground operations in the 1920s. Some believe at least one murder happened in the basement during a card game gone wrong. These dark years may have contributed to the residual haunting energy still present today.
The hotel changed hands multiple times throughout the 20th century as Eureka Springs’ tourism industry fluctuated. Several owners reported strange occurrences but kept quiet to avoid scaring away potential guests. The building fell into disrepair during the 1970s and sat vacant for several years. Restoration efforts in the 1990s awakened dormant spirits according to construction workers who experienced unexplained phenomena.
The current iteration of the Palace Hotel opened in 2002 after extensive historical renovations. Workers during the restoration process reported tools moving on their own and hearing voices in empty rooms. One contractor refused to return after witnessing a full-bodied apparition on the third floor. The renovations preserved original architectural details while inadvertently intensifying paranormal activity throughout the property.
Paranormal Activity Summary
Cold spots appear spontaneously throughout the Palace Hotel regardless of season or weather conditions outside. Guests report sudden temperature drops of 20 to 30 degrees in specific areas without explanation. These frigid zones often correlate with other paranormal manifestations like phantom voices or shadow figures. Electronic devices malfunction frequently in these cold areas, with cameras and phones draining battery power instantly.
Phantom footsteps echo through hallways during the late night and early morning hours. Multiple witnesses describe hearing heavy boots walking across the second floor when no guests occupy those rooms. The footsteps follow predictable patterns, suggesting an intelligent haunting performing routine rounds. Some believe these sounds belong to a former night watchman who died while making his rounds.
Disembodied voices constitute the most commonly reported phenomenon at the Palace Hotel. Guests hear conversations in adjacent rooms only to discover those rooms completely vacant upon investigation. The voices speak in old-fashioned language patterns and discuss topics from decades past. Recording devices capture Electronic Voice Phenomena that wasn’t audible during real-time investigation sessions.
Objects move without physical contact throughout the hotel with disturbing regularity. Staff members find furniture rearranged in rooms that remained locked and unoccupied overnight. Personal belongings disappear from nightstands only to reappear in completely different locations hours later. One housekeeper quit after watching a chair slide across Room 7 with no one near it.
Shadow figures dart through peripheral vision in nearly every area of the hotel building. These dark masses appear most frequently on the stairways connecting the three floors. Witnesses describe shadows shaped like full human forms that move with purposeful intent. Some shadow entities seem aware of living observers and respond to their presence.
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Ghost Stories & Reports
The Lady in Purple remains the Palace Hotel’s most famous resident spirit. She appears most often in Room 3, wearing a Victorian-era purple dress with elaborate beading and lace. Guests report waking to find her standing at the foot of their bed, staring silently before vanishing. Paranormal researchers believe she was a wealthy patient who died during a botched medical treatment in 1908.
Historical records indicate a woman named Constance Albertson stayed at the hotel for three months that year. She came seeking treatment for respiratory ailments at Dr. Jackson’s bath house facilities. Constance died suddenly one evening after receiving an experimental inhalation therapy treatment. Her family buried her in the local cemetery, but her spirit apparently returned to the place of her death.
The Lady in Purple doesn’t limit her appearances to Room 3 alone. Staff and guests encounter her gliding down the second-floor hallway toward the main staircase. She never makes eye contact with witnesses and seems trapped in a repetitive pattern. Some sensitive guests report feeling overwhelming sadness in her presence, as if her confusion and grief remain palpable.
Room 7 hosts a different entity known as the Smoking Man. Multiple guests report smelling cigar smoke despite the hotel’s strict no-smoking policy throughout the building. The scent appears suddenly and dissipates just as quickly without any physical source. Some visitors see a shadowy male figure sitting in the room’s antique chair, holding what appears to be a glowing cigar.
Paranormal investigators identified the Smoking Man as possibly being Thomas Hendricks, a regular hotel guest during the 1930s. Thomas was a traveling salesman who spent several weeks each year at the Palace Hotel. He died of a heart attack in Room 7 during one of his visits in 1936. Witnesses who’ve seen his full apparition describe a portly man in a brown suit matching photographs of Thomas.
The basement level harbors the most aggressive spiritual activity in the entire building. A malevolent presence nicknamed “The Card Player” lurks in the old speakeasy area. This entity pushes, scratches, and physically intimidates visitors who venture into the basement after dark. Paranormal teams have captured video footage of objects flying across the room with significant force.
