Ghost hunting tours at Jameson wildly successful

WALLACE — It was a scary good time last weekend at the Historic Jameson Saloon as ghost hunters from Inland Northwest Paranormal Investigators took more than 30 visitors through the famously haunted hotel.

Tad Tower, the current owner and operator of the landmark building had never really paid the building’s ghastly legacy, but after the success of this first ghost hunting expedition, he’s fully ready to embrace it.

“I know folks had a lot of fun and a lot of evidence was found,” Tower said. “We had two groups moving through the building, one went through the downstairs and basement, while the other went through the upper floors.”

The investigators took the guests through a PowerPoint presentation, discussing the different types of ghost hunting, the tools of the trade, the various types of spirits that can be encountered, and most importantly, the history of the building itself.

There are three spirits who are known to reside inside the confines of the century-old building, a young boy named Victor and an elderly man named Ollie, and, most famously, a woman named Maggie.

Maggie’s room has always been a hotbed of supernatural activity, which makes the Jameson a prime location for budding ghost hunters.

During the presentation, one of the investigators spoke about an experience they had in Maggie’s room, located on the east end of the third floor (No. 3).

“Two of our investigators slept in Maggie’s room after our first investigation and were awakened about 4 a.m. by heavy footsteps walking inside the room. The door was closed and locked and the footsteps could not be replicated.”

Maggie’s story seems to be the most tragic, and while the tales vary in nature, all seem to be rooted in her waiting for her lover to return and after her death her spirit returned to a place where it felt at home.

While Maggie is the Jameson’s most famous ghost and her room seems to guarantee activity, the rest of the building, the remaining rooms and floors all have their own stories, which were discussed throughout the presentation and ensuing tours.

Krissy Cameron, the head bartender at the Jameson, has had her own spooky experiences in the building and discussed how during the tour it wasn’t the hotel portion of the building that saw the highest concentration of activity.

“We actually got a lot of activity in the basement,” Cameron said.

After seeing the popularity of the event, Tower is already looking forward to hosting another one, but is going to have to work around the schedules of the paranormal investigators.

“We had such a good turnout, and there were so many people who were bummed because they couldn’t make it. It makes sense for us to try and do another one as soon as possible,” Tower said. “The problem is that we are going to have to wait to schedule another event due to the investigators being booked through the summer or find another investigation group to effectively lead the tour.”

Tower will make sure to stay on top of scheduling and will announce the next tour as soon as he can get a commitment from a group to lead it.

For more information, follow the Historic Jameson Facebook page.