The Baker Hotel

During the 1930's through the 1950's, the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas, about 45 miles west of Ft. Worth, was synonomous with Hollywood and National celebreties.

The Baker Hotel was opened in 1929 and quickly became one of the nations leading health spas. Over 100,000 people visited Mineral Wells each year during its heyday due directly to the medicinal values of the local spring
fed mineral waters.

Many well known folks signed the desk register of the Baker Hotel; Clark Gable, Marlena Deitrich, The Three Stooges, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland, Will Rogers, and Mary Martin, just to name a few. Lawrence Welke once
remarked that the Baker was one of the finest Hotels he ever played.

The Baker closed its door to the public in 1970 and has sat like a stone giant, 15 stories high and two city blocks wide. Many attempts have failed in the last 30 years to reopen the once famous hotel and the present guests
perhaps like it better that way.

The first reported hauntings of the Baker reportedly began in the days before it ever closed. Several bell men and other staff reported seeing the ghost of a young woman many times on the seventh floor.

Sometime in the 1930's a young woman, possibly a prostitute was reported to have jumped to her death from the Baker. Her room was located in the southeast corner of the seventh floor. Many have said her spirit seems to be
a bit flirty and will follow men down the corridor. Another story is told of a young woman who died in the building and no one knew her identity so the hotel placed her body in a front window in hopes that someone would identify her. It is not known if the two women are one in the same.

In 1953, a young bell boy was tragically crushed by a frieght elevator in the basement of the hotel. Some reported that the boys body was actually severed in two by the elevator and that his bottom half has been seen
recently walking in the basement area.

One phsycic reported that there are, at present count, 49 known spirits still bound in the building. One is that of a young boy who died of leukemia while living in an apartment at the hotel during the 1930's. The ghost of the boy, the physhic reported, is watched over by an older, unidentified, woman. She went on to add that most of the ghosts at the Baker are there because the Baker was a place of wonderful times in their lives.

In the fall of 2000, a paranormal investigator group from Dallas/Ft. Worth visited the hotel and reported finding several very interesting phenomena in the building but at time of this story had not concluded their investigation and were pretty tight lipped but excited about their soon to be released report.

By: RHop169812@aol.com