By her Mars, the newest resort in the Bahamas ashore, from the: U S: fifteen minutes from the airport, for an easy Family vacation kids will be entertained at the explorers kids club, while parents explore casino golf course spot in over forty restaurants. Bores enlarges kids under five eat. Free and select. Restaurants, winter specials, including up to thirty five percent savings on your stay visit How more dotcom that's be a h m a are dot com. This episode is brought to you by square space start building your website today, at square space, dot com enter offer code, history a check out to get ten percent off square space, build it beautiful, hey everybody, Holly and I are doing them appearances this month, which is March twenty sixteen both of us,

appearing at sea to eat. You insect cargo at or p M on March, nineteen we will be doing a live, show followed by Q and a and then Holly will be a thought like COMECON Van Expiring, doing two shows with Guesthouse Brian Young. One of them is that seven p m on Friday March. Twenty fifth and the other is that three p m on Saturday March, twenty sixth all the time, said our local time, and get more information more about highly schedule, because she is doing a lot of other appearances, solid comecon at SALT Lake, Comic, Con Doc, see to eat you. That's the letter, see the number to the letter, even number two dot com or more time comecon dot com and see to eighty dotcom. We hope to see you there

stuff. You missed in history from us up works how upon cash Tracy. We will then- and today's topic is our request- fire listener. Jordan was writing about a hotel when a fascinating history, At least some lingering spirits who never checked out and what's really kind of interesting, is that this is a hotel. It has had many ideas at ease in its hundred and thirty two years since the first opened, but the most colorful phase involved some quackery, an incredibly misleading medical claims on the part of a particular gentlemen. So we're talking about the Crescent Hotel and Norman Baker and we're just gonna jump right in to kind of talking about how the

tell got made and they will tell you what Norman Baker and then will also talk a little bit about the ghost floater. Allegedly, they are said to be a little early spring time, go story to start at the beginning. Eighteen. Eighty two, the Eureka Springs, improvement company was founded in you guessed it. Eureka Springs, Arkansas, carpet bag. In former, are consigned Governor Powell, Clayton founded the company, which was focused on bringing the railroad to the town and also in developing infrastructure housing attractions that would serve people once they arrived by the railroad so from eighteen. Eighty, two, eighty for there was construction going on. I just a break neck pace and the town was actually a popular destination. Travellers before all that development, though, and even before it was even officially founded as a city in eighteen. Seventy, nine and all that tourism was due to the fact that the springs for which the town was named were believed to have curative properties

The magical healing refutation was started when a doctor allegedly cured his sons, blindness with spring water there in eighteen, fifty six and threw out the civil were and after it, more and more stories emerged from people who claim to be cured or know someone who had been cured by the water from these springs in eighteen. Eighty four construction started on the Cresson: hotel part of the larger effort by the Eureka Springs Improvement company. It was also in color nation with the Briscoe TRAIN company, the site for the result, was chosen at the top of west. Mountain above Eureka Springs proper and was on twenty seven acres that overlooked the valley in eighteen. Eighty five, while the hotel was still being built, an Irish Stone Mason is said to have lost his balance and fallen several floors into the second floor area and he died there in hotel lore. This Mason is named Michael. I was not able to verify the accuracy of this tale, one way or the other

A lot of time coming through the Arkansas Free Public Records directory online and without a last name attached to it, just the name Michael Eureka Springs in the year of death, really did not turn up anything that corroborated this one way or the other. Despite this purported Beth work continued on the hotel the crescent opened its doors for business the following year on May twenty eighth of eighteen. Eighty six with this point, it was a sumptuous, well appointed victorian resort and it was intended to cater to the wealthy with every possible luxury. The hotel had cost an exorbitant two hundred and ninety four thousand dollars to build. That is a massive amount of money for the time, even though today that would buy a lovely house in a medium neighborhood. In many cities there was a gala ball and a banquet serve to launch the hotels life as part of his big opening, and it was like.

