Though I had stayed at Ye Kendall Inn in Boerne last November, I didn’t have the forethought to have my camera with me at the time. I was disappointed not to have been able to capture the beauty of the place. I also didn’t know the history of the hotel; so I didn’t realize that it was haunted. I had missed out on an opportunity to search for ghosts.
This trip, I planned ahead. I arranged to have The Enchanted Cabin, which is behind the main building, in a courtyard ringed with several other cabins. Though I had to work the next day, I made sure to get to the Inn with plenty of time to explore the grounds, interrogate the staff, and take an evening ghost hunt. I was pumped about this trip. I’ve decided to turn my experience into my Thursday Thirteen.
1) I deposited my suitcase in my room and made a quick “pit stop.” I was a little annoyed to find that I had one of “those toilets.” You know the ones I mean; you have to jiggle the handle to make it stop trying to fill up. I shook the handle and waited for it to stop, because I didn’t want the floor to get flooded. Then, I dashed over to the restaurant to grab a bite to eat. I was famished, and remembered the food as being wonderful.
2) My salad and steak were delicious (the rice was “meh”). The view of Cibolo Creek flowing past the restaurant as a gentle rain fell was lovely. When I had finished my meal, I accosted the staff. I asked if any of them knew any ghost stories about the hotel. One girl narrowed her eyes as she looked at me, and said, “We aren’t supposed to talk about it.” “Why not?” I asked. “It’ll drive away customers,” she replied. “Well,” I said, “I’m already here and it’s just between us girls.” That was all it took. That gal sang like a canary.
3) Liz was the young woman’s name. She was one of the waitresses, and she told me that Ye Kendall Inn had been established in the 1800’s by Sara and Erastus Reed. Liz didn’t know how they “croaked,” but she believed that both of them haunt the hotel. In fact, she said that The Ghost Hunters television show had been to the place and said that several entities haunted the establishment. She claimed to actually have seen Sara walking in her Victorian clothing. Liz said that she felt Sara was responsible for the “playful” happenings, but she felt that Erastus was an “evil” presence.
4) When I asked her what she meant by “playful,” she said that objects moved from where they had been placed, and sometimes dishes rattled in the kitchen cupboards. Liz said that just that morning she had passed a counter that held a small metal pitcher for hot water. The pitcher was sitting empty on top of the counter. As Liz walked by, that pitcher “flew across the room and hit the wall.” Liz said she turned around and called out, “Stop it, Sarah.” According to Liz, if she tells the ghosts to go away, they will. I said, “Did you think that was playful?” Liz answered, “It didn’t hurt anything.”
5) “Why do you think Erastus is evil?” I asked. Liz told me that once she had seen a chandelier come crashing to the floor unexpectedly. More than once a chandelier in that spot had fallen, shattering on the floor and narrowly missing hitting people in the lobby. She thought that was the work of Erastus. Liz said the sitting room between the restaurant and the front desk had once been a narrow hallway with neither window nor air conditioning vent. Often that hallway was terribly windy—enough to blow up skirts and muss one’s hair—but that the rooms on either side were calm. At night, she often saw what looked to her like trash violently blowing past the front windows, but the trees were beyond the windows were motionless. There was no wind. Once she had seen what looked to her like “balls of light” blowing past the window. This strange air disturbance makes Liz nervous, and she will not close down the restaurant at night alone.
6) Liz told me about some other occurrences at the hotel. She said that the third owner of the hotel, a man named Harry King, was killed in a hunting accident at the back of the lot, where the cabins are situated now. His ghost is sometimes seen walking across the courtyard, or sitting in his top hat at his favorite table in the restaurant. Another worker standing there while Liz talked confirmed that he had seen this ghost.
7) In The Marcella Room, the maids can carefully make the beds and smooth the covers, but it doesn’t matter. After they leave the room, the bedspread rumples so that the outline of a person lying on the bed can clearly be seen. Guests and employees alike have noticed this occurrence
8) Guests in The Victoria Room sleep peacefully through the night. They awake to discover the claw-foot bathtub filled with water, as if an unseen visitor had taken a bath during the night! It must be a very fastidious ghost. People staying in the room don’t even hear the water running!
