Tales Of The Haunted St. James Hotel Room 18 As the story goes, one night in 1881, the owner of the St. James was playing cards with some men in the 2nd floor card room. It was getting late, the men had imbibed a fair amount of whiskey, and the stakes were high. So high that, confidant he would win, the owner bet the hotel. However, a guest of the hotel, Mr. Thomas James (TJ) Wright also felt he had a winning hand and stayed in the game when all the others folded. When all bets were made and the cards were shown, TJ proved victorious. Satisfied with his win, TJ decided to retire for the night. As he made his way down the hall and began to turn the corner towards his room he was shot from behind. TJ continued on to his room, room 18, shut the door and slowly bled to death. Room 18 is considered the most haunted room in the hotel. So haunted, in fact, that nobody is allowed to enter the room, much less sleep in it. It is said that residing in the room is TJs very angry, malevolent presence. The employees of the hotel say that no one is allowed in the room because whenever anyone goes in something bad happens in the hotel. I have, however, heard rumors from long time New Mexico residents who say that while it probably is true that bad things happen in the hotel when the room is entered, the real reason they wont let people sleep in it is because over the years they have had more than the average number of mysterious deaths in the room. The Mary Lambert Room Mary Lambert was the wife of Henry Lambert, the man who built the St. James Hotel. She lived many years in the hotel, gave birth to her children there, watched at least 2 of her babies die there, and eventually, in December of 1926, died there herself. The people that work at the hotel call her the protector. They firmly believe her presence is still there and they believe she watches out for the hotel and the people in it. It is said that you can often smell Marys perfume when her presence is near, and many staff members, previous owners, and guests swear they have indeed smelled it - myself and my daughter included. It is also said that if you are staying in her room and you leave the window open she will tap on it incessantly until you close it. The Kate Lambert Room The employees of The St. James are given the option of living there. I talked to a girl named Lisle who was currently living in the hotel. Here is her story: When Lisle first came to the St. James Hotel she took the Kate Lambert room which is the last room on the right at the end of the 2nd floor family wing - directly across from the Mary Lambert room, and directly next to room 18. She told me that right from the start she had problems sleeping in the room. Many times every night she would awaken, although there was nothing specific, such as a noise, that would wake her. As time went on she found herself waking up more and more often to the point where she was exhausted the next day. Ghost hunters and psychics often visit the hotel, so she asked one of the psychics to come to her room. The psychic told her that TJ was trying to posses her and that she was lucky because Mary Lambert was protecting her from TJ. She said that this nightly spectral battle was what kept waking her up at night. Lisle liked the room and didnt want to move so she asked what would be the worst that could happen. The psychic told her that TJ could eventually succeed and posses her. Lisle moved to a different room that day and no longer wakes up numerous times at night Non-Specific Hauntings In addition to the known spirits haunting the St. James, many non-specific hauntings occur on a daily basis. There are cold spots, things are constantly falling off of walls and shelves and the computer and phone at the front desk behave erratically. Cameras and video equipment often break or dont work correctly The dining room, which used to be the main saloon, still houses the original mirrored bar. Many guests have reported seeing the reflection of a cowboy sitting at one of the tables only to look around and discover there is no one else in the room. Hanging above the 2nd floor landing is a large crystal chandelier. During restoration, one of the previous owners discovered that every time she would turn it off before leaving, it would be on again by the time she got to the parking area. This happened repeatedly, even though there was no one in the hotel. Since they were in the process of restoration she thought maybe it was an electrical problem, but the electricians found nothing that could account for the light coming on by itself. Now the staff just leaves it on 24hrs a day.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 07:52:56 +0000
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