Haunted Hotels in America

Historic hotels we cover, the documented history behind them, the stories guests and staff tell — and which ones you can still check into.

115 places in 37 destinations · Sources checked October 28, 2026

This edition includes 115 of the 122 we have written about; the others are still being researched or need more material before we add them.

Hotels collect ghost stories the way few other buildings do. Thousands of strangers pass through; some stay for years, some die there, and staff who work the same halls for decades remember every unexplained knock. The hotels in this collection are where those stories have gathered in and around the cities Ghost City Tours covers: grand railroad-era palaces, antebellum inns, frontier boarding houses and buildings that have been hotels only since a recent conversion.

Each entry pairs what we could verify about the building with the story that keeps people talking. Historical details are checked against the sources cited with each place; the ghost stories are presented the way they are told — as reported experiences and local legend, not as established fact. Read across the regions and the differences stand out: Gulf Coast hotels shaped by epidemics and storms, Texas hotels tied to the Alamo era and the cattle trade, Gettysburg inns marked by the battle.

These places come from our own coverage and were written about by our team. Most are in cities where we run tours. A few are outside those cities, or in destinations we write about but do not tour; their entries give the actual location. Being listed here does not mean a tour visits a place: a tour includes a place only where its entry says “Featured on.” This is not a nationwide survey or a ranking. Every entry links to our full article.

This collection covers the hotels and inns we have written about and checked for this edition, including ones that are temporarily closed, no longer operate as hotels or whose current status we could not confirm, each clearly labeled. Every entry is named by its actual city and state. A few are outside the cities we tour, or in destinations where we do not run tours. A tour includes a place only where its entry says “Featured on.” It is not a list of every haunted hotel in the country.

Go deeperHaunted Hotels in TexasEighteen historic Texas hotels grouped by city so you can see how San Antonio, Austin, Galveston and Fort Worth tell their ghost stories differently.

