Hornacek experiences paranormal activity at Jekyll Island Club Resort, visits other haunted hotels in FOX Nation's 'Fright Night'
Abby Hornacek checks in to some of America’s scariest hotels
Host Abby Hornacek explores some of the nation’s most haunted and eerie hotels on ‘Fright Night: America’s Scariest Hotels,’ now streaming on FOX Nation.
Creeks from old wood floors echo down the halls of one of Georgia's most luxurious and historic resorts.
Paired with Spanish Moss brushing against old glass windows and sea breezes swirling through the rooms, the Jekyll Island Club Resort seems like a hotel ripe with history and dedication to preserving its heritage.
However, the sights and sounds that often accompany the renowned resort may just be the presence of paranormal activity and haunting spirits.
Host Abby Hornacek experienced the ghostly happenings firsthand after checking in and staying the night in one of the resort's most haunted buildings.
On FOX Nation's "Fright Night: America’s Scariest Hotels," Hornacek travels to some of the nation's most haunted accommodations and checks in for a night of spooks. Her stay at the Jekyll Island Resort Club brings her up-close-and-personal with spooky frights.
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"We hear from guests that, yes, there are some friendly people here," resort general manager Douglas Rucker told Hornacek.
Located within the Golden Isles along the Georgia coast, the Jekyll Island Club Resort has been a picturesque escape for visitors since the late 1800s when it was founded by the nation's elite.
Officially opening in 1888, the resort became a retreat for wealthy families including the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Morgans. The families represented accounted for one-sixth of the world's wealth.
Along with its long heritage comes ghost stories and creepy legends.
In the FOX Nation episode, Jekyll Island historian Tom Alexander detailed some of the creepy tales that have been passed along and experienced by visitors overs the resorts haunted history.
One spirit rumored to still haunt the halls is railroad magnate Samuel Spencer.
"In the room that he stayed in, guests that visit the resort will go in there and they'll find drinks they poured for themselves have been mysteriously drunk. They'll open the newspaper and have stocks circled," Alexander described.
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"There's also another story of a young lady in a weird blue dress asking about a young man that she's looking for here in the clubhouse. She dances with this handsome waiter that worked here in the club. She has yellow fever. She dies here on the island, and there are legends that guests that visit this property can see her roaming around," the historian added.
Sans Souci Cottage, which was owned in part by J.P. Morgan, is another building on the property packed with its own share of hauntings.
"There are stories that folks will go out on the balcony of the apartment that he stayed in, and they'll smell cigar smoke," Alexander said.
With the help of the Paranormal Society of Savannah, Hornacek detected a plethora of paranormal activity throughout the resort. The society's psychic, Randy Mabry, noted sensing a woman in a blue dress in one room within the clubhouse.
"I picked up a young lady walking from this door towards the piano. She was rather nervous. I got the name Amanda or Mandy," Mabry told Hornacek.
After sensing the spirit herself, Hornacek's dress began moving, she felt something touch her arm and she smelled a perfume.
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In the annex of the resort, Hornacek reported feeling dizzy and "wobbly" after touching a door identified by Mabry. In both areas, paranormal equipment helped Hornacek and the team communicate with spirits in the halls.
One piece of equipment recorded a spirit counting out the number of years a couple was married. The team learned they were outside the spirit's honeymoon suite.
While there were many examples of good spirits, the Sans Souci cottage marked a shift in energy detected by the paranormal team.
One member of the team said there is "a lot of evil" in the house.
The team, including Hornacek, started having physical responses to the activity - including headaches, nausea and light-headedness.
Later that evening, Hornacek came face-to-face with spooky happenings. She began hearing thuds as though something was knocked off the counter in her bathroom. Additionally, she heard sweeping sounds as if a maid was cleaning near the fireplace in her room, and she saw the handle jiggle on the door to her room.
"I just heard a sound that I thought was just, 'oh it's just an old building. It's just creaking,'" Hornacek explained in the FOX Nation episode. "But the sound has now come three times ."
"I feel a little terrified right now."
Hornacek travels to four other hotels across the U.S. known for paranormal activity for the new series. FOX Nation's "Fright Night: America’s Scariest Hotels" gives viewers an inside look at the haunting of 20 South Battery, the Colonial Inn, the Crescent Hotel and the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
From coast to coast, the U.S. has hundreds of haunted hotels filled with paranormal activity. To experience the ghostly activity and spooky frights, stream FOX Nation's "Fright Night: America’s Scariest Hotels."
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Madeline Coggins is a Digital Production Assistant on the Fox News flash team with Fox News Digital.
