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The Weekend // The Palmer House Hotel

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 Crystal // Dreams, etc. 11 comments
The Weekend // The Palmer House Hotel

Happy Wednesday! I thought I’d share a little about my weekend with you, with some exciting news at the end.

A visit to the haunted Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre, MN. // dremas-etc.com

This weekend I went to the Palmer House Hotel, which is said to be haunted. The Palmer House has quite the history–including a literary one.  Sinclair Lewis worked there and I think he even based a location in one of his novels off of the hotel. The building has a presence when you see it as you drive down Main Street (the “original” main street). There are a couple of rooms that are thought to be haunted, as well as the hallway right outside the room that I stayed in. There are a lot of reports of strange activities all over the building and I heard it was recently voted the most haunted hotel in America.

I went to Palmer House Hotel on an excursion with Ghost Stories Ink, which is a group of writers and artists who go on paranormal investigations in order to gain inspiration. During the day on Saturday I went to a workshop in the basement, in a room that looks like a set from a horror movie. The workshop was about engaging the senses to bring stories to life.

Saturday night, the Ghost Stories Ink team split us up into groups and we toured the hotel for a ghost hunt. It was a lot of fun and kind of creepy at times. There’s so much to explore at the Palmer House that we were up pretty late. The ghost hunt ended around 2am, but my friend and I were chatting after so we didn’t actually fall asleep until about 3:30. I used to stay up that late regularly, but haven’t for a long time because, well, adulthood. So it felt good to stay up late again, even though I was totally exhausted the next day. And the day after.

Ghost Stories Ink is actually the group that led the writer’s and illustrator’s retreat that I went on in May. They actually led us on a ghost hunt back then, too, and at that time they were in the process of putting together an anthology of stories inspired by their outings, so people who had gone on one of their investigations was invited to submit a story for publication. At the end of May I submitted a short story and it was accepted!

I think I mentioned a project that I worked on this summer and that project was the story. It went through a bunch of much-needed editing. So, my short story was published in an anthology (Night Visions) that was released at the beginning of November. I signed a stack of books on Sunday in the café of the Palmer House. I’m reading it right now and the stories have been so much fun to read!

After signing the books and grabbing breakfast, my friend and I came right home. It was a fun weekend, but we were pretty tired.

HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

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11 comments

  1. Samantha says:
    November 11, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    I love ghost stuff like this! The ghost tour sounds super fun! I live in the oldest city in the USA (founded in 1565) and it’s supposedly super haunted. I’ve had a few ghosty experiences myself!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 12, 2015 at 4:13 am

      It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the experience. šŸ™‚ Its so cool that you live in the oldest city in the USA! I love history so that would totally capture my attention… especially if it’s haunted too.

      Reply
  2. chelsea jacobs says:
    November 11, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    That is so cool!! Congratulations!!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 12, 2015 at 4:13 am

      Thank you Chelsea!

      Reply
  3. Mash says:
    November 11, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    Wow! Looks like a fun weekend!

    Mash | http://www.sarmash.com

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 12, 2015 at 4:14 am

      It was! I really enjoyed everything. šŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. Alexandra @ My Urban Family says:
    November 11, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    I’m not sure I would be able to get any sleep in a haunted hotel! Sounds like a fun day though!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 12, 2015 at 4:23 am

      I actually had a hard time sleeping, but it’s an old building so the walls are really thin and anytime a vehicle bigger than a car passed the windows were rattling, so I don’t know if it was the hotel being haunted or noise that was all around. šŸ™‚ It was a lot of fun!

      Reply
  5. Shery says:
    November 12, 2015 at 2:30 am

    This is the second post I’ve read about Palmer House. I always think places like this sound interesting.

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 12, 2015 at 4:25 am

      The Palmer House is definitely an interesting place to be! Where did you read the other post about it?

      Reply
  6. Charlotte | The Midnight Blog says:
    November 12, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    Congratulations! That’s so cool! šŸ™‚

    Reply

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hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

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