Vacancy: Haunted Magnolia Hotel Will Open for Overnight Stays

Ghost Adventures, Paranormal Caught on Camera, Ghost Brothers…these are just a few of the paranormal shows the Magnolia Hotel in Seguin, Texas, has been featured on. MSN also rated it the “Most Haunted Hotel in Texas.”

But even though “hotel” is part of its name –and history– it hasn’t been open to receiving overnight guests for years. Decades, in fact. That’s all going to change on August 12.

But first let’s take a look at its history and what makes it so haunted.

Magnolia Hotel History

The hotel started life as a humble two-room log cabin. It was built in 1840 by Seguin, Texas’s co-founder, Ranger James Campbell.

When Campbell was murdered by Comanches, Joseph F. Johnson bought it. He turned it into Seguin’s first stagecoach station, then added a three room building behind it. That became Seguin’s first hotel, the Magnolia.

The hotel changed ownership a couple more times, including in 1846 when Seguin’s Chief Justice, Jeremiah S. Calvert bought the property. In the 1850s, Dr. William S. Read added an interior section that combined all three buildings. This addition made the Magnolia Seguin’s largest hotel until the mid-1900s.

In 1874, Wilheim Faust stayed at the hotel –and slept soundly there after committing a double homicide. (He later confessed to two more murders and was convicted of his crimes.)

In the 1930s, the second floor was rented out as apartments, while the building’s owners lived on the first floor.

It was abandoned in the late 1990s, and became home to squatters, drug users, vandals and rats.

In 2012 it was placed on the Texas Most Endangered List. In 2013, Erin and Jim Ghedi decided they wanted to save and restore it so they assumed the task –both financially and paranormally.

The Magnolia Hotel’s Ghosts

Renovations spurred paranormal activity. For a time restoration was on hold because contractors quit, not wanting to work there.

However, the owners found a way to co-exist with the ghosts –of which there are plenty. Between Erin Ghedi, who is able to communicate with the spirits, and a Texas psychic they brought in, the owners have identified 13 spirits.

Among them are James Campbell and Wilheim Faust. It’s also thought a young woman who attempted an abortion but bled out in the bathroom is among the hotel’s spirited citizens.

Apparitions, light anomalies, and a strange black mist are just some of the activity reported.

Haunted Hotel Tours

The hotel doesn’t allow private paranormal paranormal investigations, but Strange Town does conduct public investigations there every quarter.

Public ghost tours are also offered, but they sell out fast. For example, their August 3, August 24, and September 7 tour dates are already sold out. October dates haven’t been announced at the time of this post, but you can bet they’ll be snapped up as soon as they’re available.

But, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, starting August 12 there will also be another way to experience the Magnolia Hotel –as a B&B!

Self-Serve B&B

They’ve restored a suite that will be available to rent Mondays through Thursdays for $249 a night plus tax.

Only four guests will be allowed to stay in the suite at a time. Accommodations include:

• 2 bedrooms (1 king sized bed, 1 queen sized bed)
• living room
• non-cooking kitchen
• full bath with walk-in shower
• central A/C and heat

A reservation link will be on their site starting August 12, 2019. To book, or for more information, visit hauntedmagnoliahotel.com.

Free Open Houses

FYI, from time to time the Magnolia Hotel offers free open houses. The next one is scheduled for July 4, 2019.

Follow their Facebook page for updates about open houses, ghost tours, and other events: https://www.facebook.com/hauntedmagnoliahotel/