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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2019)
E AST O REGONIAN LIFESTYLES WEEKEND, JUNE 15, 2019 Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini A laser grid scope illuminates in the dark basement of the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City. Members of Big River Paranormal investigate parts of the hotel that regular guests aren’t allowed access to. fering opinions about the room temperature. “I was hot. I felt like it was really warm in the room,” Cassie said. “But my mom was really cold the whole time.” Boise-based paranormal team investigates historic hotel By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian BAKER CITY — Pacing along the far wall of Room 305 at Geiser Grand Hotel, Carol Greene’s eyes darted around while she pulled back the window’s curtain and picked up a blanket from the recliner. With a puzzled look on her face, she stopped for a moment. “Have you seen my e-cig,” she asked her daughter, Cassie. “I just had it, where the heck did it go?” The mother and daughter from Hermiston were visiting the Baker City hotel to take part in an inves- tigation with Big River Paranor- mal. They both admitted that their senses were heightened, anticipat- ing the possibility of encountering supernatural phenomenon. Originally built in 1889, the Baker City landmark has long been rumored to be haunted. After being shuttered for more than two decades, Dwight and Barbara Sid- way bought the derelict structure in 1993, reopening it in 1998. About 10 years ago, Barbara reached out to the Boise-based paranormal group to see if they were interested in conducting investigative tours. “There’s an awful lot of curi- osity — is the hotel haunted, is it not?” Sidway said. “This is a way to respectfully explore that.” The organized ghost tours, Sid- way said, provide a way to pre- serve the privacy of guests, while still offering access to those that are interested in haunted happen- ings, and maintaining respect for the building and its possible lin- gering spirits. Sidway, herself, hasn’t expe- rienced anything unusual in the hotel. However, she’s open to the possibility after hearing numerous stories — from construction crews working on the renovation project in the late 1990s and hotel guests to staff members and paranormal enthusiasts. Who ya gonna call? Serena Hinojosa, Big River’s managing partner, said the team doesn’t always obtain solid evi- dence when conducting investi- gations at Geiser Grand, although they did recently capture elec- tronic voice phenomena (EVP). That’s not to say that paranormal activity isn’t regularly occurring, she said, it’s just that they don’t have scientifi c evidence to corrob- orate it. Spiritual shenanigans Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini Members of Big River Paranormal descend the staircase at Geiser Grand Hotel to try to determine where music is coming from. The team regularly conducts investigations at the historic Baker City landmark. Contributed photo Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini The Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City was originally built in 1889. With reports of haunted happenings, owner Barbara Sidway has arranged ghost tours through Big River Paranormal. Cassie Greene of Hermiston and two members of Big River Paranormal compare readings on Mel Meters during an investigation at Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City. “We have had many personal experiences and guests have had experiences,” Hinojosa said. “We have had things from touching to seeing shadows and hearing noises.” Going into investigations, Hino- josa said a variety of gadgets are used, including Mel Meters, a multi-purpose device that provides temperature readings and detects electromagnetic fi elds, which are said to be impacted by the presence of ghosts. In addition, the team uti- lizes everything from fl ashlights and voice recorders to digital/video cameras and a laser grid scope, which detects shadows or visual disturbances. Including non-members in the investigations, Hinojosa said, brings a unique element to the pro- cess. The team encourages guests to actively participate. “We enjoy educating our guests about the proper ways to investi- gate and we enjoy when they have a good time,” Hinojosa said. “Most people are looking for an experi- ence and we want to be able to give that to them on some level.” Carol and Cassie agreed. The whole experience, Cassie said, was greatly enhanced by being a part of it and not just observers. It provided another level to the excitement, Carol added. Having already experienced some strange activity in the hotel, the women said paranormal team members made them feel comfort- able in sharing about it. They even invited them into their room for part of the investigation. In addition to the mislaid e-cig the previous night, an incident in the hotel’s gift shop left Carol and Cassie scratching their heads. Carol had just examined the hour- glass-type device without any prob- lems. Yet, when Cassie tried to see how it worked, it was like the bot- tom was glued on tight. Also, Cassie didn’t sleep well, while Carol did. And they had dif- And, about the e-cig — after looking around the room, Cassie and Carol’s eyes locked onto the windowsill where the bright pink and silver device was standing up. Both women are convinced some- thing moved it. They positively say it wasn’t there moments before when they looked. Paranormal team members weren’t surprised, saying there is a spirit referred to as the “Lady in Blue” that has reportedly been seen often on the hotel’s third fl oor. Sid- way, too, said guests have told her that their jewelry has been moved. She’s said to dress in blue Victo- rian era clothing with her hair piled high on her head. “The ‘Lady in Blue’ is known to take people’s belongings or move them,” said Christopher Plummer, investigation director of the Boise team. “It could be she felt a con- nection to Carol.” Sidway said for the most part Geiser Grand’s ghostly encoun- ters aren’t scary in nature. The sto- ries she’s heard depict friendly and jovial spirits. Sidway said hotel staff has fun with its reputation — if someone misplaces or breaks something, they will say, “Oh the ghost did it.” “I think we hit on a good way for guests to learn more about the hotel and be hospitable to the spir- its that may be here,” Sidway said about the ghost tours. “Also, it’s sort of another way for us to have fun with it without exploiting it.” Big River Paranormal conducts regular investigations through- out the year at Geiser Grand. With limited space, reservations are required. For the younger crowd — ghost tours are for guests 18 and older — or those who would rather sleep during the late night investi- gations, the hotel offers “Step Back in Time.” The 60-minute tour, offered on Friday and Saturday afternoons, includes some discus- sion on the haunted happenings but focuses more on the history of the hotel and Baker Valley. For more information, contact 541-523-1889, info@geisergrand. com or visit www.geisergrand. com. ——— Contact Community Edi- tor Tammy Malgesini at tmal- gesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539
