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crazy water

Historic Haunted Hotels of Texas

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Join me for an A to Z Road Trip!

I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond!

 

Today is letter H:
Haunted Historic Hotels

Staying at hotels and motels is an exciting part of any road trip. And some of the most interesting hotels I’ve stayed at have boasted guests who never checked out! Here are a few of my favorite historic haunted hotels in Texas:

Miss Molly's hotel in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Miss Molly’s hotel in Fort Worth, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Miss Molly’s Hotel in Fort Worth

Unexplained phenomenon is so rampant at Miss Molly’s that this hotel (and former bordello) in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards district has become a mecca for ghost hunters. The venue is even included in the curriculum for parapsychology classes at Texas Christian University.
For more about my experiences at Miss Mollys, check out: 
My Coast to Coast AM Interview from Miss Molly’s in Fort Worth, Texas
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, TX (photo by Tui Snider)
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, TX (photo by Tui Snider)

Beckham Hotel in Mineola

With so many people passing through the doors of the Beckham Hotel over the years, it should come as no surprise that it is rumored to be haunted. The three most talked about entities include a woman named Elizabeth who allegedly died after falling down the staircase of the Beckham Hotel. (Some even claim that she appears on Mondays at 3:00 a.m.)
For more about the Beckham Hotel, read:
Beckham Hotel in Mineola, Texas
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Baker Hotel & Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells

Of all the places I investigated for my book, PARANORMAL TEXAS, Mineral Wells gave me the most bang for my buck!
If you’re interested in reading about some of my paranormal adventures in Mineral Wells, check out:
Ghost Hunting in Mineral Wells, Texas

*****I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Come back tomorrow for the next letter in the alphabet!*****

 

Psst! Instagram, anyone?

If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you! Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back!

What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?

 

Each April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers.

To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can. In addition to my personal blog here, I’m also writing A to Z posts for the the Story Dam writing community. You can check those out by clicking here: Story Dam’s Writing Quotes & Encouragement

Check out more April A to Z Blog Challenge Participants by clicking the link below:

Find out more about the April A to Z blog challenge, and check out the other participants!

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Curious about my books? I’ve got 3, so far…


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide: 
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places: 
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth
.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history: 
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


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Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page:

Filed Under: Blog on Writing & Life, Blog Posts, Haunted Travel Tagged With: #atozchallenge, A to Z challenge, Baker Hotel, beckham hotel, crazy water, Fort Worth, haunted, hotel, iPhone photography, Mineola, Mineral Wells, miss molly's, Paranormal, photo essay, photographer, q1, quirky, Texas, travel, Tui Snider

A to Z Texas: H is for the Healing Water of Mineral Wells

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Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Weird Tasting Water Has Healing Properties

In the 1880’s, Judge James Alvis Lynch and his wife, Armenia, moved to north Texas and dug a well. At first, the couple was afraid to drink from it because the water tasted odd. After seeing that their livestock thrived, however, the pair began drinking from the well, too.

That’s when things got interesting.

Prior to drinking from their new well, James had a stomach issue and Armenia suffered from rheumatism. After drinking from it, the couple’s health conditions promptly cleared up. In fact, their whole family – which included nine children – seemed healthier after drinking the water.

Word spread of their well’s healing properties, and soon a town grew up around it: Mineral Wells, Texas.

Not only did the water make the Lynch’s healthy, but it made them wealthy, too. Judge Lynch sold the water for a dime per cup, which is more than a whole loaf of bread cost at the time. He even became the town’s first mayor.

Famous Water Company of Mineral Wells, Texas

In the early 1900’s, a man named Ed Dismuke moved to Mineral Wells. Dismuke was a young pharmacist from Waco, Texas who had nothing to lose; doctors told him that due to a stomach condition, he would be dead within the year.

Long story short: after drinking the healing waters of Mienral Wells, Mr. Dismuke lived to be 92!

Can you blame him for bottling and selling the stuff? He called his business the Famous Water Company.

Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas (photo by Tui Snider)

Why is it called Crazy Water?

The nickname, “crazy water,” came about when an elderly woman who suffered from some sort of mental illness was allegedly cured after drinking the water from Mineral Wells, Texas.

Whether for good or for bad, the nickname stuck.

The Baker Hotel

One month after the stock market crash of 1929, the Baker Hotel opened in Mineral Wells, Texas. You’d think the place would have suffered due to such disastrous timing, but that is not the case.

The Baker Hotel thrived, attracting rich and famous clientele such as Roy Rogers, Clark Gable, Lawrence Welk, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and the Three Stooges.

Sadly, in 1972, the hotel closed down. (It’s a long story, worthy of a separate article.) In 1982, the hotel was placed on the National Historic Register, but it has yet to reopen to the public. (Keep your fingers crossed!)

Crazy Water & Mineral Bath Renaissance

In the late 1990’s, a couple named Carol and Mike Elder bought the Famous Water Company and set about the task of reviving Crazy Water’s healthy reputation.

Crazy Water is once again for sale. (As research for this article, I just bought three bottles of the stuff.) According to regulators, Crazy Water contains magnesium, potassium, calcium, silica and trace amounts of lithium. If you visit the official website, Drink Crazy Wateryou can find out the exact ratios of the minerals in the water and more about its history. Crazy Water even has endorsements from hockey players, cyclists and other athletes.

I recently learned that in late 2012, the Famous Water Company began offering mineral baths to the public. I am so curious about these, and will definitely blog about the experience once I get a chance to check it out.

More A to Z blog posts

This was my post for the letter H of the A to Z blogging challenge. Tune in tomorrow to see what quirky Texan thing the letter I will bring!

In the meantime, click on this link to find out what other A to Z blogging challenge folks are writing about.

Filed Under: Travel Photo Essays Tagged With: #atozchallenge, A to Z challenge, Baker Hotel, Carol Elder, crazy water, Ed Dismuke, Famous Water Company, mineral water, Mineral Wells, photographer, Texas, Tui Snider, water, writer

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