Halloween Havoc: 10 of the Most Haunted Hotels in the Country
When you book a hotel room for one, you understandably expect the room to yourself. But these hotels are filled with lingering guests who have overstayed their welcome. Here are 10 of the most haunted hotels in the country.
1. Stanley Hotel
Location: Estes Park, CO
Built: 1909
The owners of this hotel will go to extraordinary lengths to serve their guests—not even the grave can stop them. While such hospitality is rarely expected, or desired, visitors to the Stanley Hotel have reported seeing Stanley and his wife, Flora, in the Billiards Room or playing the piano since the 1970s. If that doesn’t convince you this place is haunted, know that room 217 inspired Stephen King’s classic The Shining after a night here.
2. The Marshall House
Location: Savannah, GA
Built: 1851
Guests often report witnessing ghostly images of Union soldiers walking the halls of the oldest hotel in Savannah. The Marshall House has been used as a hospital three times, and it shows; during one series of renovations, workers found human remains just inches under the floorboards.
3. Bourbon Orleans Hotel
Location: New Orleans
Built: 1827
Keep your eyes peeled for the famous ghost dancer who graces the floor of the Orleans Ballroom after closing time. This hotel was originally a ballroom and later served as a school, orphanage, convent and medical ward of the Sisters of the Holy Family. An outbreak of yellow fever claimed the lives of many children and nuns years ago, so if you stay here don’t count on spending much time alone. Many guests have reported these spirits still roam the halls.
4. Emily Morgan Hotel
Location: San Antonio, TX
Built: 1924
Enjoy your stay in this morgue/psychiatric ward turned hotel, but don’t plan on sleeping much. It's not uncommon for guests to report unexplained and unwanted noises, apparitions and the lovely feeling of being touched by unseen hands. If that entices you then make sure to get a room on floors seven, nine, 11 or 12.
5. Sagamore Hotel
Location: Bolton Landing, NY
Built: 1882
Nestled on the shores of idyllic Lake George, it’s understandable that some guests just don’t want to leave. One little boy has been spotted many times on the golf course. Guests claim that he steals golf balls and throws them back. (Or maybe they're just not good at golf?)
6. Omni Shoreham Hotel
Location: Washington, DC
Built: 1930
Of all the suites this grand hotel offers, the most ghostly is obviously the Ghost Suite. This two-bedroom luxury suite offers customers apartment-style living with a full kitchen, and also happens to be the exact spot where the housekeeper and owner’s daughter died.
7. Hotel Sorrento
Location: Seattle
Built: 1909
This upscale boutique hotel is rumored to have one permanent guest: Alice B. Tokias, credited with the invention of pot brownies—and also died 1967. She lived on the corner of where the building now sits and supposedly roams the halls. Earlier this year—perhaps to cleanse the space of evil spirits?—the Hotel Sorrento got a makeover to match the new wave of almost a dozen chic and trendy hotels opening in downtown Seattle.
8. Southern Mansion
Location: Cape May, NJ
Built: 1863
This former country estate for Philly industrialist George Allen was designed by architect Samuel Sloan as a summer home during the Ciivl War, once being part of an old plantation. The house-turned-bed-and-breakfast is rumored to be haunted by one of George's relatives.
9. The Carolina Inn
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Built: 1924
This historic high-end hotel is on the equally beautiful University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus. The hotel offers 185 rooms and was designed by architect Arthur C. Nash. Many guests report seeing a Dr. William Jacocks—who used to live at the Inn—wander the hallways.
10. Hotel Del Coronado
Location: Coronado, CA
Built: 1888
At the time of its opening, the Hotel del Coronado was the largest resort hotel in the world. But today, the seven-floor resort is the second-largest wooden structure in the US, and owned by Strategic Hotels & Resorts. The movie 1408 is inspired by the ghosts rumored at the sunny resort.
