♪ ♪ <i> - There are things around us</i> <i> that we don't
necessarily understand.</i> <i> Things could go
really bad really quick.</i> <i> I'm actually
having second thoughts</i> <i> about the whole thing.</i> ♪ ♪ <i> Imagine the scariest place
on Earth, and then times</i> that times, like, 100. <i>- I'm feeling desperate energy.</i> I'm not liking this. - Well, that's not a good sign. - This is like a death trap, this hotel. - She felt something pull her. - Oh, my God. - Holy [bleep].
- Don't go in there. - It's okay. - No, it's not okay. I just got the biggest chill run
down my spine. <i> Eric, we have to take care
of some business.</i> [eerie music] ♪ ♪ <i> - My name is Kim Russo,
and I am a psychic medium.</i> ♪ ♪ <i> When I was nine,
I was visited by the first</i> <i> of many dead people</i> <i> who wanted to communicate
with the living through me.</i> <i> Realizing that I couldn't
ignore my abilities,</i> <i> I chose to embrace them.</i> <i> Many people are haunted</i> <i> by traumatic paranormal events
buried in their past.</i> <i>Some of these people have faces
you might recognize.</i> <i> You've heard about
their paranormal experiences,</i> <i> now you're about
to witness the moment</i> <i> they take me back to the place
of the haunted in the hopes</i> <i> of uncovering the truth.</i> <i> This is "The Haunting
of Eric Balfour."</i> ♪ ♪ <i> - We are
in Mineral Wells, Texas,</i> and we are going back
to the Baker Hotel, and I don't know
what I was thinking. The last time I was here was,
like, five years ago. We were shooting this movie. It was a Western. We happened to be here
right around Halloween. So what else do you do
on Halloween night but sneak into an abandoned,
old, supposedly haunted hotel. Imagine the scariest place
on Earth, and then times that times, like, 100. <i> - We are two hours
outside of Dallas,</i> and I'm headed over
to meet with Eric Balfour. He's best known for his role in
"Six Feet Under." <i> He was in "24,"</i> and he just wrapped up
a sci-fi series, very popular,
called "Haven." And I'm picking up,
as I tune into him, that I feel like Eric was always
able to connect with energy. <i> He and his friends
broke into this hotel.</i> I think they got
a little bit more than what they bargained for. And I'm not quite sure
what Eric experienced, but I hope, I hope he didn't
stir something up more because sometimes humans go in, and they can aggravate
the spirits, <i> and make them angry
and pissed off.</i> <i> [eerie music]</i> ♪ ♪ - I was shooting a film in Texas in a very small town
called Mineral Wells. There was this one massive,
ominous building, and I started inquiring
about what that building was. <i> The building is actually
called the Baker Hotel.</i> Then everybody came because there were
these natural hot springs. As society moved
towards a more sort of modern approach to, you know, healing of ailments and disease, the healing powers of these natural spring waters
sort of lost their luster, and the hotel eventually ran out of money. One night, a group of us decided that we were gonna go
check this place out and go in. We found a broken widow
in one of the lower level rooms and were able to sneak
into the hotel. Once we were there,
we were all pretty freaked out. We started to ascend the stairs,
and, you know, you had to be very careful
walking around the place. But we made it up
to this floor, and as one of the flashlights
went up on the wall, it said, "Dead Boys." And we all kind of looked
at each other and, like, ugh. I was ready to go. I'd seen enough. You could feel something, you know, kind of like, you know, creeping up your back. Just something wasn't very nice
about that space. That's when things
started getting strange. Everyone started spreading
out and then-- - [screams] - One of the girls just let out
this blood-curdling scream, and I heard, like, a thump. Everyone sort of panicked, and we, you know, flashlights
were moving everywhere. - She's over here! - All I saw were half of legs
and feet laying on the ground and no upper body. <i> There was this closet,</i> <i> and her upper torso
was inside of it.</i> It was weird. <i> It was like this hidden space.</i> And we started to grab her
to help her up and make sure she was okay because we thought
maybe she'd just fallen. - No! No! - But that's not
how she described it at all. - No, no, no.
