| Address |
| 26401 E Welches Rd, Welches, OR 97067, USA (Welches, Oregon)
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| Information |
Old Welches Inn
This bed and breakfast in Welches, Oregon is located on Mount Hood and has been entertaining guests for years, reportedly along with one or more ghosts. Samuel Welch first founded the town of Welches in the 1840s and built this house in 1890. After a few expansions and additions, the house and property were transformed into the first summer resort on the mountain itself, nestled next to Salmon River. Now run by Welch's son Billy, he further expanded the property by converting some of it into a full-fledged golf course across from the house, which remains to this day. By 1930s, Billy and his family tore down around three quarters of the hotel and altered it back to a private residence for his retirement years. Ted and Judith Mondun purchased the property in 1987 and remodeled and reopened it as a bed and breakfast, which it remains to this day. The inn has also been known as the Welches Roadhouse, as well as the Welches Hotel over the years.
The Legends
There are a few different stories attached to this building, perhaps to explain the odd occurrences that people report happening in recent times. One concerns a woman who once served as the housekeeper or innkeeper for the hotel. The story goes that there was a prison break in Portland and the fugitives made their way up to Mount Hood in hopes to escape. They reached this hotel and quickly sought refuge, which was apparently granted. All but one of the convicts ultimately moved on, but the last decided to stay on after developing a relationship with the innkeeper and in some versions, she even became pregnant with his child.
The courting would be short-lived however, since the convict knew that the summer season was arriving and guests would soon be descending on the hotel, which pretty much assured he would be caught. He reportedly snuck away in the dead of night and when the woman discovered that he left, she either jumped to her death from the second story or ran out of the house in hysterics, only to crash into a tree and break her neck.
Another story concerns a love-triangle that developed, possibly between two of the fugitives and the woman. The end result would be the same, though some variations of the tale have the woman being pushed from the upper floor to her death. Yet another story has the facility being built on a former Native American campground. Reportedly, the tribes in the area used the site as a fishing and gathering point and many of their bodies were buried there. Whatever the case, many people believe that multiple spirits haunt the facility to this day.
The Ghosts
There are at least three different spirits believed to haunt the grounds, if not more. The most common apparition is that of a woman in an old fashioned, full-length dress that is seen staring out the top floor's windows or in the bedrooms themselves. One frequent guest reportedly had a nasty cocaine habit and reported encountering the spirit multiple times who warned him that she wouldn't tolerate "anything negative" in the house.
There are also allegedly one or two spirits in the house that people describe as a male presence. One rather creepy story concerned a guest who had a candle burning that suddenly was extinguished. His attempt to relight the candle apparently angered whatever presence was in the room with him, as he reported that something stopped him by breaking his finger. Some attribute this presence to that of the supposed escaped convict that was rumored to have stayed here for a short time.
Other paranormal phenomenon reported includes a child's ball that rolls down the hallway or bounces down the stairs, the sounds of a music box or inexplicable humming seemingly coming from nowhere, radios turning on and off on their own, doors and windows that open and close on their own, and the sounds of phantom footsteps walking around on the second floor. The house's owners over the years have reported a variety of different accounts, but almost all agree that there are other entities that shared the house with them.
Old Welches Inn Bed and Breakfast
The hotel is still open to guests to this day and offers four guest rooms and a separate two-bedroom cottage, which even allows well-behaved dogs and pets. The inn is a popular stop for tourists looking to spend time on nearby Mount Hood. Their Web site appears to currently be down, but any standard Web search will get you further information on the facility. |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Ghost Stories of Oregon |
Ghost Stories from the Pacific Northwest (American Storytelling) |
Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations |
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