Manresa Castle – Port Townsend 

Manresa Castle is a Haunted Victorian era hotel in Port Townsend, Washington, reputedly one of the most haunted cities in America. Manresa Castle is not a European- style castle, but a mansion with a turret. It was built as a private residence by Charles Eisenbeis, a native of Prussia who made his fortune in Port Townsend in lumber, bricks, and banking. The main haunting stories are claimed to be fictions made up by staff. Nonetheless, guests at the hotel report mysterious phenomena.

History

Port Townsend, located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, was at its peak in the late 19th century when it served as a bustling port at the entrance of Puget Sound. Lumber, fishing, and international trade made its residents wealthy and prosperous. They built spectacular homes on the steep hills that rise up from the water’s edge. Many of these homes remain in excellent condition and are some of the finest examples of Victorian architecture in the country. Seattle has now eclipsed Port Townsend as a port and shifted the money and glamour away.

Eisenbeis was elected the first mayor of Port Townsend. It was the custom of the day for the wealthy to try to outdo each other in extravagant homes, and Eisenbeis was no exception. His four-story, 30-room brick mansion with a turret was dubbed “Eisenbeis Castle” by the locals who saw in it a resemblance to the castles of Prussia. It was the largest private residence ever to be built in the community.

The home, high on a hill at the outskirts of town, was completed in 1892. Eisenbeis brought in artisans from Germany to carve and install exquisite woodwork and tilework throughout. Reigning as king and queen of this estate were Eisenbeis and his second wife, Kate (his first wife, Elizabeth, had died in 1880).

Eisenbeis died in 1902. A few years later, Kate remarried and left the home. It remained empty until 1925, when it was purchased by a Seattle attorney who intended to turn it into a vacation home for schoolteacher nuns. That plan fell through. In 1927, a group of Jesuits bought it for use as a training college for priests. They named it “Manresa Hall.” Manresa is the town in Spain where St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuit order. In 1522, Ignatius spent 10 months praying and living in a cave at Manresa, where he experienced visions and began work on one of his most significant books, Spiritual Exercises.

The Jesuits added a large wing to the home for a chapel and sleeping rooms. They installed an elevator and then stuccoed over the entire home to give it a uniform, though bland, appearance. In 1968, the Jesuits departed, and Manresa was turned into a hotel and inn. It became known as “Manresa Castle,” a blend of Manresa Hall and Eisenbeis Castle. The castle changed ownership three more times. By 1968, the building and grounds were quite deteriorated. Each owner has contributed to renovation and to restoration of the original Victorian elegance. In 2004, Lena Humber, the third owner since 1968, auctioned the castle off.

Haunting Activity

Two ghosts have been reported at Manresa Castle. One is a woman named Kate. Some says she is Kate Eisenbeis, but a more popular belief is that she is another Kate, a young Englishwoman. Her story has the familiar motif of tragic love and death haunting legends found in other hotels and inns. In 1921, the story goes, Kate was staying at the castle awaiting her fi ancé. She received word that he had been lost at sea. Overcome by grief, she threw herself out an upstairs window and died. Predictably, word then came that the fiancée had not been killed, after all—it was a tragic mistake. Curiously, this story goes around despite the fact that in 1921 the castle was empty.

Nonetheless, the ghostly Kate is seen standing in an upper window during some nights and also at dawn. She has long, fl owing dark hair and wears a white gown.

The other ghost is a Jesuit priest. According to legend, he committed suicide in an attic room. There are no county death records to substantiate such a suicide, but the story persists with the explanation that the Jesuits covered it up to avoid embarrassment.

Whether or not these stories have any truth to them, haunting activity is continually reported by visitors and guests. Most of the activity is credited to Kate and is centered in room 306 in the original part of the building. Room 302 also seems to be affected. Guests have reported odors of decay, an unpleasant atmosphere, ghostly forms, glowing shapes, cold breezes, moaning and whispering, singing emanating from the bathroom, invisible presences sitting on the bed, movement of objects, lights going on and off by themselves, and dresser drawers being found pulled open. Thumping noises sound in the night. Many of the guests who stay in these rooms have no prior knowledge of the hauntings; others come and request the rooms in hopes of experiencing weird phenomena.

The reception desk and office are below the area of haunted rooms. According to reports from staff, on occasional nights, usually between three and four in the morning, loud thumping and scraping sounds are heard overhead, as though people are stomping in heavy shoes and dragging heavy furniture about. The rackets most often happen when the rooms above are empty. Anyone who investigates finds empty rooms with nothing out of place. Unknowing guests who are given those rooms sometimes return immediately to reception and demand another room, claiming that there is “something terrible” they don’t like about their room.

From the reception desk, one can look into a library or sitting room furnished in Victorian pieces. In one corner is a Victorian grandfather clock that has not worked in many years. Off to the right of the library is a bilevel area. The upstairs room is used for receptions and banquets, and the downstairs room is where casual breakfast is served (the formal restaurant and lounge are at the opposite end of the hotel). At night the rooms are dark. The Victorian grandfather clock has suddenly started chiming, and shadowy forms have been seen moving around in the upper reception room. Rustling sounds have been heard in the library in the middle of the night.

Haunting activity is reported elsewhere inside Manresa Castle. Once in the lounge, a glass shattered unexpectedly in the hand of a guest. A housekeeper said a glass flew out of her hand and shattered. Maids working on the third floor have heard voices whispering to them. The turret has a “strange feel” to many.

In 2003, a husband and wife visited the castle. In one hallway, the husband went into the men’s bathroom while the wife waited in the hallway. The wife heard footsteps behind her that approached the bathroom and creaked on the floor, though no one was present. The husband said that the lock to the door suddenly came undone and the door flew open of its own accord.

FURTHER READING:

• Smith, Barbara. Ghost Stories of Washington. Edmonton, Alberta: Home Pine Publishing, 2000.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits– Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – September 1, 2007