The boy with the red ball Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
In 1914, when the building housed a girls' conservatory, the college president's 4-year-old son fell sick and died; people say they hear him playing in the halls with a red ball. Source: KATV, 2024.
Facts below are drawn from the linked sources.
Real history
The hotel opened in 1886. It reopened in 1908 as Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women, which closed in 1924; it reopened as Crescent Junior College in 1930 and closed after the 1934 school year (Encyclopedia of Arkansas). It was then leased as a summer hotel, then became a hospital and health resort, and was later restored as a hotel (Wikipedia). Norman Baker, a former stage mesmerist driven out of Iowa over a fake cancer serum, bought it in 1937 and ran it as a hospital promising a cure (KATV, 2024). He was convicted of mail fraud in 1940 and held at Leavenworth from March 1941 to July 1944 (Encyclopedia of Arkansas).
Ghost stories
These are reported legends, not verified events. The creepiness score (1–5) is Spook Atlas's own editorial rating, not a measurement.
Norman Baker Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
A server who guides ghost tours calls Baker the "most unfriendly" apparition. His former pain ward is now the honeymoon suite. Source: KATV, 2024.
A server who guides ghost tours calls Baker the "most unfriendly" apparition. His former pain ward is now the honeymoon suite. Source: KATV, 2024.
Then and now
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Public access
Open to the public Walking ghost tours ($29.50 adults) end in Baker's morgue; ages 5 and up (Reserve Eureka). Last checked: Nov 1, 2026.
Explore more
- More places in Eureka Springs and Arkansas
- More haunted & abandoned hotels
- More haunted & abandoned hospitals
- Nearby: Basin Park Hotel (Eureka Springs, AR), Peel Mansion (Bentonville, AR), Pythian Castle (Springfield, MO), Rush (Yellville, AR)
⚠️ Please read: This information may be outdated and conditions change. Verify access with the owner or operator before you go. Spook Atlas does not encourage trespassing. Entering private, closed or condemned property can be illegal and dangerous. Report a correction.
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