Manresa Castle

As told supposedly by the bartender. The picture of a young woman, thought to be English Kate hung on the wall, as of 2008.

She came and stayed at Manresa Castle, in 1921, to wait for her beloved to return from the sea. Perhaps she was a relative of the caretaker, who stayed at Manresa Castle as the one looking after the place. Disaster struck when her beloved's ship sank, and it was feared that all had died aboard. In her great distress, she killed herself by jumping out the window in room 306, not able to cope with life without him. However, it was learned afterward that her beloved had survived and had been picked up by a passing boat.

Story Legend 2: Added twists were revealed/confessed to investigator/author Jeff Dwyer by the female spirit, thought to be English Kate herself. Hopefully, she felt some peace in telling what really happened, if this indeed is true.

Because it was such a long time to wait, she became lonely, and got tired of waiting. Kate went out to have a good time, and inadvertently became pregnant. While she was very upset when she heard that her fiancee's ship had sunk, and mourned for weeks, Kate panicked when she learned that he had actually been saved from the sea by a passing boat, probably at the same time that she realized she was with child. Too ashamed to face her fiancé, she jumped out of the window, killing herself on the sidewalk in front of the castle.

Shame and guilt suffered because of a big sin, and/or being wrongly accused of something, can cause hauntings as well.

Story Legend: A wayward Jesuit Priest in Training. Told by the bartender.

This young Jesuit priest in training who may have had emotional issues, broke the rules of behavior by having “unsupervised visits” with a nun residing in town. When called out on this after he was caught, he probably experienced some scorn, punishment and derision, and a threat of expulsion, causing him to become distraught and unhinged. They may have accused him of having carnal relations, while he just was talking to her as a friend. Or, perhaps he did fall in love with her, and did “have intimate relations” as he was accused of doing. He is said to have hung himself in the attic, from the rafters that support the turret, right above Room 302.

While there is no record of a Jesuit student hanging himself in the attic, this is an event that if it happened would probably be kept quiet, because this would be a terrible black eye on the Jesuit College, Manresa Hall, that one of their own committed a cardinal sin on their watch in their building. Though his death certificate would've been a public document, perhaps they just used his civilian name, instead of his church-given name. Port Townsend officials were very sensitive about suicide and the embarrassment of the people left behind.

While there is no record of a Jesuit student hanging himself in the attic, there is a recorded story of another suicide connected to the original Eisenbeis family. People who commit suicide often find that this desperate act doesn't give them the peace and escape they were expecting. As spirits, they sometimes try to find the peace they didn't have while alive in a place they know and love.

Charles son, Charles, Jr., killed himself in the basement of the Baker building in Port Townsend, on September 29, 1897. Perhaps his business was failing, or some other tragedy he couldn't face pushed him over the edge of sanity.

He probably grew up or spent some time in the beloved family castle, and if his father was there, in his afterlife, perhaps Charles joined him there, afraid to continue onto the other side because of his actions.

Throughout the castle, the living experience a variety of odd things.

Doors open and close by themselves.

Lights have a mind of their own. Unexplained puffs of air spurt quickly off the shoulders of people walking down the hallways.

This Haunted House of Horror is brought to you by Manimal and Heidi!