This Oregon Hotel Is Haunted and Guests Swear Something Follows Them Upstairs

Stepping into the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City, Oregon, feels like walking into a living history book – with a side of ghost stories.

Built in 1889 during the gold rush boom, this Victorian gem dazzles with ornate chandeliers, stained-glass ceilings, and elegant furnishings that transport you straight to another era.

But there’s more than history lurking in these halls. Guests have reported footsteps when no one’s there, doors opening on their own, and cold spots that make you shiver.

And then there’s the Lady in Blue, whose presence reportedly haunts one of the rooms so strongly that even skeptics get goosebumps. History and mystery collide here, and if you’re brave enough, you might just meet a century-old guest who never checked out.

The Lady in Blue Haunts the Upper Floors

Walking through the upper floors of the Geiser Grand Hotel at 1996 Main St, Baker City, OR 97814, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me from the shadows.

The Lady in Blue is the hotel’s most famous resident spirit, believed to be Annie Bernice Geiser, wife of one of the hotel’s former owners.

She’s been spotted countless times drifting through hallways, appearing in mirrors when no one else is around, and making her presence known to unsuspecting guests. What struck me most was how frequently she appears.

This isn’t some rare sighting that happens once a decade. Staff members and visitors report encounters regularly, describing a woman in an elegant blue Victorian gown who vanishes when approached.

Some guests have seen her reflection standing behind them in bathroom mirrors, only to turn around and find nobody there. The encounters aren’t always visual either.

Many people report feeling a sudden temperature drop or catching the scent of old perfume in empty corridors.

I spoke with several staff members who’ve worked here for years, and every single one had their own Lady in Blue story to share, making this one of Oregon’s most consistently active paranormal hotspots.

Guests Feel Something Following Them Upstairs

The sensation hits you somewhere around the third or fourth step. I’ve heard this described so many times by different guests that it’s become the Geiser Grand’s signature paranormal phenomenon.

People climbing the main staircase report an overwhelming feeling that someone is walking directly behind them, matching their pace step for step, yet when they turn around, the stairs are completely empty. What makes this particularly unnerving is how physical the sensation feels.

It’s not just a vague sense of unease. Guests describe feeling breath on the back of their necks, hearing footsteps that echo their own, and experiencing a sudden heaviness in the air that makes the climb feel exhausting.

Some have even felt what they describe as a hand gently touching their shoulder or back, as if something is guiding or urging them forward. The phenomenon doesn’t discriminate.

Believers and skeptics alike have reported this experience, and it happens during both day and night.

I spoke with a couple from Portland who laughed off the ghost stories until they both felt the presence simultaneously while carrying luggage to their room, an experience that left them genuinely shaken and checking over their shoulders for the rest of their stay.

The Headless Chef Haunts the Kitchen Area

Baker City’s most gruesome legend centers around a tragedy that allegedly occurred in the hotel’s kitchen decades ago. According to local lore, a chef working late one night met a horrific end when he was decapitated by the hotel’s dumbwaiter system, a mechanical lift used to transport food and dishes between floors.

The exact details remain murky, as historical records from that era are incomplete, but the story has persisted for generations. Kitchen staff and late-night workers report strange occurrences in this area that they attribute to the headless chef.

Pots and pans move on their own, cabinet doors slam shut with no explanation, and the dumbwaiter occasionally operates by itself, creaking and groaning as it moves between floors when nobody has called for it. Some employees refuse to work alone in the kitchen after dark.

The most chilling reports come from those who claim to have seen a headless figure in chef’s whites standing near the old dumbwaiter shaft.

These sightings are rare but consistent enough that the story has become part of the hotel’s paranormal folklore throughout Oregon, adding another layer to the Geiser Grand’s already impressive collection of resident spirits.

Spirits Physically Touch and Pinch Guests

Getting pinched by a ghost wasn’t on my bucket list, but it’s a surprisingly common experience at the Geiser Grand Hotel. Unlike passive hauntings where spirits simply appear or make sounds, the entities here are known for physical interactions that leave guests with tangible evidence.

Red marks, small bruises, and the sensation of being grabbed or pinched have been reported so frequently that staff members barely raise an eyebrow when guests mention it. The Lady in Blue seems particularly fond of this form of interaction, especially on the upper floors near Suite 302.

Guests have reported being pinched on their arms, shoulders, and even legs, usually when they’re alone in their rooms or walking through dimly lit hallways. The sensation is unmistakable: a sharp pinch that feels exactly like someone squeezed their skin between two fingers.

What’s remarkable is that these physical interactions happen to people who weren’t even aware of the hotel’s haunted reputation.

