The Shilo Inn

The Shilo Inn was built in 1972 at 206s West Temple in Salt Lake City. This 12 story hotel features many great amenities including: on demand movies, cribs/play pens, room service, and valet laundry. I know I would love the valet laundry service! But the biggest and most popular amenity is the unplanned entertainment that is provided.

Although this hotel isn't very old, it still has an interesting history behind closed doors. In August 1978, Rachel and Emmanuel David and their 7 children had been living on the 11^th floor of the hotel for over a year. Emmanuel David was a self-proclaimed God and Prophet and his family and many others strongly believed this. Emmanuel had created a cult which quickly became under the investigation of the FBI for fraud and embezzlement. Knowing the FBI was close to an arrest, Emmanuel took his life by inhaling carbon bin oxide in his car. A distraught Rachel convinced her 7 children that they needed to be with their father again. Four days after Emmanuel death, Rachel and her oldest child threw the children over the 11^th story balcony one by one while onlookers screamed at her to stop. Witnesses say that some of the children were screaming and grabbing on to the railing while others willingly jumped. Rachel then threw her oldest over and jumped over the balcony herself. However, Rachel’s plan didn't work to the fullest. The oldest child who had helped Rachel- survived. She now lives in Aurora Colorado with her uncle and is restricted to a wheel chair with brain damage, but is still convinced that her father was God.

Since the tragic events took place in 1978 there have been many reports of paranormal from both employee’s and guests of the Shilo Inn. Many reports are of hearing voices and laughing coming from the hall of the 11^th floor as well as knocking on doors in the middle of the night with no one around. There have also been reports of wet foot prints around the pool area and splashing when no one has been there. It is said that famous musician Danny Elfman has been a frequent visitor of the 11^th floor of the Shilo Inn since 1984. His first visit inspired him to compose the 80’s classic hit “Dead Man’s Party” and later came back to the hotel where he composed the lyrics to “The Nightmare before Christmas”. 

Danny is among many others with curiosity in the hotel’s history and who frequently visits the hotel. I hope to stay at the Shilo Inn very soon and I am interested to see if I to witness these reports of the paranormal.  

Resources: www.shiloinns.com, www.itjustismedia.net  

The home of Theodore Robert Cowell aka Ted Bundy

Many people believe that Ted Bundy lived at a home tucked away up emigration canyon, because that’s just it, it’s believable. Why wouldn't someone who does such appalling, unimaginable things want to stay away from the general public, stay private? It makes perfect sense. Ted Bundy moved to Salt Lake City a month after receiving a second acceptance letter in August 1974 from the University of Utah Law School. Ted moved to the real home that he resided during his time in Utah. 565 First Ave. Salt Lake City. He lived there in a second floor room apartment from September 1974 to October 1975. The home looks like a typical family home. A home you would like to start a family in, a home you would never imagine a serial killer would live in, the perfect cover. The move came at the perfect time as he was a suspect in several crimes in Seattle. But he wouldn't stop there.

On October 2^nd 1974 he took 16-year old Nancy Wilcox from Holladay as his first known victim in Salt Lake City. He dragged her into a wooded area where he raped and strangled her. However, Ted claims the strangling was an accident caused by trying to keep her silent. Her remains were never found. On October 18^th Melissa Smith, a 17-year old daughter of a police chef, disappeared after leaving a pizza parlor. Her body was found in a mountainous area nine days later. On October 31^st in Lehi, Laura Ann Aime, also 17, disappeared after leaving a cafe. Her body was found by hikers 9 miles in American Fork Canyon on Thanksgiving Day. Both Smith and Aime were beaten, raped, sodomized and strangled with nylon stockings. Years later Ted confessed his postmortem rituals with their remains including shampooing their hair and applying makeup. On November 8^th in Murray, Ted approached 18- year old Carol DaRonch at a mall. He identified himself as Officer Roseland of the Murray police department, he had told Carol that someone had attempted to break into her car; he asked to drive Carol to the police station to submit a statement. When he drove down a different road Carol brought it to his attention. He immediately pulled over and proceeded to handcuff her but he fastened both handcuffs on the same wrist and she was able to escape.  Later that same evening Debra Kent disappeared after leaving a theater. On June 28^th Susan Curtis vanished from the BYU campus, this murder became Ted’s last confession before he was executed. These are only a few of the victims he had confessed to, many of the bodies were never recovered.

Ted was arrested August 1975 by a Utah highway patrol officer after he failed to pull over for a routine traffic stop. The front passenger seat in his famous Volkswagen was missing. Other items found in his car included two masks, a crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags, rope, an ice pick and other items used for burglary. But there was nothing sufficient to hold him and he was released. Ted later said that officers missed a collection of Polaroid photographs of his victims hidden in his utility room which they searched. Ted was put under 24-hour surveillance when released. In September, Ted sold his car and police impounded and searched the vehicle, they found hairs matching samples obtained by Caryn, Mellissa and Carol’s body. On October 2^nd Ted was put in a line up before DaRonch who immediately identified him. He was freed on $15,000 bail by his parents. On February 23^rd Ted stood trial, he was later found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in Utah state prison. He was transferred to Aspen Colorado in January 1977 where he escaped prison twice and moved to Florida. Ted claimed more victims in Florida before being caught a final time in Pensacola. He was sentenced to death by electrocution. Days before his execution Ted underwent a series of interviews, during his confessions he had said that he had decapitated the heads of 12 of his victims with a hacksaw and kept 4 of them in his Utah apartment which were later found. He also confessed to bringing some of his victims back to his apartment where he would reenact scenarios depicted on the covers of detective magazines. Ted only confessed to 30 homicides, 8 of which are from Utah, but the estimate runs as high as 100 or more across several states. When FBI agents told Ted that they suspected he had killed 36 people Ted said “add one digit to that and you will have it”. Ted died on the electric chair at 7:16am on January 24^th 1989.

