Have you heard of the Stanley Hotel...a scary, haunted piece of property in Colorado? Well, don't get too excited because that's not what I'm going to cover at this time...that will be a blog for another day! Sorry...not sorry! Instead, we are going to learn about a hotel that rhymes with the Stanley...the Shanley Hotel in Napanoch, New York. Yes, you read that right...The Shanley Hotel.
Let's start the with the background of the Shanley Hotel. Napanoch, New York, is a small town in the Shawangunk Mountains. As of the 2019 census, Napanoch lists a population of 939. Yes...a very small town. Within this small town is a historic Bed & Breakfast named the Shanley Hotel. It is reported to have hosted some famous guests as well as a few infamous people that used the enjoy the Gentleman's Club and Bordello that used to be part of the hotel.
In 1845, Thomas Ritch built the hotel which at that time was called the Ritch's Hotel on Main Street. Napanoch was a nice vacation destination for people who wanted to get away from the busy city life for a bit. Napanoch was also a convenient destination due to the railroad. At that time, a local newspaper claimed The Thomas Ritch Hotel as "...one of the area's best with fine food and new furnishings..."
Thomas Ritch sold the hotel in 1851 and it became Hungerford's Hotel after being bought by F. G. Hungerford. Nice to know how original people get with naming things...good lord! Perhaps if I ever start a town, it will be known as Audreville with a hotel named Audre's Place!!! Anyhoooooo...back to the Shanley Hotel. Mr. Hungerford hosted the same clientele as Mr. Ritch, including keeping the elite Gentleman's Club that had a very distinguished membership that also enjoyed the ladies of the bordello.
The hotel changed hands multiple times over the next 19 years. In 1858, the hotel is sold to John Tonkin. In 1866, John Tonkin sells the hotel to A.J. Wood and it is then named the Topatcoke House. I'm surprised he didn't name it the Wood's Palace or something like that. In 1871, the hotel is then sold to Aaron Schoonmaker and it becomes the Napanoch Hotel. I mean...I guess that one is okay...name it after the town...makes a little more sense to me. In 1872, the hotel is sold to Eli Dewitt Terwiliger and then he sells the hotel to brothers William, Charles, and Peter Easman in 1877. The Easman brothers in turn sell the hotel to Frederick B. Bridgens. In 1887, Adolph Wagner becomes the new owner of the hotel. Eight years later, on March 18, 1895, a nearby home caught fire and it quickly spreads and the hotel burns down to its foundation (thought I was going to say it sold again, didn't ya?). Mr. Wagner rebuilt and the hotel was back in business by November of the same year and is renamed the Colonial Hotel. In 1898, Mr. Wagner sells the hotel to Mary Roos (you go girl!) and the name changes back to Hotel Napanoch. A US Federal Census shows that a George Gosselin as the owner in 1900.
In 1906, James Louis Shanley purchased the Colonial Hotel for $10,000 - which would be around $310,000 2021...in case you wanted to know. James Shanley and his family immigrated to New York City from Ireland. James and his brother found success in opening restaurants and hotels across the country. James moved to upstate New York where he discovered the beautiful area of Napanoch and the hotel. He purchased the hotel on October 1, 1906. Mr. Shanley added a bowling alley, billiard room, and a barber shop to the building. How fancy do you feel saying 'billiard room'? I don't think we say that enough now a days...
The people of Napanoch ended up loving James Shanley. He was known to be a good man with a kind heart and an outgoing personality. People ended up being naturally drawn to him, including a lovely lady named Beatrice Rowley. James and Beatrice were married at the Shanley Hotel (surprise, surprise!) on April 26, 1910. They spent their honeymoon in Washington D.C. When they returned back to Napanoch, they were greeted with a parade (seriously?) and a skimmerton. What is a skimmerton, you may ask? I had no idea when I first read about the Shanley Hotel, so let me help you learn as well. A skimmerton is a party typically including most anything that makes a loud noise, from cowbells to clanging pots, and the young men of the community would gather at the new home of the bride and groom and continue to make a clamor until the groom either invited them to celebrate or tossed salt at them to go away. Now, I would like to know why there is not a skimmerton waiting for me when I get home from grocery shopping...although I would probably end up throwing salt at people to make them go away!!! For James and Beatrice, it was a grand celebration the night of their return to Napanoch that would signal a great future for the young couple, but unfortunately the Shanley family suffered many tragedies...which will lead to some of the possible ghosts that are said to haunt the hotel to this day. But I'm not to the spooky part yet...just a little bit more history. Hang in there! You're doing great!
James and Beatrice entertained and welcomed everyone to the Shanley Hotel. They held card and domino tournaments (why don't we have domino tournaments anymore?) and hosted elaborate parties and events. Beatrice Shanely was famous for her high teas (I don't think I'm proper enough to go to a high tea) and social card parties. Even though living in a small town, Beatrice always wore the latest in fashion and decadent jewelry. The hotel was a reflection of Beatrice with the Victorian beds and sheets of satin and silk.
The Shanley Hotel had famous guests such as Thomas Edison and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt and Beatrice became very good friends and Eleanor became a frequent visitor to the Shanley Hotel.
James and Beatrice ended up having three children. Kathleen was born on July 18, 1911. James Shanley, Jr. was born on September 10, 1913. William Shanley was born on January 30, 1916. Sounds like a lovely little family, right? Well, what kind of haunted story would this be if everything was happy-go-lucky? The firstborn, Kathleen, died at almost 6 months old, dying on January 6, 1912. They lost James Shanley, Jr., who died at 4 months old on January 21, 1914. William Shanley died at the age of 9 months on November 9, 1916. Horrible, sad...I can't even imagine.
