First off, let me get this straight, I am NOT big on paranormal. In fact, it scares the stuffing out of me. I almost lost my cookies when we visited this Old Haunted Cavern over a year ago.

I DO watch Ghost Adventures, but only because my husband likes it Zak makes me laugh.

However, this was suggested as a great photo-op, and that is one thing I can’t resist – a great photo-op. Plus, it is this week’s Travel Theme: Spooky by the wonderful blogger Ailsa.

So, maybe I ventured outside of my comfort zone, and took off about an hour away to a place said to be haunted, on a night with a full moon, in a town nick-named for CRAZY water. It landed me on the steps of the biggest and creepiest hotel I have ever seen in my life.

The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas.

And let me just give credit to our tour guide Angela of The Baker Hotel Ghost Walk. She is the real deal. There are a few copy cats, but she is the one that put all the work into the research of the history and stories.

I’ll be honest with you. I took way too many photos for one post. I lost one whole battery (luckily I had two) in just a few hours (normally it takes 8-10 hrs per battery). I battled many other camera problems – mainly focus issues and a flash that would just up and DIE, off and on. I did not PHOTOSHOP any of these. They are straight out of the camera. I did add my watermark, but nothing else was altered.

The ghost walk starts on the front steps of The Baker Hotel. We get a run-down of its history, and its ghosts. At the back of the building, where we proceed, is a pole marked for a tipsy woman who jumped from the roof (trying to land in the pool). She didn’t make it. Angela advises this ghost likes to mess with men, and sometimes you can smell her lavender perfume. As soon as she said that, I smelled Lavender very strongly. So did several of the people with me. Coincidence? Maybe…

I took this shot of Jason (after the tour). Looks to me like something is by him coming off the pole back left of the photo. He says it is some “tree” or something. Although, it was not in ANY of the other photos I took of him in the same spot.

The other part of the tour was down a few blocks (we covered 10 blocks). The guide advised some people get sick in this area, because a lot of children were abused and died at this house. It was the home and business of a Doctor, and an orphanage for children of parents who could no longer afford to keep them during the depression era. I DID feel sick. Both times when I walked by there. Coincidence? Maybe…

Our minds are a powerful thing. Apparently, so is the paranormal.

Regardless, this place is spooky with a capital S. Solely for the upside down crosses, and because the owner of the property still lives on the third floor. Photo above is the second floor. The first and second floors have no electricity and he is known not to be right in the head (too much Crazy water?).

We explored on our own for more than an hour after the tour ended. That is when I got most of the photos that show “something”. All of them at, or around The Baker Hotel.

If anyone can explain these photos, I’d like to hear it. Look for the mists and the orbs. My husband had the other camera and he didn’t get anything taking the same pictures. And his battery never drained either.

This is the photo I took. I must admit. It freaked me out a little. It was not raining. No fog. My lens was not dirty. I don’t think simple street lights could make those orbs. It was a clear night. See collage at the top where I took a photo of the moon. They say, The Ghost Adventure guys stayed here in September. They named it one of the most haunted places they have been to. Could that be true?

It sure looks that way to me.

Oddly enough, I didn’t get scared. I felt uneasy a few times, but mostly calm. The only time I really freaked was when we heard noises from the window we had just peered through on the Mezzanine level.

This is the Mezzanine area we were at.

This is the area where the window was. I SWORE I got a photo of that window, but I couldn’t find it on my camera. Coincidence? Maybe….

Inside where we looked.

We heard a loud chang above us. ALL of us heard it. Then, within minutes, a ching, and a crack right by the window we had just peered through. My heart did a flip-flop! Jason says it was not a ghost, but trespassers inside the hotel. But really? That is hard for me to believe. For one thing, it’s a $500.00 fine and there are cops driving around every few minutes. For two, why didn’t we hear them walking around, or see them with flashlights? Go back and look at the photo above and imagine walking through that area in complete darkness. Could you navigate that room without making a peep? Without flashlights on? In the pitch-black? Wouldn’t we have heard them talking, shuffling, or banging their way around?

Jason is a non-believer.

I, however, am NOT. But strangely, I’m not as frightened as I thought I would be.

Even when I stood outside The Baker – by myself (being by yourself is a WHOLE different experience). I felt sick again, and I felt pressure on my sinuses; a sign of energy in the air. I pretty much made a mad dash to find the others. At the time, I was under a window where many have seen a mistress looking out. Coincidence? Maybe…..

So…that is my story. And These are my photos.

Haunted or not…this is one fascinating building with a rich history about it, and around the entire downtown.

I plan to go back sometime soon. In the daylight preferably…..

Do you believe in the paranormal?