Fabled room on Bigelow Hotel’s ‘haunted’ 11th floor available for rent
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- The tub in the “haunted” room 1102 at the Bigelow in Ogden, photographed Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.
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- The exterior of the Bigelow at 2510 Washington Blvd., photographed Thursday, May 16, 2024.
OGDEN — Halloween is firmly in the rearview, but Ogdenites who remain on the hunt for thrills, chills and/or their own brush with the paranormal now have an opportunity to find that which they seek at one of downtown’s most iconic structures.
The Bigelow’s “Famous 1102” — a room at the former Ben Lomond Hotel on Historic 25th Street that’s purported to be haunted — is now available to rent via Airbnb.
Built in 1927 on the site of the old Reed Hotel, the Bigelow — which bore the Ben Lomond name from the mid-1930s to 2017 — is a Junction City fixture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, but its history also delves into the macabre.
According to one legend, a well-to-do mother living on the hotel’s 11th floor became despondent, confined herself to her room and ultimately died of malnutrition after her soldier son, who had survived the perils of war, died in a train accident while returning home.
Another story claims that a woman drowned mysteriously in the bathtub of room 1102 on the night of her honeymoon. Some versions of the story also tell of her adult son, consumed with grief while gathering up her possessions, taking his own life in an adjoining room shortly thereafter.
Cornel Thomas, the venue/events manager at the Bigelow, told the Standard-Examiner that residents and visitors to the building continue to experience things they can’t explain on its 11th floor.
According to Thomas, a self-described medium briefly rented out the room recently and later reported a presence within it.
“She said some things that were a little freakish,” reported Thomas, who considers himself a skeptic.
Thomas noted that before the medium’s visit, a smoke alarm had been chirping in the room and subsequently was removed for a battery change.
“(The medium) came the next day (and) she was like, ‘Was there some kind of loud noise yesterday? The lady is saying that she didn’t really like the loud noises,'” Thomas recounted. “I don’t know. It’s kind of like, I’m not a believer. But at the same time, she had some things to say that were odd. She said that (the presence) liked the décor out in the kitchen, but she didn’t really like hanging out in this room.”
Thomas added that there have been reports of animals becoming fixated on walls in nearby rooms and, more specifically, dogs inexplicably barking in room corners. Meanwhile, HauntedHouses.com references apparitions having been seen on the premises and other unexplained phenomena.
That said, for those who aren’t necessarily looking to be scared exclusively, Thomas says the room has more to offer than frights.
“People who want a room for the night in a classic hotel … I’ve heard from people that they’ve missed that experience, too,” Thomas said. “They’ve missed staying at the Bigelow Hotel as part of a historic Ogden night. Every time they came to town, this is where they would stay. So, that’s available for them as well, whether they are believers or not.”