9) A woman staying alone in The Leslie Room went to bed unsuspecting that perhaps she had “company.” When she turned off the light, there was a picture hanging on the wall to the left of the bed. During the night, she heard a noise and turned on the light. The picture was then standing on the floor, leaning against the couch—on the other side of the room.
10) After hearing all these stories, I went back to my cabin. You can imagine that I was a bit ticked off when I stepped inside to find that the toilet was trying to fill up again. I rattled the handle and waited for it to stop, then snapped some pictures and stepped into the courtyard to take some more.
When I came back inside, the toilet was running again. Once again, I rattled the handle and waited for it to stop. I went to my car to get my computer. When I came back inside, guess what—the toilet was running. Damn toilet.
11) I spent the evening on my computer, and then after midnight decided to go into the courtyard and watch for ghosts. I prowled around near the rooms, and finally settled into a chair in the courtyard and just waited. A light mist of rain was falling, but it was quiet and still. There were a couple of mourning doves calling out to each other for awhile, but I couldn’t see why they would be unhappy living in a place as beautiful as this. They stopped cooing, and then I heard a strange sound. Leaves on the ground behind me were rustling, as if someone were stealthily approaching me from behind. My heart began to race. Although I wanted to see a ghost, I didn’t really want to have it sneak up on me. With my finger on the camera button, I whirled around to snap a picture. It was a frog. Sheesh. I snapped a few pictures of my surroundings.
12) After awhile, I gave up and went back to my cabin. Of course, the toilet was running. Angrily I jiggled the handle until it stopped and went to bed. I needed to be able to sleep so I could work and drive home the next day. But, I woke during the night to go and stop the toilet from running AGAIN! Believe me, this game was getting old!
13) The next morning, I printed off some of the pictures I had taken in the courtyard and wrote some notes. I planned on being able to tell the 5th graders about my ghost hunt and show them what the place looked like. I left my papers and my coffee on the table in the cabin, and dragged my suitcase out on the porch. I planned to pack my car and come back to drink coffee and study my notes before I had to drive to the school. I slammed the door shut behind me. When I returned from my car, the door knob would not turn! I put the key into the deadbolt, and it wasn’t locked, but no amount of twisting or pulling would make that door open. The office wasn’t opened yet, so there was no way I was getting back into that room. Fortunately, all I had left behind were my ghost hunt pictures and my notes about the ghostly occurrences at the Inn. As I stood on the porch, I got quiet and listened. I distinctly heard the sound of the toilet running. Coincidence, or what? You decide.
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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Some things just seem so unexplainable that you just never know.
I know when we were kids we lived in a house that my mother claimed was haunted. The toilet would flush itself at night(things that could be explained by plumbing problems), but when they moved they decided the bed that was in the basement when they moved in would be nice to have. So they got set to move it and a couple of men went down and it wouldn’t budge. So they hollered up for a couple of more men - it still wouldn’t budge, they couldn’t even move it slightly. It was a beautiful brass bed and my mom really wanted it - she couldn’t believe these jokers! She went down into the basement to see what was going on - and to tell them to quit joking around and get moving, time was a wasting. It was then when she saw them struggling, four grown men and the bed would not budge.
She knew the house was odd, but that bed not being able to move just proved her point - it was haunted!
Oooh! That’s a cool story, Sweet Tea! Thanks for sharing it!~skt
The jury is out on whether I believe in ghosts. I had an experience of my own after moving into our old house in Denver. We bought it from the family after the owners had passed away. We knew the owners prior and they knew of our desire to purchase the home when they were gone.
I woke the second night in the house and felt a presence beside my bed. I sat up ask my husband if he saw someone standing next to the bed. He didn’t but I sure saw something hard to describe. I believe it was the spirit of Henry and he was telling me welcome and that he was glad we had moved into his home.
I wasn’t the least bit frightened and I always felt safe and secure there. My son claims he had friends that have seen Henry. I never saw him again.
Janet, you say the jury is out…does that mean you don’t believe you really saw it? I believe you probably did! Thanks for sharing the story. I like when people share their stories!~skt
Unfortunately I have no story to share at the moment, but I loved yours and the two above me! Thanks for sharing!
I listed 13 favourite food / snacks this week.
