The GhostBreakers, an organization of current and former professional police detectives interested in the paranormal, will return to the Historic Hotel Bethlehem this weekend for another investigation of ghostly activity in the Historic Downtown. “This group will bring EVP, Infrared Thermal Scanners, EMF detectors, DVRs, and even a psychic to make sure that all the avenues available for paranormal investigation are covered,” said Dennis J. Costello, the hotel’s general manager. “We have an amazing weekend set up for our guests interested in seeing the hotel’s spirits for themselves.” The …
If you have ever wanted to hunt ghosts like the folks from The Atlantic Paranormal Society on the SyFy Channel, the Sun Inn will give you a chance this Saturday night. Accompany Lehigh Valley P.H.E.A.R. (Paranormal Help Experiment and Activity Research) on what the Sun Inn is billing as “an actual ghost hunting experience as seen on TV.” Organizers are telling would-be ghost hunters to “bring your own flashlight, camera and voice recorder.” Those who come will be teamed up with members of P.H.E.A.R. to explore different parts of the building. On television, the TAPS team found “Sarah,” the …
The GhostBreakers, an organization of current and former professional police detectives interested in the paranormal, will return to the Historic Hotel Bethlehem this weekend for another investigation of ghostly activity downtown. The search will go beyond the hotel, which has come to claim its place as a haunted abode with no less than four ghosts on the premises. For the first time, the investigators will also roam the nearby 18th Century Industrial Quarter, the workshops of the original Moravian artisans who built the city, according to Kelly Ronalds, Director of Sales and Marketing for …
The Hotel Bethlehem is built on a historic site that dates back to the first Moravian settlement in 1741. Guests and staff at this historic hotel have experienced quite a few strange happenings over the years, but the hotel has officially embraced its haunted nature in recent years. “It was not to the staff’s advantage to keep hush, hush on the ghosts,” said hotel historian Natalie Bock. “Researching the ghosts at the hotel came about as an outlet for the staff who were frightened by the stories they heard.” Five years ago, Bock started logging in the stories and researching the archival …
Before it was Wells Fargo Bank (and Wachovia), the building at 52 W. Broad Street was a Depression era night club called the Colonnade. Although no drinks are served there today, many believe there remains some spirits in the building. In their book, Bethlehem Ghosts: Historical Hauntings In and Around Pennsylvania’s Christmas City, Katherine Ramsland and Dana DeVito mention the ghost of the Colonnade, a woman murdered in the basement. They said though, “Some people say it’s haunted, but it was difficult to track down the specific stories about the ghosts.” On November 10, 1949, the Evening …
Built in 1758 by the Moravians, the Sun Inn at 564 Main Street offered a restful night sleep and a hot meal to such famous travelers as George and Martha Washington, John Adams, Ben Franklin among others. “No other Inn has housed more signers of the Declaration of Independence,” said Inn Keeper Bucky Szulborski. The Sun Inn boasts 10 but, this fact is overshadowed by the attention the Sun Inn gets for the guests that haven’t checked out. In December, the Sun Inn will get national television exposure on the SyFy television series Ghost Hunters, which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. “One ghost hunter…
It seems that every shop on Main Street is being investigated by one paranormal team or another. Donegal Square and Granny McCarthy's Tea Room at 534 Main Street is no different and has attracted the attention of Rob Thompson and his crew from the Ghost Finders, Channel 16, WNEP-TV in Scranton. “They set up lasers, they had so much gear, they kept saying that in the one room there was a man held against his will,” said Neville Gardner, the owner of the Celtic specialty shop and attached restaurant. He says has never actually seen anything but strange things happen. Candles get relit and “as I…
In the heart of Downtown Bethlehem, there are three acres of land and 2600 bodies buried on a plot of land on Market between Main and New Streets known as God’s Acre, a remnant of the 18th Century Moravian settlement that founded Bethlehem. With that many tombs, there must be some ghosts in this graveyard, right? Kathy Zoshak, the guide for my Death and Dying Tour said, “There are no ghosts in God’s Acre, all Moravians go home to Christ when they die.” If that is true, someone should tell Francis “Daddy” Thomas, who has been on a historically long detour. Thomas was interred in 1822 to his …
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series on Bethlehem Hauntings that will continue through October 31. I've heard a lot of ghost stories this season, many from books such as: Bethlehem Ghosts: Historical Hauntings In and Around Pennsylvania’s Christmas City Haunted Lehigh Valley Ghost Stories of the Lehigh Valley The books are based on local legends and lore collected by the authors. But how much do the authors believe? I contacted Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology at DeSales, and asked her about the Downtown Bethlehem locations she and Dana DeVito researched in their …