You don't understand. <i> - She over and over again
kept telling us</i> that something or someone
had grabbed her and pulled her. We said, "No, you probably
just fell." She was like, "No, I felt
someone grab me and pull me." ♪ ♪ - [screams] - She was sure
that it wasn't human. It was time to go,
and we all knew it. Whatever was in there
did not like us snooping around, and we needed to get out now. - Help!
- Guys, come on. - Get me out! - And then it got really hot
in there. I mean, it got really hot. That was probably, honestly, the scariest part. <i> And then it kind of hit us.</i> ♪ ♪ It felt like the building was
pressing us down these stairs, <i> and it wanted us out.</i> This source or this heat
was chasing us. - Over here! - We got down quick. You know, maybe going looking
for something sad and scary isn't the best idea. Maybe you're gonna find
sad and scary things. ♪ ♪ I'm a little scared of the idea of going in there
with somebody who can, you know, make the place
come to life, I mean, more than it already had. But I don't ever
want to look back and say I was afraid
to try something, but I'm actually
having second thoughts about the whole thing
now that I think about it. Things could go
really bad really quick. I'm not saying
this is a mistake. I'm not saying
we're making a mistake, but if it does go down that way, if this turns into, like,
"The Blair Witch Project," I told you so, pretty much. ♪ ♪ <i> - Well, I did try to tune in
to this Baker Hotel</i> already just to see
what I'm getting myself into, and it's a mixed bag
of emotions. I am feeling a lot of anger. I'm feeling desperate energy. Remorseful. A very dark energy. And I'm picking up
on a young man that frequents
this hotel in spirit. Maybe he worked at the hotel. He's calling everybody ma'am
and sir, but he seems like
a little bit of a weasel. I don't know. There's something
about him I don't trust. ♪ ♪ I just feel there's
a lot of secrets. Whatever this is, there's a lot of souls there
that I feel need help. It makes me wonder
what happened here. That has to be
the hotel right there. Ooh, hoo-hoo. And this is no joke, there's something
about this hotel that I feel I have
to amp up my protection today. ♪ ♪ Oh, man. ♪ ♪ I cannot even believe this. I see at one time this place
was absolutely grand and beautiful. But I also feel that there's
a lot of souls here that are trapped inside, and they're wanting help. They came here for healing, but some of them didn't
make it out alive. I'm hearing a lot
of cries of help. I'm seeing a lady walking. She paces back and forth, and she's looking at her watch. She's waiting for some man
to come and pick her up. And I feel like my chest
wants to explode. I don't know why. And that could be very dangerous
for a medium when there's this amount
of concentrated energy. I wonder if Eric even knows
what he's in for today. ♪ ♪ You sure you want to do this? You're not making me feel
very comfortable to be honest. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - That could be very dangerous
for a medium when there's this amount
of concentrated energy. I wonder if Eric even knows
what he's in for today. ♪ ♪ - Well, here we go. Here we are. ♪ ♪ Hi.
- Hi, Eric. - How are you?
- Oh, my God. Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. How do you do?
- How do you do? - Uh... I don't know.
You tell me. - I'm not liking this. - Well, that's
not a good sign. - Well,
you initiated all of this. How do you feel being back? Like, does this bring
back memories? - Yeah, it looks just as bad
as it did then. How many stories have you heard
since you've been here? - I didn't hear any stories. - Oh, okay.
- I just know I-- - Well, if you talk to people
in the town, they all have a story
about this place. - I just know what I've been
picking up in the car, and it's a lot going on. - I think there's a lot
here too. I mean, we felt it last time
we were here. - I want to hear a little bit
about it, but not just yet. There's a couple things
I'm feeling about you that I started
picking up already. I don't know if you're
sensitive to energy. - Maybe. - I have a feeling you might be, and it's important for me to go ahead of myself <i> into the energy
of the structure</i> <i> and the person
I'm going to spend the day</i> with to see how safe I am. - I think you're gonna
be pretty safe with me. I got your back. - I have a feeling
once it falls nighttime, there's going to be
a very, very crowded hotel. - Well,
now you're starting to scare me. - What do you hope to find out
here today with my help? - Okay, if I'm being honest?
