Episode 53
The Ghost Town That Never Emptied
Up nextBack to the full archiveThe documented facts
- The Columbia Southern Hotel (now the Shaniko Hotel) was built in 1900-1902 by the Columbia Southern Railway in Italianate style; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
- Shaniko was the 'Wool Capital of the World' in its prime with 600 residents in 1910; bypassed by a new rail line in 1911, it declined to about three dozen residents today.
- Hotel staff quoted at the August 2023 reopening say Room 14 is supposedly haunted by a woman named Nettie.
- The hotel reopened in August 2023 after nearly twenty years closed, operated by the nonprofit South Wasco Fire and Rescue; lodging profits fund the fire department and city services.
The Draugr does not invent. He documents.
Episode 53 case file
The facts
- The Columbia Southern Hotel (now the Shaniko Hotel) was built in 1900-1902 by the Columbia Southern Railway in Italianate style; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
- Shaniko was the 'Wool Capital of the World' in its prime with 600 residents in 1910; bypassed by a new rail line in 1911, it declined to about three dozen residents today.
- Hotel staff quoted at the August 2023 reopening say Room 14 is supposedly haunted by a woman named Nettie.
- The hotel reopened in August 2023 after nearly twenty years closed, operated by the nonprofit South Wasco Fire and Rescue; lodging profits fund the fire department and city services.
The evidence
- Shaniko was the 'Wool Capital of the World' in its prime with 600 residents in 1910; bypassed by a new rail line in 1911, it declined to about three dozen residents today.
- Hotel staff quoted at the August 2023 reopening say Room 14 is supposedly haunted by a woman named Nettie.
- The hotel reopened in August 2023 after nearly twenty years closed, operated by the nonprofit South Wasco Fire and Rescue; lodging profits fund the fire department and city services.
Sources
- Sources are being gathered for this file. The facts above are documented.
The words, as I spoke them.
Transcript
THE DRAUGR , ep53 story (morning slot, Sat 2026-10-17) Case: The Shaniko Hotel, Shaniko, Oregon , Room 14 (Nettie), Room 9 (Audra Howard tip). Narration: The Draugr tells the story, third person. Never a participant. Word count (spoken): see count below. Beats: 6.
Sources for every fact used (see SOURCES.txt): - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Southern_Hotel , built 1900-1902 by Columbia Southern Railway. - oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/shaniko/ , "Wool Capital of the World", 600 (1910), bypassed 1911. - oregonbeachmagazine.com (Aug 2023) , staff: "Room 14... supposedly haunted by a woman named Nettie"; staff say haunted; reopened Aug 2023 by South Wasco Fire & Rescue. - explore.com , "Nettie, a woman who took her own life in one of the rooms." - ourhauntedheritage.com , 3-night investigation, "(potentially) Nettie, the apparition in Room 14". - shanikohotel.com/about , 18 rooms; wascoelectric.com , ~30-35 residents, profits fund fire dept. - story-submissions.md (Audra Howard, 2026-10-05) , Room 9 tip, attributed in-script.
No letter/document is quoted verbatim. No invented spoken dialogue for real people. One rare em dash is kept only in the fixed ritual sign-off, verbatim per playbook. Teller check: no "my/me/I" claims about story events. "Audra sent the Draugr here" = third person.
Room fourteen never empties. The staff say Nettie still sleeps there. She died in that room... over a hundred years ago.
The hotel rose in nineteen oh two, when Shaniko was the Wool Capital of the World. The railroad bypassed it... and everyone left.
Thirty people live there now. The firefighters reopened the hotel in twenty twenty three. A paranormal crew spent three nights inside... and came back talking about Nettie.
Audra sent the Draugr here. She said listen at Room nine. Some nights, guests hear crying through the walls. Nobody will tell you her name.
The town emptied. [>>> 1.0s SILENCE CUT: drop ALL sound , drone, bed, textures , then sting at FULL VOLUME <<<] [NEAR-WHISPER, breathy, close-mic] She died in that room by her own hand... and she never checked out. Room fourteen... never did.
Stitch this if you'd sleep in Room fourteen tonight. Follow for a new true nightmare every day. Sleep with the lights on , if you can.
Docu-stamp (opening beat, documentary lower-third): Shaniko, Oregon , nineteen oh two
Dramatized for the telling. The facts above are documented; the narration is the Draugr’s retelling of them.
Wear the nightmare
The Dreaded wear the mark.
Enter the shop
