‘Haunted’ resort in Dunsmuir the place fireplace broke out has unusual historical past

SAN FRANCISCO (CRON) – Dunsmuir is a quaint little town in the mountains of Northern California, and one hotel in the area has quite a colorful past. During the week of October 16, this spooky tale got a little more colourful.

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On Sunday October 16th, Mark Juarez, owner of Hotel Dunsmuir, was having a normal day renovating his historic hotel when one of his guests noticed the faint smell of smoke. Juarez says he found the source of the fire in Room 106 on the first floor before putting it out with a fire extinguisher, “which felt like overkill,” Juarez told KRON4.

Juarez says the initial fire looked small and was extinguished with no problems. As he gathered his contractor, asked a woman to call the fire department, and prepared to get guests out of the lobby just in case, the fire somehow reignited. When Juarez and his contractor returned to room 106, it was completely ablaze.

The men proceeded to empty three fire extinguishers into the blaze, but Juarez says they had no effect on the rising fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene and put out the fire a short time later, but Juarez says the incident still left him with many questions, such as how did this fire start?

Firefighters on site at the Dunsmuir Hotel fire on October 16 (photo courtesy of Mark Juarez)

The Hotel Dunsmuir suffered extensive smoke damage in the fire and Juarez says the City of Dunsmuir will not allow it to reopen and accept guests until a fire inspector comes to check the property. Juarez says because the Dunsmuir area is so small, he’s had a hard time getting hold of an inspector.

KRON4 contacted the Dunsmuir Fire team for more information but the email was not answered.

History of Hotel Dunsmuir

Locals know Hotel Dunsmuir as a haunted place due to its rich history. The hotel is 5 stories tall – the tallest in the county – but you wouldn’t realize it because the floors are inverted, meaning they go 4 stories down into the ground.

According to Hotel Dunsmuir’s website, the hotel was built in the 19th century, but the first building burned down in 1903 in a great fire that devastated the town. The building was rebuilt in 1904 and named The Weed Hotel, with renovations carried out “around the building’s original brick skeleton”.

In the 1940’s the hotel was renovated in Art Deco style and is known as ‘Dunsmuir’s Finest’ according to the website. There are even rumors that John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe would meet in Dunsmuir.

Juarez says the hotel’s paranormal history is one of the most interesting. A paranormal expert toured the hotel and told Juarez that 13 ghosts live there.

“He said the spirits are friendly, they are here to protect you. They won’t let you get hurt,” Juarez tells KRON4.

Filming of Hotel Dunsmuir

The history and rumors of hauntings at the hotel prompted film director and visual artist Michael Zaiko Hall to shoot his latest film, Hotel Dunsmuir, at the location in 2020.

“My producer stayed one night at the real Hotel Dunsmuir. He texted me and said, ‘There’s something very strange about this place,'” Hall told KRON4. After meeting the owner and touring the hotel himself, he knew this was the place to film.

All of the cast who booked the film also pledged to stay at the hotel for the duration of filming. Lead actress Jet Jandreau was excited about the idea of ​​staying there even after strange things happened.

Actors in Hotel Dunsmuir, including Jet Jandreau (photo courtesy of the Hotel Dunsmuir filmmakers)

“My ghost experience happened the very first night I was there. The spirits have been examining all these new people,” Jandreau said. On the day of her arrival, Jandreau removed all the pillows from the bed in her room because they were not to her liking. Jandreau says, however, that she woke up in the middle of the night with one of the largest throw pillows lying on the bed at her feet.

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“I was like, ‘Okay, I know someone’s trying to tell me this is their room,'” Jandreau told KRON4.

Jandreau wasn’t the only one to report strange happenings during filming. Hall says he also experienced some unexplained incidents. According to Hall, he was alone in a quiet room when “suddenly the bathroom faucets turned on full blast. It was extremely shocking,” Hall told KRON4.

During filming in April 2021, Juarez, Hall and Jandreau were surprised by a flock of birds. One night around 10 p.m., over 500 birds, later identified by Juarez as chimney sweeps, flew into the hotel lobby and immediately settled in. Juarez tells KRON4 that the five people in the lobby carried the birds out of the hotel one by one and released them.

Hotel Dunsmuir was released on streaming platforms in mid-October. The film also premiered at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, where Hall won the Best Director award.

Visit to Hotel Dunsmuir

Juarez hopes his hotel can attract more tourists to visit Dunsmuir and explore its beauty. He believes the hotel’s new burn scars only add more character to the property’s history. If you get a chance to visit the town of Dunsmuir, keep a close eye on the locals nearby – some have been cast in roles in Hotel Dunsmuir, giving the film an extra touch of local gravitas.

“We cast locals, people from Dunsmuir, and they did it!” Juarez said of the performances.