Strange Happenings at the Ott Hotel

LIBERTY, December 7, 2008 - The Ott Hotel opened in Liberty in December of 1928. It opened at a time when railroad passenger service to Liberty existed and its location near the Liberty Train Depot is no coincidence.

The Ott was a popular place to stay, get a meal and a bed for the night in past decades, particularly during the Batson Oil Boom. Old Timers in Liberty can remember that when the Texas Gulf Sulfur Plant was built south of Liberty in the 1940’s supervisors and workers at the plant stayed at the Ott until permanent housing could be built in Liberty.

L to R, Chris Durbin, Charles Jackson and Corey Durbin

There have been numerous reports of sightings and strange happens at the Ott Hotel on Travis Street in Liberty and Paranormal Investigator Chris Durbin of Kingwood Paranormal Investigators was in town Sunday afternoon where i-dineout.com caught up with him.

Durbin uses a variety of equipment in his investigations of paranormal happenings including still and video cameras, sound recording equipment, thermal imaging and detection equipment and the like.

Most of the reported contacts by guests and others at the Ott Hotel of paranormal beings don’t appear to be threatening.

One report concerns the sighting a woman in a white dress talking with a man wearing a black cowboy hat. One moment the couple was there and the next moment they had vanished.

One upstairs resident reported that they heard the voice of a man yelling and went to see what was happening. The voice stopped and after a search of the building no one was found.

A female guest reported that while she was getting ready to take a shower, she heard the voice of the woman telling here “No water,” the water in the shower would turn off and as she turned around she saw a young woman in a white corset in the bathroom.

There have also been reports of cabinet doors opening unexpectedly, dishes flying off the shelves and furniture moving as well as guests seeing orbs accompanied by a young girls voice.

Guests and others report that they hear someone knocking on doors in the very early hours of the morning only to find there is no one there.

According to investigators there have also been reports of guests being slapped, pinched, touched as well as a voice telling a guest as he was getting into bed, “Get OUT!”

	Paranormal Investigator Chris Durbin of Kingwood Paranormal Investigations (KPI) started his investigation into the strange happenings at the Ott Hotel on December 2, 2008 assisted by Charles Jackson and Corey Durbin. Chris Durbin has been involved in paranormal investigations for about the last 10 years.

Durbin started his investigation by conducting interviews and reviewing the reports of paranormal experiences others have had at the hotel. The information gained helps point them in the right direction to document the unexplained experiences of others.

KPI is not the first paranormal investigation group that has visited the hotel. There have been others in recent years.

According to the Ott’s owner, in November of 1933 Ms. Lucy and here companion, Joshua were staying at the hotel in 212. When Joshua could not find her, he went looking for her and found her in a room with another man. Joshua shot and killed her in the upstairs hallway.

It is thought that the modern day experiences reported by guests of a man in a black cowboy hat and woman talking are in fact Ms. Lucy and her companion, Joshua.

Over the decades numerous people have died at the Ott Hotel. Being a hotel through the years managers have kept records of the reports of guests. According to the Hotel owner, in times past police have been called to investigate the mysterious knocking on of doors in the early hours of the morning to find no one there according to the Hotel’s owner.

There is one room on the second floor of the Ott Hotel where guests reported so many abnormal experiences that it was converted to a storeroom and guests are no longer allowed there for overnight stays.

Today the Ott Hotel has been mostly converted into apartments for long-term residents.

Durbin hopes to continue his investigative work in Chambers County at the Taylor White Ranch in the near future.

Give us your Feedback about this story!