Image by Midjourney.com
The elegance of New Year’s Eve often brings betrayal, deception, and mystery. Appearances of unexpected phantasmic partygoers are reported all over the United States on New Year’s Eve. Some have stories to tell, and others remain a mystery. Their spirits forever longing for the year to come, winding between worlds, caught in the regrets of the year that passed.
The building of the Drake Hotel in Chicago was a monumental endeavor. The hotel, which is located at 140 E. Walton Place was conceived by architect Benjamin Marshall and financed by John and Tracy Drake. Construction began in the early 20th century, and the hotel finally opened its doors on New Year’s Eve in 1920. The building’s architecture reflects the grandeur and elegance of the Jazz Age, making it a prominent landmark on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Since its opening, the Drake Hotel has hosted numerous distinguished guests, from celebrities to royalty, adding to its rich history and reputation.
On New Year’s Eve, 1920, the Drake Hotel hosted a lavish gala in the Gold Coast Room to celebrate its grand opening. Among the attendees was a woman, known to us as the Woman in Red. She was there, brimming with joy, having been proposed to by her boyfriend just a week earlier on Christmas Eve. Her happiness, however, was short-lived. She discovered her beloved fiancé in the arms of another woman. Devastated, she fled to the hotel’s rooftop and, in her despair, ended her life. The Windy City’s Drake Hotel was labeled one of the finest hotels in the world when it opened in 1920. Built-in 1919 by two financiers, brothers John B. Drake and Tracy Corey Drake, it opened its doors on New Year’s Eve 1920 to 2,968 of Chicago’s finest and wealthiest citizens. Tickets were not cheap at $10 a head! The equivalent of $150 in today’s money. Three hundred fifty waiters served a midnight dinner, and four orchestras provided entertainment! Gaiety ensued in full force, but for some, this night would be their last—the spirit of a mysterious woman in red haunts the tenth floor of The Drake. Her story is one of great tragedy, and like many others, she visited the Drake and never left. Many have seen her, and some have even been lucky enough to capture her apparition on film floating through the hallways.
The roaring 20s is a decade famous for such indulgence and effervescent luxury. In accordance came some controversial murders, and that night at The Drake was no exception. The elegant dinner and lively dance orchestra seem to have awakened the more primal instincts of one particular young couple. Around midnight the young couple split. The traditional New Years’ midnight kiss came across the lips of the young gentleman lover, but not from his female counterpart. He had wandered off, presumably drunk despite the illegality of alcohol, and met another New Years’ reveler. The poor heartbroken girl, now most assuredly single, was so distraught she threw herself out of a tenth-floor window. Today she is seen by many a visitor to The Drake roaming around the tenth, forever lost in the glee of the New Year. The suicide does not seem to appear in any newspapers, which appears wholly incongruous. Yet, her spirit always occurs in a red, 1920s-styled dress. The Windy City isn’t named as such for its high-octane winds but for its deep-pocketed politicians. Perhaps the Drake brothers kept the suicide a secret with little extra incentives that night to protect their luxurious investment.
According to legend is specifically attributed to a jilted lover, killed in a fit of passion, or woman of vanity. In all cases, the Lady in Red is wearing a scarlet or blood red dress. She is said to typically be friendly in disposition, with a story attached to historic hotels, theatres or other public places, with a higher frequency of reports.
Since that tragic night, guests and staff have reported sightings of the Woman in Red at various locations throughout the hotel. From the Gold Coast Room where the gala was held to the Palm Court tea parlor, the top floor, and the rooftop, her presence is said to linger, a poignant reminder of the tragic events of that fateful New Year’s Eve night. Some say that she killed herself off the tenth floor instead of the rooftop, and that’s where her ghost can be seen. But a photograph, taken by a guest named Becky during a ghost hunt with our own guide Tony Szabelski, purportedly shows the silhouette of a woman sitting in a chair in one of the hotel’s ballrooms. This eerie image provides a tangible link to the tragic tale of the Woman in Red. It seems to suggest that her spirit still resides within the hotel, forever entwined with its history.
The sad death of The Woman in Red seems to have left a spectral imprint on the Drake Hotel, transforming it from a mere architectural marvel to a haunting monument of love, betrayal, and despair. Even today, over a century later, the Woman in Red remains an integral part of the Drake’s legacy, her story a chilling reminder of the human dramas that unfold within the hotel’s grand walls.
Image by Midjourney.com
The Lady in Black
While the story of the lady in red is full of sorrow and regret, the woman in black is a tale seeped in hatred and spite. In a bizarre twist, the titular woman is not the victim of this story but rather the criminal.
This legend is mixed with a true crime case that happened at the Drake Hotel in 1944. Adele Born Williams was a Chicago socialite. Her husband, Frank, worked for the U.S. State Department. Adele was spending the day visiting with her daughter Patricia when both decided to return to Frank’s 8th-floor suite at the Drake Hotel. Not too dissimilar to the Lady in Red story, they found the door unlocked. Except they didn’t find a man in bed with a woman. They didn’t find anyone at all.
At least until the woman appeared.
From out of the bathroom, a woman in a black dress and black fur coat rushed in, holding a pistol. She fired several shots. Two missed Patricia, but two other ones struck Adele. The woman fled down the hall, never to be seen again. 24 hours later, Adele died.
To this day, the crime remains unsolved. No one discovered who the woman was or her reason for being there. Theories range from an assassin bent on taking out Frank Williams to a jewel thief caught in the act. Whatever the reason, rumor has it that the woman in black roams the hallway of the 8th floor. Perhaps she was an assassin and can no longer pass on until she takes out Frank Williams once and for all.
That might be a lot trickier than she thinks, and lord knows where she’s headed after is not the pearly gates.
Resources:
https://usghostadventures.com/americas-most-haunted-trending/spirits-of-new-years-eve/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_Red_(ghost)
https://windycityghosts.com/hauntings-of-the-drake-hotel/