Inez's Ghost

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
A few days before Christmas 1900, a twelve-year-old girl named Inez came home from school on Friday afternoon. She told her younger brother she was going inside for a moment, and when she failed to return he went to search for her; he saw something reflected in the mirror that faced the open closet that sent him screaming from the room. 

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Inez Gibson with her two brothers, Hugo and Otto

What Otto Gibson saw reflected in the mirror of his sister's bedroom was her body hanging inside the closet. Her jump rope was tied around her neck. A servant girl who came upstairs ran to a neighbor's house for help, but when they arrived it was too late.

Inez lived with her brothers, Otto 9, Hugo 16, and her uncle Thomas Dick Gibson (1861-1939) and his wife Margaret better known as "Drudie" (1866-1944), who had adopted all three children. 

Her biological parents Sylvester Gibson (1863-1934) and Nancy Angeline Bundy (1864-1952) married in 1882. In the next 10 years they had three children, however in November, 1893 Nancy had married William Dickey, which indicated the couple had divorced within the first decade of their marriage. Neither parent wanted their children, which is how they came into the care of their paternal uncle.

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Nancy Angeline Davis & Sylvester Gibson c.1882

Perhaps the trouble between Inez's parents went deeper than marital incompatibility. In April, 1901, Sylvester Gibson was sentenced to Montana's penitentiary at hard labor for four years, on a charge of assault in the first degree.

In 1903, his second wife Anne was granted a divorce while he served his sentence. In addition to the divorce she received a band of horses on the range near Gilt Edge, Montana,

Sylvester Gibson died in 1934, without any family present at the time of his death. He was buried in the Old Miner's Cemetery, Wyoming.
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Thomas Gibson and his wife were prosperous grocers in Malvern, Iowa. They had been at their store that afternoon when Inez ended her life. At the coroner's inquest it was determined that Inez had indeed committed suicide, despite being well loved by her family and classmates. The only reason that could possibly explain why she would take this action is that she was despondent after falling below her usual average in her school examinations.

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Inez Gibson's death left many questions unanswered

The coroner's jury then changed the verdict to accidental death, explaining that she had a habit of climbing about in the closet, and she somehow hung herself with the jump rope. It's unknown if this verdict was changed since it was difficult to believe such a young child would kill herself.

There was another version as to why Inez ended her life. Shortly before her death, her biological mother had written to the family saying she was coming to pick up her daughter. The girl became depressed and said she would rather die than go to live with her mother. This story appeared to have some validity since in the national census, Inez and both her brothers were shown as living with their mother and stepfather in Rawlins City, Wyoming in June, 1900, where they ran a hotel. Within the next few months the children returned to Iowa for unknown reasons.

In a queer twist of fate, Inez's half sister who was born to her father and his second wife, passed away also in 1900 when she was six years old.

Inez's mother Nancy better known as "Angie", divorced and married a third time and became Mrs. Davis. About 1904, she had a daughter named Emma.

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1900 Census which shows that Inez and her 2 brothers were living with their mother in Rawlings, WY

This tragic event in turn-of-the-century, Midwest America normally would have fallen into obscurity, except for one reason, Inez is said to haunt a place that during those years was known as The Cottage Hotel. The hotel was built in the 1870s, and perhaps her uncle's grocery store was nearby. Why Inez would haunt this place has never fully explained.

There are others who are said to make their presence known after death at this building. A prime candidate might be Preston Harris who in August, 1901 was trying to steal a ride on the train and slipped while trying to get off. His legs were crushed by the train. He was transported by ambulance to the Cottage Hotel, where his left leg was amputated at the hip. His right leg was saved, even though it had compound fractures with "bones protruding through the flesh".

In 1959, the hotel was renamed Nishna Cottage, and became a nursing home. After 1976 it became a residential care facility for people who suffered from MPD, schizophrenia, alcoholism and other types of substance abuse. It closed in 2005.

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The Cottage Hotel latern Malvern Manor c.1880s

Present day it is known as Malvern Manor and is said to be haunted by some of the patients that lived there for many years, and possibly by any number of people who came to stay at the Cottage Hotel.

Despite claims that EVPs have been captured at Malvern Manor from the spirit of Inez, chances are this is not her. If there is any mystery to this entire affair is why this young girl decided to end her life. Was she truly despondent over grades? Was it true she feared returning to her biological mother, or could it have been the possibility of returning to live with her father and step-mother who had lost their daughter that same year? The truth was something Inez took with her as looked at herself in the mirror facing the closet, and slipped the jump rope over her neck. The hope is that she found the peace she sought, and which eluded her at that moment of her young life.

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