Courtyard Downtown - Amarillo, TX (February 2025)

The Courtyard Downtown in Amarillo, Texas opened in 2011, but the Fisk Building that it's located in was built in 1927. Marriott bought and renovated the place, but its remastering of the original building garnered it a National Register of Historic Places plaque in 2013. The building was originally designed by prominent Amarillo architect Guy A. Carlander, the building was considered the tallest high rise in Amarillo at the time. To this day, the Fisk Building boasts a stunning presentation of Gothic Revival from the 1920s. It stands as a reminder of the wealthy influence of the former city commissioner Charles Fisk and the need for expansion of his Amarillo Bank and Trust group. Fisk succeeded greatly during the petroleum boom years. The building, though, was also designed as a Medical Arts Building, where doctor's offices, dentists, and other professionals could fill the floors of the building not being used by Fisk's personal interests.  You can access the history of this building via the many historic reference points around the lobby area. 

While on my road trip to Tombstone and the Southwestern USA, I wanted to take advantage of my hotel benefits and I booked myself at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown in Amarillo, Texas. I wasn’t aware of the elaborate history of the building until I took some time to wander around the lobby area and take in what the building had to offer. But that was after I was booked into room 302, from which you can see Amarillo’s tallest Gothic Revival building - The Santa Fe Building. Built during the same time period and sporting a very similar structural style to what is mentioned above. 

Room 302 was nice, as to be expected of a Marriott. My favorite part of the room was semi-circle couch and accompanying footstool. Once I had settled in, had my dinner, and connected with my loved ones, I knew it was time to put out some equipment to allow the spirit in the room to make themselves known. I had this gut feeling that someone was in there with me. It wasn’t a scary feeling at all. I just knew that it had happened.

I set my equipment bag on my bed and pulled out a few things and when I turned around, I saw someone duck down and then disappear behind the couch. I took a closer look, but they had disappeared. So I put out some cat balls and a lantern. The cat balls I put on on the wall by the fridge, the front entry wall table, and the foot stool. I put the lantern where I saw the figure disappear. The figure I saw what a youthful boy with tan skin and medium short brownish-black hair. As I placed the lantern, I saw the flashing of the cat ball that was placed near the counter by the fridge. 

I will say I debunked it being the fridge, someone jumping, neighbors moving around, etc. for all of my equipment. It only became humanly active in my area of the hotel around 10PM and then in the morning around 6AM. I was doing this at around 8:30PM.

Since the cat ball took so long to cycle through the lights, I knew it wasn’t going to work to converse, like I hoped it would. The cat ball industry caught on to the influx in purchases, but also made some very specific tweaks to its design that now make them a little less useful for ghost hunting. The lights didn’t use to go on for so long and the plastic case is harder, which makes movement a bit more difficult. Even though, I do need to explain here that it’s not always movement that is setting off the balls. It’s some sort of energy trigger between the spirit and the simple mechanics of the ball.

So to improve communication I took out my divining rods to see if whoever was there would speak to me. As always, I explain what the rods are and how they work. I let them know why I am reaching out to them. I had already started talking to the spirit, explaining that I wanted to use these to communicate and I did get their permission to switch communication modes. The spirit was open to speaking with me using these rods and then confirmed that they were in fact there and willing to communicate.

• Hello. I just want to establish some basic information so I know who I’m talking to. Are you a woman? - No.
• Are you a male? - Yes.
• Are you a child? - Yes.
• Are you older than 9? - No.
• Are you 8 years old? - Yes.

At this time I’m starting to get an image in my mind that matches the image I saw behind the couch.

• Do you have brown hair? - Yes.
• Did I see you hiding behind the couch by the lamp? - Yes.
• Can you share your name with me? I’m sometimes good at picking up names. - no response.
• I spent a little time closing my eyes and quietly focusing on picking up his name. And the name that came through was Daniel.
• Hey hun, is your name Daniel? - Yes.
• Well hello Daniel. I’m glad to meet you. (I had already told him my name.) Some of the other information you shared with me, I’d just like to go over so I know I picked up on your story and not someone else’s. Are you from Mexico? - (severe hesitation to answer) yes (very slowly).
• Awe, hun. It’s ok. I’m not going to do anything that would get you or your family kicked out of anywhere. You’re safe speaking with me. Can you sense the safety I’m sending to you? - Yes.

The rod crossing felt much more open when he answered that time. The previous one was so, very, not how he had been responding. You could feel the hesitation to respond.

• Did you come here for medical reasons that you couldn’t get help for in Mexico? - Yes.
• Were you being treated for cancer? - Yes.
• But things didn't work out the way your family hoped. The treatments weren’t helpful the way they hoped. - Yes.
• I’m so sorry, Daniel. (There was a brief break as he shared his pain with me and I felt his grief.)
• Was this the hotel you stayed at? - No.
• Did you find this hotel after you passed on? - Yes.
• Did you like how big it was and how it stood out? - Yes.

I paused for a moment, then I asked him to share some more information with me about why he is here and what he likes the most.

• Do you like to people-watch? - Yes.
• I gave a little laugh, then said, “I know you are polite about it.” - Yes.
• But you do sometimes move things in people’s rooms? -Yes.
• To mess with them? -No.
• To be funny about it? - Yes.
• And you just really find the excitement of the hotel interesting, with all the comings and goings on that happen here? - Yes.
• Do you like that people can have their pets here? - Yes.
• Am I right to say that you really like cats? - Yes.
• Especially orange haired cats? - Yes.
• So if you had been allowed to get your own pet, you would have wanted an orange haired cat? - Yes.
• But I feel that you’re sad. You don’t see anyone bringing their cat here. Only dogs? - Yes.
• Awe, that’s not fun. Are the dogs ok, though? - Yes.
• Even the small ones that yip a lot? - Yes.

