The Savannah morning news., 1900-12-13
HOTEL GUESTS SUPERSTITION.
The Number Thirteen and Suicides
Rooms stunned.

New Yorks great hotels might not
seem. az aist blush 10 be favorable places
for nnd.ng instances OF human supersu-
ton. but a brief tour OF some o. the
most important ones suffice to show az
once that there may be quite a. much
regard Tor "sigus" in great city as
there IS commonly supposed 10 be In the
rural districts
The vitality OF tho Is "hoodoo'" Is the
FIRST sden the Inquirer meets IL IS an IN
teresung fact that very few. 81 any. 81
the important hotels have any rooms with
a "ls' iu Che number We have no 'l3
rooms said rho clerk OF a large Broad
way hotel to-day. and We never have
had any. We have no -. no DOB. no 2l3.
AMI know 90 is Tho general practice Of
managers TO leave out AN those numbers.
II looks queer that such a course Is nee.
essary, bus there's the fact, few people
will sleep Ia "A room numbered u. II they
can help a. No matter % the room Is 80
a corridor and follows room l4-put q
fourteen on &c. ana tho 'hoodoo' is gone.
The strange thing about this % business
s the inconsistency people show IN regard
20 it. IL wasn't long ago, for instance that
a man whom ] knew 90 make light OF
sitting with thirteen at table. re-
fused point blank 20 take room li5 IN "a
there. who Be- on Acquaintance OF mine.
had his wits about him however, ana
though there were only 30 rooms IN the
house. he promptly bad room ilS changed
to room 81. and the trouble was over
In an instant"
You must have come 10 take that idea
verv lightly by this time suggested inc
reporter
The clerk laughed but With a tinge ~
embarrassment a. his manner We'll ne
admitted Il suppose IT'S nonsense hut J
haven't slept in a room D. 80 far.
A more stubborn pcriuiice exists among
hotel guests against occupying "a room ~
which there has been q suicide or
murder II don't think our guests know
about such happenings Cor tho most part,
said the clerk OF another largo hoiei.
Murders and suicides occur in tho best
regulated houses quite as often as on
the Bowerv. bur iu spite % an the detalls'
room numbers aud an. spread out in The
new spapers. such things appear 70 10
very quickly. forgotten Generally the
room where any such thing has happened
IS smut no tor two or three weeks until
the story B. too old 20 be recalled. ana
then reopcucd ~ IS uncommon FOR any
guest 20 remember the affair. but now
and then we find some person who is q
'heu8' on murder stories. and remembers
a good deal more OF tho published stories
than Is good for him n be gets into the
room where Josiah Ginger Western
cattIcmau.' killed himself and happens 20
remember the story. there r. very likely
10 b. trouble These instances ara rare.
a. ! have said. but when they come they
are sometimes very comical
"A very funny instance of this sort of
thing occurred in a Western hotel where
/ had my first position as clerk 'n'
night there was sWcide-a woman
Killed herself with strychniue. which
causes acutc agony. She didn't take
quite enough TO 90 tho work az once, and
the result was q horrible scene and no
end OF uproar and excitement before the
woman died OF course the papers got
hold Of il. and. like nearly all WeHern
uapers OF those days, they made theit
stories even worse than the fact, Wei
We shut up the room for two weeks, bus
even after IL was open. 7 didn't dare 10
nut a guest there 81 there Was any o'heF
place for him.
zone rieht a travelling man. new 20 me
,ame in. aud / gave him room N-.h
suicfde had been 10 81 After dinner ihiH
man hung round tho desk. and soon
found out he made = speciality Tor amuse-
,neflt.s sake. 81 retailing accounts or
murders aud suicides. lie knew about our
mile affair. aud went over 81 from be
Ginning 10 end ana back 10 tho beginning
again. until / was glad enough when nc
went 10 bed. But that wasn't the END
A little after midnight the bell for room
d began TO ring as u 1t Was wound W
for al rirht. Then ! heard shout up
stafrs and rushed up 10 sec what was
vrone. Ii was the murder and suicide
expert. lie was a big man. and he was
rushing up and down the corridor IN ms
night clothes. pale. trembling. and trying
10 swear. lie abbei me as soon rs got
near him. aud spuitcrcd away ABOUT my
uniting him in that suicide room could
- ber' ne yelled and ] heard her
screaming! won't stand g. I wont stay
IN that room. III nave you hit' "''"'N
leave tomorrow"
- tried 10 persuade him that be was
wrong and told him the truth that room
a was an right But he was WOUND up 10
"a and finally 7 put him in 81. the sui
eide room and the only other Nacaht
room IN the house. Tie rang Ny the par
eeore NJ me for a while. ana then went
caf,,,lv 90 sleep. and missed his train In
,ro manning didn't tell him the facts
ana I suppose he never knew that 10
reversed s. in his mind. lnd made himself
ana me a lot Of needless trouble
ssATan la general don't mako so much
areoun, OF these things ~ women, hu'
it's surprising 10 see how many men not
In the least supcrstitious ~ tho Ordinary
sense Of the word. will confess that they'd
rather ST up an night than sleep In a
room where they know there has been
suicide or murder done. Why ] Know
one man. at least. who more than once
has made not tho slightest objection 70
sleeping In the same room with q dead
bo.3,. who wouldn't for anything sleep In
A suicide room " he knew about u"
"All this experience must have knocked
that nonsense out OF you" said the re-
"Oh we'll. ! supposo n Is nonsense.
don; care a rap for the 49, business-no
,ig's' IN this house, by the way; but III
confess that I shouldn't wholly ike 10
o,e,,~v suicides room That's Just a
mere preference OF mine"