Ghost Adventures at Glen Tavern

Tomorrow night, the Ghost Adventures Crew will be bringing us a brand new episode from the Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula, California! 

Glen Tavern was built in 1911 by local architects, Burns and Hurt in the Tudor/Arts and Crafts style.  The hotel was built directly across from the town's train depot in order to accommodate the many out of town guests to the oil boom town.  The hotel, which was badly needed after a 1903 fire destroyed the Main Street hotel, and the local boarding house shut down in 1910 quickly became a social hub for the area.  The hotel has seen many renovations over its 100+ year history, and has seen quite a few celebrities grace its lobby when Hollywood discovered that the surrounding area was a great place to shoot on location, especially the popular westerns of the era.  Stars such as John Wayne, Harry Houdini, and even Rin Tin Tin stayed at the hotel.

There are also rumors that the third floor was once used an illegal gambling site, a brothel, and a speakeasy during the prohibition era.  And while the suspected ghosts come from a wide background, it seems like the most "popular" ghost is directly related to the 3rd floor shenanigans.

A ghostly man named Calvin is believed to have been an employee with a silent film company that was staying at the hotel in the early 1920s when he was shot to death in a card game on the 3rd floor.  Calvin is seen in the lobby, as well as the rest of the building, sometimes accompanied by the smell of cigar smoke.  He is described as wearing a western style coat and has long hair and a goatee.  He has even been seen wandering into the ladies' room on the 1st floor.

Calvin may be one of the two ghosts a local psychic communicated with in 1986.  She described him as a Buffalo Bill look alike who was looking for a cache of gold.  The other ghost she communicated with was a woman named Helen who was in her 30s and wearing a flowered dress with a white collar.

Over the years, many other ghosts have been seen by staff and visitors alike.  The inn's official website even boasts that 75% of employees have had a ghostly experience at the Glen Tavern.  The most haunted guest rooms seem to be 306, 307, and 218. Rooms have been dead-bolted from the inside and the sounds of children laughing and running up and down the halls and staircases is often reported.  One group even saw several children run down a hall and disappear into a wall.  An elderly couple staying in room 205 reported a young girl with blonde braids and white pajamas wandering into their room, only to vanish.  This girl has been several times by others as well.

It seems that the hotel has gone through several major renovations over the years, including the latest when the Jennetts took over the property in 2005.  A fire in 2006 caused the restaurant to be nearly destroyed, but much to the delight of all, it was rebuilt.  Has all these renovations really stirred up the latent energies that reside in this century old hotel?  Zak and the gang will be finding out tomorrow night!

Richard Senate Article
Ventura County Star Article (2011)
L.A. Times Article (1986)