A Word Edgewise |
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A Word Edgewise |
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Last Updated 11/02/06
For more literature go
to Clendenin Books
Email: mjclen@our-town.com
HAVE YOU MET ANY GHOSTS RECENTLY?
By Mary Joe Clendenin
It was in 1885 that cattle baron Jesse Lincoln Driskoll, with his ranch close to Austin, Texas, got a bur under his saddle blanket and decided he wanted to build a luxury hotel in Austin. With his mind made up he went into town and bought a city block in Austin for $7,500. Building the hotel took a might more than that, but he was good for it and didn’t spare the dream for detail.
Chances are, if you’ve been to Austin, you probably have seen the Driskoll.
It has a real strange reputation, along with the celebrities that have stayed there are several that
seem still at home a hundred or more years later. The Driskoll has the reputation of being the most
haunted hotel in Texas. Makes me sort of want to go spend a night or two there.
Ghosts don’t seem to age very fast. Take that little girl playing on the stairs
unattended, with her ball. She was about four years old when she chased her ball and fell to the marble
floor below, to her death. She still looks about four years old though the accident happened many years
ago. Maybe her style of dress seems a little different from the style for little girls today. The lace
on her pantaloons showed beneath the ruffled shirt and matched the big ribbon in her hair.
Actually, style of dress would be your first clue about the unreality of those
you meet in the big lobby or on the stairs, or in the elevators, or even in your room. Cowboy regalia
doesn’t seem to age much, but see that fellow dressed in cowboy style leaning again that marble pillar
over there watching people come and go?
May as well save your “howdy” because he isn’t likely to answer, but if, as you
get close to him you get the impression that you are wrapped in cigar smoke, it might be Jesse Driskoll
himself. He loves to keep his eye on his investment.
Don’t be surprised when you step out of the elevator, or from your room into a
long hall and hear the echoes of someone whistling. No use looking for the source, just enjoy the
haunting notes of an old song, such as “Danny Boy,” “Bird in a Gilded Cage,”
or “Blue Danube.” Someone did enjoy it.
Look at that woman just coming in the door. That one, the woman in the big hat, who looks
like the picture of a lady after a happy few hours of shopping. Actually. She did seem happy after shopping with
the credit card of the man who had just broken their engagement and her heart. The sadness overcame her later
that evening and she committed suicide in the bathroom of her suite.
These are just a few of many ageless spirits that mingle with the guests who stay at the
Driskoll. Several who seem fun-loving spirits, stay mostly on the third floor where they play tricks, like loosing
things for the guests: keys, a shoe, shaving supplies, and little things that can be found in the halls, or behind
the bed or on a shelf in a closet.
It must have been one of these who strayed into my daughter’s room. My daughter, Melissa
Ramos, Director of Technology for a school system, was one of several professional people staying in the hotel
not long ago. She told me of the mystery and unease she felt during her stay.
Habitually, when Melissa washes her hands or face, or brushes her teeth, uses water from
faucets in the sink, she leaves the water running, never lowers the stopper. So it was a little surprising to
her when she went back to her room for something one morning and found the sink almost full of water and the
stopper in. She turned off the water, and opened the drain. She also checked the second sink in the bath. When she
went back at noon, the second sink was two-thirds full and the water on. The drain was also plugged. Oh well,
might have been room service, but they said “no.”
That evening she took a long hot shower. She was somewhat chilled even though the thermostat
read 75 degrees. The room was chilly. Just as she was stepping out of the shower, she heard the door being opened
to the limit of the safety catch, about three inches. She grabbed a robe and went to see who was at the door.
Before she got there, she could see the image of feet through the crack, but when she peeped through the peep-hole,
no one was there. She made sure she relocked the door, dead bolt and all, just as she had when she came in.
One more odd thing happened to her. You know how a maid turns down your bed and puts a mint
on the pillow in fancy hotels? So she did in Melissa’s room—but someone also left a yellow rose. None of the other
guests in her group got a rose. Melissa asked the head housekeeper about the rose, whether they ever left roses.
The person in charge said, “No. Never.”
Makes you wonder a bit. But Melissa is not a nervous type. She would go back with me—if we
could afford it.
Real and the unreal sometime take a bit of space in my mind. For example, if I’m reading a
book about a very cold day, I stop to think about a coat if I go out immediately, even when the air conditioner
is humming here in June.
So, have a good day, and go ahead and smile at strangers. Even spirits appreciate a sunny face.