That is the utmost in luxury in all of the newspaper coverage guests, were offered all manner of amenities to enjoy, including a spot of course of spring waters were still a big part of the drive. There was croquet, a walk in beautiful gardens could be taken at any time. There was a stable of a hundred horses from which guess could choose arrived. There was an in house orchestra that they retain their at the resort that played regularly. There were picnics and open coach rides for guess who wanted to relax outdoors sue, the great delight of power Clayton and his business investors. The venture really succeeded. Drawing a wealthy clientele. People travelled from all around the country to enjoy these dazzling parties and take this than the healing waters in eighteen. Eighty, the tray lines directly into Eureka, Springs work completed and that made accommodations at the luck for years or even more accessible for the people who could afford to stay there in eighteen. Ninety six, William

things Brian delivered one of the orations for which he was famous at the crescent hotel. This is the year when he made his famous cross of gold speech and was the democratic parties presidential nominee. So this really was a pretty high profile, appearance the hotel was expanded in nineteen hundred and running water was added throughout facility, and additional quarters are built for servants and staff, a sort of an annex, but even then the hurt popularity was starting to wane. People had realized The rumours of the waters, seemingly magical powers were not really substantiated and the hotels bookings were starting to drop off it as the prosperity of the Crescent hotel was on this downward trajectory. Powell Clayton decided to leave behind his venture in nineteen o t. He left. Eureka springs behind any started, a new job as the. U S ambassador to Mexico. There were connections that he had made through his position as head of that company. That kind of gave him the into that position and from the time

Clayton departure. The hotel really just slowly fell into disrepair in nineteen O. Eight, a new business plan was: let us try to fill the empty rooms of the hotel to bring in more money the hotel opened up as the Crescent College and conservatory for young women in the summer. It was still the crescent hotel and was open for resort but for the rest of the year it was of ladys educational institution. The hope was it. The same. Families who were drawn to Eureka Springs as a vacation. Low cow would also be happy to send their daughters there for school. And this kind of work for awhile actually for a pretty decent amount of time, but by the nineteen twenties remember. This was launched in nineteen o, eight, so more than a decade, but by the ninety two, is the income from enrollment was not really keeping up. It wasn't enough to make up for the lack of guests that they have a nineteen twenty four, the Crescent hotel closed.

Both are no and as a woman's college. There was a brief gasp of wife again in nineteen thirty, when the crescent reopened again this time as a junior college. But once again it couldn't sustain itself as an educational facility. In the school closed just six years late and we're about to get to you what's considered the most colorful and kind of cd part of the crescent hotels. History before we do we're gonna going to pause and have a word from one of our sponsor. Here's the thing saving money with Geico was almost better than playing pick up basketball because there's always there. Who joined your game, he never passes the rock he constantly Rex theories and who completely you and then put his hands up and say no foul, no foul with Geico. It's easy, switch and save on car insurance, known the vacant ankle sprain, because you're absolutely exhausted. So

which in save with Geiger it's almost better than sports, the more we talk more about the person hotel, we'll have to talk about it. Next owner was Norman Baker. Norman was born on November, twenty seventh of eighteen, eighty two in Musketeer Iowa and his parents, John and Francis Baker, had ten children. Norman was the youngest I also cite listed once as nine children, but a large heard of children, and he was the youngest and the bakers we're pretty industrious people before becoming a wife and mother. Frances did a good bit of writing and John owned and Rainy manufacturing company and he had more than a hundred patents to his name. But moment was different from his parents. He would turn out to have drive of his own, but it manifested in very different ways: you dropped out of school actors more year and then spend several years drifting around picking up, machinist work here and there, but he found inspiring

in a vaudeville act believing he could together a similar and lucrative act to the one that he had seen the inspired him Norman started his own travelling act that featured various actresses in the role of Madame Pearl Tangley, who is a mind reader and amiss any toward the mind reading show for a full decade, including making one of the Madame Pearl Tangley his wife. Briefly, before having that marriage annulled before he wrapped that particular projects this, because I knew that mentioning vaudeville, probably bring in emails from people saying hey, you should do apply gas on his vaudeville there already too in the archive yeah. So once it was done with this entertainment enterprise, bigger, went back home to his home town in Iowa and turned his hands other business ventures. He ran a corresponded school that taught art lessons

mail order business than he invented a device called the AIR Calliope phone. That's Khalifa was an organ that ran on air pressure and it could carry it found really incredible distances you pay this device and nineteen fourteen and he opened a factory to produce them and nineteen. Sixteen after almost Other ten years of running his various small businesses, Norman Baker decided to get into radio and he started his own. The station with the call letters, tt and Tee thou stood for no the naked truth and he used his broadcast to talk about the issues of small town life. Some of it things like agriculture and and sort of basic need to know type things, but also to comment and participate in larger issue such as the nineteen twenty eight presidential race, in which he was a very vocal supporter of republican candidate Herbert Hoover Baker would also broadcast attacks on anyone who criticized him or any of his work, and he seemed to really have agreed

