Saturday , May 21, 2011

(actually: Sunday, 00:15, May 22, 2011)

While on tour with the evening’s GhoSt Augustine Hearse Tour guests, our second stop, the Kenwood Inn, allowed for a most exciting event.  I had just shared my only live/visual paranormal experience, which happened at the Mission of Nombre de Dios more than 15 years prior. This prompted a “tongue & cheek” discussion about how we were all about due for more a substantial experience with the paranormal; we had become “bored” with our photographs of just orbs…oh, the
plight of ghost hunters…
As I was telling the story of the Bay view Room (Captain’s Wife on the Widow’s Walk) one
of my guests discreetly got the attention of his wife to point out what he had been
watching in the windows of the room referred to in the story.  The wife, not so discreetly, focused everyone’s attention on the windows.  What we noticed was a green glowing spot of light moving about in the windows. There are 2 windows that face east behind the widow’s walk balcony.  The light moved back & forth from one side of the window to the other, then from one window to the other. It would grow in size from a tennis ball concentration of the light to an ambient glow of green that would take up most of one window. The light was obviously coming from inside the room; there was no green cast of light on the building exterior as the light moved between windows.
The five of us were absolutely mesmerized for what seemed like five minutes; we just watched & tried to make sense of what was taking place. I became certain that someone inside the room was playing a prank on us by using a cell phone to create the look of something “paranormal”. To potentially antagonize the pranksters into revealing themselves, I pointed my flashlight beam into the windows.
I could not see any figure standing close enough to the window that would explain the cell phone theory. I then shook the flashlight to rapidly move the beam back & forth over the windows. The green light mimicked my movements; we definitely thought it was a prank. 
To make matters more interesting, a second light appeared between the curtain & glass in the left window: an intense white ball of light with blue halo burned fast & hot then dissipated in a downward motion. The agitation of the green glow escalated, & the increased activity caused the curtains to billow slightly by the light’s motion. I was convinced the event was a prank & would contact the Kenwood the next day to confirm my suspicion by finding out if the room was occupied.
The owner of the Kenwood Inn shared some interesting details about the room(s) in question. The two windows of the widow’s walk are no longer part of the same room.  Also, I was assured the two occupants would not have been the type to carry off such a well choreographed prank. They were two older women in St Augustine on business for the Florida School of the Deaf & Blind.
Well…how ’bout that…what a great tour…You never know what is going to happen on GhoSt Augustine’s Original Hearse Ride!!
~Brandy

The Kenwood Inn has a very unusual history of haunting. First off let’s talk about Lavender. She was a beautiful woman staying at the Kenwood Inn in the late 1800’s –early 1900’s. She was staying there because she was having an affair with a prominent Dr in the area. She was desperately in love with him, and wanted nothing more than to have him for herself. She begged and pleaded with him to leave his wife, but he refused. He knew that doing so would ruin his stature in the area so he refused. Lavender gave him an ultimatum either he told his wife or else she was going to. She also said that she would go through town and tell everyone that would listen thus ruining him. He couldn’t allow this to happen, but how to stop her. That very moment he stabbed her to death in that very room. We have had many people on our tours that stay in the inn, one couple wanted to share with us the events that had happened to them the last time they stayed there. The wife had reported seeing a woman walking from her side of the bed to her husbands; she would stand there for a moment then vanish. This went on for the first few nights. He however said he saw nothing. Finally on day three of their stay he was waked up by someone caressing his face and a woman’s voice saying”I love you and I will never leave you.” He thought this was his wife, and rolled over to say “I love you too” only to have her snoring in his face. He then saw a woman walking around the bed and toward the door then she vanished!
There is more to come on the Kenwood Inn………………
Once again I hope to see you in the Hearse. Jeannine