WALPER is Haunted
A.M.S.P.I
Countless ghost sightings and paranormal occurances have been reported at the Walper Hotel.
The following is a documentation of the most frequently observed ghosts.
ABEL WALPER
Abel Walper was the second owner of The Walper Hotel. He is responsible for its grand restoration and re-opening in 1893, one year after the tragic fire that claimed hundreds of lives.
Guests and staff alike have spotted a shadowy figure matching his description -- a tall, skinny man, with unusually long fingers, and a trim moustache.
The apparition of Abel is most often spotted exiting and entering the main elevator, and sitting at the piano in the grand ballroom.
PRUDENCE THACKARY
Prudence started work as a maid at The Walper Hotel in the Spring of 1895. The ambitious seventeen-year-old loved her job at the glamorous establishment, which afforded her tantalizing glimpses of High Society.
This changed abruptly on October 13, 1898.
During one of Prudence's routine inspections of room 417, an explosion tore through the room. The cause of the explosion remains unclear, as historical records of this period in the hotel's history are either vague or missing. Theories include a faulty gas main or even a hand grenade smuggled into the hotel by an unsavoury guest.
Prudence was badly burned by the explosion and died of her injuries two days later.
But it seems that, even in death, Prudence still clings to The Walper Hotel. To this day, guests often report sightings of a shadowy ghost in a maid's uniform on the fourth floor. The most intense encounters have occurred in Room 417. Guests have reported waking up in the middle of the night to discover their blankets had been yanked off the bed and folded in a neat pile on the floor. There are continued reports of ghostly footsteps, unexplained knocking from inside the closet, and invisible hands snatching at clothing.
These are the only known photographs of Prudence.
The one directly below shows her in full maid's uniform. The photograph below that one is of a doctor tending to Prudence's badly burnt body one day after the horrific explosion.
REGINALD BLEEKER
Reginald Bleeker was a bellhop at The Walper Hotel from 1902- 1908.
By all accounts, he was a charming young man who quickly earned a reputation as being the hotel 'Lothario'. A journal kept by the hotel manager reveals that Reginald was repeatedly scolded for 'seducing and harrassing the female staff'. He was also reprimanded many times for coming to work drunk.
But the greatest controversy of Reginald's life had to do with an unsolved murder.
On November 15, 1907, a young woman checked into the hotel under the names Mr. and Mrs. Smythe. Her supposed husband was nowhere to be seen, but she assured hotel staff that he would be joining her in the morning. She was led up to room 418 by the bellhop, Reginald Bleeker.
That was the last time anyone saw her alive.
At sunrise the next day, hotel staff discovered the young lady's body on the sidewalk outside the hotel, directly below Room 418. Examination of the room revealed an open window and no signs of forced entry or foul play. The coroner was ready to declare this death a suicide when they discovered one crucial clue. Inside the woman's clenched hand was a fistful of dark, wavy hair, which presumably belonged to her murderer.
After months of investigation, the trail of clues went cold, and the case was never solved.
Correspondences between the hotel manager and fellow staff reveal there was a cloud of suspicion around one staff member: Reginald Bleeker. On the night of the woman's death, a maid reported seeing Reginald slipping out of Mrs. Smythe's room looking dazed and upset. Although the maid reported this to the Chief Inspector of the case, the fistful of hair belonging to Mrs. Smythe's assailant had gone missing from the police station. With no other corroborating evidence, the suspicions around Reginald quickly evaporated.
Reginald Bleeker quit his job as bellhop a year later and moved to Toronto, where he started work as a concierge at The Gladstone Hotel.
Thirty years later, in 1938, Reginald Bleeker checked into The Walper Hotel as a guest. He requested Room 418. The next morning, hotel staff discovered his dead body. He'd hung himself from a light fixture with a length of rope he'd brought with him. He left a note pinned to the closet door. The note only contained these two words:
I'm Sorry.
Some people see this as Bleeker's admission to the murder of Mrs. Smythe decades earlier. Others see it simply as an apology for a life wasted on booze and women. Either way, Bleeker took his secret to the grave.
Ever since his suicide, guests of The Walper Hotel have reported sightings of a handsome man in a long, leather coat (an article of clothing Bleeker often wore to and from work).
He is most often sighted in the lobby of the hotel, travelling up and down the central staircase, and walking outside on the very sidewalk where Mrs. Smythe's body was discovered.
FREDERICK GAUKEL
Frederick Gaukel was the original owner of the site which later became The Walper Hotel. The building was orignally Gaukel's Tavern, constructed in 1835.
Sightings of a spirit matching Gaukel's appearance are frequent in The Rum Runner Pub, which is located inside The Walper Hotel. Guests also often report feeling his watchful eyes on them as they enjoy their drinks at the bar.
JOSEPH ZUBER, Sr.
Joseph Zuber, Sr. owned the Walper Hotel from 1910 until his death in 1935.
Charming, handsome, and unfailingly gregarious, all heads would turn his way when he entered a room. This larger than life character was not only an astute businessman, who owned several hotels in the area, he was a beloved fixture in the social life of the city.
He took a hands-on approach to hotel proprietorship, and would spend not only his working hours at The Walper, but his free-time, too. His keen eye was always attuned to details that would impress hotel guests. By all accounts, he was a firm, yet kind, manager to all those who worked under him.
In the blisteringly cold winter of 1935, on the fourth floor of the Walper Hotel, Joseph died in his sleep. It was a comfort to his friends and family that he passed away peacefully within the hotel, a place he cherished as not only the crown jewel of his career, but the pride of his heart.
There have been many reports of sightings matching the description of the tall, handsome Joseph Zuber, Sr. Unusually, these paranormal encounters are generally reported by guests as positive experiences, as if his benevolence and magnetic personality have lasted well into the afterlife.
Below is a collection of archival photos of Joseph, one of which is attached to his obituary.
