by Barbara Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels
The Lowe Hotel, Point Pleasant, West Virginia
On a recent road trip I pulled into the little town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, conveniently located midway between Illinois and my North Carolina destination. In the center of Main Street, amidst scores of meticulously restored older buildings filled with cute shops, I discovered the Lowe Hotel, the only hotel in town.
I hauled my suitcase up the long marble staircase to the second floor, opened the door with an enormous skeleton key, and was delighted to discover a room decorated in antiques and outfitted with a queen-size poster bed. It didn’t take me long to climb beneath the fluffy quilt, prop myself up with two down pillows, and boot up my laptop. I was happily answering emails when the noises began. At first they were small creaking sounds and I paid them little mind – all old buildings make noises. Then just before turning off the light a very loud noise startled me. It sounded like a large, dry tree branch snapping in two and seemed to come from the television, which I hadn’t turned on. Puzzled, I dismissed it and went to sleep.
The next morning I was standing under a stream of hot water when an icy cold draft came over the top of the shower door and hit me in the face. ‘Where on earth is that coming from?’ I wondered. I looked up at the ceiling, searching for air vents but there were none to be found. Thinking that perhaps someone had come into my room while I was in the shower, creating a breeze by opening the door, I stepped out of the shower stall and glanced around the room. The door was still shut and chained from the inside. Suddenly I realized there were no air vents at all in my room. The heat was generated by steam radiator and the air conditioning was from a window unit, which was not turned on. ‘Very peculiar,’ I thought, but again I dismissed it and went back to showering.
The lobby and common areas are decorated with period antiques
Soon afterward I was downstairs in the lobby of the hotel. Waiting for a cup of coffee the owners were brewing for me, I began reading a Boston Globe newspaper clipping hanging on the wall next to the front desk. The article proclaimed the Lowe Hotel to be haunted and went on to discuss the famous sightings of a ten-foot tall humanoid figure with giant wings, claws, and burning red eyes that occurred in Point Pleasant in the late 1960’s – the infamous “Mothman” featured in the 2001 movie “The Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere. Most startling was a paragraph in the article describing the three most common paranormal experiences at the hotel: loud noises, icy cold drafts of air, and cigarette smoke appearing in the air when there are no smokers present. This was all news to me – I had never heard of Point Pleasant, the Lowe Hotel, or Mothman. Hmmmmm. More investigation was definitely needed; I decided to stay an extra night and set out to explore the town.
After a day of wandering around this delightful town, I headed back to the Lowe Hotel. Although not totally convinced that it was haunted, it was clear something was going on there. I considered the possibility that my experiences had been nothing more than imagination but the noises and cold draft happened BEFORE I knew about any history of haunting. And there was no mistaking the fact that the cold draft was SO icy that it made me step out of the shower to investigate – that wasn’t my imagination.
Rooms are furnished with poster beds and down comforters
Once again I climbed into my high bed, propped open my laptop, and worked until 2 a.m., this time without incident. Convinced that the events of the previous night must have either been coincidence or my imagination, I snuggled beneath the covers and drifted off to sleep. How wrong I was! At 6:10 a.m. a short, shrill beep from the smoke detector in my room rudely woke me. It beeped every 60 seconds for the next 20 minutes. Finally, I climbed up on a chair and took the device off the wall, intending to remove its battery. To my surprise, it was hard wired, with no place for a backup battery. I went downstairs to the front desk but no one was around so I decided to just tolerate the noise and read for a while. Strangely, by the time I returned to the room the smoke detector had stopped beeping – almost as if it was mocking me: “So, you don’t believe? We’ll just see about that.”
To this day, I don’t know what to think. Is the Lowe Hotel haunted? Perhaps. I can’t think of any other explanation for the mysterious happenings during my stay. But despite the shenanigans of its purported ghosts, the Lowe is wonderfully historic hotel that is run by friendly folks and affordably priced. The ghosts are thrown in for free.
Photos courtesy of Barbara Weibel
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13 Responses
This article makes the Lowe hotel seem luxurious but it is far from it. Everything is old, the bedding is worn and stained. The bath towels are stained, and this hotel is DIRTY.There was mold in th fridge in the room. There were a group of 6 of us that stayed their and 3 out of the 4 had problems with our rooms. Also, there was noone around in the middle of the night beause they have a 11pm curfew and LOCK YOU IN. I will never stay here again.