against Cabal, was so because he would attack the catholic religion on the regular Katy Anti became something of a branding juggernaut Baker produced a magazine called the naked press that served as a supplement his honour at a toils. He opened a gas station strong under the Katy Anti name, and while he was broadcasting from what you might think of as a local, station. He wondered with incredible reach, allegedly he could be heard it as far away as Hawaii Baker had been so devoted to the Hoover campaign that once the election was over and Hoover had one neuron was invited to meet the president in this connection would later pay off with yet another business venture as Hoover supported Baker in his launch of the MID West Free press in December of nineteen thirty. Have the publishing empire began to expand Baker also started to be really vocal about another group. Doctors claiming

He knew better than they did so by fairly plane. Ticket cure cancer, like this thing that quack doctors always seem to them So I remember mining have zero medical training, bigger open, his own curative facility, which was the Baker Institute which had a hundred beds, porter staff with really dubious certifications and the promise of gearing cancer hospital slogan was cancer is curable and to prove his claims that he had the cure that the medical establishment, Denon and here is a brief warning that things are about to get a little dicey. If your squeamish, although I believe it to have been a theatrical thing and not an actual thing, Baker staged a festival, drawing a massive crowd of thousands estimates depending on what you read

but the number of attendees everywhere from between seventeen thousand and thirty thousand. So in some ways this was a call back to his days running the Madame Pearl Tangley show there were entertainers intestinal, He also Baker went on states to extol the virtues of his miracle, elixir with magic in a bottle according to him, and just the contents of one bottle could cure twenty five people. According to his pitch and the grand financing All of this. With these many thousands of onlookers was kind of a grisly spectacle of farmer named man. This Johnson, who was sixty eight, was brought on stage his head bandage mandates according to Baker, had cancer in his head and baker, and his surgeon assistant removed the man's bandages and then, according to witnesses, peeled back a portion of the man scalp and part of his skull to show the cancer rippled brain beneath Baker made a big show of quote treating the cancer with a powder

of his elixir and then the skull fragment and the skin were replaced. Johnson Skull was re bandaged and then the farmer seeming to be a ok and totally fine. After this treatments shook bakers, hand and left cured. According to Norman Baker, unspent, the way this demonstration drew. A lot of attention, so did beggars. Continued broadcasts from Katy Anti, which it takes more and more anti medical establishment town. This included denouncing vaccinations. The mayor, and medical association concern that he was disseminating dangerous information and telling people not to see doctors went to the radio Commission with its concerns, and I I'm thirty one baker lost his broadcast licence and Baker soothing

Eric and Medical Association for libel in nineteen, thirty, two claiming that the organization has had ruined his hospital business, because people stop checking in for the cure once he no longer had his free radio advertising the baker lost that case. His cancer cure had been found to be nothing more than clover, watermelon, seed, corn, silk and water. Instead of stop him, though, he built any radio station in Mexico, it started broadcasting in nineteen thirty three, but he really wasn't willing to give up his place in the sun. Back an island He returned back to his homestake to run for the United States Senate in nineteen. Thirty six, it already lost around at being governor and he lost the Senate raises well. He was arrested briefly for practising medicine without alive but it appears that he always but one, my in jail after him,

Kayo newsreel ran the discredited the Baker Institute Norman without with paying patients really slowing down to a trickle at best shut down his hospital in nineteen, thirty, six Norman also paid to have his biography written and this lake. So much of his other enterprises was pure theatre, production about biography, reads quote: this is an inspiration book for young and old, a fact story of how a man his enemies, how we faced the gunman dying, leaders and enemy doctors, how he fought the medical racket, the radio trust, the aluminum trust and others he did it for you. There has never been a book prepared so carefully. This makes it the most important book ever written. Read the life story of Norman Baker, the greatest one man battle ever fought. He continued to spread his distress, the traditional Medicine Catholic, Jews, science and basically anything that contradict him by his mexican radio station and ninety

seven, he was convicted for shipping gramophone recordings out of the country to broadcast them in Mexico, which was in violation of the federal communications active nineteen, thirty four, but this ruling was later overturned and appeals court, and this brings us to point in the timeline where Norman Baker story meets up with the crescent hotel. So after his legal battle and presumably in of a new enterprise suitable to his goals and personality. He made his way to Eureka Springs Arkansas and he bought the crescent hotel. Baker renovated the run down buildings, painting them his favorite, colors, lavender and purple threw out any reopened it as the Baker Cancer Hospital. We're going to talk about the crescent incarnation of Norman maker and claims that it now haunted, but first we're gonna. Take another brief raked the mystery to have a word what

