I will start with my personal favorite: The Hornibrook Mansion.
Built in 1888 by a local saloon owner from Canada named James Hornibrook, the gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian still stands on South Louisiana Street and has been turned into a stunning bed and breakfast. He actually built it to rival the Villa Marre, which belonged to a competitor in the saloon business. It is not one of the most famous haunts in Arkansas, but it is definitely the most memorable for me.
When I arrived I was greeted by the owners and they showed me around. I asked Antonio about the hauntings and he told me that the spirits of the Hornibrooks are still very much there, but they respect them and choose not to communicate with them. They then informed me that they would be leaving to run a few errands and the only other guests besides me would not be arriving until later that night. I wasn't creeped out until I found myself completely alone in this huge, ornate mansion. After the owners left, I didn't feel alone and wandered around the grand foyer and the study. I'm not someone that claims to feel spirits or anything, but for some reason I was hesitant to make my way up the stairs.
I finally got my life together and made it up to the room I was staying in, which was James Hornibrook's bedroom. I unpacked my equiptment, turned on my voice recorder and began doing a baseline reading with my EMF meter to see if there was anything in the room giving off abnormally high levels of electromagnetic fields to rule out any false spikes. I did not get a single spike in the room. Upon evaluating the recording a couple days later I heard something while I had been doing my initial EMF reading that surprised me. I will try to find a way to upload it or you can ask me to show you when we visit but you can hear me say "your home is beautiful" and after that you can hear a "thank you." What makes this so impressive is that there was no one else in the house, nor any TV's on which completely rules out any noise contamination in the EVP. When I investigated The MacArthur Museum of Military History, I had the opportunity to share it with the author of Haunted Little Rock (Linda Howell) and she was so impressed she asked me to send it to her because of her love for that home.
I enjoyed a nice soak in the fabulous claw foot bathtub and did not recieve any further activity until the middle of the night. Around 1am I decided to break out my EMF meter while laying in bed. Just like earlier, I did not recieve any spikes at first. After about 10 minutes I started getting slightly higher readings. I asked if Mr. Hornibrook was with me and it lit up again. I got much higher readings when I told him how much I enjoyed his home and how appreciative I was for being able to stay there. He definitely still takes pride in his home. I ended up asking if he wanted to get in bed with me and it lit up all the way to red, which is as high as the device will measure. Guess you can say he still has exceptional taste in the ladies. The interaction eventually died down and I went to sleep.
The next morning after breakfast I had the pleasure of being taken up to Mr. Hornibrook's card room in the attic where he would host his card games and watch from the window for raids on his establishment.
It's safe to say that The Hornibrooks are still occupying their home and welcoming guests. ❤
The Mansion:
The Hornibrook Bedroom:
The Famous Card Room:
A portrait of James Hornibrook hanging in his bedroom: