PORT TOWNSEND — Those who fill the Palace Hotel’s rooms the weekend of Nov. 11-13 are looking to get spooked in what may be one of the most notorious haunts in town.
They are booking up the historical 18-room inn overlooking downtown’s Water and Tyler streets in hopes of paranormal encounters during the third annual Pacific Northwest Ghost Hunters Conference.
The conference is being put on by Amateur Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma, which goes by the acronym AGHOST.
The “Ghost Hunter’s Getaway,” as it is billed at www.aghost.us, is open to the public and will conduct classes, lectures, seminars and discuss ghost-related topics at different Fort Worden State Park locations.
Tours of the community’s old cemeteries and haunted place — including another classic Port Townsend inn, Manresa Castle — are expected to be booked up with ghost fans.
AGHOST three years ago conducted a seance at Manresa Castle, but left without finding “anomalous” readings.
First mayor’s castle
The 40-room inn was built with 12-inch-thick walls in 1892 by Port Townsend’s first mayor, the wealthy Prussian Charles Eisenbeis who wanted a castle.
As the legend goes, a woman named Kate, who was jilted by her lover, committed suicide by jumping from Room 302.
Another widely noted story is that of a Jesuit priest was believed to have hanged himself in Room 306.
The castle will be the scene of the conference’s opening night no-host mixer. Guest speaker Tamara Thorne and others will share ghost stories and experiences at the opening night gathering.
Several other locations around Port Townsend, such as Point Wilson Lighthouse and locations around Fort Worden, are also rumored to be haunted.