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The hotel was actually called the Griffin Hotel when it was built in 1910, standing 5 stories and 60,000 square feet. It was sold after construction for 75,000 with 60 luxury rooms and suites, plus a grand ballroom. The price for a room was $2.00 per night unless you wanted to stay in a room with a bath room then the price was $2.50. The Griffin Hotel was the place to stay while visiting or passing through Griffin. It stood tall through the prohibition and the depression. It closed its doors in the 70’s and reopened in 2013 as Sinister Suites Haunted Hotel. CECILIA’S STORY They say the fall of 1919 was when the Griffin Hotel started to attract evil from both the fleshly and spirit worlds. It was at that time when, young dark haired Cecilia Meadows, was traveling through Griffin, GA with her parents, Maria & Redford Meadows. Sleep had overtaken young Cecilia on the long journey. Mr. Meadows carried her exhausted body as they checked-in. Bellemore, the bellhop, gathered their luggage and escorted the Meadows family to one of the hotel’s most elegant suites. As Mr. Meadows tucked Cecilia into bed, Mrs. Meadows asked Bellemore about the poster she had seen advertising a traveling freak show. Bellemore informed her that not only had the freak show just arrived in town that very day but the performers themselves were guests of the hotel. Though uncomfortable that the hotel was filled with freaks, both of the Meadows’ were still intrigued by Bellemore’s description of the performers and desired to see the show. Mrs. Meadows was curious to see Spidora the Human Spider and Redford was fascinated about the man who wrestled a wild bear. bBellemore observed that it was still early in the evening and encouraged them to take in the show while he kept an eye on the sleeping Cecilia. Knowing they would only be gone a short while and feeling they could trust friendly Bellemore the Meadows’ headed to the show. Little did young Cecilia’s parents know but Bellemore was not a bellhop and did not even work for the hotel. He was an escaped patient from the Taylor Memorial Hospital psychiatric ward in Hawkinsville, GA who was traveling with the freak show. Recognizing a fellow demented soul, the freaks had welcomed him into their sadistic family. It was that fateful day of October, 16th 1919, that evil rolled into the unsuspecting town of Griffin. Upon arriving at the hotel, Bellemore had brutally murdered all of the employees. After delivering a few choice bits of flesh to some of his fellow freaks, he distributed the dismembered body parts throughout the hotel grounds and dressed himself as a bellhop. As the Meadows’ entered the freak show a fire began in one of the tents where it raged out of control down East Taylor Street, reaching as far as the corner of Solomon and Hill Street. Some believe that it was an accident while many more believe that it was purposely set by the freaks, in retaliation for how badly they were treated. Either way, dozens of innocent souls burned to death in their homes while a full moon shined down upon the town. As the citizens of Griffin were tallying the names of the deceased, two officers approached the hotel to see if anyone was missing. After questioning Bellemore and checking the registry, the officers departed the hotel believing that no guests were missing. Thanks to Bellmore there was no record of Redford, Maria, or Cecilia Meadows ever checking in or out. The only evidence that they were planning on traveling through Griffin was a letter Mr. Meadows had sent to his sister. By the time his sister became concerned and alerted authorities the Meadows family had entirely vanished. It was months later, as a city official was passing the hotel, that he noticed the silhouette of a young girl hanging in a top floor window. In his report he stated that she was around 9 years of age with dark hair. She had been starved to the brink of death, beaten, tortured, and mutilated beyond recognition before being strangled to death. The doctor observed that all her teeth had been pulled or broken and in her starvation she was lead to suckle the blood from her inflicted wounds. There was no way to determine if that was young Cecilia. When officials questioned the hotel they were fooled into believing that a guest must have left the girl hanging there while passing through. After collecting false names from the hotel’s registry the officials left to begin pursuing supposed suspects. The psychos and freaks had displayed a deceitful façade of running an elegant hotel while pretending all was well. To this day they all live, work, and play there. It is said that during the month of October the original bellhops, whom were murdered so long ago, come back to guide new guest. Some even say they occasionally see young Cecilia hanging in the halls of what is now know as the Sinister Suites Hotel of Horror. A POOR MAN’S STORY Early 1925 the hotel was still holing it’s façade by the murderous imposters. The depression hit the area hard. Men, women and children were starving, thirsty, filthy, sick and dying. People would come up missing a lot in these years. Some would say the starving was drawn to cannibalism others say families disappeared on their way in search of better lives. How curious it didn’t affect the stature of the hotel at all. In fact this façade was so enticing and elegant it attracted some of the most richest and well known. The most reched, raunchy, and revolting. They were publically known as the most elite of gentlemen but it was a mask to cover the brutal greed mentality of these men. Throughout Griffin it was rumored that these are the men made underground tunnels from certain salon lounges that lead to the lower basement of the hotel. In the basement there was a room with three 10ft concrete walls and one iron fence which enclosed it all. On the other side of the fence, standing room set up for some kind of show to watch. For sport, these greedy retched men would search for the poorest, and starving of men who would do almost anything for money to feed themselves and families. They would talk the men into entering this unethical escape proof wring to wrestle a bear. If the poor men could last 30 seconds they would be paid greatly. In actuality, no man could live through this. It was just a show and means to bet on how long the poor men would last. The families would never see their husband and father and brothers again and they certainly never received any money. It was said that all men who entered died gruesome deaths as they were torn apart and eaten alive by the bears. Some have said, you can still hear the cries of these anguished men, guilty only of poverty and love for their families. 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