I read one review from a guest who had no knowledge of the paranormal activity and woke up with unexplained marks on her arm, only learning about the Lady in Blue’s pinching habit when she mentioned it at checkout the next morning in Oregon’s historic Baker City.

The Red Lady from the 1920s Roams the Halls

Not every spirit at the Geiser Grand wears blue. Meet the Red Lady, a glamorous apparition dressed in 1920s fashion who adds another layer to this hotel’s paranormal tapestry.

While she’s less famous than her blue-clad counterpart, encounters with the Red Lady are no less compelling, and she represents a different era of the hotel’s long history in Baker City. Witnesses describe her as wearing a vibrant red dress typical of the Roaring Twenties, complete with the fashionable accessories of that jazz age period.

Unlike the Lady in Blue, who seems melancholic and attached to specific locations, the Red Lady appears to be more of a wanderer, spotted in various areas throughout the hotel without a particular pattern or favorite haunt.

Some paranormal researchers theorize that the Red Lady might have been a guest or performer who visited during the hotel’s glory days when Baker City was a thriving stop for travelers and entertainers.

Her appearances are less frequent than other spirits, making sightings feel more special to those lucky or unlucky enough to encounter her. The fact that multiple distinct spirits inhabit this Oregon landmark suggests the Geiser Grand has been a place of significant energy and emotion throughout its 135-year history.

EVP Recordings Capture Spirit Voices

Modern technology has given us fascinating tools to document what our ancestors could only describe in whispered stories. Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP, involves recording audio in allegedly haunted locations and discovering voices or sounds that weren’t audible during the recording.

At the Geiser Grand Hotel, paranormal investigators have captured some genuinely spine-tingling EVP evidence that’s difficult to dismiss.

The most compelling recordings include the voice of what sounds like a young girl and a male voice with a distinct Southern accent saying “I sees you.” These weren’t heard by investigators during their sessions but appeared clearly when they reviewed their recordings later.

The child’s voice is particularly poignant, as there are no historical records of a child dying at the hotel, leaving her identity a mystery. I’ve listened to some of these recordings online, and even as a somewhat skeptical person, I found them remarkably clear and unsettling.

The voices don’t sound like random noise or radio interference. They’re distinct, purposeful communications that seem to respond to questions asked by investigators.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the consistency and clarity of EVP captured at this Oregon location provides compelling documentation of something unusual happening within these historic walls.

Underground Tunnels Connect to the Hotel’s Dark Past

Beneath the streets of Baker City lies a network of underground tunnels that connect various historic buildings, including the Geiser Grand Hotel. These passages weren’t built for innocent purposes.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, they provided discreet access to brothels, gambling halls, and other establishments that thrived in this rough-and-tumble mining town. The tunnels allowed wealthy patrons to indulge their vices without being seen entering or leaving such establishments.

Today, paranormal investigators believe these tunnels serve as conduits for supernatural energy, possibly explaining why the hotel experiences such intense activity.

The theory suggests that locations where strong emotions occurred, whether pleasure, violence, desperation, or fear, can become imprinted with that energy.

The tunnel system connected the hotel to places where all those emotions ran high. Access to the tunnels is now restricted for safety reasons, but their existence adds a darker dimension to the hotel’s haunted reputation.

Some guests report feeling particularly uneasy in certain ground-floor areas of the hotel, possibly because they’re directly above these historic passages.

The combination of the tunnel system’s sordid history and the hotel’s own century-plus of human drama creates what paranormal experts call a “perfect storm” for supernatural activity in Oregon.

The Historic Saloon Bar Has Its Own Ghostly Activity

The saloon at the Geiser Grand Hotel at 1996 Main St, Baker City, OR 97814 has been serving guests since 1889, and apparently, some patrons never left. This isn’t just a themed bar designed to look historic.

It’s the genuine article, with original fixtures and a atmosphere that’s been absorbing stories, laughter, arguments, and celebrations for over 135 years. That kind of accumulated human experience tends to leave an impression.

Bartenders and late-night staff report glasses moving on their own, bottles falling from shelves without cause, and the distinct feeling of being watched while closing up alone.

Some have heard conversations and laughter coming from the empty barroom, only to investigate and find no one there.

The bar area seems to have its own collection of spirits, both the bottled kind and the supernatural variety. What I find particularly interesting is that the saloon’s paranormal activity feels different from the rest of the hotel.

While upstairs encounters tend to be more intense and personal, the saloon experiences feel more playful and mischievous, as if the spirits here are simply continuing to enjoy their favorite watering hole.

It’s yet another example of how this Oregon landmark contains multiple layers of haunted history within its elegant Victorian walls.