- Yeah, please. Always. - I find the idea of places like this telling. - Oh, it's telling, all right. <i> - I think it's important
to start to pay attention</i> <i> to those things.</i> - Well, I feel
you do know things, and maybe by the end of the day I'll help you bring
those things out, if possible. Are you ready to do this? ♪ ♪ - Yeah. ♪ ♪ - Oh, wow.
Look at this. This must be the lobby. There's energy just
going all around. I just feel this, this--wow,
I can't explain it to you. - Well, you know, what's the saying, better to ask
forgiveness than permission? - Are you sure
you want to do this? You're not making me
feel very comfortable, to be honest. You're too---
- Yeah. I'm okay. - You're too cavalier
about this. I called in all my spirit guides
today for protection. - Did they answer? - Let me ask you a question. You're a funny guy, but I feel
like there's a lot more to you, and I don't always
tell people that. - I don't know.
- I don't know. I think--did you ever do
the Ouija Board? I see you invoking spirits. - I have lots of people
who watch my back too. - Yeah, but I see a Native
American Indian with you. A huge dude. Does it make sense if he were
to say to me, "People I helped
become purified?" - That's my Grandpa who is a Native American elder. - He helped people find
their spiritual oneness, or-- - Yeah, absolutely.
- In their spiritual journey. This man has some pull
on the other side. - Yeah. Native American ceremonies, they're passed down
from generation to generation. He's always got my back. - Linda.
- Who's Linda? Linda is here. - Yeah? - She feels like a mother
energy, older. - She was my aunt-in-law. - She just stepped forward
in front of your grandpa. - She was my grandpa's
daughter-in-law, yeah. - Well,
they're standing together. - Oh. - And I have to tell you though, I think Grandpa's gonna
be with us all day. - He'll take good care of us.
- All right, that's good. I feel more safe
if they were with us because I've been feeling
something very shady about this hotel because there's
an angry young man that's been with me,
and I sent him upstairs. - We should go talk to him. - And I don't know
what's pissing him off. - Well, you know, sometimes
people just need to be heard. - I'm gonna trust your gut. ♪ ♪ Look at this. I swear we are
stepping back in time. - Holy [bleep]. Wow.
- [gasps] - It's so crazy.
- Oh, my God. My legs are feeling numb. ♪ ♪ Come, come away from there. There's an energy
that died here. I think it's that male
I'm picking up on. Oh, my God. I keep hearing
a buzzing sound psychically. Something happened back
in the day. Don't go in there. - Okay.
- No, it's not okay! Do not go in there. I don't have
a good feeling about it. Can I just tell you something? You have, like,
a lot of energy, and ghosts feed
off of our energy. - You know, curiosity
killed the cat, huh? - Yeah, Eric. ♪ ♪ Eric, there's a lot of deaths
that happened in this hotel. I was feeling that in the car. I'm even feeling it more now. I don't know yet, but this man-- several people died. This was some kind of evil. Evil energy.
Darkness. This is like a death trap, this hotel. ♪ ♪ This is not a hotel room. This is something else up here. What was that?
Someone's calling us. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - This was some kind of evil. Evil energy. This is like a death trap, this hotel. Let's head upstairs. - These are the stairs
we went up last time. I know it got weirder
the higher we went. - If these walls could talk. ♪ ♪ Wow. Oh, my God. The energy has just changed at least ten degrees
from right there. Is that a bed? - That's a bed. - This is not a hotel room. This is something else up here. - No, this whole section
doesn't feel like hotel rooms. ♪ ♪ - I'm seeing people
lying in cots, like sick people. Eric, feel the energy. It almost smells
like an infirmary. - The whole mineral water
thing here, you think-- - Oh, the mineral water.
That's right. - They thought, you know,
that was one of the things about the hotel was
that it had, like, healing-- - I feel this is the floor
that they stayed on. But I have to tell you, I'm not buying
into this mineral water. That's what I'm feeling, but that doesn't make
me feel any better. - Well, like, you know,
you come into a place like this and I mean,
I don't know anything-- - Is that a gynecology table? Like, stirrups where you would
put your feet in? - Why does it have a knob? - Isn't this bizarre?
