No one did more for the reputation of the Lafayette Hotel than S. Durward Hoag, after whom the third-floor addition is named. From 1921, when he and his father purchased it, until 1973, when he retired, he was a vigilant manager who worked tirelessly to improve the hotel (he added the distinctive cocktail lounge, and was responsible for expanding the number of guest rooms to 81). He even lived in the hotel while he managed it.

Hoag died in 1982. It's been said ever since that his ghost roams the halls of the Lafayette--particularly the Hoag Addition on the third floor. He is glimpsed out of the side of room service workers' eyes from time to time, and he has been known to whisper words of advice to hotel accountants who work late nights. He is frequently seen as an intangible wisp of light. Generally he seems to be a benevolent presence, though he does hide things and rearrange papers on occasion, perhaps out of boredom.

"The Presence," as the entity which may or may not be the ghost of S. Durward Hoag, is most often encountered in the long hotel hallways at night, after the guests are in bed for the night, when the fog from the Ohio River starts rolling in. At this time, when no one is around to push the buttons, the elevator will start moving. The empty carriage is even known to visit the roof, where a pagoda was constructed for it just in case an extra floor were ever built there.

At any rate, if you get the chance to book a room at the Lafayette, try for the third floor, and please do e-mail me if anything unusual happens.