Haunted Hotel and #BlogTour

On By Teri PolenIn Monday Share

Over Memorial Day weekend, hubby and I spent a few days at West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, IN (sports-obsessed Son #1 informed me this was the hometown of Larry Bird). It was originally built in 1855 to capitalize on the many mineral springs in the area, and there are several bath houses still standing on the property. As you can see from the pictures below, it’s a stunning hotel and has quite a history – fires, changes in ownership and purpose. You can read more about it HERE. It’s also the setting of the supernatural thriller novel So Cold the River by Michael Koryta, and the movie of the same name was filmed on site and can be rented on Amazon Prime or Apple TV. Hubby and I plan on watching it sometime this summer. With such a history, I was sure the hotel would be haunted, but it’s actually the other hotel on the property, French Lick Springs Hotel, that is rumored to be haunted by the original owner, Thomas Taggart. He frequently smoked a pipe, and guests and employees have reported the strong scent of pipe tobacco near the service elevator (it’s a non-smoking hotel) and have also encountered his ghost. Read more about that HERE.

One of the days there was spent by the pool – with a book, of course. I noticed a spider crawling across my bag lying on the table and flicked it off to the ground. I’m not afraid of them (but if it’s snakes, I’ll shove you in front of me as an offering and run in the other direction), and if I see them in the house, I’ll catch and release them outdoors. While reading I felt something on my neck and assumed it was a fly. Wrong – the spider bit me and was trying to build a web that connected me to a nearby railing. Some thanks I got for not killing him. I told hubby I was sure to wake up with super powers the next morning. Sadly, it didn’t happen, and I’ve been waiting for them to manifest for over a week.

The Insurgent (The Colony #2) is on tour this week! A big thanks to R&R Book Tours and all the hosts who signed up. Below is the tour schedule – hope to see you at some of the stops!

Book Tour Schedule

June 6th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com

John H. Howell (Spotlight) https://johnwhowell.com

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

@mels_booksandhooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/mels_booksandhooks/

Shari Sakuri (Review) https://sharisakurai.com/

June 7th

Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website

Staci Troilo (Spotlight) https://stacitroilo.wordpress.com/

I Smell Sheep (Spotlight) http://www.ismellsheep.com/

Books + Coffee = Happiness (Spotlight) https://bookscoffeehappiness.com/

@bookscoffeehappiness –  https://www.instagram.com/bookscoffeehappiness/

June 8th

Lecari’s Live Journal (Review) http://www.lecari.co.uk

Not a Bunny Blog (Review) https://notanybunny.wordpress.com/blog

@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/

B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com

June 9th

Cheryl’s Book Nook (Review) https://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/

 @takealookatmybookshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/takealookatmybookshelf/

Robbie Cheadle (Review) https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/author/robertalouisecheadle/

Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/

June 10th

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

   @amber.bunch_author (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/

Jonathan Pongratz (Review) https://jonathanpongratz.com/

Misty’s Book Space (Review) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com

38 thoughts on “Haunted Hotel and #BlogTour”

    1. After it bit me then scampered away, it occured to me a spider bite might be a bad thing. I googled pics of poisonous spiders, but he wasn’t on the most wanted list, lol. That was our first time at the resort, Tessa. We’d talked about it many times, but they always seemed to be booked. We lucked out for Memorial Day, and it’s only a couple hours drive away.

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  2. Too bad about the super powers. What an ungrateful spider! (I have a ridiculous fear of them, so I wouldn’t have been nearly as calm about this as you.)

    Those hotels and the histories are cool.

    Wishing you all the best with your tour and release, Teri!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Son #2 is petrified of them – we can’t even say the S-word around him, lol. The bite felt like a bee sting, but there was no swelling – just a dot on my neck. Still bummed about the super powers. Thanks, Staci!