Local folklore connects The Card Player to a murder during a 1927 poker game. According to stories passed down through generations, a Chicago gangster killed a local man over gambling debts. The victim allegedly haunts the basement seeking revenge against the man who shot him. His anger manifests as hostile energy that targets anyone entering his domain.
A child spirit named Lily makes occasional appearances on the third floor near Room 12. Guests hear giggling and the sound of a ball bouncing when no children are present. Some visitors see a young girl in a white nightgown running down the hallway. The daughter of a former hotel manager, Lily died from scarlet fever in 1915 at age seven.
Lily’s spirit seems playful rather than threatening according to those who’ve encountered her. She moves toys and personal items belonging to guests, apparently wanting attention or companionship. One couple reported their daughter having lengthy conversations with “the little girl” despite being alone in their room. The next morning, their daughter described Lily with details matching historical photographs from the hotel’s archives.
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Most Haunted Spot
Room 3 earns the distinction as the Palace Hotel’s most intensely haunted location. The Lady in Purple appears here more frequently than anywhere else on the property. Guests consistently report waking between 2 and 3 AM to find her manifestation standing silently nearby.
The room’s antique mirror seems to serve as a portal or focal point for paranormal energy. Multiple visitors photograph strange mists and unexplained figures reflected in the glass. Some guests refuse to sleep facing the mirror after sensing an unsettling presence watching them through it.
The bathroom connected to Room 3 experiences bizarre plumbing phenomena that defies logical explanation. Faucets turn on by themselves with witnesses present in the room. The temperature of running water fluctuates wildly from scalding to freezing without touching the handles.
Electromagnetic field detectors register consistent high readings in Room 3 even after eliminating all electrical sources. This suggests a strong spiritual presence maintains constant activity in this space. Professional investigators rate Room 3 as one of Arkansas’s most documented haunted hotel rooms.
Despite the intense activity, Room 3 remains the hotel’s most requested accommodation. Paranormal enthusiasts book months in advance hoping to encounter the Lady in Purple. The current owners maintain the room in period-appropriate Victorian decor to honor its most famous resident.
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Can You Visit?
The Palace Hotel & Bath House operates as a functioning boutique hotel open year-round. Guests can book overnight accommodations in any of the hotel’s eight historically appointed rooms. Rates typically range from $89 to $169 per night depending on season and room selection.
The hotel offers specialized paranormal investigation packages for ghost hunting enthusiasts. These overnight experiences include access to EMF detectors, digital voice recorders, and other investigation equipment. Groups can reserve the entire hotel for private investigation sessions on select dates throughout the year.
Photography is permitted throughout the property for personal use by guests and investigators. The hotel encourages visitors to share their paranormal evidence on social media platforms. Some of the most compelling ghost photos and videos from the Palace Hotel appear on paranormal research websites.
Regular visiting hours for non-overnight guests are limited to the first-floor public areas. The hotel lobby features historical displays and information about the building’s haunted history. Brief tours can sometimes be arranged by contacting the front desk in advance, though availability varies.
The basement speakeasy area requires special permission to access due to safety concerns and respect for guests. Paranormal investigation teams must book dedicated time slots to explore this intensely active location. The hotel prioritizes guest comfort while accommodating serious paranormal researchers whenever possible.
Best Time to Visit
Paranormal activity at the Palace Hotel intensifies dramatically during the autumn months from September through November. Staff members report increased phenomena during this period with multiple daily occurrences. Halloween week sees the highest concentration of supernatural manifestations annually.
Late night hours between 2 AM and 4 AM produce the most consistent ghostly encounters. The Lady in Purple appears almost exclusively during this time window in Room 3. Sensitive visitors report feeling spiritual presences throughout the building during these pre-dawn hours.
Full moon phases correlate with heightened activity according to long-term observation by staff and investigators. The hotel’s paranormal logbook shows significant spikes in reported phenomena during lunar cycles. Some researchers theorize the full moon energizes spirits or makes them more visible to human perception.
Weekday visits typically offer quieter investigation conditions compared to crowded weekend stays. Fewer guests mean less contamination from modern sounds and electronic interference. Serious investigators prefer Tuesday through Thursday nights for the most controlled paranormal research environment.
First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports
Jennifer Martinez from Kansas City documented her 2019 experience in Room 3 through detailed journal entries. She woke at 2:47 AM to find a woman in purple standing beside the dresser. The apparition remained visible for approximately 45 seconds before fading into the wall near the bathroom door.
Jennifer’s husband remained asleep during the entire encounter despite her attempts to wake him. She captured several photographs showing unexplained light anomalies and mist formations near where the figure stood. Her EMF detector registered sustained high readings in that exact spot for the remainder of the night.