Beatrice's sister, Esther, and her husband, John Faughman also lived at the Shanley Hotel. They had an adjoining apartment to Beatrice and James. The sisters were very close, although Esther missed her friends and family she left behind in New York City. Some reports say that Esther would wait beside the mahogany telephone booth waiting for her friends to call her. I think we should bring back mahogany telephone booths. Does the younger generation even know what a phone booth is? Esther died of influenza in 1918, leaving Beatrice to raise her two nieces.
Remember when I said that James added a barber shop to the hotel? Well, Peter Greger, the barber, lived at the Shanley Hotel with his wife and two daughters. On May 26, 1911, Peter's daughter, Jeanette Roseanne "Rosie" Greger was 3 years old when she died. She had wandered across the road to the Hoornbeek Farm where she lifted a wooden slab to peer into a covered well. I'm guessing it was not a very heavy wooden slab as I'm trying to picture a 3-year-old lifting the wood all by herself. Not saying it can't happen, just saying that I'm having a hard time picturing that. Moving on...Rosie lifted the lid and lost her balance as she tried to look into the well. She fell into the well, striking her head upon rocks as she fell. She was not found until almost two hours later. Peter was so heartbroken that he decided to move his remaining family back to Brooklyn.
In September 1915, another tragic incident happened near the hotel. Dr. Walter Nelson Thayer, Jr., was backing his car out of the alley that ran between his home and the hotel. Yes...I had to re-educate myself on what year the car was invented. According to what I found on Google, it's 1885-1886...in case you needed to be reminded also. As Dr. Thayer was backing his car out, his 5-year-old son, Walter Nelson Thayer, III, jumped onto the running board of the car and fell off. The car backed over the boy. He suffered severe head injuries but did not die from that incident. I mention this incident as people report a young boy haunting the hotel. If it's not Walter Thayer, III, coming back in his 5-year-old form, then who is it?
The Shanley Hotel also lived through the Prohibition. The 18th Amendment went into effect, but James Shanley continued to please his clientele. After Peter Greger and his family moved out after the loss of Rosie, their apartment was turned into an active bordello. James worked with John Powers, a known liquor bootlegger, and they kept alcohol hidden beneath the bar through a trapdoor. On February 26, 1932, the hotel was raided and the illegal alcohol was found. Both John Powers and James Shanley were arrested, but neither served any time. Some believe this may have been due to the Shanley's connection with the Roosevelt's.
James Shanley passed away in 1937 and Beatrice sold the hotel to Allen H. Hazen who ran the hotel until his death in 1971. During Mr. Hazen's time at the hotel, the story of the Silent Room started. This was due to if Allen had encountered too many spirits (of the alcohol kind), the staff and guests would tiptoe around as he slept it off in the Silent Room.
Over the next few decades the Shanley Hotel changed ownership and at one time was a tavern, the James Shanley Tap Room. In 1991, it was closed down and was left abandoned for over 10 years until 2005 when Salvatore Nicosia bought the Shanley Hotel. Salvatore had not heard the ghost stories surrounding the Shanley Hotel, but it did not take it long for the spirits to make themselves known. Salvatore passed away in July 2016 and it was closed and condemned in 2017. The hotel was reopened in 2018 under new management and is open for regular hotel guests as well as paranormal investigations.
What spirits are roaming the hotel? How many owners of the hotel were there? Could any of them still be at the place they once called home? Many people believe that Beatrice Shanley is still at the Shanley Hotel. Guests have reported seeing a woman in period dress wandering the hallways. People believe they have smelled the perfume of Beatrice. Is her spirit remaining where her children passed or hanging out with her sister, Esther? If you ever decide to stay at the hotel or partake in an overnight investigation, you can ask Beatrice, yourself. Let me know what you find out.
That brings me to a few other possibilties...could Esther still be at the hotel? Is Rosie still there? Perhaps James and Beatrice's three children? How about James Shanely, himself? He seemed to have a wonderful time as owner of the Shanley Hotel...why would he want to leave?
Some visitors have reported seeing rocking chairs moving on their own, mysterious clock chimes, cold and hot spots, whistling, footsteps, piano music, voices, the laughing of children - even the aromas of cooking when no food is being prepared. Many people have claimed to have seen shadows and apparitions at the Shanley Hotel, and report the feeling of being watched.
According to an article by Alexandra Chartian about her stay at the Shanley Hotel, she stated that the hotel’s new owner, Kelly Hammerling, said she has made contact with more than 30 different spirits.
Manager Kim Vitale says that they know most of the spirits by name, including Frank, who worked as a bodyguard at the bordello, and Joe, a hitman for the mafia. There’s a man who whistles, several children, and even a ghost cat named Sweet Thing. Recently, a guest asked Frank how he died and according to Vitale, he replied, “A gunshot in the pub.” Hammerling says that Frank has strangled her twice and when she told a group, he replied (via EVP), “You liked it.”
Shortly after Hammerling and her husband purchased the hotel, he was cutting wood in broad daylight when he yelled for his wife. “He wouldn’t say why he called my name—I thought he cut himself,” Hammerling says. But three weeks (and three drinks) later, he admitted that he had been spooked by the sight of a mysterious woman who appeared next to him. “And he’s a skeptic—or was a skeptic, I should say,” Hammerling says.
The Shanley Hotel has been featured on "Ghost Lab" and "Ghost Hunters."
So, are you ready for a little vacay? How does upstate New York sound? Napanoch may be a small town, but it sounds like the Shanley Hotel is a big presence. Whether you want to be just a guest or an investigator, call and reserve a room. Hopefully the spirits let you get at least some rest.
--Audre
--iloveny.com
Photo: Alexandra Chartion
roadtrippers.com
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