このエピソードについて
Before we get into this episode, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Elise Roenigk, owner of the 1886 Crescent Hotel and the 1905 Basin Park Hotel, who passed away on the morning of July 19, 2026. Elise and her husband Marty purchased the Crescent in 1997, and after Marty’s death in 2009, she continued that work on her own for another sixteen years. In 2022, Historic Hotels of America honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The hotel described her as a familiar and supportive presence, known for her walks through the property, her conversations with employees and guests, and her genuine care for the people who made the hotel special. She considered her staff an extension of her family. Andi and I are visiting her hotels this week, and we will be carrying her memory with us when we do.
The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas has been called America's most haunted hotel for decades, and this episode explains why. We dig into the dark history hiding behind that title: a fraudulent cancer hospital run by a con man named Norman Baker, the forty two confirmed deaths that happened there in just two years, and the ghosts that are still being reported inside the building today.
Built in 1886 by former Arkansas governor Powell Clayton, the Crescent Hotel started as the most opulent resort in the country, sitting on top of a mountain overlooking the town. Andi and Feliz walk through how the hotel fell into disrepair after the spa tourism boom faded, became a girls' boarding school, and then sat empty until Norman Baker showed up in 1937 with a radio station, a purple car, and a fake cure for cancer.
Baker's Baker Hospital and Health Resort promised treatments for cancer without surgery, radium, or x-ray. What patients actually received was a mixture that included carbolic acid, the same compound used in Nazi concentration camps around the same period. The episode covers how Baker isolated patients from their families, forged their letters home, and hid the dying in a soundproofed wing of the hotel. It also covers the 2019 discovery that proved the decades of rumors were true, when a landscaper unearthed hundreds of medical bottles and jars buried on the property, leading to a full excavation by the University of Arkansas.
From there, the episode moves into the hauntings the Crescent Hotel is famous for. Andi and Feliz cover Michael, the Irish stonemason believed to haunt room 218 and known for pulling back shower curtains. They talk about Theodora, a former cancer patient who tidies up room 419 and stacks loose coins by denomination. They also get into Breckie, a four year old ghost heard bouncing a ball through the halls, the scent of cherry pipe tobacco tied to the hotel's former physician, a Victorian gentleman seen at the lobby bar, and the basement morgue where Baker once stored human remains and where guests still report going faint.
The episode closes with a new Somebody Told Me story about a child ghost spotted at Key West's La Concha Hotel, sent in through a friend of a friend.
This episode is part of Andi and Feliz's upcoming trip to Eureka Springs, where they'll be staying at the Crescent Hotel and attending Obscuracon in person.
Topics covered:
Crescent Hotel Eureka Springs, Norman Baker cancer hospital, most haunted hotel in America, Eureka Springs Arkansas ghosts, Baker Hospital history, room 218 haunting, Theodora ghost, Crescent Hotel basement morgue, La Concha Hotel Key West haunted, paranormal history podcast
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The You Two Scare Me Podcast is hosted by Andi Zyvith and Feliz Andrews
Original Music by Stefan Tatka
Disclaimer: The You Two Scare Me Podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only. The views, opinions, and discussions presented in this show are those of the hosts and guests, and should not be considered factual statements, professional advice, or verified accounts. Our content often includes folklore, paranormal stories, urban legends, and speculative material, which may not be historically accurate. Listener discretion is advised, as some episodes may include sensitive themes such as death, violence, or trauma. All stories are shared with respect for the cultures and communities connected to them, and no harm or offense is intended.
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