Mineral Springs Hotel
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Even though it was turned into a collection of stores, the Mineral Springs Hotel still has many pieces of the the old hotel.
The tales of ghosts go back to the early 1930s. A desk clerk said that staff members were talking about the hotel's most famous ghost long before she started working there in the 1950s.
According to her, the renowned Jasmine Lady has haunted the hotel's staircase for decades. Jasmine Lady and her husband were guests that had come to the hotel to use one of the nearby springs. While they were there, she became romantically involved with another guest. One night while her husband was away, she took the other man to her room. Her husband returned unexpectedly and caught the couple in the act. He was furious, and during their violent run in, she ran away and started down the staircase.
Somehow she fell down the stairs, broke her neck and died right on the spot. Her husband was not charged and it was ruled an accident.
Over the years, staff members and visitors say that they saw her falling down the stairs as her ghost goes through a replay of the incident over and over again. They also report smelling her jasmine perfume near the stairs and in other spots in the hotel. Even the previous owner has been baffled by the smell. "I have to say I'm not a believer [in ghosts]." Mr. Love said, "but one morning I walked in the Alton Street entrance, and I smelled a strong, almost putrid, jasmine scent. It was strange."
Another area that is haunted is the hotel's old, empty swimming pool in the basement. In the 1950's, staff members heard unexplained sounds, like music playing, glassed tinkling, voices, and laughter. as though a party was still in progress.
One staff member said that he heard water running in the pool area and went to see if a pipe had burst. The pool was completely dry, but then, on the side of the pool, he saw wet footprints that led away in a line across the tile floor.
The Jasmine Lady and the ghosts of the swimming pool are the most famous ghosts at the Mineral Springs Hotel, but they aren't the only ones. If you are looking for ghosts, Alton is one place that has more than it's share of strange tales.
Tale from Andy D.
Tale from J.B.
