You might want to sleep with one eye open at these haunted hotels across America, which range from spooky to downright creepy:
1 | The Stanley Hotel, Colorado
The Stanley Hotel is widely considered to be one of the most haunted hotels in America, and it even served as the inspiration for Steven King’s chilling novel, “The Shining.” Countless guests have encountered paranormal activity, including doors shutting, pianos playing and unexplained voices, while visiting the hotel, especially on the fourth floor and in the concert hall. The hotel even offers ghost tours and an extended five-hour paranormal investigation.
2 | Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, California
Marilyn Monroe is thought to be one of many restless spirits that haunt Hollywood’s glamorous Hotel Roosevelt, where she lived for two years while her modelling career was taking off. Other reports of cold spots, photographic orbs and mysterious phone calls to the hotel operator add to its mystique.
3 | The Myrtles Plantation, Louisiana, ST. Francisville
Hidden in a forest of giant oak trees is one of America’s most haunted homes, The Myrtles Plantation. It was built by General David Bradford in 1796 on ancient Indian burial grounds, and has reputedly been the scene of a number of gruesome deaths. Now serving as a bed and breakfast, staff and visitors have countless ghost stories to tell. One of these stories involves a servant called Chloe who poisoned her employer’s wife and daughters. She was hanged for her crime and thrown into the Mississippi River.
It is claimed that the souls of her victims are now trapped inside a mirror at the property. During the filming of The Long Hot Summer, furniture on the set was continuously moved when the crew left the room. There are reports of stopped or broken clocks that tick, of portraits whose expressions change, of beds that shake and levitate, and of bloodstains on the floor that appear and disappear.
4 | Logan Inn, New Hope
The Pennsylvania Logan Inn dates back to before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and is considered to be one of America’s most haunted places with at least eight ghosts that roam in its rooms and hallways. Most of the ghost sightings take place in Room No 6, where guests have allegedly seen a dark figure standing behind them in the bathroom mirror. There are reports of white mist moving throughout the hallway during the nighttime and small children appearing and disappearing in the rooms. One particular ghost, a giggling little girl, reportedly likes to watch as women comb their hair in the bathroom.
5 | Queen Mary Hotel, Long Beach, California
The retired Queen Mary ship and hotel in Long Beach, California, is so much celebrated haunted destination in America that it even offers haunted tours of its most paranormal hotspots. Among the spirits spotted here are a “lady in white,” a sailor who died in the ship’s engine room and children who drowned in the ship’s pool.
6 | Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida
Biltmore is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. It was found just 10 minutes from downtown Miami, but seems to be in a dimension of its own. Opened in 1926, the hotel received much fanfare, and later was home to a 13th-floor speakeasy—run by local mobsters for the rich—in which an unexplained murder of one notable mobster took place. During World War II, it was turned into a hospital before returning as a deluxe hotel in 1987. Ghosts of the veterans and the mobster who died have been reported on many of the hotel’s floors, the mobster ghost seems to especially enjoy the company of women.
7 | Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Established In 1886, Crescent Hotel is a uniquely furnished hotel located in Downtown Eureka Springs. This beautiful and ornate Victorian hotel is bound with a spa & salon, a rooftop pizzeria, a grand dining room, a swimming pool and 15 acres of manicured gardens with hiking, biking and walking trails providing it with the likeable features for every type of people.
But this hotel has some sad stories too, several famous guests have “checked out but never left,” including Michael, the Irish stonemason who helped to build the hotel; Theodora, a patient of Baker’s Cancer Curing Hospital in the late 1930s; and “the lady in the Victorian nightgown,” whose ghost likes to stand at the foot of the bed in Room 3500 and stare at sleeping guests while they sleeping. There are dozens of such non-living guests and their scary stories that have been reported occurring in this Ozark Mountains hotel.