comes to using data. Everyone is different, which is why activity mobile created, fr in kind of wireless network, one that's design save you money by letting you design your own data. Given you what choice and control compared to other top wireless carriers now You can choose unlimited share data or mixed up each and which any line any time. No one else, to do that or automatically millions of secure wifi, hot spots and the best l de everywhere else So no matter where you are, we got you covered. While stating up four hundred dollars a year on your wireless bell takes any mobile, its wireless. We visit, a store or go to mobile dot com. Today, simple easy also supply not available in all areas requires residential post, they extended, the actual savings variant are not guaranteed for its many mobile bra exposures visit, daddy, daddy, daddy, directs in any doubt, coms, less mobile,

just as they have been doing in Iowa Baker, promised patience. He could freedom of disease once he was in Eureka Springs its estimated that Norman Baker was making half a million dollars a year from the hospital, desperate patients, hoping that his claims were true what often hand over their life savings to receive the Baker Pure, which often involved lots of poking with needles and prodding. Occasionally, some herbal treatments but no real medical treatment. By this time, Baker who was still a showman was still was appearing in crisp white suits with lavender and purple tie shirts and need also become really paranoid his office at the new hospital in here in Europe, springs was walled with bulletproof glass and he kept guns within reach at all times, while he was there as part of his advertising campaign for the facility Baker started mailing out

floods in literature extolling the virtues again of the treatments that patients could receive in his care. I believe tagline was where sick people get well and, despite all of his other seedy doings, that we talked about up to this point. This was the thing that really got him into trouble. Postal inspectors spotted his mailings and believe them to be fraudulent and in nineteen, forty Norman Baker was arrested for male fraud. The hospital at the once Grant Crescent Hotel shut down Baker was found guilty any spent March nineteen forty one July, nineteen, forty four at the federal pet, theory and Leavenworth Kansas had defrauded patients and Eureka Springs of as much as four million dollars, unlike some of the other quacks would have come up on a hot cast. None of his patient died as a direct result of his treatments but they were missing out on actual medical care, which you know have made it so that they died faster than they would if they had got natural dreaming

yeah. We we don't know if any of those desperate people could potentially even you know, had improved health and lived for a long time because they weren't seeing doctors two years after his release, Baker attempted to reopen his hospital in Musketoon Iowa, but he never manage to do so and he ended up living his last twelve years on a yacht in Florida he died on September, eighth of nineteen fifty eight of cirrhosis of the liver, and he was actually buried. Back in musketeer at the Greenwood Cemetery, next to his sister, the hotels that abandoned for six years after Baker closed the operation down and then in nineteen forty fix that was purchased by a group of businessmen from Chicago a by field. John are Constantine the White O Nicholas and Herbert E shudder, and they had intended to restore it back to being a hotel they did get it up and running even offering a special tour package which included travel from Chicago to the resort, a sixty stay

and meals offer the low price of sixty two dollars and fifty cents. The best still really pretty well under their stewardship for two decades, but in nineteen sixty seven, a bellman burning boxes in the lobby fireplace started a fire that completely consumed the fifth floor and partially does the fourth floor for the next thirty years. The crescent would pass from owner to owner restoration. Victor restoration project. At one point, it was bought by two married couples that begins in the core issue reopened it and gave a cat may more as the title of hotel manager, but they eventually saw the hotel, which was then owned by several banks and businesses until finally, nineteen, eighty seven Marty, Emilius roaming via the crescent and restored it over the course of five years to be quote the grand lady of the ozarks. They vote it ever since and they turn it into a vibrant vacation.

