Built in 1901 by Quakers as a 20 room mountain retreat in Monroe County, the Buck Hill Inn grew into the biggest resort in the Poconos with a four story hotel made of stone and 270 rooms. It eventually closed in 1991 and sits deserted and partially burned out now, waiting on its' fate - either restoration or the wrecking ball. In its' heyday, violence, murder and suicide along with other assorted mayhem were well known within its' walls.
It was supposed to be a place that the Mob liked to frequent, and the owners were more than willing to bend a rule or three themselves. It's said that in 66 years of operation, 73 people died at the hotel. Five, in fact, died in one room, #354.
A bride named Lorna Kilpatrick was murdered there by the very priest that married her the day before at the resort. He committed suicide, and Lorna's ghost has haunted the room ever since. A maid slit her wrists in there while clutching a rosary. People refused to stay in the room because of the constant freezing cold, doors that wouldn't stay shut - and the ghosts. The hotel had to shut the room permanently.
There's a small room in the basement that's spooked by the spirit of an accountant who was supposedly murdered there. He was cooking the books and the owner found out. One bathroom saw three murders committed in it, and was haunted by a ghost evoked in a seance gone haywire. It had to be exorcised, and poltergeist activity still took place in the restroom. A maid's closet was the scene of a strangulation, and it was said you could hear the maid gasp and her labored breathing and death rattle afterwards. The spook of an elderly soldier in an old uniform was reported wandering in the servants quarter's on the third floor. He has a gaping hole in his chest from a musket wound. He once strolled through a garden party and then vanished.
An Indian spirit has been seen roaming the area, too. In fact, the Native Americans believed the whole area was evil. Certain psychics agree, saying the East Room is the center of lay lines that mark evil. It may be. One owner's wife used to sleep in a room where the lines converged. She ended up schizophrenic.
There are also lots of poltergeist activities. One guard said during his nightly rounds lights would go on and doors open in buildings that he had secured earlier. Some guests reported hearing voices, shaking beds, opening and shutting widows, electrical devices going off on their own, and ghost sightings - even of spooks hovering over their bed. It was featured on MTV's Fear series, and Kelly Weaver, Paraseek investigator, was part of the show.
HI
I to have heard some of thous tales to. Sounds like a good story for the WEIRD NJ MAG.That we have hear in NJ. priscilla