It was at this point that I started to feel myself fading a bit. I didn’t have the energy to keep up the conversation and exchange of information. He was sharing things with me so fast, I couldn’t keep up. And I wanted to acknowledge as much of it as I could aloud to him. So I reminded him that I would not report him for being in the country. I offered him a Spirit Hug. He made the cat ball go off a few times and we said our goodbyes, with the typical caveats of being respectful allowing me to have a peaceful sleep.

I am happy to say that my sleep that night was very good and had no paranormal interruptions or interferences. 

I did, though, have a bit of a shock, though, as I made my way to Cadillac Ranch.  While driving down W Amarillo Blvd/U.S. Rte 66, I started passing medical campuses and I started seeing signs for Cancer and Oncology clinics. It put a little pain in my heart that Daniel and his family weren’t able to find the cure or best treatment for Daniel. I also knew, in that moment, that Daniel had been telling me the truth. The previous night I thought maybe it wasn’t true, because a quick map search around the hotel didn’t turn up a hospital or treatment centers, but I had forgotten what I had learned… spirits don’t need to be nearby where they passed to find a place that brings them happiness - cats or no cats.

The Frontier Hotel - Pawhuska, OK (February 2025)

Triangle Bldg, Pawhuska, Okla from FrontierHotelPawkhuska.com

The Frontier Hotel in Pawhuska, Oklahoma is a boutique hotel across the street from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond's, The Mercantile restaurant. There is no better description for this hotel than being at the heart of Downtown Pawhuska. And its unique design lends itself to the beauty of the historic environment. According to my research this building was one of the first fire-proof buildings in Oklahoma (one of five in the US at the time), having been built as a five-story "flat-iron" building in 1912. During its time it housed lawyers, jewelers, beauty shops, tobacco stands, doctor offices, and other commercial businesses. The interior design is ornamental Art Deco, truly embracing the early 1900s in the United States. The rooms are converted from offices and have decadent down-home touches throughout. Even the keys aren't plastic. 

Taken from The Mercantile side of the street.

I didn't choose the hotel for any paranormal reasons, but I do enjoy the historic revival that the rise of boutique hotels has offered travelers. It has been my experience that spirits are everywhere and don't need to be in historic locations, but that spirits are often drawn to places that allow them to feel grounded and part of the day-to-day bustle. This is not a definitive statement, but absolutely envelops the results of my hotel investigations. 

Entryway Lamps

It was over a 12 hour drive to the Frontier Hotel from home. I checked into room 304, an Osage King room. 

I was feeling pretty tired after I got checked-in and sorted dinner, but I wanted to at least do a little mini paranormal session in my hotel room. I started putting equipment out and while I was setting down the last cat-ball, a cat ball on the table in between the two chairs went off and I received a HUGE blast of ghost fuzzies (I guess everyone just accepts these as goosebumps, but I find them to be so very different from goosebumps). I asked if whoever was there could make it go off again, so that I knew someone was here with me. It did not, but as I walked into the room, I just kept getting so many ghost fuzzies, in bursts, all over. So I switched off the lights and settled myself on my bed with my K2 meter and I let everything settle for a few minutes. But I kept getting these “images” when I looked up and to the left. Like, not straight on, but not out of the corner of my eye, I saw a male shadow standing by the mirror and I got a big old dose of ghost fuzzies when I looked up to try to see more clearly. But it had disappeared. 

I put the cat ball right in front of the sign.

Finally, the ghost ball went off again on the table between the chairs. I asked it to come closer and make my K2 meter go off, because it might work easier for communication (those cat ball lights can go off for a long time, as they are designed for cat play after all). I received a very small spike and then nothing, but I was continuing to pick up on the energy in the room. Since the various equipment did not seem to suit the spirit’s fancy, I got out my divining rods. First I tried to clear my mind to receive any information the spirit might be trying to pass me and then I used my rods to clarify the information that was being shared with him. 

The mirror next to which I saw the shadow.

I won’t go through the whole Q&A experience, but by the end of it, I was able to learn the following information:

The spirit is a man named Michael and he was the shadow I briefly saw at the mirror (so also about 5’10” in height). He was born and raised in Pawhuska and was raised as a gentleman. This came up in regards to respecting the privacy of visitors, especially of the female persuasion. Michael said he worked here in the 1930s, when he was fresh out of school. He was involved in office work, but not lawyer work. But he died young in the 1950s. He shared that he had a sudden heart attack (the images in my mind were of my father and when he had an aneurysm). He shared that he knew this building well and came back here, because he finds peace being downtown among the people. Michael said that spirits do come and go from the building and that he is not the only one, but that this evening other spirits didn't seem to be around. Finally, though, we got down to business. The reason that he wanted to get my attention was to let me know that I had put a pillow on his chair and he was hoping that I would remove it so that he could continue enjoying that particular chair. 

After I promised that I would remove it, we agreed to respect each other’s space and privacy, and we ended our session. I got up and put the pillow somewhere else and after that all communication, including ghost fuzzies, ceased for the night. I slept well enough, even though I did wake up once and looked towards the mirror, thinking someone was there. But I felt no danger and no ghost fuzzies and I went back to sleep.

It was a fine visit. If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have loved to have investigated other parts of the hotel and I have so many questions about the architecture, but it had been a long trip and I had another long day of driving ahead of me. So maybe next time.   

The long pillow is the one I needed to remove from the chair.