Could Some Spirit Please Hand Me a Towel?

I never quite know where my research of rumored hauntings and unusual places will lead. Sometimes an unassuming ghost story will lead me to a secret gay life of a former owner. But it can also lead to a totally surprising turn of events connecting many different things in a synchronous (and humorous) way. Just this past weekend a little background research I was doing led me to the last thing I would have expected: paranormal television meeting toweled gay men.

I honestly don't watch any paranormal reality shows on a regular basis. I will watch an episode here and there just to hear about some various haunted places when the mood strikes me but I've probably seen a total of 2% of all the episodes of every ghost show out there. When a strange trail of news leads me to a show I do tune in, though. Case in point: last year when TAPS went to Florida to check out some haunted buildings. Here is the second half of Ghost Hunters Season 5 Episode 4 "Club Dead" (first aired on April Fool's Day of 2009, strangely enough) where TAPS heads to the Ybor neighborhood of Tampa and investigates the Trelles Clinic (click here for the second part):


Owner Fred Schwartz mentions that he and his partner Vince Pawlowski are renovating the building into Ybor Resort & Spa, which opened just a few months after the episode aired. Now they didn't go into detail on the show about the new business. But I will. Ybor Resort & Spa is "Tampa's largest all-gay private club and resort" with "large boutique hotel rooms" and a "clothing optional steam room with private zones". There is also a "large dark room with an intricate maze and a sling room". I know what you're thinking... but I'll let the St. Petersburg Times speak for me: "If it sounds like a bathhouse, don't describe it that way to the owners. Technically, and according to the city, the Ybor Resort & Spa is a hotel and a men's health studio. Sex and nudity in public areas is not allowed."

If you watch the beginning of this Ghost Hunters episode and who all is present at the first location (and not at "Trelles Clinic") one person stands out for a few reasons. Who is it? None other than Britt Griffith. Why is this so interesting? In case you missed it, you might want to look back at the recent controversy over a slip of the tongue he had on a paranormal radio show. Now I'm not saying he elected not to do the second half of the show due to the nature of the new business. The irony is extremely amusing, though!

At the end, Jason and Grant said that to be certain it was haunted it would require several investigations to make certain that there is something paranormal happening there. Somehow I don't see any follow-ups from TAPS in the near future. Unless, of course, it's the all-nude Halloween special.

Breathing New Life...

Most ghost hunters and thrill seekers would love to spend a night at the notoriously-haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium outside Louisville, Kentucky. If owner Charles Mattingly has his way, that might me a lot more possible for everyone.

On Thursday, he announced plans to finally renovate the old 1926 tuberculosis hospital. With a projected cost of $18 million, the hollow shell of a building will become a 78-room boutique hotel, complete with meeting rooms, a spa, and a fitness center.

While the main draw will still be ghosts, there will be a lot more reason to spend a weekend there.

On top of everything, it will be a rather eco-friendly business. Solar power is expected to provide all the electricity and geothermal heating and cooling will be installed. Flooring of cork and recycled rubber also will provide a more durable surface.

Architect Kevin Milburn of Urban Designz has been working closely with Mattingly to make the venture a reality. While no definite funding has been procured, he is in talks with several major financial institutions and says the work could begin late this fall.

There is already plenty of press for Waverly Hills. There was the documentary released, the many visits by paranormal investigators, and a steady stream of media engagements.

Provided the funding goes through soon, the renovations could be completed as early as 2010.

Queer Paranormal Road Trip: Mile High Grill & Inn

Is there a cold pussy beside you in bed?

Hopefully, that means you're staying at the Mile High Grill & Inn in Jerome, Arizona. What once was yet another ghost town in the southwest has become a lovely, quaint little town. And what better reason to go than to stay at the lesbian-owned-and-operated (and reportedly haunted) hotel.

Owners Jet and Liz are aware of some strange happenings in their building. Unexplained sounds and misty shapes have been witnessed by visitors. The doors of an armoire in the Lariat and Lace Room have mysteriously fallen off their hinges several times. And then there's the feline spirit which frequently sits on the beds.

At one time, the downstairs restaurant was a hardware store. A man purchased a gun and was stopped by a sheriff as he was leaving. The man opened fire and the sheriff shot him dead on the sidewalk. Some believe his presence can still be felt in the stairwell leading to the upstairs hotel.

So if you find yourself in Arizona, looking for a little encounter with the supernatural, be sure to stop in Jerome for a bite to eat... perhaps even stay the night in one of the guest rooms above the Mile High Grill. Who knows. You just might have your first ghostly encounter...

To read one investigator's story, be sure to check out Buck and Michael's stay at the inn...

Oh... and don't worry, boys, they do have pure Angus beef burgers in the downstairs restaurant.