Secrets of The Haunted Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR
Is the Crescent Hotel haunted? If you ask most Eureka Springs, Arkansas residents, you’ll get an astounding yes.
Eureka Springs is practically the ghost capital of the Ozarks!
This grand hotel, with its towering turrets and mountain views, holds secrets that go far beyond its charming Victorian exterior. The Crescent has hosted spirits for over a century, from its days as a hospital under a rather suspicious doctor to its current life as a beautiful hotel.
This is everything to know about the haunted Crescent Hotel:
A Brief History of the Most Haunted Hotel in Eureka Springs
The Crescent Hotel opened in 1886 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was originally built as a luxury resort, but over the years, it struggled financially and changed ownership multiple times.
In 1937, Norman Baker bought the property and turned it into the Baker Cancer Hospital. Although not a licensed doctor, Dr. Baker promised miracle cures for cancer using natural healing paths like clover, watermelon seeds, and water from the springs, among other things. Regardless of their diagnosis, every patient’s “remedy” was the same – injections with one of Baker’s two formulas four times per day, every day except Sunday. Both formulas contained carbolic acid, a powerful poison that can cause organ failure.
Baker’s fraudulent practices were exposed, but not before more than 50 patients died, either of their ailments or from Dr. Baker’s “cures.” Since his victims were already sick, their deaths were ruled natural.
In 1997, Martin and Elise Roenigk purchased the hotel and embarked on a 5-year plan to restore it to its former glory. Today, the building is a working hotel under the name “Crescent Hotel & Spa” and offers nightly ghost tours.
The Twisted Story of the Baker Cancer Hospital
Late in the 1930s, a man named Norman Baker bought the Crescent Hotel and turned it into a cancer hospital. However, Baker wasn’t a doctor – he was a radio host and part-time magician who had lost all credibility in his hometown of Muscatine, Iowa. During his time as a “doctor,” Baker used his street cred as a radio host to advertise his services throughout the country.
Patients at the Baker Cancer Hospital were promised that if their cancer wasn’t cured in three to six weeks, they could return for treatment free of charge (except for room, board, and transportation, of course!). Because he wasn’t a medical doctor, Baker’s hospital performed medical examinations by pinching patients and looking at them, and there were no medical devices, like microscopes, in the building.
When you entered the Baker Cancer Hospital, the first thing you’d see was bottles said to hold tumors and human flesh, used by Dr. Baker to look more legitimate. When the hospital was shut down, these “specimens” were removed from the building and taken to the dump sometime in the 60s, at least according to Keith Scales. However, in 2019, a landscaper on the Crescent Hotel property found an enormous stash of old glass bottles buried in the ground. Many were broken, but some still held alcohol and unidentified bits floating inside them. Law enforcement worked with archeologists to launch an excavation of the site to try and identify what they truly contained.
Over the years, authorities have tried to shut down Baker’s operation many times. They revoked his broadcasting permit, but he just moved his station to Mexico and increased his wattage. Doctors and scientists joined forces to debunk him through scholarly articles, but that didn’t work either. Law enforcement even tried to imprison him for practicing medicine without a license, but he only served one whole day.
His downfall finally came through something unexpected – mail fraud. Baker ended up serving just four years at Leavenworth and retired to Florida, where he died at age 75 of cirrhosis of the liver.
Fact Check
The ingredients of the infamous ‘cure for cancer’ were revealed in a 1940 court case. It contained brown corn silk, red clover, ground-up watermelon seeds, peppermint, glycerin, and highly dangerous carbolic acid.
Why is the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs Haunted?
As the most haunted hotel in Eureka Springs, there are tons of ghost stories recorded here:
- Room 218: Guests in Room 218 report hands reaching out of the bathroom mirror, cries from a man who seems to be falling, and a mysterious door opening and shutting. It is said that after the skeleton frame of the hotel had been constructed in the 1880s, one of the Irish stonemasons fell to his death. He is seen staring in from the window in room 218, and the staff has always called him Michael, although it’s unknown if that was his name in life or just death.
- Room 219: Theodora, who lives in Room 219, often introduces herself to guests as one of Dr. Baker’s cancer patients.
- Period People: In the hotel’s Crystal Dining Room, employees have seen playful spirits dressed in Victorian clothing, sometimes moving holiday packages around or spreading menus throughout the room. A man in Victorian clothing is often seen sitting at a table saying, “I saw the most beautiful woman here last night, and I am waiting for her to return.” One couple recalls a Victorian-clad man who helped them into Room 221, then seemingly vanished before they could tip him. When they went to reenter the room later, they discovered the door would not budge. After heading down to the front desk to ask about their key not working, the hotel informed them that no such man was employed at the hotel.
- The Couple: A waitress looked into the huge mirror to find a man and woman facing each other, similar to how they would at an altar.
- The Fake Doctor: Dr. Baker has been spotted in the lobby, dressed in a crisp white linen suit and purple shirt.
- Nurse: A nurse of his can be found pushing a gurney down the halls of the hotel, heading towards the old morgue area.
- The Laundry Room: With the laundry room located directly next to the morgue, a hotel maintenance man once watched all of the washers and dryers mysteriously turn on in the middle of the night. Other workers have heard shouts and screams coming from the laundry room, only to find no one there.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas?
The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is owned by Martin and Elise Roenigk from East Hampton, Connecticut. They happened upon Eureka Springs in 1997 while visiting nearby Fayetteville and embarked on a five-year plan to restore it to its former beauty.
What was the Crescent Hotel before it was a hotel?
The Crescent Hotel opened in 1886 but went through various uses before returning to a hotel in the late ’90s.
The hotel served as the Crescent College & Conservatory for Young Women, one of the most exclusive boarding academies in Arkansas, an experiential cancer hospital called Baker’s Cancer Curing Center, and changed hands many other times.
How many people died at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs?
There is no definitive number of deaths at the Crescent Hotel, but it is estimated to be in the hundreds, including the cancer patients tortured by Dr. Baker.
What happened in room 218 in the Crescent Hotel?
One of the Crescent Hotel’s most widely known ghost stories is about what happened in what is now room 218. It is said that after the skeleton frame of the hotel had been constructed in the 1880s, one of the Irish stonemasons plunged to his death. Room 218 is one of the most spiritually active rooms in the hotel.
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