LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — History fills every corner of the grand Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, from its stately lobby to secret hallways. But no one knows this place better than hotel historian Larry Johnson, who has spent more than four decades learning its secrets.
"I started out in 1982 as a doorman wearing tuxedo tails, top hat, white gloves, greeting the guests," Johnson said.
Over the years, Johnson has collected countless stories about the hotel and its famous guests. The list includes U.S. presidents from Woodrow Wilson to John F. Kennedy, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and even notorious gangster Al Capone.
But one guest earned her reputation as a ghost.
"The only ghost that we've actually proven happened is the Lady in Blue," Johnson said.
The tragic story of Patricia Wilson
The ghostly figure some claim to spot was Patricia Wilson, according to Johnson. The 24-year-old had moved from Oklahoma to Louisville with a traveling salesman who ended up leaving her.
"She did what she had to do and became a lady of the evening," Johnson said.
Wilson fell to her death in a service elevator in 1936. Initially, her death was believed to be an accident or suicide, but Johnson believes she was likely murdered by a male guest of the hotel.
Multiple people have reported seeing a woman in a long blue dress with long dark hair or smelling lilac perfume throughout the hotel.
"There's been people on the 4th floor, especially women, up on the 8th floor late at night, and they'll say they feel a cool breeze on them or they'll feel something touching their hair," Johnson said.
While the Lady in Blue hasn't been reported since 1987, Johnson says her memory lives on after decades of research into her tragic end.
"She's been a part of my family for a long time. Sometimes I think I know more about her than I do some of my distant relatives," Johnson said.
Johnson helped arrange a headstone for Wilson, also known as Pearl Mae Elliott, and even leaves flowers at her grave every year.
"I think she's happy now because people know the truth. She has a headstone. She's resting in peace. But I think she's still here. This was her home, and she's not going anyplace," Johnson said.