Oh, what is that table? - Why would your feet
and legs be-- - Wait a minute. I just picked up, like, tubes and drainage. That's what I'm sensing. - This table has actual--
I mean, there's like-- this is a motor. - I'll bet you
they did colonics. I'll bet you that goes, exactly what I just
said about people coming here that's sick
and somebody misleading them. Don't, don't touch it,
don't touch it. ♪ ♪ I'm getting a sense
of very strange energy. ♪ ♪ I have to tell you, I'm not buying
into this mineral water. Somebody, I think, promoted it
as something that it wasn't. ♪ ♪ - C-O-L-O-N-I-C Irrigation. - Holy. Can I just tell you?
- Yeah. - I have a feeling
that they were pumping false hope
into these people. ♪ ♪ Keep them paying big money. - Keep them coming back. - Everything I'm seeing,
this was an affluent hotel. And I keep feeling
that angry young kid. I can't really ignore him
because his energy is just becoming more
and more strong with me. This was an affluent hotel, and he was in on some kind of-- something shady
with money and... He's a child, but I'll tell you
one thing, Eric, he really had to grow up fast. But somehow he's pissed off. I feel like you remind him
of someone. - I remind him of himself. - You think?
- Yeah, probably. - Why? Were you like that? - I left home
when I was really young, and I had
to take care of myself, and I was pretty angry
about that, so... - How did you take care
of yourself? - Any way I could. When you have to take care
of yourself, you lose out
on a lot of-- - Life?
- Life and safety. And you never really get
to get that feeling back. Most people don't do bad things
because they're evil. - They do bad things
because they're scared. - Exactly. - I'll tell you,
your story could have turned out
really bad, and it didn't. - No. - Well, I don't think
it quite worked out for him. You could really be that voice
for so many people that are alone and afraid. And it's just weird
how we're standing in a place that people were
trying to get healed. - The people
here had a sense of hope that they were
going to be healed? - They did, and I'm feeling
that there was an energy here, there was a person
here back in the day that--they weren't
pure of their heart. ♪ ♪ - There's... I don't know.
There's something-- Somebody didn't like
you saying that. ♪ ♪ - This is creepy. - I don't like this room. - I just got the biggest
chill run down my spine. Let's get out of here. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - There was a person
here back in the day that--they weren't
pure of their heart. ♪ ♪ - Somebody didn't
like you saying that. There's something creepy
in here now. - Yeah. ♪ ♪ I've yet to see this place
look like a hotel room. Let's see what's in here. Ooh, I'm sensing
that there's a lot of activity in this room. ♪ ♪ This was not used
for a hotel room. I don't feel that at all. A lot of shady, shady dealings. I see men with a long table, and there's piles
and piles of money. - Could it have been, like,
an apartment of a manager or managers, owners, somebody. - Okay,
you're putting it really nicely because I keep
sensing bags of money going in and out. I'm sensing this man
in this room. He came in and out. You don't know anything about
the owner of this hotel, do you? - No. - I see people
calling him Mr. Baker. Shaking his hand. But I almost feel like people
feared him as well. He made this hotel his life. What was that?
You want to? Look at you.
What was that? This is so bizarre because--
I don't know, I'm getting just--I can't really
stay in this room. This is- - Then we should leave
this room. - What is that noise? - Do you want to find out? ♪ ♪ - Someone's calling us. Do you think it's Mr. Baker? - I have a feeling it's not
gonna be someone very friendly. ♪ ♪ - I smell, like, a lady's
perfume all of a sudden. How are you feeling
as I tell you all this? - I keep-- I mean, like, honestly? - Yeah.
- I keep thinking go up. I don't know why. - I'm with you.
- Really? - Because this is not
where it ended. - No, when we were here last and whatever we experienced,
that was, like, up almost on the top floor. - Let's go.
- After you. - Thank you. - Famous last words. ♪ ♪ This floor looks familiar. This is the floor we were on. - This is it?
- I think so, yeah. I think it's that room. ♪ ♪ - "Dead boy.
Dead boy." This is creepy. It says, "We're here." - I don't like this room. - No. Let's get out of here. I'm ready to leave because I just got
the biggest chill run down my spine. ♪ ♪ - Yeah, we can leave. - Thank God
you agree with me on this one. - Yeah, this is the room,
and then that means [indistinct] was over there. - That was it?
