Miami River Inn

DESCRIPTION/HISTORY:
The Miami River Inn is described as a fortified, quaint oasis, with charming, old world aura; a perfect place to find peace from the outside world. This 1906-1910, family and pet-friendly inn has 4 cottages, that are home to 40 rooms, which range in size from small to suite size. Each cottage has three floors, 10 rooms in each cottage. There are hard wood floors throughout the inn. The first floor rooms have porches, that open up into the garden area. The second and third floor rooms have a lovely view of downtown Miami and the Miami River.
Depending on the theme of the room, each room is uniquely decorated, making good use of antiques, period pieces, brass, wood and wicker furniture. Guests also enjoy the use of color cable TV, touch-tone phone, central air and heat, a ceiling fan and a private bath.
Guests and their children can enjoy their expanded continental breakfast in the garden courtyard, play croquet on the green, and swim in the pool. Security is well thought out as well, with a fenced parking lot to protect the guests' cars. There are also security guards and a concierge to oversee guests' needs and to take care of any problems that arise.
In its early years, many famous people stayed here, such as Henry Flagler and United States presidents. Various owners have kept the property up, and several renovations have occurred throughout its history, keeping it attractive and pleasing to its guests. Despite the need for a touch of urban renewal in the surrounding neighborhood, this gem of old world charm is waiting for its guests with old fashioned hospitality and comfort!
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:
Sometimes, traumatic events in life, cause reenactments of the occurrence. Suicides, attacks, fights, battles, and huge worries somehow play out in front of the living. People see and sometimes hear the occurrence, not caused by an intelligent spirit, but by the energy, expressed by a remnant of the original person or persons involved. Don't quite understand it myself, but it happens.
( Biograph Theatre * Carnton Mansion * River Raisin Battlefield * Gaffos House )
MANIFESTATIONS:
What is reported by some is called a repetitive haunting. This is when an entity or two repeatedly relives a highly emotional incident that happened at this inn, sometime in its long history. There are no reports of an intelligent haunting, just this series of paranormal occurrences.
At 11 pm every night, the people who stay in a first floor, front unit of a cottage, hear a series of sounds and witness some events. It begins with the sound of the front door opening and closing loudly, followed by the sound of someone wiping their feet on the welcome mat. Then, after a brief silence, the alarming sound of running feet toward the front door of this unit is heard, followed by a fierce shaking of the door knob, which can be witnessed by the bewildered occupant of this unit. Then the occupant is treated to the alarming sound of someone angrily crashing and breaking antique ornaments, right outside this unit's door. Nothing broken is ever found in reality.
Then, the frenetic footsteps run up to the unit just above this first floor unit, and the sound of the door opening is heard. After another brief quiet period, the horrendous sound of someone moving, dragging furniture around the second floor unit can't be missed. This loud racket goes on for an hour, causing vibrations down the walls. Guests usually call security and ask the concierge for a new room, not wanting to experience again someone's fit of temper that happened in the past.
STILL HAUNTED?
Unknown! There are not enough known personal experiences from credible sources, let alone hard evidence to back it up to say if this really happens. It could simply be an urban legend.
While some eye witnesses, who remain nameless, tell of this experience, the owners and staff strongly deny any sort of paranormal activity; either because it is truly all made up, or they don't want to deal with ghost hunters and have the reputation of being "haunted." They are trying to run a business, and don't want to scare away people. Needless to say, there have been no publicized investigations allowed.
If it was true at one time, perhaps the owners have sought help privately from a paranormal professional or medium, and have solved the problem of this type of haunting, or have it under control. Perhaps not. If it is still happening, and the inn is still trying to rent this room, sooner or later it will come out as a fact, perhaps backed up with a tape recording. Paranormal incidents are hard to hide, because people who witness them, have the tendency to have the need to talk about them; because it changes perceptions about the reality of spirits and the paranormal.