Ghost Stories: The Essex and Sussex Hotel

The northern part of the Jersey coast is quite the location. The beach is large and well kept (better be since you have to pay to go on it in the summer). Spring Lake, NJ consists of many beautiful homes. Along the water has some monster-houses, but most are very classy. By far the biggest structure in the area is the Essex and Sussex Hotel.

The Essex and Sussex is the located on the water and is almost the size of a city block. It looks like a mix between an enormous beach house and a large government building. The town of Spring Lake has some very impressive houses along the water, but the Essex and Sussex seems larger than life.

As a young kid, I remember passing by the building and imagining what it could be. I pictured it being home to a king or some kind of royalty. Back when it was first built, it was a hotel that catered to the celebrities of the time period. Many parties and events featuring the powerful and wealthy took place. It must have been quite the hot-spot.

Over time, the Essex and Sussex lost its ability to function as a hotel and parts of the building were turned into a nursing home. I made a few deliveries to the kitchen when I worked as a truck driver. I can honestly say I never felt any weirdness being inside, but again, it is a very big place.

Parts of the building are uninhabited. There is a story of a contractor that was working on one of the floors. He decided to look around and explore some of the other rooms. He went to the 5th floor and down a hallway towards the front of the building. The contractor looked out at the ocean and appreciated the view. It is probably the best view of the Atlantic Ocean in Monmouth County.

The young man turned around and saw a woman at the other end of the long hallway. Apparently at first it seemed like someone walking towards their hotel room. He looked out the window and when he turned back he saw the woman again standing closer to him, looking at him. This time she disappeared once he saw her. Once again, the contractor looked out at the water then back again, and the woman appeared a couple doors closer and again promptly disappeared into the door.

After being throughly creeped-out, the man returned to where he was working. He told the story to a groundskeeper who told him that he had similar paranormal experiences on the 5th floor.

h/t WeirdNJ.com

We are working on finding out more on the 5th floor of the Essex and Sussex. We will try to get our friends from HOPE Paranormal to look for answers.