- Yeah. Yeah. - Do you want to go in? - I will. - Is this where you had
your experience? - Mm-hmm. Okay, how you doing? - Go ahead. Are you sure this is it? - Yeah, yeah, this is it. Hang on, hang on, hang on. ♪ ♪ - Should I come in? - Yeah, you can come in. ♪ ♪ - Tell me your story. - So we were--we came in here. It didn't look
like this in here. So we came through here, and it was
the one production girl. She felt something
pull her through here, like, into the closet. ♪ ♪ - There's so much death
that occurred here. I feel there must
have been suicides. I see a man clenching his chest. He's with us. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - So we came in here. It was the one production girl. She felt something
pull her through here, like, into the closet. She panicked and freaked out. So then we all, you know,
we took off down the stairs, and we left. - I did see a woman pacing
when I was standing out there. She kept looking at her watch like she was waiting
for someone to pick her up. I do sense a woman. - The story was that there was, like, a mistress of somebody
important at the hotel, and the story goes that
she was distraught or upset, and that she jumped
or got pushed. ♪ ♪ - Listen,
we're on the same page. There's something here. There's this woman. There's a man
that's been following us. He's some sort of authority
in this hotel. - You said you felt, like, bad people
on the other side. - I don't necessarily
mean he's bad, but I do feel
he did bad things while he was alive. I almost feel like you didn't
finish the story. Like, that's all that happened? - I mean, somebody thought
that something grabbed them. - What did you do? What did you do
when the girl freaked out? What did everybody else feel? - I told whoever was here with us--it's
gonna sound ridiculous. - What? - I just told them, "It's okay," and then I said, "Look, we're not here
to hurt you, "and, you know, you don't need
to be afraid of us." - You were talking out loud
to this entity. - Yeah.
- That was a perfect move. But did you feel
that it did anything? ♪ ♪ - Whatever's here is still here. - There's so much death that occurred here
over the years, like I said. I feel like there must
have been suicides. People died in their sleep. I see a man clenching his chest, and no one was there. He died all alone, and he keeps
showing himself to me. He's with us. I think he's Mr. Baker. It's my feeling,
but I can't prove it. I don't know yet. I want to talk to somebody. Is there, like--do we have
the guy who works here? Is there a guy that can
give us some information? ♪ ♪ - Hey.
How you doing? Eric. - Are you the official man here? - I'm the building official
from the city, yes. - I am picking up on so many
different deaths in this hotel. - That would make sense
for this building. There's probably
no end to people who have lost their life here. - Wow. - Was any part
of the mineral water healing magic, was that a scam? - Here's the rub is that, yes, it did work
on very low cases, but people were coming here
to cure cancer, tuberculosis, and the claims were made
that this water would heal you. - And the benefits
of it were maybe exaggerated? - The claims
outweighed the results a lot. - Well, to me that sounds
like shady business, and I've been picking up
shady energy the whole day. I'm also picking up
on an angry young boy who has this slick way
about him. He's young. He used to schmooze
the rich people, and they used
to tip him very big. - Well, that would make sense
because there was an elevator operator
that worked here. He was 16 years old, and he passed away getting
crunched by the elevator that he ran. - That's maybe why I felt
my legs by the elevator. - Yeah, I remember that. - And what's with this lady
that I keep seeing? She's pacing back and forth
looking at her watch. She's waiting for someone
to pick her up, but she never left. - That is probably the mistress, the famous mistress
that was here. Mr. Baker took
control of the hotel, and during his reign there was a mistress
that occupied this space. - She hid in this room. - This was where she was
holed up, basically. - She never left. I feel she died here. - As far
as we know is that she jumped. - Is her name Virginia?
- Yes. Virginia Brown. - She's here. - We didn't know anything
at the time, and we were still drawn
to this part of the hotel. - What's bugging
me is I am not convinced that you were drawn
into this room by a woman ghost alone. There was something else
going on. The one that I feel
is with me all day is the one
that really ran this hotel. I kept feeling this tightness
on my chest the whole day. Did he die in this hotel? - Yes, ma'am.