Find a place by name, city or state

115 places

At a glance

Comparison of the places in this collection
Place	Location	Era	The story	Today
20 South Battery	Charleston, SC	1843	Room-by-room inn haunting	Operating hotel
Chattanooga Choo Choo	Chattanooga, TN	1909	Railroad terminal spirits	Operating hotel
The Read House	Chattanooga, TN	1872; 1926 building	Room 311 legend	Operating hotel
The Historic Gatlinburg Inn	Gatlinburg, TN	1937	Woman in white, phantom elevator	Operating hotel
La Concha Key West, Autograph Collection	Key West, FL	1926	Literary Key West lore	Operating hotel
Old Town Manor	Key West, FL	c. 1886; Warren from 1913	Doctor still on rounds	Operating hotel
The Hermitage Hotel	Nashville, TN	1910	Edwardian lady, crying child	Operating hotel
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center	Nashville, TN	1977	Lady in Black	Operating hotel
The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection	Nashville, TN	1900	Wartime platform farewell	Operating hotel
17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant	Savannah, GA	1821–1823	Grieving woman, Room 204	Operating hotel
Hamilton-Turner Inn	Savannah, GA	1873	Children, watcher on the roof	Operating hotel
The Kehoe House	Savannah, GA	1892	Children at play	Operating hotel
The Marshall House	Savannah, GA	1851	Hospital-era hotel	Operating hotel
Olde Harbour Inn	Savannah, GA	1889–1892	Mischievous warehouse spirit	Operating hotel
St. Francis Inn	St. Augustine, FL	1791	Colonial love story	Operating hotel
Dream Nashville	Nashville, TN	2019; older buildings	Saloon-era shooting legend	Operating hotel
Foley House Inn	Savannah, GA	1896	Skeleton in the wall	Operating hotel
Casablanca Inn on the Bay	24 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, FL	1914	Lady with the Lantern	Operating hotel
1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa	Eureka Springs, AR	1886	Victorian resort, false-cure hospital	Operating hotel
1905 Basin Park Hotel	Eureka Springs, AR	1905	Spa-town hotel	Operating hotel
Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton	Charleston, SC	1853	Antebellum grand hotel	Operating hotel
Marrero's Guest Mansion	Key West, FL	—	Old Town guesthouse	Operating hotel
Courtyard by Marriott Gatlinburg Downtown	Gatlinburg, TN	2015	Modern hotel, shadow figures	Operating hotel
Casa de Sueños Bed & Breakfast	St. Augustine, FL	c. 1904	Colonial legend, bridal suite	Operating hotel
The Edgewater Hotel	Gatlinburg, TN	—	Room 413, man in a dark suit	Operating hotel
Andrew Jackson Hotel	New Orleans, LA	1890	Children in the courtyard	Operating hotel
Bourbon Orleans Hotel	New Orleans, LA	1815–1881	Ballroom to convent	Operating hotel
Hotel Monteleone	New Orleans, LA	1886	Phantom child, 14th floor	Operating hotel
Lafitte Hotel & Bar	New Orleans, LA	1849	Creole family home	Operating hotel
Le Pavillon, New Orleans, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel	New Orleans, LA	1907	Jazz Age couple	Operating hotel
Astor Crowne Plaza	New Orleans, LA	—	Canal Street commercial block	Operating hotel
The Columns Hotel	New Orleans, LA	1883	Uptown mansion hotel	Operating hotel
Creole Gardens Guesthouse & Inn	New Orleans, LA	—	Guesthouse remodeling lore	Operating hotel
The Westin New Orleans	New Orleans, LA	—	Riverfront lore	Operating hotel
Dauphine Orleans Hotel	New Orleans, LA	—	Bordello bar, courtyard soldier	Operating hotel
Hotel St. Pierre	New Orleans, LA	1781	Colonial cottage, waiting servant	Operating hotel
The Haunted Hotel	New Orleans, LA	—	Axeman legend	Operating hotel
Dauphine House	New Orleans, LA	1860	Host's first-hand accounts	Operating hotel
The Chloe	New Orleans, LA	1891	Original owner's knocking	Operating hotel
Hotel Maison de Ville	New Orleans, LA	—	Cottage soldier	Operating hotel
The Driskill	Austin, TX	1886	Cattle baron and staircase child	Operating hotel
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection	Austin, TX	1928	Jazz Age private mansion	Operating hotel
Hotel Ella	Austin, TX	1898–1900	Physician's family mansion	Operating hotel
Miss Molly's Hotel	Fort Worth, TX	c. 1910	Stockyards bordello	Operating hotel
Grand Galvez	Galveston, TX	1911	Gulf Coast waiting bride	Operating hotel
The Tremont House	Galveston, TX	1839; current building 1980s	Civil War soldier and storm spirits	Operating hotel
The Crockett Hotel	San Antonio, TX	1909	Alamo battlefield spirits	Operating hotel
Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk	San Antonio, TX	1929	Depression-era bank	Operating hotel
The Emily Morgan San Antonio - a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel	San Antonio, TX	1924; hotel 1984	Medical building ghosts	Operating hotel
Holiday Inn Express San Antonio N-Riverwalk Area	120 Camaron St, downtown San Antonio, TX 78205	1878	Jail and gallows	Operating hotel
