Wisconsin Haunted Hotel

During 2001 my sister and I were temporary managers at an old resort hotel in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The place had been long neglected and the hallways towards the back of the place were hardly used - only a few rooms up front were being rented out to guests who stopped in off the highway. It was too bad because during the 60's, this was the hippest spot in town. A core group of dedicated employees had worked very hard to get this hotel up and running again but it just seemed to backslide each time.

The place had a heavy feeling about it, especially in the back hallways where, when we walked through the halls it was like walking through clammy sludge around our feet. There was always some sort of fogginess in those halls, too and the lights actually flickered! We were sure there was a short somewhere and it would be a costly electrician repair bill. We also had been told the place was haunted which we did not discount whatsoever. Our job was to get the place cleaned up and running again, no matter what.

In our investigations we discovered a large closet full of religious paraphernalia and effigies. It appeared someone long ago had been dabbling in various methods of either bringing entities in, or getting rid of them. We threw the stuff away and cleaned out that closet, and all the other closets. Then one of the employees pulled out the vacuum cleaner. Talking out loud to the empty halls, he said "get in there and stay in there" as he vacuumed. He told us this was his "Theta Vac 3000". (theta means "spirit") The halls were already physically clean but that was not what he was after. When he removed the bag he brought it to us and we passed it around, remarking that it had very little dirt in it but it weighed at least 10 lbs. So what was in there? Something nasty, that was for sure. He threw it into the dumpster and vacuumed all the halls again. He did this 3 times, until the bag was no longer heavy. When he was done we had a good laugh about him being a "Ghostbuster" supreme.

Ok, so that was good and we went back to our other duties. Now here is the best part and no kidding, those hall lights stopped flickering and brightened up so that we never had to call an electrician. Guests were asking if we had redecorated the place or got new carpet? "No" we told them, "We just cleaned up". A local woman stopped by to ask what was going on at this hotel, because she noticed "A big dark cloud" that had been hanging over the place for years was gone!

Business tripled within a week and our restaurant was crowded like it had not been in years! All we could tell everyone was, the place was really clean now. It stayed that way til we left, mission accomplished and on to other business adventures.

Unfortunately, two years later the most recent investor bankrupted and the hotel was closed for good. Anyone living in Fond du Lac will know which hotel this is, but for professional reasons I prefer not to mention the name. I had heard it will ultimately be torn down but a few weeks ago I happened by on my way north. The hotel looks sad and forlorn but not nearly as dark and foreboding as it did when we were there years ago. I wonder if those entities are still in that vacuum bag waiting for permission to leave?

Not very bright, are they.