Disclaimer: The following story is lengthy and not for the faint of heart. I call this, “Night at The Inn at Belvoir Winery.”
Have you ever experienced sleep terror? If unsure, according to the Mayo Clinic, sleep terrors are defined as “episodes of screaming, intense fear and flailing while still asleep. Also known as night terrors, sleep terrors are considered parasomnia — an undesired occurrence during sleep.”
Curious to know more? O.k.! Let me tell you about the experience I had at the Inn at Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO during an overnight Jeff and I planned for his birthday. But, first a little background on this epic place . . .
The Belvoir Inn was originally known as The Odd Fellows' Home complex and contains three remaining historic buildings, the Administration Building, the Old Folks Building, and the Old Hospital, all designed by different architects over twenty-three years. There is a ton of fascinating historical information on its website if you want to know more.
Before Jeff and I booked a room, we only knew that a hotel and winery had been transformed from what used to be a hospital, a nursing home, and an orphanage. I also went to their FB page and discovered that numerous staff and patrons have experienced unexplainable encounters with paranormal activity. Jeff and I were intrigued rather than concerned or frightened by this and thought it would be a fun place to visit.
We arrived in the afternoon, checked into Suite #2, unloaded our overnight bags, and then perused the enchanting interior of the inn with its spaciousness, Tiffany chandeliers, beautiful wood floors, and inviting sitting rooms. We ordered a bottle of wine and sat and sipped while relaxing in a parlor with a view of the vineyard.
After going to dinner and listening to live music for a few hours, we returned to our suite and eventually retired to bed around 11:00 p.m. The weather was unusually windy which exacerbated the sounds one might expect to hear in an old structure with wood floors and staircases. I felt a bit of unease and was reluctant to turn off my bedside lamp.
“Aren’t you gonna turn off that light?” Jeff asked.
“Um, I’m feeling a little too creeped out,” I confessed.
Nonetheless, Jeff fell right to sleep while I lay there grappling with whether or not I had the nerve to turn off the lamp. Finally, I relented, realizing it was probably easier to fall asleep in the dark than next to the bright light. Furthermore, the muffled sounds of chit-chat from the couple (a man and a woman) in the room next door comforted me, affirmation I was not alone in my wakeful state.
After what felt like at least a half hour, I finally fell asleep but woke up startled from a brief dream that contained quickly forgotten, but vivid evidence that this place had a dark side. The dissipation of the details in the dream was probably for the best and enabled me to fall back to sleep along with the assistance of the continued comfort of conversation, an occasional cough, and the periodic movement of chairs in Suite #3.
Suddenly, while sleeping, I was overcome by an invisible entity, the details I’m unable to recollect. I only recall trying to scream to Jeff for help, though I couldn’t force the words out. I woke in a sweat and in a state of nocturnal groaning.
I continued to lie still, wishing I were at home, safe in my bed, but I didn’t want to wake Jeff. Instead, I removed the comforter from my body to cool down and altered positions from my back to my side, trying to find a comfortable position to fall back to sleep, all the while unsettled by sounds of walking, banging, and even occasional clattering noises under our bed. The only thing that kept me from disturbing Jeff from his sleep was the reassurance of the continued conversation and activity from our next-door neighbors. But why were these two still talking? It had to be at least 3:00 a.m. by now!
I finally fell back to sleep again but was awakened from a third night terror. This time, I was acutely aware that an invisible being was trying to push me off the bed. Again, my efforts to scream for help were unsuccessful, but I managed to muster enough resistance in my fitful sleep to keep from being shoved off the bed. Once more, I awakened to the sounds of my larynx moaning for help.
As I lay there in terror, I looked over at my peaceful husband, pondering if I should awaken him. But, I also feared falling back to sleep only to be overtaken by fear once again. Suddenly I noticed Jeff’s feet making quick movements. Surely he too was running from something evil in a dream. I nudged his stomach a few times until he woke up.
“Jeff, were you dreaming?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered groggily.
“What was your dream about?” I probed.
“Aaron (our son-in-law) had cousins who were teachers at Mission Valley High School. And I discovered they were all brilliant entrepreneurs making tons of money,” he answered, chuckling.
“So you weren’t being chased by something scary?” I continued, disappointed.
“No.”
I rehashed all the details of my restless and terrifying night to the backdrop of the sounds of the building being disturbed by wind and what I perceived footsteps.
“Jeff, I want to go home.”
“What? I just want to go back to sleep again.”
“What time is it?”
“4:24 a.m.”
“By now, lots of people are just starting their day. Maybe we could start our day too by getting out of here.”
“Why don’t we just lay still for a half hour before we go?” he suggested.
“O.k.,” I relented, reassured by my husband’s wakeful presence and the impending arrival of dawn.
A few short minutes passed before Jeff fell right back to sleep. I, on the other hand, continued to lie awake until at least 5:00 a.m., comforted once again by the sounds of murmured conversation next door.
“Wow, these people stay up late and get up early,” I mused, but then finally fell asleep.
I woke up at 9:00 a.m. to the brightness of the day and was relieved that I had gotten four hours of uninterrupted sleep and proud that I persevered through the night.
Jeff and I packed our belongings, entered the old elevator with its archaic chimes, perused the second floor with its vast ballrooms, and then left the expansive premises which appeared to be empty of people.
On the way back to Lawrence, I called my friend Becky who is the reason I discovered the Belvoir Inn in the first place. I told her all about our night.
“If you were curious the guests that you heard talking were real people, you could probably call and they would probably tell you. It’s not like you are asking for the names,” she suggested in a text after our conversation.
Hmmm . . . I hadn’t thought of that.
I called the Inn and a bartender from the winery picked up.
“My husband and I were guests in Suite #2 last night, and I’m calling to ask if you had guests in Suite #3,” I inquired.
“No guests in Suite #3,” she replied after checking, “But we had guests in Suite #4.”
“Seriously?” I mused, telling her about our ordeal.
Pondering the situation, I called again. This time a male answered the phone.
“Hey, I’m curious. Is Suite #4 adjacent to Suite #3, or is it across the hall from Suite #2?” I asked.
“Suite #4 is across the hall and down away from Suite #2,” he replied.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”
I told him all about the sounds in the room next door, sounds that Jeff heard as well. It dawned on me later how strange it was that two individuals constantly walked and moved chairs in a hotel room throughout the night. Why would any normal couple do that during a romantic getaway? They were no normal couple. They were for lack of a better word, a paranormal couple.
“We get that a lot here,” he chuckled.
Still a bit skeptical, I called again.
“Do you guys ever set up recordings of noises at your Inn just for the thrill of it?” I asked.
“No. We wouldn’t have the capability to do such a thing,” she replied.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was our night at The Inn at Belvoir Winery.
