Peace-Discuss-The Ghost In The Regency

Any guess at how long the timeslip was, and how this might tie in to Weer's own life / death? -- Mo 20080221

  • The later end of the timeslip has to be after there is substantial automobile traffic (so you get traffic jams, loud honking, etc., late at night) and after there were radios (or televisions) and telephones regularly included in hotel rooms (Arabella hears what she thinks is a gramophone playing late at night, when she's walking through the hallway). I would guess this would date it to during or after the boom in auto ownership in the 50's. The only reasonable explanation I have seen of how this story ties to the rest of the novel is that it demonstrates that ghosts are able to slip forwards and backwards in time. -- Stoneox 20080221
  • I've been thinking about why Wolfe stuck in the reference to the Baths of Caracalla, and one possibility is that it's a clue to what hotel "The Regency" actually is. In other words, around 1919, in New York City near Penn Station, was there a relatively new hotel with an interior courtyard that "towered fifteen stories or more over the surrounding buildings"? This is a pretty minor puzzle, but I haven't figured out how to solve it with online search. -- Stoneox 20080224
    • I spoke too soon. The Hotel Pennsylvania, opposite Penn Station, with 22 stories, opened in January 1919. It seems to fit perfectly. Should I put this as a note in the story page for it? Does anybody know if it really was rumored to have ghosts? -- Stoneox 20080224
      • I can't find any reference to hauntings. Perhaps it's a joky reference to something out of Wolfe's own personal experience -- Mo 20080309
      • Wikipedia says Hotel Pennsylvania is 21 stories high. Some other sources on the web say 22. If anybody knows, feel free to correct this. -- Stoneox 20080227
function:RenderStopWatch