In the Baker suite. - You're the magnet. There's a reason this male
presence wanted your attention. Ghosts don't just come
to us, or chase us, or hunt us down for no reason, and I have to find out
the reason. All right,
so Mr. Baker's room, that's where we need to go next. Thank you for validating that. - Yes, Ma'am.
- Thank you, sir. - Are you ready? ♪ ♪ Whoa. There's a very different
feel up here than there was downstairs. This is not--my heart's
even racing faster now. I think that what we're looking
for lies behind this door. <i> [eerie music]</i> ♪ ♪ There's something about you. When you started talking
to the ghost down in that room, it was you. You got more than
what you bargained for. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - I think that
what we're looking for lies behind this door. ♪ ♪ - It's a weird vibe. ♪ ♪ - Look at this.
This had to be his office. ♪ ♪ Mr. Baker's with us. - Uh... - Eric, we have to take care
of some business. This guy's not resting. - Not a whole lot
of resting in general going on in this place. - This hotel
was intended for good, and it turned out so bad. And this Mr. Baker really,
really feels responsible. You know, I have to tell you, I can't help but feel that there's something about you when you started talking
to the ghost down in that room, he heard you talking. Not Virginia.
- Hm. - It was not Virginia. She grabbed your friend 'cause she's desperate
to get out of there, and she just wanted
to grab somebody, say, "Please help me." And she saw another female,
and there it was. - Hm. - You got more
than what you bargained for. Mr. Baker came running
after you guys, but it was you. You know why? - I'm not sure. - Because you acknowledged him
by talking. Even though you didn't know
who you were acknowledging. Okay? You understood that what you came
in contact with was a person with feelings and emotions, and someone
who lived at one time. There's a lot, a lot
of regrets and remorse. He has so much remorse, this man. - He made a lot of mistakes. - A lot of mistakes,
but you were trying to help. But what he's telling me, and please correct me
if this is not correct that he recognized something in you where you stand for people
who don't have a voice. Is that true?
I'm not asking you-- - It's certainly the person
I would want to be. - Okay.
Well, let me ask you this. Why do I keep hearing
the word advocate? Are you an advocate for a lot
of different things? What are you an advocate for? - Well, I mean, there's a bunch
of things, I guess, that are really important to me. - You were the one that he saw
who could help him that day when you came here
five years ago. When you walk into a room,
and you can't tell me your grandfather
didn't teach you this, honoring the spirits. - Mm-hmm. - And that's
what you did that day. You honored the spirits
that we hear. And whether you know it or not, you're coming back here
to honor the spirits. - Hm, well... - I have an idea. I like to typically light
a white candle because for me the flame can represent the way
for the spirit to go. And perhaps maybe you
and I can coax Mr. Baker to leave or to say it's okay. What do you think? - I think a candle
would work just fine. ♪ ♪ - Because I want
to ask Mr. Baker, if he's able to hear us, if he can manipulate the flame. Mr. Baker, show us a sign
through the flame. You see that? Whoa. Look, look at this flame. Eric, what would you
say to Mr. Baker? - Nobody else is gonna forgive
him until he forgives himself. ♪ ♪ Every waking moment is a chance
to turn it all around. - There's always mercy
waiting for you, and you have another chance
to make it right. Look at the flame. - Our work here is done. - I really feel your grandpa's
very proud of you today. - It feels better.
- Oh, that felt good. <i> - I think the biggest thing
I learned was</i> that it's okay
to be open to these things. <i> It's a very cool feeling</i> to have somebody else be able
to feel the same things you're feeling, <i> but I think at the end
of the day</i> <i> we hopefully made it
a little better.</i> <i> - Coming
to the Baker Hotel</i> <i> was really
out of my comfort zone,</i> but it really did turn out
to be an experience that was enlightening
for me and for Eric, <i> and I hope today
helped him to show others</i> <i> that it's okay</i> to talk about this energy that we know is there
but we cannot see it. <i> I hope that I helped
give him some courage</i> <i> to speak to more spirits
that he feels around,</i> and maybe he can help them as he goes along
his journey in life.