Thanks for stopping by, even without a ghost story
.~skt
Unfortunately any chance of me believing in ghosts was pretty much wiped out by working in a supposedly haunted building and working out how it was sounds from one part of the building echoed to the other part making the “ghost noises”. Doesn’t mean I don’t like ghost stories though. Nice TT
You don’t have to believe in them to get caught up in story. I probably just had a toilet in the room that had a problem.~skt
No way I’d want to stay in a place known for ‘ghosts’. But, sounds like it might be exciting, although your toilet problems weren’t exciting. But, who knows, you might have had a ghost in the room with you all the time.
My TT is up.
Thanks for stopping by. I wasn’t fond of the toilet troubles either. Maybe it was a ghost….I dunno.~skt
I visited a haunted brewery in Savannah last year, it was on that show “Ghost Hunters” too. We ate lunch there and then talked to the owner to see if we could go to the “haunted” areas of the building. He let us….didn’t see any ghosts, but my girlfriend scared the pee out of me while we were hunting them down!!
Enjoyed your TT, don’t know if I could have stayed at the inn by myself though!! You are a brave woman!
Nah, not brave…dumb. A haunted brewery? Is it a drunken ghost?~skt
I am not “into” ghost storytelling! I enjoyed yours however. My TT is also posted.
You don’t have to like everything you read, Joan. And, if you don’t like it you don’t have to pretend so you won’t hurt my feelings. I know lots of people who don’t like ghost stories, and I don’t hold it against them. I hope you’ll come back another time and maybe find something you are more “into.”~skt
The Toilet would make me crazy…I would turn the water off to it!
Happy TT
Duh. I’m such a girl! I didn’t even think of that. Wonder if the “ghost” would have turned it back on?~skt
Ooooooooooooooooooh, you gave me chills! Shelly, you completely grabbed me with this ghost/mystery story. I envisioned the whole scenario in black and white with Bogart sitting in the back puffing his cigarette and encircled in a cloud of smoke watching while you quiz the hotel staff. Kind of like Sam Spade watching Nancy Drew at work. I so hope that’s how you meant to write it because it’s brilliant! love it!!!
I don’t even have an idea for my 13 yet……one will bump into me in the night, I am sure
Jessica The Ghost Believing Rock Chick
Obviously, I’m going to have to take you on a ghost hunt. You are just the kind of scaredy cat I like to have around when things get eerie.~skt
I don’t know about ghosts but i agree that toilet would drive me mad!
I have been asked to go to Edinburgh on a ghost hunt, as one of my friends is ghost mad and its meant to be very very haunted.
Well, take the tour and come tell us about it! Sounds great to me. I’ll go!~skt
How wild! You’d think a ghost would be better at saving water though LOL.
I was in York (England) years ago and really wanted to do the Ghost Walk, but the timing didn’t work out.
I love ghost tours. I like to scare myself silly (er). Yeah, if that was the ghost, I wonder what he was trying to tell me? ~skt
Thanks for joining Blogdumps.
All the Best
Thanks to you. I’m going to post about you tomorrow.~skt
OK, first of all, I’m sitting on the edge of my seat like I’m reading a Sue Grafton novel. I’m scared to death as I’m reading about you sitting there all alone, waiting on the ghost. And the lady with the picture moving, while she was sleep, I’m ready to jump out of my skin. Then, I scroll down to comment — and I am number 13!! Yeah, I believe in ghosts. Did you ever get back in?
Never got back inside Miss SusieJ. I’m going to take you and Jessica the Rock Chick and Yellow Rose on a ghost hunt. Y’all will be squealing like “gurrrels!”
And, I will like it. 
~skt
Shoot. I took so long writing my comment, that Wolfbenz made it to 13.
Well, see…he saved you from bad luck or something. Say, SusieJ…did you have a giveaway contest for your TT???~skt
Personally, I think it was the ghost from the haunted brewery that was visiting your bathroom.
Bwahahahaha! Trust my husband (S.U.) to sit at the next computer and be a smart aleck
~skt
Great TT! I would love to go on a looong tour of haunts. Happy TT!
~skt
Come along then, are you going to squeal like those other gals will???
It’s a great story, but you can count me out. I’ve had too many bad experiences with evil spirits to ever go looking for trouble like that.
