Ghosts at the Hotel Elliott, Astoria, OR

Hotel Elliott was built in 1924 by Charles Niemi, who leased it to Jeremiah Elliott {1859–1929} and his son, John L. Elliott {1892–1984}.

Unfortunately, Jeremiah passed away suddenly five years later while in a Fixit shop on Exchange Street, after which the hotel was run by John L.; Margaret E. Elliott {1869–1950}, mother of John L.; Ruby Lane Elliott {1898–1988}, wife of John L.; Flora Elliott Short {1886–1970}, sister of John L.; and Flora's husband, Clarence E. Short {1884–1969}.

After John L. retired in 1973, the hotel changed hands several times.

I went and stayed the night in Room 209 to see if there was any paranormal activity in the hotel, as it is listed as haunted.

I did get voice responses in Room 209, the basement, and on the staircase to the rooftop terrace. In Room 209, I caught male and female voices on the voice recorder. The female spirit's name was possibly Heather.

In the basement, I caught a voice saying what sounded like "Jennifer Ross."

Liisa Penner from the Clatsop County Historical Society found that there were three prominent Ross families in Astoria, but no Jennifer on record.

The ghosts do travel, so this person may not be from the area.

Reading the energy of the hotel, Psychic Medium Jennifer Von Behren picked up a female spirit who had followed me into the room from the hallway. This spirit does haunt the hotel, and she kept saying something about a baby.

In the basement, Jennifer saw a male spirit in his mid- to late 20s by the bar who had been there for a long time. He likes it down there, and he used to be a bartender upstairs. He seemed happy, friendly, and positive, with a lot of energy. He said that he doesn't like the gym because it smells bad. The cigar bar used to be located where the gym is, so maybe he doesn't like the cigar smell that still lingers.

In the current breakfast area by the lobby, someone was telling Jennifer that they like to come and go as they want through an area by the window.

Jennifer can see a woman sitting in the corner doing readings or energy work that she doesn't know how to do, creating an energy buildup that evolved over time with all the chaos from the different businesses there.

The male spirit from the basement told Jennifer that there was a lady who was into some "weird stuff," and she used to sit in that corner. He calls himself a "regulator." He must be doing a great job, as Jennifer didn't pick up anything bad in the hotel.

During my research, I found an ad for a woman who was the ordained Rev. Opal M. Prouty in 1944, and she was doing psychic readings at the hotel. Psychic readings alone don't really seem "weird" to an observer, but anything paranormal is generally considered "devil's work" by a church, so I find this ad questionable, to say the least.

There was another ad from 1930, however, for a woman called Madam Olga, Mysterial Reader, who would do palmistry readings, crystal gazing, phrenology, and astrology at the hotel. All that might seem quite "odd" to an observer. I don't know if the woman in the corner was either of these ladies.

Jennifer can see the room by the lobby "gutted." There were four renovations at the hotel that I found: in 1928, 1951, 2000, and 2011.

Jennifer saw a big, long counter, like the ones in a bank, bar, or restaurant.

She saw a man standing behind the bar, washing his hands and talking to people over the counter. She could also hear loud music.

Sometimes things got a little rough in there. Jennifer could also see clothing racks. There are lots of layers of residual energy from many businesses.

Silver Moon Restaurant/Cafe was located at the hotel from 1924 until 1926, after which Flora Elliott Short opened the famous Elliott Coffee Shoppe in 1928, which operated until about 1942. It changed hands many times and had several different names over the years.

There were several clothing-related stores in the hotel building, such as Fricke's Cleaning & Pressing in 1937 and The Kiddies' Pal Shop for 3-16-year-olds in 1937.

In 1961, there was a First Federal Savings & Loan in the corner of the Elliott building.

The last tenant where the coffee shoppe had once been located was the Bach N' Rock music store, which moved away in 2010, after which the hotel moved the wine bar and breakfast area upstairs into its place.

I was told that during a fire, a woman had possibly died trying to get all the kids out on the third floor. I wasn't able to confirm that.

There were three fires at the hotel, but no casualties were listed.

In 1933, a fire started at the Hotel Elliott Coffee Shoppe, caused by a faulty oil burner in the range.

In 1979, a suspicious fire, possibly arson or just an accident, started in the basement. Sixty residents were evacuated temporarily. There were no casualties.

In 1986, a fire started in Room 412 of Gerhard Peterson on the fourth floor, caused by cigarette smoking.

There have been three recorded deaths at the Hotel Elliott.

Margaret Elliott {1869–1950} passed away in her room on the fifth floor in 1950.

James Wallace {1874–1945}, who had made the Hotel Elliott his home, died in 1945.

Frederick Reinert {1915–1977} died in 1977 while staying at the Hotel Elliott. No death certificate is available to confirm this.

Hotel Elliott was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

I want to thank Liisa Penner from the Clatsop County Historical Society for all her help, John Goodenberger, Cesar from Hotel Elliott, and Chad Gallup from the Astoria Underground Tours for all the information.

Hotel Elliott is a great place to stay while visiting Astoria and is centrally located close to all the attractions. Be sure to check it out when you're in Astoria.

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