John Adams is a preeminent storyteller and historian in the Victoria Area (and all of the pacific northwest). He has been guiding Ghostly Walks in Victoria since 1970. Ghost Stories Since part of the point of the ghostly walks are the stories, it would be a shame to ruin them by retelling them here. Suffice to say, they were good stories, and well told. There were numerous stories on our tour about the Empress Hotel,

Day 12: August 12th, 2004 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada She Says Woke up too late for breakfast so we headed out for Bouchardt Gardens. Very large and very lovely. The gardens would be quite peaceful if they weren’t so crowed. Its a Thursday and the place was packed. It makes the whole relaxing stroll through a wondrous garden into a push shove, wait for someone to take their picture, and then have people who speak

Day 11 August 11th, 2004 Vancouver, BC to Victoria, BC She Says Woke up in the Opus and decided I really like the comforter and duvet. It was like sleeping in marshmallow creme! Its nice and fluffy inside, but the outside fabric has a nicely textured rayon/poly like feel. The only problem? Its white! I don’t know what is the filling to the pillows but they were very comfortable. Not too hard, not too soft.

Day 10 August 10th, 2004 Bow, WA to Vancouver, BC Canada She Says Missed the breakfast at Skagit’s buffet, so we’re waiting for lunch. Bryan turned $20 into $90, so he’s down only $9.50, but I gave him a $20 to stop playing his money and let me keep the winnings. The machine won my $20. So I’m down $13.25. Driving through customs was uneventful, which I think is fine. Our border guard acted as

Manresa Castle was originally completed in 1892 as the home of Charles and Kate Eisenbeis. Charles Eisenbeis was a prominent member of early Port Townsend (He was the first mayor), when the port was the most active in the pacific northwest. The twelve inch thick walls of his 30 room mansion were made of brick from Charles Eisenbeis’s own brickworks. Locals came to call the building “Eisenbeis Castle.” In 1902 Charles Eisenbeis died, and the

Day 9 August 9th, 2004 Port Townsend, WA to Bow, WA She Says Still no signs of un-life. So ends our official tour of haunted hotels. Of course, I hear that the Skagit Casino is built on burial grounds… Breakfast was your typical muffins and juice continental. The manager, Ron Myhre, was kind enough to let us look at and photograph pages from the 304 and 306 guest books. After checking out, we walked the

Thornewood Castle was completed in 1911 to the exacting specifications of Chester Thorne, one of the founders of the port of Tacoma. Construction of the 54 room mansion took 3 years. The grand staircase was imported from a mansion in England, and the red brick exterior from Wales. On display here is a sizeable collection of stained and painted glass from the 15th to 17th centuries that Mr. Thorne had purchased from an English Duke.

Day 8 August 8th, 2004 Lakewood, WA to Port Townsend, WA She Says Nothing odd happened and the rug in the Hall of Mirrors hadn’t moved yet. Breakfast was with six other people, all of which hadn’t had anything happen, but the teen-aged girl in the Gold room also thought the Hall of Mirrors was creepy as well. We packed the car and went traveling the grounds. We talked with Deanna (the owner) for about

Originally Built in 1911 to function as the Multnomah County Poor Farm. Residents ran a self-sufficient community, with a farm, laundry, kitchen, and hospital wing. In 1962 it was renamed Edgefield Manor and operated as a nursing home until 1982 when it was closed. In 1990 the McMenamin brothers bought the property and slowly began renovating and restoring the buildings and grounds. McMenamins Edgefield now has a Winery, Distillery, Brewery, Pub, Golf Course, Restaurant, Banquet

Day 7 August 7th, 2004 Troutdale, OR to Lakeview, WA She Says Woke up and decided that Edgefield reminds me of rich folks who go to poor places to stay, or “play poor” because it’s the cool thing to do. There is a sink in our room, but you use shared baths and toilets. The bedding is plain, not even fitted sheets. The decor is spartan. Obvious sprinkler systems, dim lights etc. Breakfast was eggs