The nation. Once again, sir, now we're going to talk about the ghosts that allegedly hang out there at the crescents, because for years the Crescent hotel us held this reputation of being one of the most haunted hotels in the United States. So we're gonna talk about a few of the girl who are alleged to wander the halls, we remember the story of Michael the Mason from the beginning of the crescent hotels construction, where he found is allegedly where room to eighteen now exists and its long been rumoured to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. The people who claimed to have visited by Michael LA staying in the room report, doors opening and closing pounding on the walls even hands coming. If the bathroom mirror, which is pretty freaky yeah, there's a nurse that allegedly appears on the third floor, pushing a journey with the deceased cancer patient on it. Of course, that also comes with the creepy

kind of squeaking wheels. Some Laura lovers like to believe that even Norman Baker himself has come back to the Cresson Hotel in the afterlife appearing in his signature, white seat with purple sure and high, and there is even a ghost that some claim introduces herself Ass Theodora and tells whoever she speaking with that she's receiving cancer treatment, usually right before she kind of vanishes before their eyes. There's another who has been dubbed doktor ls. Who is a man that wears a stove pipe hat and sometimes gives people advice? so so many more of those that are removed to appear at the crescent and they come from all points of hotels. History, because its had such a tumultuous We have shifting ownership and identities the history of their tails, pretty

all soil in which to grow. Go stories. What's got all the best options for spirit characters. There are rich victorians, their college, kids, their ailing patients who have been duped by this Flim black man. Yes, so it's you know, I think I said before her the PA. Guess I'm not a ghost believer myself, but it seems like if you're into that sort of thing. This is a super fun and very beautiful place to go kind of play in that sort of arena. If you wanted to do so, and today, the town of Eureka Springs in its entirety is on the national register of historic places. With approximately two thousand historic buildings included that have been restored and are carefully maintained, you can get goes tours of the Crescent hotel there available for anyone who wants to visit with the spirits that a rumour d on its halls and it does look like an absolute

lovely town. I would love to go visit at some point. So it's now on my list. It was not before I did. This episode cause, I didn't know about it, but now I think maybe we gotTa Eureka Springs fire from where you are it's not that far from where I am really are I like another, you live in Boston, every feels really for really that whenever, whenever we get invitations to go somewhere, I make this quite as two hours angry than it would have been from Atlanta. So thank you listener, Jordan. For suggesting this episode. It was one ended up being really find when I first I'll look into the hunted hotel thing and then the Norman Baker angle, with so certain fertile and fascinating that ended up being lovely. I have listener mail in its late. Oh yeah. Let's hear it so Valentine's day is coming

I don't know how people feel about it, but we can feel away. It's fine either way. I think I've said before, but for me it was, I was a family holiday doesn't come with the baggage of of lake. You know the expectations in a relationship sort of way, so it's never been a troubling or from problematic day for me, and I like red and pink a lot, so I'm cool the plus peeps hello, but we got to really really fine pieces of mail that I wanted to thank our listeners, for wine is from our listener Melanie. It is a gorgeous little card that she made, and it says in these

our gauges you bring as light happy Valentine's day. Thank you for sharing joy and knowledge, and it is this beautiful image of a an amateur comically, correct human heart, but rendered in medieval stained glass style, and I love it. It is gorgeous. So thank you Melanie delighted me on so many levels and the second one is from our listener, Jackie, and it is a little card that has a quote from us, nope on the front and then insides is happy Valentine's day you beautiful, starfish, hello, Ladys, have just waiting to issue

the lovely Valentine's day and to thank you for a great podcast after that. Listen to you, while I working I'm a male carrier, it gets immensely boring, walking the same streets everyday in your show is helping me stay sane and learning a bit in the process and making my way through your archive, and each episode is just great. Maybe one day you will do an episode on female postal workers that for now keep up the good work and happy Valentine's day. I love this. It was so sweet Jimmy did make me think about. He noticed the workers, my postal workers, a lady and she's all summer lover. So if he would like to write to us, you can do so. History upon cast at Helstone works. Dot com were also Facebook, telecoms lash, miss in history. We are on terrorists, as Mr History were on. Tumblr is recent history. Radiance, basically missed in history, will cover all your bases on all of the social media. It. If you would like to.

Our appearance, I feel a little research into that. That's how it works. Dot com, where you can visit us and MR mystery dot com for an archive of every episode of the shoulders ever badly jack, he's working away room and they are all there. I know Nineteen. It doesn't keep more than the last three hundred, but if you come to our site, they are all still dear and available for listening. You will also find show notes for all of the episodes that Tracy and I have worked on it with other key, goodies. An absolutely cover a war on this and thousands of other topics does it has some weeks ago by her Mars, the newest resort destination and about just a short from the? U S in fifteen minutes from the airport comprise

three lux potion front: hotels, three and high it s less in rows. By more features, forty world class restaurants in nightlife spot alive, who was the largest, could see the Caribbean plus Gulf Tennis, In more to book your stay and explore winter specials visas, our homework. Dont come that Baja, more dot com,