The St. James Hotel

Cimarron, New Mexico

The hotel was built by Henry Lambert and his family in 1872 after Henry's job as President Lincoln's White House Chef abruptly ended with the president's assassination. Henry went west to search for gold, but was waylaid by a wealthy Land Baron in New Mexico. He worked as a private chef to the baron for a few years while he built his own restaurant and saloon. His watering hole was so popular that he added 30 rooms to it and the Lambert Inn was born. The family was proud of the establishment, and…

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The Pirate Blackbeard’s Ghost

Ocracoke, North Carolina

Edward Teach is thought to have been an educated Englishman, though debate will always rage over his actual origins (and even his last name—Teach, Thatch, Tash?). What is known of Edward Teach is that while he generally tolerated people who cooperated with him, he was a fearsome pirate figure during the two years he ruled the southeastern coast of what would eventually become the United States. Teach was interested in loot, not vengeance, not bloodshed. He was just in it for the money. One of…

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The Greenbrier Ghost

Greenbrier, West Virginia

On January 23, 1897 Erasmus sent Andy Jones (an 11-year-old African American) to the house, supposedly to ask Zona if she needed anything from the store. Jones found her body and ran home to tell his mother. The local doctor, and coroner, arrived within an hour to find the body had been carried upstairs by the apparently grief-stricken husband, Erasmus. Erasmus had already dressed Zona in her “Sunday best”—a dress with a conveniently high and stiff collar tied with a large bow. A veil covered…

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Fyvie Castle

Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Perhaps the most famous ghost in Fyvie is the ghost of Dame Lilias (or Lilies) Drummond. In 1592 Lilias Drummond married Alexander Seton, Lord Fyvie. For nine years it seemed they were relatively content and Lilias bore Alexander five daughters. Yes, perhaps you can already imagine the trouble—five girls, five dowries and no heir. The rumor goes that Alexander began an affair with Lady Grizel Leslie shortly before Lilias’s sudden (and yet unexplained) death. Some claim Lilias died of a broken…

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The Pirates’ House

Savannah, Georgia

Over time the original house became a tavern and additional buildings merged into it, giving its first floor more than a dozen separate dining areas today. Traditionally, the eating and drinking was done on the first floor and men slept in the rooms comprising the second floor. For a while (much more recently) a jazz bar took up several rooms upstairs, but now the 2nd story is mainly used for storage. In the basement, a long brick-lined tunnel ran from The Pirates’ House all the way to the water…

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The St. James Hotel

Selma, Alabama

The St. James, also known as the Brantly Hotel for its first 50 years, is the only antebellum riverfront hotel left in Selma, and has been standing at it's site since 1837. In the late 1990's, it was completely renovated and refurbished, keeping with it's historical roots but modernized enough to keep modern visitors comfortable. The outer rooms have amazing Alabama River views and the inner rooms look upon a glorious courtyard that boast a fountain. In the last 160 years, it has been the destination…

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