Further secrets have died with Ted; we will never truly know the whole story of Ted Bundy- The Serial Killer. But what he did confess to was horrific. The apartment that he lived at during his stay in Utah will forever be stained with the sick and twisted things he has done there, with the secrets he had been living with each and every day and the memories that weighed on him of what he had done. Today this house in which Ted Bundy had stayed is now a duplex where people currently live. Do they know what happened there? Do they know its gruesome history?

Lindsey

Resources- Wikipedia 

The Cottonwood Paper Mill

As a personal interest I wanted my first piece of writing to be about the Cottonwood Paper Mill. My parents and I have always been very interested in the Old Mill and have talked about the possibility of purchasing the building.

The 2 acre private property is located at 6900 Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd. When driving up the street the sight of the Mill will send shivers down your spine. It’s almost as if the walls are trying to tell you its story. The windows are all boarded up with corroded wooden boards; the stone structure is failing, the intimidating fence lines the property with multiple “No Trespassing” signs and over grown weeds have taken over what is left of the building.

The Cottonwood Paper Mill also known as the Granite Paper Mill was built in 1883 by the Deseret News. When the mill was running it could create up to 5 tons of paper per day keeping many Utah residents employed for up to ten years. In 1892 the mill was sold to Granite Paper Mills Company due to the completion of the railroad for which paper was a lot cheaper creating issues for the mill. On April 1^st 1893 a fire broke out on the third floor which destroyed the mill leaving only a stone skeleton. Official historic entries state that the fire was caused by a lantern and oily rags. It has been said that two of the groundskeepers were on the 3^rd floor when there was a dispute, one man struck the other knocking him over, the lantern fell and the fire spread. Cries were heard but they were quickly ignored as people assumed it was an April fool’s joke. One of the men escaped and the remains of the other man and his dog were later found inside the fireplace, presumably to escape the flames. There are still reports to this day of hearing a dog barking and whimpering from within the building. In 1927 the mill was partially rebuilt to be used as a dance hall known as the Old Mill Club. In the 1940’s it was shut down after the start of WWII where it then burnt down a second time. Official historic entries state it was burned down by two transients trying to stay out of the cold. One statement taken from the surviving transient states that they had started a fire in the fireplace to keep warm. He had woken up to see the fire spreading across the floor. He escaped and the remains of the other were later found. There were also remains of a dog found in the fireplace although neither transient had a dog with them. The mill was later, again, partially rebuilt to be used for a haunted house and craft boutique during the 1970’s and 80’s. When the mill was being used as a haunted house it has been said that the groundskeeper lived in the northwest corner of the building with his wife. He had been upset and worried for months about the production of the haunted house knowing the structure of the site was unsafe. One night he had come into the apartment went straight to his gun cabinet, took out a revolver, filled the chambers and put the gun to his head. He told his wife, “Let’s play Russian roulette” and shot himself.  In 1966 it was declared a historic site by Daughters of the Utah Pioneers where a plaque sat at the entrance of the building, it was removed in September of 2009 and the location of the plaque is unknown. The mill was condemned by the city of Cottonwood Heights in 2005.

The now condemned mill sits with its boarded up windows, crumbling stone walls and overgrown weeds giving off the most eerie feeling of what was. The current groundskeeper does not give permission to enter the property. The structure is too weak and delicate in its current state and could fail. Although many people have tried to reach the groundskeeper for access to the building there has been little success. The closed access of the mill has been intriguing Salt Lake residents for many, many years. The site is a poplar place to visit especially among thrill seeking teens. Although the current groundskeeper lives close by and has taken many precautionary measures to keep people off of the property for obvious safety reasons. The thrill seeking teens still press their luck to try and witness some kind of paranormal activity from its disturbing past.

 I can’t help but wonder, what will come of the Old Mill? After being condemned its future is questionable.

Resources- Wikipedia, Utahadvertures.wordpress.com, ufofreeparanormal .com

About me!

About me- My name is Lindsey; I am 24 with an old soul. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City and I absolutely love it here! I had a normal childhood filled with lots of happiness and love from my family. I have always been very family oriented, while most teenagers were out at parties I was home with my family. I always said I found out my priorities in life early on. However, my interests came a little later; I have found that I have a great passion for History and historic buildings. I love researching the past and the story behind each building. I find myself looking at historic sites and wondering what happened there. As of right now, I am an advertising copywriter for jewelry. (Perfect job for a girl, right) However, I hope to further my writing and write articles on historic sites in Salt Lake, this is where my blog comes in.

Lindsey