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  3. As you know, I love haunted hotels! It looks like such a cool place too. The spider story is funny. I’ve been bitten by spiders too and still don’t have any superpowers! Darn. Good luck with the blogtour. xo

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    1. What’s up with that, Darlene? If it happens in books and movies it must be true, right? The history of this hotel fascinated me, and there were several pics from the hotel’s golden days hanging in the halls. I always love looking at those and wondering what the people’s lives were like then.

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    1. It was a nice place to get away for the weekend, Craig. We’re not much for gambling, but we also spent a couple hours in the casino and actually won some money playing roulette. Paid for a few glasses of wine!

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    1. With snakes I don’t care what color they are or if they’re poisonous or not – don’t want any part of them. And you’re right about the friendly ghost, Yesha – seems like he just wants to hang out around people, lol.

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  6. I’ve stayed in some hotels that were supposed to be haunted, but I never saw or heard anything. Still, I love to read stories about them.

    Wishing you all the best on your new book and blog tour. I just came from John’s place.

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    1. Same here, Joan. We’ve stayed in a few haunted ones and although I didn’t have any experiences, Hubby did, and he’s not a believer. He’s rethinking that now.

      Thanks for the good wishes – lots of stops this week on the tour!

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    1. I was excited so many hosts signed up, Teagan – as you know, every little bit helps! We really enjoyed the weekend away. Hubby played golf, and the weather was mild. Hugs to you and Crystal!

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  10. The hotel looks like a castle! If you stayed still for the spider, I can watch it spinning the web. We have active spiders outside of the house and occasional inside. It’s fascinating to watch them spinning the web. Best wishes on your new release tour, Teri!

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    1. It was gorgeous inside, Miriam – felt like stepping into another time period. The outside was also beautiful – nicely manicured grounds, wide porches with plenty of rocking chairs. A perfect place for a glass of wine. Guess the spider got annoyed I interrupted his spinning, but he didn’t have to bite me, lol.

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      1. It sounds like a wonderful place to visit, Teri.

        I felt a little irritation on my wrist once and flicked it. I didn’t know it was a bee. My movement made the bee go on high alert and stung me. I had to go to the doctor for such swelling! 🙂

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  11. Victoria Zigler

    Too bad it wasn’t your hotel that was the haunted one. Also too bad about the super powers. For the record, I’ll deal with any snakes for you if you deal with spiders for me. Snakes I can do, but spiders, insects, and creepy crawly things like that… No thank you! Anyway, hope the tour is going well so far.

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    1. I’ll take that deal, Tori! Spiders I don’t mind at all. If we’d been at the haunted hotel, I definitely would have hung around where the ghost was rumored to have been seen. That would have been awesome!

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  12. Hi Teri – oh my a spider bite, I’m glad it wasn’t on the most wanted list but too bad you didn’t gain any super powers! That hotel looks like a great place to stay and an even greater place for a spooky story. Thanks for sharing all this 🙂

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    1. And I was fully ready for the responsibility that comes with those powers, Barbara, lol. The hotel was so atmospheric and inspirational. I know I brought home a few ideas with me. Hubby tried to convince me we could write off the weekend and call it “book research”. Like that would work.

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  13. WendyW

    What a beautiful Hotel!! I’m so glad you were able to get away and have some fun. I feel the same way about spiders. They have an important job, and we need to allow them to do it.

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    1. The detailed architecture was stunning, Priscilla. I can’t imagine the work that went into restoring it and the amount of time it took, but the results are clearly worth it.

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  15. Oh wow! That hotel looks fabulous! So glad you got to have a getaway, even if it did include a spider bite. Congrats on the blog tour. I will follow along as much as possible. Hope you get tons of sales!

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    1. How did I miss your comment, Jan – sorry so late! It was a beautiful hotel, and it was like slipping into another time while walking inside it. So much architecture was well-preserved.

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  17. suerovens

    Wait. You moved a spider and stayed in the area? Um, nope. A BIG nope. The hotel and book tour are awesome, but I’m too distracted by the spider story. LOL.

    Liked by 1 person

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