Uh oh...
It appears that you're using a severely outdated version of Safari on Windows. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. Please try viewing this website in Edge, Mozilla, Chrome, or another modern browser. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!
Read More about this safari issue.
The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs is renowned for its grand architecture and stunning views. It’s also considered “America’s Most Haunted Hotel.”
Built in 1886, it opened as a luxury resort for the affluent seeking health and relaxation. It was leased to the Frisco Railroad in 1905 under the assumption that renovations would be made and the hotel would continue to serve as a first-class establishment. A decline in the railroad led to that lease being terminated, and in 1908, the building became the Crescent College & Conservatory for Young Women, serving as one of the most exclusive boarding schools for “fine young ladies” in Arkansas. The school closed during the Great Depression and, in 1937, was purchased by a man named Norman Baker, who would transform the Crescent into “Baker’s Cancer Curing Hospital.”
Born and raised in Iowa, Norman Baker spent nearly ten years as a performer in his own traveling vaudeville-inspired troupe before he began a radio show in 1925. KTNT (Know The Naked Truth) was heard nationwide and provided Baker with a platform to discuss rural and small-town issues, including denouncing the American Medical Association. He used his platform to promote Herbert Hoover’s presidential campaign, which paid off when the newly elected president helped launch his newspaper, the Midwest Free Press and a tabloid magazine called TNT.
Public Domain
In 1929, Baker ran a story touting his cancer treatment. Despite lacking medical training, he opened the Baker Institute in Muscatine, Iowa, and began treating patients for cancer and other ailments. With the help of chiropractors, naturopaths and some questionable “doctors,” Baker directed the treatment of hundreds of patients. The hospital brought in over $75,000 a month in revenue.
Baker’s radio show became increasingly polarizing, and after upsetting many residents of Iowa and having his radio show shut down, Baker arrived in Eureka Springs in 1937, claiming to have the cure for cancer. His charm and confidence in the story he sold inspired confidence in the residents of the failing resort town. Baker’s claims promised desperate patients hope and healing, offering treatments that would supposedly eradicate cancer without the need for surgery or harsh radiation. His “cures” included a bizarre mix of injections, potions and dietary concoctions.
Photo provided by the Crescent Hotel Archives.
Baker’s cookbook, “The Road to Health,” outlined many of his proposed remedies for ailments, including cancer, varicose veins, goiters, arthritis, diabetes, and more. The cookbook suggested common sense practices such as eating fruits and vegetables, avoiding alcohol and smoking and maintaining positive thinking. Some of his recipes, like one for soybean curd cookies, have piqued the interest of those curious about the macabre treatments that may have occurred at the Baker Hospital. Patients were instructed to eat these cookies as part of their daily health plan and believed the ingredients would heal them from the inside out.
Baker’s hospital attracted patients from across the country, desperate for survival. Yet, sometimes, things seem too good to be true because they are too good to be true. Baker was a master of persuasion, using his radio station, pamphlets and charm to lure patients on false pretenses. Baker’s methods and claims of cures not only failed to treat cancer but often led to unnecessary suffering and death.
Public Domain
Norman Baker’s downfall didn’t come from his dangerous medical practices or the further suffering he caused. Baker had been using the postal service to promote his fraudulent cures, and it was this violation that finally led to a four-year federal prison sentence. Baker’s credibility was further damaged and the hospital closed. After leaving prison, Baker lived out his remaining days in a borrowed boat off the coast of Florida.
After Baker’s disgraced departure, the hospital was converted back to a hotel in 1946. Over the years, fires have ravaged sections, renovations have been made, and slowly but surely, the Crescent Hotel has achieved the glory it was originally designed for.
Photo provided by the Crescent Hotel Archives.
In recent years, the Crescent Hotel has found fame as America’s most haunted hotel. The ghosts of those who sought treatment under Baker’s care are said to linger in the halls, their restless spirits still searching for the healing they never received. Visitors and staff have reported seeing apparitions and hearing strange noises. The claimed paranormal activity has attracted visitors from around the world, including some of the most renowned paranormal researchers.
One of the most famous ghosts associated with Norman Baker is “Theodora,” a woman believed to be a patient at the hospital. She is often seen fumbling for her room key or straightening the furniture in Room 419. Another is a four-year-old called “Breckie,” who dies of complications from appendicitis. There is even a ghost cat that roams the grounds.
Today, the hotel’s eerie atmosphere, ghost tours and paranormal investigations draw countless visitors curious to encounter the remaining spirits. While Norman Baker’s scam has long been exposed, the Crescent Hotel’s haunted legacy gives a voice to the souls of those harmed by Baker’s web of deception.
Cover photo provided by the Crescent Hotel Archives.
We do the work.
You check your email.
Sign up for our weekly e-news.
Get stories sent straight to your inbox!
Like this story? Read more from Julie Kohl
Arkansas winters may not always bring snow, but they’re certainly known...
Everyone loves the cascading sound and hypnotizing appearance of...
Exploring Arkansas with my husband and son is always an adventure....
Join the Conversation
Leave a Comment