The Baker Hotel
The Baker Hotel is located in Mineral Wells, Texas. It is a 14-story brick building that stands tall in the town of Mineral Wells. It was originally built in 1929, was 280,000 square feet, and had 450 guest rooms. The hotel is currently vacant and lays in near ruins, except for the ghost that haunt its halls.
Many famous people have stayed over night at the hotel including Bonnie and Clyde, Judy Garland, and Clark Gable. The builder of the hotel named T.B. Baker haunts the Baker suite which is an extravagant apartment on the 11th floor. The cigar smoke from Baker still lingers in the suite.
Items go missing at random times during ghost tours that go up there. The most famous ghost in local lore is Virginia Brown, who was the mistress to T.B. Baker. She lived in a corner suite on the 7th floor. People who have stayed there reported a smell of lavender perfume, soft touches on the shoulder, and the windows have been known to open and close on their own. Virginia killed herself on the bell tower of the hotel.
It is believed that she killed herself over her illicit love affair. People have reported seeing the sight of a woman in white standing over the edge of the bell tower. This is accompanied by a glow in her window, indicating a vigil of some kind. The basement of the hotel is also haunted by a former bellhop who was named Douglas. He was killed one night as he was trapped in the elevator cage as it was rising. He was crushed in the middle of his body and died a painful death a few hours later. The air is cold at the base of the shaft and sometimes, the cage doors are seen sliding open by themselves.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