I’ve had “ghostly experiences” several times, Cordia, but never felt “evil spirits.” I might feel differently about it if I did.~skt
duh, wolf had the answer to the running toilet, but I wouldn’t have thought of that either.
Maybe the frog was a ghost frog? Could be, you never know!
My kids get into the ghost hunter show, I will try to watch and see if they have your place.
Did the kids like the ghost story?
Tee Hee…if I had kissed the frog would he have turned into a ghost? Did the 5th graders like that story? Is fat meat greasy and does a bear poop in the woods? Eyes as big as pancakes, they had. We had to gather around my camera so I could show them where I was. It was fun.~skt
Yep! $10 gift card to the place where they draw one in the dark. Hint.
Uh Oh! Everybody GO SEE SUSIEJ!!! She’s giving away $10 in the TT!!! ~skt
Oooh, creepy!
Hey, your blog is named Dewymonster.com!!! This can’t be creepy. Thanks for visiting.~skt
Well, I’m not so sure about the ghosts, but I agree that the toilet would have driven me crazy! I would have tried to turn the water off or something.
Well, I wasn’t smart enough to try that. If it WAS a ghost, that might not have stopped it. THEN I might have gotten creeped out! ~skt
That’s a great ghost hunt story. On my honeymoon a few years ago, my husband and I stayed at a St. Augustine hotel where the tap kept turning itself on. When we complained to the desk clerk, he said, “Oh yes, the haunted room.” He implied or said that they’d tried to fix it and couldn’t. I wondered if the water just runs perpetually.
Oh my. Damozel! Where is the St. Augustine? That sounds like a fun journey.~skt
Hi! VOMM TT #4 ~ Thirteen Things That Get My Knickers In A Twist ~ I just know you’ll like it!
Ghosts scare me. Still, I read on with anticipation, as you are an excellent storyteller.
Cant’ wait to visit after I get my real work done (I need someone to stand here and crack a whip!!!). I bet I WILL like it. You wear knickers?~skt
Absolutely WONDERFUL tt. I enjoyed reading it so much. Thanks for sharing. You are a wonderful storyteller.
Thanks Megan. It was a loooooong post for TT, so I appreciate folks taking time to read it! Come back again~skt
Absolutely FABULOUS TT!!! I love it.
I have a few ghost stories of my own that to this day I have not been able to explain away by other means.
One of my favorite trips was the ghost tour in Savannah, Georgia. A wonderful midnight ride through the Savannah squares in a horse-drawn carriage with many ghostly tales!
Savannah is on my list of places to go. You will have to tell me places to stay. Just the thought of a horse drawn carriage ride with ghost stories makes the hair rise on my arms! Thanks for visiting!~skt
Sounds like you had a wonderful and interesting trip. The toilet would have driven me bonkers though!
I’m already bonkers, so it didn’t bother me a bit…well, only a little bit.~skt
I would like to meet a ghost ! A real nice one with a bedlinen over his skeleton (fluorescent) deep holes instead of eyes and jumping at me with a hoooohoooohooo but unfortunately I never met anybody in the dark besides my white cat who made heeouheeou heee because I stepped on her tail. No haunting house visited, my life is just a boredom ! Not even a little alien running around and my toilet is not romantic at all it never runs !
You won’t find one with a bed linen on his head! The white cat in the darkness would scare me more than any ghost I’ve met!!~skt
What a cool experience. I can’t imagine waking up to find some of that stuff, though. I’d rather experience it during daylight, thankyouverymuch!\
Happy TT and congrats on being the featured blog!
Thank you! I just found out about that myself. I told another person that I’ve never had an experience that felt “scary,” so it doesn’t bother me. I might decide differently some day. I’ll keep you posted on that one!~skt
Great TT! Kinda like watchin’ Ghost Hunters (I love that show LOL) Just dropped by to congratulate you on being featured this week along with me! Happy TTing,
DK
Oh, DK, I didn’t know I was featured! Congratulations to you, too! I’ll come by to visit (as soon as I pay my bills, write that contract so I don’t get “dooced” again, and go get cat food!)~skt
I didn’t know when I visited you yesterday that you were the featured TT blog this week. congrats! Still lookin’ good.
