A Haunted History: Elise Roenigk’s Tales from the Crescent Hotel

Marty and Elise Roenigk bought the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs for $1.3 million in 1997. (Michael Pirnique)

The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs calls itself the most haunted hotel in America and capitalizes on its reputation with nightly ghost tours about the paranormal happenings.

When Elise and Marty Roenigk acquired the hotel in 1997, they heard the whispers about ghosts and decided the hotel should share (for the paying public) the stories about Michael, Theodora and Dr. Ellis, to name a few of the hotel’s most prominent ghosts.

For owner Elise Roenigk, her ghost story is more personal.

“I very clearly heard my husband say ‘Elise’ in our apartment once,” said Roenigk, who lives on the Crescent’s top floor. “I keep waiting for him to visit. People have told me they have seen him walking the dog. I wish he would visit.”

Elise Roenigk’s husband, Marty, died in a car accident in 2009. The couple met in college and were married 44 years until his death. They bought the Crescent for $1.3 million in 1997.

“I do talk to him,” Roenigk said. “I still expect him to walk through the door. There are times when I think he is just going to appear.”