Gracie's night at the Inn - a dog and her ghost story

Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem. ~ Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh ~

It isn't always apparent when a hotel guestroom already has an occupant. If I had been more clued in to our dog Gracie's behavior, we could have done the math on our additional room companions a bit quicker.

Although the activities were minor and might otherwise have gone unnoticed by a guest who chose to overlook bathroom drawers opening on their own, someone who traveled with a pet might have had a bigger challenge.

Sleeping in haunted hotel rooms isn´t a preference but sometimes it's a matter of convenience and since we hadn't booked anything in advance for this vacation (mostly because I don't like to be stuck with a preset schedule), we were up for accepting the best available space.

Gracie might have given us a heads up but she hadn't been consulted nor had we even considered that aspect. (We may have to rethink a prebooking room go see with Gracie on future vacations.)

Our first clue: 2:30 in the morning, totally out of character, Gracie woke us up with an urgent request to go outside. While she and Andy were out, I felt something in the air brush against my arm but I couldn´t see anything with me in the room and the move was very soft and subtle so I didn't think much of it. Another hint came when I got up and noticed a drawer in the bathroom was slightly ajar so I pushed it back in place.

By this time, Gracie had returned with a perplexed Andy who had discovered, whatever the urgent reason for the outside outing, it had nothing to do with taking a potty break. At this point I did notice she had claimed two distinct areas in the room: a very secure corner space, nestled between the wall and two suitcases on the floor and now, after her walk, right beside Andy - on the bed. Once again, we settled in for the night.

Still half asleep, just prior to getting up for the day, I had a glimpse of an arm being thrown over my side. When I felt no physical impact, it dawned on me the arm I saw looked nothing like Andy's. Affirmation came within seconds when Andy made the same move.

In the morning, as I pushed yet another cabinet drawer back into place, I asked Andy if he had forgotten to close the drawers. He said he hadn't opened any drawers and if he did he certainly would have closed them.

The kicker was when we went off to enjoy the complimentary breakfast and left Gracie in the room alone. It then became very apparent who the ghost(s) was really interested in.

We came back and opened the door to a blaring television alarm and a visibly agitated Gracie, who was now occupying the center of the bed. She wasn´t barking but was clearly relieved to see us return. The surprise: the bottom left corner of the bedspread and the sheet under it had been completely turned back off of the bed.

And if you ask, I checked. There was no damage to the bed frame or the sheets. No marks indicating pawing or chewing. If she had been frightened she would have been barking and the door would have been her focus. She scratches to let me know she wants in when we are at home. When she was younger, she left a few marks letting me know her preference was to be elsewhere. And she outgrew it. This was different. Then again, it can be rationalized a thousand ways.

I have to go with what I know about Gracie and how it works best for us. The intuition connection is important. I admit I don't use it enough but Gracie can often give me a clue about her encounters. I asked her if she could tell me what had gone on in our absence. Gracie said, "They wanted me to play with them but I didn't know how."

Who were "they"? Gracie couldn't help me with that but from what Andy and I sensed, given we have both had experience with ghosts, one appeared to be a child. The other was an older man. Whether they resided at the hotel or were just passing through like we were, wasn't apparent nor did we really try to determine anything further.

A hotel employee offered no information. No need. Answers don't always help. So we packed and headed off to the next destination. Gracie was happy she didn't have to stay a second night.

More Information: Nancy Kaiser also talks to animals. She will be a guest on the Conscious Living Podcast 7/16

Animal Communicator - Nancy Kaiser

Nancy Kaiser - Because of Love