Haunted Miami: The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables

Many years ago I knew a girl at work who was murdered.  I used to live in Miami at the time and this girl was a receptionist in the executive offices of the large company where both of us worked.  Her work area was right next to mine.  She was super nice, very pretty, and I sensed a certain naivete about her. Whenever I passed by her desk, or she'd pass by mine, we'd talk a little.  One day she told me that she was really in love and that the guy was in jail.  He was allowed community outings on weekends (that's how they met), and he was going to be paroled very soon.  When he got out of jail, this girl married him and she left the company where we both worked.  I lost all contact with her until a couple of years later when a horrifying article appeared in The Miami Herald newspaper reporting of the murder of a young couple at, I believe, The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables--this girl and her husband were the victims.  The murder was apparently drug-related.  The couple was found dead in their room.  Their infant child was in the room with them, unharmed, and with a bag containing about $30,000 in cash in the crib.  I think it took hotel personnel a day or so to realize that these people were dead, so the child was in the room with his/her dead parents, unfed, and dirty.


The death of this girl had a terrible impact on me.  I was very young then, and like all the young, I thought of myself, and my friends, as invincible.  Dying the way this girl did is so awful.  I often thought of her afterwards as having taken just one wrong turn that resulted in her hooking up with the wrong guy.


I'm writing about this incident because I stumbled upon an article on the web (see below) regarding ghosts at The Biltmore Hotel.  Could her ghost, and that of her husband, be amongst the entities at The Biltmore?


I think The Biltmore has bad shit surrounding it.  If you look up some of its history on the internet, you'll find that when the hotel was first built as a fabulous resort for the ultra wealthy, the owners brought in red foxes and released them in the wooded areas surrounding the hotel so that its privileged guests could enjoy fox hunting.  Animal Slaughter.  And a resulting Bad Vibe.  This place has bad history.


One day back in the late '80s, I had to spend a good part of the day at The Biltmore while I met with some of its staff.  My boss was planning a large reception for a number of important foreign visitors, and The Biltmore was on our list of possible venues for a cocktail party and/or dinner.  We eventually chose another locale, but while I was in there that day, I was amazed by its luxury and astounding beauty, and at the same time, I was "creeped out" by something, but I never knew what it was.


Well, here's the web article about The Haunted Biltmore.  If any of you have heard about, or experienced,
anything haunted at The Biltmore Hotel, please let me know.  I'd love to hear about it!


With its beautiful tower as a beacon in the skyline, the Biltmore Hotel makes its luxurious presence known. Guests marvel at the old-world feel of the Biltmore hotel with its classy leather furnishings and the finches that make residence in bird cages in the lobby. Opening its doors almost eighty years ago, the hotel has had more than enough time to fill its historical quota and its spiritual one, as well. According to guests and employees of the Biltmore Hotel, room 702 is said to be haunted and there have even been images captured of this ghost. Also, the 13th floor which once housed a speakeasy back in the day is said to be haunted by the spirit of Fats Walsh, an old friend of Al Capone's. Fats was murdered on the 13th floor of this hotel and is said to have made the Biltmore his final resting place. Some say you can still see the bloodstains from his murder on the floor of the bathroom in the 13th floor suite while others say that Fats often causes the elevator to stop on the 13th floor without provocation.

Some Biltmore history: 
http://www.hauntedflorida.com/biltmore.htm

Fox Hunting at The Biltmore: 
http://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/asm0300&CISOPTR=84&CISOBOX=1&REC=4

Good Article with lots of Biltmore background:
Haunted Biltmore Article by Deena Budd BellaOnline's Paranormal Editor