April Slaughter by Ghosthunting Texas

cup of coffee to look up more of the ghostly lore associated with the hotel.
    Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I exchanged e-mails with various hotel staff about the paranormal activity they have experienced. None of them wished to be named, but they offered several stories of encounters with the unknown inside the hotel.
    One woman who has worked at the Gage Hotel for thirteen years told me about an apparition seen in the hotel in the middle of a slow business day.
    “It was about five years ago, and I remember that we only had one room booked out for that day,” she said. “I was in the basement when a couple of children came down to ask me who the lady upstairs was. I told them that there was no one else in the hotel at the time, so I wasn’t sure who they were talking about.
    “They told me that she had long hair and she was wearing a floor-length dress. She had patted them both on their heads, but said nothing to them. The children told me that they watched as she went in and out of several of the guest rooms. I went upstairs to look around, but I found no one else there.”

    I asked if she had any idea who the woman may have been, but she did not.
    “One of my night auditors also mentioned to me that he believed he had a visitor on some of the evenings he was working,” she continued. “One of the leather chairs would make the sound like someone had just sat down in it, and he could even see an indention in the cushion as if someone were really sitting there.”
    Several past guests of the Gage Hotel have reported that just after dark, partial and full-body apparitions are seen in the hallways and out on the patio. Personal items are often moved from one area to another while guests are sleeping, but beyond that minor inconvenience, the guests have never complained.
    Perhaps on some lazy Saturday in the future, Allen and I will once again make the journey out through the west Texas plains to stay an evening at the Gage Hotel. I’ve done my research and I already know that when I get there, I’m going to personally request a night in room #10.

    Spotlight on hosts: Marfa Lights
    In the 1950s, reports of a strange phenomenon occurring in Presidio County began to attract lot of attention. Strange balls of various-colored light appeared at night—sometimes moving erratically or hovering completely still in the air. Witnesses have often reported that these balls of light appear in pairs or even larger numbers and can be seen ranging from a matter of seconds to hours before finally disappearing.
    The Marfa Lights, also known as the Marfa Ghost Lights, have never appeared in the daytime and seem to be a strictly nocturnal phenomenon. No clear explanation has ever been provided, but many believe the lights to be a manifestation of spirit activity and contend that they are indeed a paranormal occurrence. Skeptics often attribute the phenomenon to passing vehicles or lights from nearby homesteads or changes in atmospheric conditions, but the strange and unpredictable pattern of movements make it difficult to say one way or another.
    The lights appear randomly in the nighttime hours, and occur year-round. They are not easily approached, however, as they appear above private property. They are often seen at varying distances and have been captured over the years in both still photography and video footage. Some visitors contend that upon witnessing the Marfa Lights, they have had profoundly personal spiritual experiences and do not believe they should simply be dismissed as a scientific mystery.
    Whatever the explanation may be behind the Marfa Lights, they continue to attract curious onlookers and visitors from all over the state of Texas. A fascinating display of color and movement, the Marfa Lights may indeed be something purely environmental, but what if they’re not? Perhaps the ghosts of Presidio County often gather together in an attempt to make themselves known in the late-night hours. We may not