16 most haunted hotels in the United States
Spook-N-Stay
(USA TODAY Network)
Trick or treat is a thing of the past.
Why not increase the Halloween fun… or fright… with a creepy and downright scary stay at one of the most-haunted hotels in the United States this spooky season?
Check our list of the 16 most haunted hotels the US has to offer:
16. La Fonda
(An empty La Plazuela At La Fonda, USAT photo)
Opened: 1922.
Location: Santa Fe, NM
Starting out, we have numerous tragic tales. According to Travel+Leisure, stories connecting the afterlife to this location include a judge shot in the lobby, a businessman who gambled everything away at the hotel before jumping down a well, and a bride that was killed on her wedding night.
15. Queen Anne Hotel
(queenanne.com)
Opened: 1890.
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
A change that caused a ghost to appear. The Queen Anne’s location went through a transformation that caused Miss Mark Lake to return, according to Time Out. From a girls’ etiquette school to eventual becoming a gentlemen’s club. Lake is said to be the former headmistress of the school who sticks around in the hallways and room 410.
14. RMS Queen Mary
(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Opened: 1936.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Per Travel+Leisure, as the name suggests, the RMS Queen Mary was once a Cunard oceanic liner. It was retired after three decades of work and the transformation to hotel gives visitors a look into what life was like when it operated. But the ship is also said to have odd things that happen in it, particularly in room B340 where a passenger passed away.
13. The Don CeSar
(doncesar.com)
Opened: 1928.
Location: St. Pete Beach, Fla.
Another bit of a heartwarming experience. Known as the “Pink Palace” according to Forbes, a ghostly couple in love reportedly still stays here. It’s suggested that it was Thomas Rowe, the hotel’s founder, and a Spanish opera singer known as Lucinda who he met in London, are the pair. But parents got in between them. Reunited at the Don CeSar after life is the thought.
12. The Emily Morgan Hotel
(emilymorganhotel.com)
Opened: 1924.
Location: San Antonio, Texas.
This Texas landmark only became a hotel officially in 1984. Naturally, the creepy past is what does it in. Previously it was a hospital complete with surgical floors and a crematorium. That has led to orbs being seen, a lady in white, lights flickering, smells and sounds. So much so that even the hotel’s website openly admits it.
11. The Seelbach Hilton
(The Seelbach Hilton Hotel, USAT photo)
Opened: 1905.
Location: Louisville, Ky.
A sad ending to a wedding before it even started spooks the Seelbach. According to Forbes, two lovers were set to be married at the hotel in 1907 but the groom died on the way to the wedding. The distract bride threw herself down the elevator shaft, falling 10 stories.
10. 1886 Crescent Hotel
(cresent-hotel.com)
Opened: 1886.
Location: Eureka Springs, Ark.
The Crescent was not always a place for healthy guests to say. Travel+Leisure notes that it was turned into a hospital and health resort, claiming to have a cure for cancer. That is said to be one reason why ghosts have stuck around.
9. Omni Shoreham Hotel
(Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
Opened: 1930.
Location: Washington, DC
Henry Doherty, a shareholder of the hotel, moved in his family shortly after its construction alongside the establishment’s executive housekeeper, Juliette Brown. She woke up sick in the eighth floor’s suite one morning and died. After, two members of the Doherty family also passed away in the room and eventually in 1973 the family moved out. After that, guests had long complained of noises from that area of the hotel, despite that room being left empty until 1997, according to NBC Washington…
8. Hotel Monteleone
hotelmonteleone.com
Opened: 1886.
Location: New Orleans, La.
Famous gusts such as Ernest Hemingway have visited Hotel Monteleone, but haunting stories surround a maid. Actually, the kind of maid you’d really like to never leave. Named “Mrs. Clean,” a paranormal research group is said to have made contact with her and evidently she stuck around… to keep on cleaning. But Monteleone wears the spooky vibes right out on its sleeve, as their website notes there are potentially “more than a dozen entities” still there.
7. The Red Lion Inn
(historichotels.org)
Opened: 1773.
Location: Stockbridge, Mass.
If you end up on the fourth floor at the Red Lion, History Hotels of America says to look out for a young girl carrying flowers and a man in a top hat. Plus, you can also look forward to the feeling of “someone standing over you” if you dare stay in room 301.
6. Omni Parker House
(omnihotels.com)
Opened: 1855.
Location: Boston, Mass.
A real life Casper? Historic Hotels of America notes that Harvey Parker is the ghost still residing in Boston. But guests actually say Parker is sticking around just to make sure things are running well without him.
5. Concord’s Colonial Inn
(visiting newengland)
Opened: 1716.
Location: Concord, Mass.
The Colonial Inn’s name is obvious, it dates back to the Revolutionary War and actually predates it by decades. Wounded American soldiers were housed there. Historic Hotels of America warn of room 424. The former operating room.
4. Hotel Chelsea
(NY1)
Opened: 1884.
Location: New York City, NY
The city that never sleeps? Here’s a new twist on it. Famous writers and musicians have stayed at Hotel Chelsea and according to NBC New York, deceased writer Dylan Thomas, died in room 206 in 1953. He may still be there.
3. The Pfister Hotel
(Wisconsin Travels)
Opened: 1893.
Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
The Pfister Hotel, is it named after the original owner? Or the ghost that might haunt it? Trick question: It’s one in the same, Charles Pfister. The interesting twist is that countless celebrities and athletes, baseball players in particular, that have reported sightings sometimes refuse to stay.
2. The Hollywood Roosevelt (California)
(Historic Hotels of America)
Opened: 1927.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Another one of the most-known haunted hotels, this one is for the potential residents that never checked out. According to Travel+Leisure, stars such as Shirley Temple and Charlie Chaplin stayed at the Roosevelt. One of those that is said to have stayed forever is Marilyn Monroe.
1. The Stanley Hotel
(stanleyhotel.com)
Opened: 1909.
Location: Estes Park, Colo.
Consistently mentioned among the most haunted places in the world, the Stanley Hotel has good reason for exactly that. It was the inspiration for Stephen King’s novel “The Shining.”
Story originally appeared on List Wire