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The Flanders Hotel was built
in 1923 in Ocean City, New Jersey. It was named as a tribute to the American
soldiers who lost their lives in Flanders Fields in Belgium during World War l.
Its’ architect, Vivian Smith,
designed this elegant hotel in the Spanish Mission Revival style.
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| Hotel after boardwalk fire. |
The Flanders maintained a
reputation for grand service throughout the 20th century. It was the only
building that survived the devastating fire in October of 1927, which destroyed
twelve blocks of Ocean City’s boardwalk.
After this disaster, the city
built the boardwalk closer to the Atlantic Ocean. This made room for the
Flanders to put in two enormous salt-water pools between the hotel and the
ocean. Thousands of people learned to swim in these pools until they closed in
1978.
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| One pool at the Flanders Hotel. |
One unique feature the hotel
has is a full basement below sea level. This space contains a maze of seven
large rooms known as the “Catacombs of the Flanders.”
This hotel thrived even
during the Great Depression. One reason for this was in the 1920s and 30s its
catacombs were used by organized crime.
Its discrete location
provided an ideal “neutral” site for crime bosses from New York, Pennsylvania
and Atlantic City to meet.
These catacombs also came in
handy during prohibition. A speakeasy was located in the hotel’s basement that
served illegal liquor.
James M. Dwyer purchased the
Flanders in 1996. He had the rooms remodeled into condominium units. However,
Dwyer lost it to foreclosure in 2003.
Since many renovations, have
been ongoing.
Keeping the building open was
a struggle, but in 2009 the structure was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
After millions of dollars in
investments, today the building is used both as residences and as a
full-service hotel. Also, the shops have reopened.
The Flanders has a resident
female ghost who has been active for many years.
She is known as the Lady in
White. For her ghost is seen by witnesses wearing a long white dress.
While alive this young lady,
Emily stayed at the hotel. It is believed that she had lost her fiancé, a young
soldier in WWI who did not return from Europe.
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| Portrait of Emily that hangs in the 2nd-floor lobby. |
Her ghost is described as
having long brown hair and eyewitnesses report seeing her wandering barefoot
throughout the hotel. But she is seen most often on the second and fourth
floors in the hallways.
Emily is known to be a
“whimsical” spirit who seems to be always happy. She is heard both humming and
singing.
Her apparition is seen, but
when she doesn’t appear, she makes her presence known in other ways. She is
heard rattling doorknobs and playing with locks. She also likes to unscrew light bulbs, and
she swings doors open.
The tail end of her white
gown is seen flashing around corners as she runs from witnesses.
In 1999, her full apparition
was seen in the morning hours in the hotel’s catacombs. Her ghost has also been
seen in the Hall of Mirrors located in the Flanders’ lobby.
She was captured in a
photograph taken during a wedding celebration in the hotel’s banquet room.
The Flanders has always
accepted her presence in stride. A large painting of Emily is displayed on the
second or main floor. The hotel’s restaurant is also named after her.
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| A recent view of Flanders Hotel. |
The following is a short
video about the history and the haunting at the hotel. People claim at 2:10 on
this video, as it shows the basement speakeasy-- they can see a ghostly
bartender.
This video provides a different backstory as to why Emily's ghost lingers.
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