I have to agree with Julie’s assessment of the hotel. It’s a great place to stay for the history and experience…but not for a restful, relaxing night’s sleep. I stayed this past winter, and also received the stained and worn bedding and bath towels. Most of the staff was friendly enough…when we finally saw them. We waited over 20 minutes in the lobby to be checked in, and finally had to whip out the cell phone and CALL them to get someone to come to the desk. However, we must have missed the curfew, lol. We were awakened by staff talking in the lobby in the middle of the night, so we went out to Walmart to get some food, and were rudely asked if we planned on coming back!
It was an interesting experience, but I don’t think I’d stay there a second time. And…unfortunately, we didn’t have any paranormal experiences. However, anyone interested in the history and the hauntings of the Lowe, and other Pt. Pleasant area attractions, please come visit Theresa’s Haunted History of the Tri-State!
Sorry guys, I have to disagree….I got in with my coworker today, and honestly, I love this place! It wasn’t dirty, my bedding was fabulous! Perhaps I lucked up with a room with new linens? My shower was nice and hot, great water pressure, clean towels, no stains, no dirt and everyone was super friendly and my internet connection works lol. I was expecting something completely different to tell you the truth, but I’m glad, so far, I’ve pleasantly surprised;) This town is totally like something out of a book!!!!!
I stayed there once with my father on a road trip and just thought it was awesome for the experience. The place was a fabulous treat to look at. Everything was interesting to examine. Thinking of staying there again on this next road trip.
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My husband and I stayed at the Lowe Hotel a few years ago and we loved all of the “old” things.We are going there again.
Sweeeeeet! Awesome old place to stay, AND reasonably priced. My wife and I stopped in Point Pleasant on our way to Richmond last summer. My only regret is that we wasn’t able to stay longer. Point Pleasant is a really neat town. The locals were great. We had a tire in need of repair and had it fixed by Appliachlation tire…they we’re great to us and very honest in their price….Thanks Guys! The Lowe… Loved it! If you want modern with all the bells and whistles, stay somewhere else. If you want nostalgia with a great touch of historyy…Stay at the Lowe! So, it’s claimed to be haunted. My wife said she heard some weird noises, but trust me…after 10 hours of driving, getting a nice hot shower and a few toddies….I slept like the dead. Despite the supposid “hauntings” my wife enjoyed the stay too. Lowe Motor Inn….Great place!
I’ve stayed at the Lowe Hotel several times and loved it – you are right there where the Mothman Festival is and the atmosphere is fantastic.
I just stayed there last week and really enjoyed the experience. Clean room, comfortable bed, hot tub and a high def TV. There was a nice mix of the old and new. We took pictures and asked for any spirits to make us aware of their presence.
We will update you once we download our pictures.
I personally got incredible chills by the flood wall looking at the depictions of Chief Cornstalks murder. Oh yes it was at least 95 degrees at the time.
Me and my wife absolutly love this historic building.Are room was clean and the bed was cozy and the shower had good pressure and the most important the Wi-Fi was great. Rush was their our second visit and his daughter was their our frist visit and they were very nice and the door is only locked at 11 pm, And the key to the door is attached to your room key pay attention people you can come and go as you want. We did not experience any trouble with the sprit’s . Over all we’ll be back!
I will NEVER stay at the Lowe Hotel. Upon entering the hotel for the first time to check and see if I could reserve a room for late September, I was greeted with two of the most rude people I think I have ever encountered. I believe they were the owners and after being treated poorly for simply walking in to check out the hotel, I changed my mind about being interested at all in staying a night there… If that’s how poor the service youll get from simply walking in the door, then I don’t want to know what kind of service it would be if I actually stayed a night there… I’m sure the ghost would be more friendly and more welcoming that the LIVING that roam there.
I am planning a trip to Point Pleasant in about a week or so. I am seeing alot of nice comments about this hotel. I will probably try to get a room here . I find it a little strange that the one complaining about her room then later goes on to “invite ” people to come to her place. Well I guess I will be seeing for myself.
While the Lowe is not a Holiday Inn Express, the staff here is Not rude….they have been most accommodating over several visits over several years.The hotel is OLD…one has to take this into account when staying here. I love this place and the staff..and will be back again next month.