I didn’t know I was either! Thanks for coming back to visit and tell me!~skt
I love the way you got them to fess up. “I’m already here…” haha! Sounds wild! I wonder if ghosts tell Human Stories. No ghost stories from me today, just a TT on things I’ve survived..
I never wondered about that! Good question…I like when people come up with good questions. Next ghost I see, I’ll ask if “human stories” are as scary as ghost stories. Or, MAYBE they don’t believe in humans!~skt
If Ghost Hunters was there, Im sold on some spiritual problemos. Though it could just be excuses for a very old building
I’m not sure I believe in all the stuff that Ghost Hunters says, but I do believe that some things can’t be explained away by just creaky floorboards and such.~skt
What a great T13. Sounds like a great place to stay for a couple of days and see for yourself. Though, if having to jiggle the toilet handle is a possible sign of ghosts, we’ve had them in almost every house we’ve lived in.
I’ll gladly put up with the haints if they serve good food though.
LOL! I ‘magine that a lot of old houses have “toilet ghosts.” But, this was pretty weird~skt
“Of course, the toilet was running. Angrily I jiggled the handle.”
I wanted to change this to: “The toilet was running angrily. I jiggled the handle..” I don’t know why…it just struck me as funny.
The toilet WAS running angrily, I guess…~skt
Wow - you are such a great story-teller! I’ve stayed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO (where Stephen King wrote “the Shining”) - and there were lots of stories of ghosts - but I never saw or felt anything while I was there.
Interesting story. I have an active imagination, so I probably won’t be staying there anytime soon.
Grats on being a featured T13!
Thank you! I was surprised and delighted to get to be featured. Could it be that I also have an active imagination?~skt
Wow. Wonderful story. I think I used up all my allotted TT reading time on yours but it was worth it!
I’m so sorry to use up your time! I’m a gal that just cain’t shut up for the life of me! Maybe I should do these posts in installments!~skt
What a fun Thursday Thirteen! With your storytelling abilities, I bet you would tell wonderful ghost stories around a campfire! And congrats for being one of the Featured TT Blogs.
Thanks, Thomma Lyn! I’m excited that I got drawn to be featured (I don’t think it’s merit but luck!). But, I’m working on this computer a lot today, and I’m trying to remember to take your suggestions from your TT so my hands won’t get tired and hurt! ~skt
I just visited your link love for the first time and I’m so proud to be in your blogging family. What an honor. Wow, that just floored me in the nicest way. You made my day!
Well, YOU make mine every day! I don’t know how I’d get through the day without going to see what offering you have each day.~skt
Wow, what a great TT! I have never had a ghostly experience, but love ghost stories. You would think I would have had plenty of opportunities to have a ghost story since I grew up in a house that was over 100 years old. We know several people died in the house and there were funerals in what was our living room.
Congratulations on being the featured blog! I LOVE your writing! Keep the good stories coming!
Thanks for the congrats, Penny. I’ll do my best to keep writing, but y’all will have to judge whether they are worth returning to read. I’d have loved to explored that house you grew up in! Didn’t you ever wonder if there were ghosts?
No sightings, but it must have been a fun and eerie (SP?) experience. I wonder if I’d still want to stay the night after listening to the employees tell their stories.
Happy TT13!
Happy TT to you Frigga. I wasn’t too worried, and in fact would have slept quite well but for that toilet running. I’ll try again another time.~skt
This is so cool…. I believe. Esp., after number 13.
Happy Thursday!
I believed before # 13, Nancy! Thanks for stopping by~skt
CREEPY!!! Goodness, this was supposed to be my last stop before hitting the sack, but now I’m all freaked out. Thanks, Shelly! You owe me a coffee tomorrow morning
Oh, darn. I left this morning before I could send you coffee! I didn’t have any myself…so I guess we are in the same boat! Hope you are enjoying your visit with your Mom~skt
Oh yes, my brothers and I often wondered. When my youngest brother was about 2 we told him there was one named Robert in the attic who would rock in the rocking chair. Needless to say, our parent weren’t pleased…lol!
Oh, YOU were like my big brother…take the little ones in a dark closet, put a flashlight under your face…scare them into wetting their pants
Yes, I know your kind. Come join Me! That’s my favorite occupation!~skt