8 | Omni Parker House, Boston, Massachusetts
The Omni Parker House is a hotel with stately, traditionally furnished rooms in an elegant 1800s lodging with dining and a cocktail bar. This hotel is situated in the heart of downtown Boston right along the Freedom Trail and other historic sites making this a perfect stay for those visiting Boston. This eponymous hotel was founded by Harvey Parker in 1855, he was the hotel overseer and resident until his death in 1884. During his lifetime, Harvey was well known for his polite interaction with guests and providing pleasant accommodations.
After his death, many guests have reported seeing him inquiring about their stay – a truly dedicated and “spirited” hotelier. The 3rd floor certainly has its share of paranormal activity as well. Guests of Room 303 used to occasionally report strange shadows throughout the room and that the bathtub water would just turn on randomly on its own. Later, the hotel authority eventually turned this room into a storage closet for unspecified reasons.
9 | Hotel Chelsea, New York
There are plenty of famous guests and ghosts at New York’s Hotel Chelsea, including Dylan Thomas, who died of pneumonia while staying here in 1953, and Sid Vicious whose girlfriend was stabbed to death here in 1978.
10 | Fort Magruder Hotel, Williamsburg, Virginia
If you’re really interested in the scary Halloween night and looking for a unique experience in Williamsburg, book a room at Fort Magruder Hotel. The land on which the structure lies is filled with an epic and soaked with blood flowed in the Battle of Williamsburg. Guests report seeing Civil War soldiers in their rooms and even encountering spirits pretending to be hotel staff. Several paranormal research teams have conducted their investigations at the hotel, and found a number of startling supernatural evidence such as unusual EVP readings and photographic anomalies.
11 | Whispers Estate, Indiana
Whispers Estate is a 3,700 square feet mansion built in 1894. It was named ‘Whispers Estate’ after the ongoing whispers in the structure. It is reportedly the most haunted place in Indiana, United States. The ghosts of the owner and their two adopted children haunt this place that gives a feel of an absolute macabre. Actually, it’s not a hotel at all but you could stay at this mansion after spending a few dollars. They offer range from flashlight tours (1hr) and mini paranormal investigations (2-3hrs), to full overnight paranormal investigations (10hrs).
12 | Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, California
The luxurious Hotel Del Coronado just off the coast of San Diego is known for its stunning views of the sea, but a mysterious woman dressed in black might shatter your pleasant times within a moment. If you ask anyone about her there, you will definitely hear the name “Kate Morgan” and that she is not a living person. There is a sad ending story behind this name.
On Thanksgiving Day in 1892, the 24-year-old lady checked into the third-floor guest room and waited for her lover to meet him there. After five days of waiting, she took her own life, but he never came. There have been reports of a pale figure in a black lace dress on the property, along with mysterious odours, sounds, moving objects and self-working TVs in the room she stayed in. And yes, you can still stay in that haunted third-floor guest room of the hotel to get some creepy experiences.
13 | The Hotel Captain Cook, Alaska
The Hotel Captain Cook is one of the most well known haunted hotels in Alaska, USA. The guests and staff witness occasionally the apparition of a lady in a white dress hanging around in the hotel’s women-restroom. They often report that the doors of that room open and close on their own and the lights keep turning off without any viable reason.
Even, once a skeptic on his tour spent one night in the alleged women’s restroom and snapped a photo over the top of the stall, as did others. Everyone else’s photo was of an empty stall but particularly in his photo, it seemed like a fog of angel-hair all over the floor. It is believed that the lady is bound to the hotel because, in 1972, she committed suicide in that certain stall.
Bonus:
The Driskill Hotel, Austin
The hotel in downtown Austin was founded in 1886 by Civil War colonel Jesse Driskill, who is said to be one of the spirits that haunts the premises. Room 525 is considered to be one of the spaces with the most paranormal activity. Two brides reportedly committed suicide in the room 20 years apart.
Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago
The Congress Plaza Hotel opened in 1893 to house the visitors descending on the city for the Chicago World’s Fair. The hotel is supposedly home to a number of ghosts, including notorious crime boss Al Capone and another known as Peg-Leg Johnny. The hotel hosts a haunted Halloween ball each October.