Michael Torres, a paranormal investigator from Oklahoma, led a team investigation in March 2021. His group recorded multiple Class A EVP responses to direct questions in the basement. One recording clearly captures a male voice saying “get out” when no living males were present.
Torres also filmed shadow figures moving across the second-floor hallway on three separate occasions. His thermal imaging camera detected human-shaped cold spots moving independently through the space. The investigation footage appears on several popular paranormal research YouTube channels and websites.
Former housekeeper Rebecca Coleman worked at the Palace Hotel from 2015 to 2018. She reported daily experiences including doors opening on their own and hearing her name called when alone. Rebecca witnessed the chair movement in Room 7 that eventually prompted her resignation from the position.
Rebecca told local newspaper reporters about finding rooms completely rearranged after she’d finished cleaning them. She described feeling constantly watched while working on the second and third floors. Several other housekeeping staff members corroborated her experiences before the hotel publicly acknowledged its haunted reputation.
Paranormal Investigations & Findings
The Eureka Springs Paranormal Society conducted extensive investigations at the Palace Hotel throughout 2018 and 2019. Their team documented over 200 separate paranormal incidents during 15 overnight investigation sessions. The society’s final report classified the hotel as a genuine class A haunted location with multiple active entities.
Lead investigator Patricia Morrison recorded full-body apparitions on three different occasions using night vision equipment. Her team captured temperature fluctuations of 30 degrees occurring within seconds in various rooms. The basement produced the highest levels of electromagnetic energy measured anywhere in Northwest Arkansas.
A regional ghost hunting television program filmed an episode at the Palace Hotel in October 2020. The crew experienced numerous equipment malfunctions and unexplained audio phenomena during their overnight stay. Their episode featuring the hotel became one of the season’s highest-rated broadcasts.
During filming, team members captured shadow figures on multiple camera angles simultaneously in the second-floor hallway. The lead investigator reported being touched by an unseen presence in the basement speakeasy area. Audio analysis revealed dozens of EVP recordings including names, dates, and references to historical events.
The American Paranormal Research Association included the Palace Hotel in their 2022 comprehensive study of haunted hotels. Their scientific approach using controlled conditions and calibrated equipment verified anomalous readings throughout the property. The association’s report confirmed intelligent haunting activity involving at least four distinct spiritual entities.
Local Legends & Myths
Eureka Springs folklore includes stories about a hidden tunnel system connecting the Palace Hotel to other downtown buildings. These tunnels allegedly served bootleggers during Prohibition for transporting illegal alcohol and evading law enforcement. Some paranormal researchers believe spirits travel through these passageways explaining how apparitions appear in multiple locations quickly.
No physical evidence of these tunnels has been definitively proven despite numerous searches over the years. The basement shows signs of sealed doorways and bricked-up passages that fuel speculation. Local historians debate whether the tunnels truly existed or represent an embellished urban legend.
Another persistent legend claims a physician performed illegal abortions in the hotel during the 1920s and 1930s. This dark chapter supposedly resulted in multiple deaths covered up to protect reputations and avoid prosecution. Some sensitives report feeling the presence of desperate women seeking help on the third floor.
The “Curse of the Bath House” legend warns that disturbing the original tile work brings misfortune. Several renovation attempts involving the basement bath facilities reportedly ended in accidents, financial troubles, or mysterious illnesses. Current owners leave the original bath areas mostly untouched out of respect for this superstition.
Safety Warnings & Legal Restrictions
The basement area requires extreme caution due to low ceilings, uneven flooring, and exposed pipes. The hotel restricts access to accompanied tours only for liability and safety reasons. Visitors must sign waivers before investigating this particularly active paranormal hotspot location.
The building’s Victorian-era stairways have steep steps and period-appropriate narrow treads. Guests should exercise caution especially during late-night investigations in low light conditions. The hotel provides flashlights and recommends sensible footwear for anyone exploring after dark.
Some visitors experience anxiety, nausea, or psychological distress when encountering the basement’s aggressive entity. The hotel advises guests with heart conditions or severe anxiety to avoid this area. Staff members monitor investigation sessions and can assist anyone feeling overwhelmed by paranormal activity.
Trespassing outside official visiting hours results in prosecution under Arkansas law. All paranormal investigations require advance booking and permission from current ownership. The hotel works cooperatively with legitimate researchers but protects guest privacy and property security rigorously.
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