Hotel Gibbs	105 N Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205 (Alamo Plaza, downtown)	1909	Alamo cannon and old elevators	Operating hotel
The Menger Hotel	San Antonio, TX	1859	Rough Riders and Roosevelt	Operating hotel
The Gunter Hotel	San Antonio, TX	1909	Blues legend and two feuding spirits	Operating hotel
The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel	San Antonio, TX	1909	Society lady and ballroom	Operating hotel
The Stephen F. Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel	Austin, TX	1924	Capitol-district high-rise	Operating hotel
The William Fell Baltimore, Tapestry Collection by Hilton	Baltimore, MD	Late 1700s	Phantom sailors, Lady in White	Operating hotel
Ulysses	Baltimore, MD	Early 2020s	Newly forming hotel lore	Operating hotel
Lord Baltimore Hotel	Baltimore, MD	1928	Jilted Jazz Age bride	Operating hotel
Congress Hall	Cape May, NJ	1816	Nameless woman in hallways	Operating hotel
Farnsworth House Inn	Gettysburg, PA	c. 1810–1833	Civil War sharpshooter	Operating hotel
The Doubleday Inn	Gettysburg, PA	Battle site, 1863	Union soldier on watch	Operating hotel
Federal Pointe Inn	Gettysburg, PA	1896	Schoolhouse children	Operating hotel
Hotel Gettysburg	Gettysburg, PA	1797	Civil War nurse	Operating hotel
The Bellevue Hotel, in The Unbound Collection by Hyatt	Philadelphia, PA	1904	Gilded Age guests	Operating hotel
The Jefferson Hotel	Richmond, VA	1895	Woman in white	Operating hotel
The Hay-Adams	Washington, DC	1927–28	Gilded Age photographer	Operating hotel
Cashtown Inn	Cashtown (mailing: Orrtanna), PA	c. 1797	Confederate headquarters	Operating hotel
Omni William Penn Hotel	Pittsburgh, PA	1916	Industrialist's palace	Operating hotel
The Bostonian Boston	Boston, MA	1982	Historic neighborhood lore	Operating hotel
Omni Parker House	Boston, MA	1855	Founder who stayed on	Operating hotel
Hawthorne Hotel	Salem, MA	1925	Mirror ghost, Room 612	Operating hotel
The Merchant	Salem, MA	1784	Witch-trial sheriff, Lady in Black	Operating hotel
The Salem Inn	Salem, MA	1834	Room 17, ghost cat	Operating hotel
Club Quarters Hotel, Faneuil Hall	Boston, MA	c. 1903	Slave-trade history	Operating hotel
Fairmont Copley Plaza	Boston, MA	1912	Sixth-floor noises, Jazz Age revelers	Operating hotel
Congress Plaza Hotel	Chicago, IL	1893	World's Fair hotel shadows	Operating hotel
DeSoto House Hotel	Galena, IL	1855	Lady in Black and vanished floors	Operating hotel
Jail Hill Inn	Galena, IL	1878	County jail carvings	Operating hotel
The Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza	St. Louis, MO	1922	Jazz Age elevator lady	Operating hotel
St. Louis Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market Street	St. Louis, MO	1894	Railway travelers and Harvey Girls	Operating hotel
Belvoir Winery & Inn	Liberty, MO	1900–1908	Former Odd Fellows Home	Operating hotel
Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton	Kansas City, MO	1888	Victorian hotel and grill	Operating hotel
The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa	Denver, CO	1892	Phantom string quartet	Operating hotel
The Crawford Hotel	Denver, CO	1881–1914	Phantom rail travelers	Operating hotel
The Oxford Hotel	Denver, CO	1891	Jealous-lover legend	Operating hotel
The Patterson Inn	Denver, CO	1891	Cursed mansion, ghost dogs	Operating hotel
Hotel Monte Vista	Flagstaff, AZ	1927	Phantom bellboy	Operating hotel
Weatherford Hotel	Flagstaff, AZ	1900	Frontier hotel spirits	Operating hotel
Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel Apache	Las Vegas, NV	1951	Old Vegas gamblers	Operating hotel
Luxor Hotel & Casino	Paradise (Las Vegas Strip), NV	1993	Pyramid curse legend	Operating hotel
Horseshoe Las Vegas	Paradise (Las Vegas Strip), NV	1980 fire	Disaster-era apparitions	Operating hotel
El Cortez Hotel & Casino	Las Vegas, NV	1941	Mob-era casino	Operating hotel
Tombstone Bordello Bed & Breakfast	Tombstone, AZ	1881	Frontier bordello	Operating hotel
The Stanley Hotel	Estes Park, CO	1909	The Shining's hotel	Operating hotel
Hotel Congress	311 E Congress St, downtown Tucson, AZ (~115 mi from Phoenix; filed under Phoenix)	1919	Railroad hotel, gangster history	Operating hotel
The Hollywood Roosevelt	Los Angeles (Hollywood), CA	1927	Golden Age movie stars	Operating hotel
The Heathman Hotel	Portland, OR	1927	Woman of Room 703	Operating hotel
Arctic Club Hotel	Seattle, WA	1908	Gold Rush clubmen	Operating hotel
Hotel Sorrento, 900 Madison Street	Seattle, WA	1909	Gracious long-term guests	Operating hotel
Hotel del Coronado	Coronado, CA	1888	Victorian beach resort	Operating hotel
Beacon Grand	San Francisco, CA	1928	Jazz Age tower hotel	Operating hotel
Queen Anne Hotel	San Francisco, CA	1890	Headmistress's watchful presence	Operating hotel
Horton Grand Hotel	San Diego, CA	1886	Rebuilt Victorian, saddlery horse	Operating hotel
Stockyards Hotel	Fort Worth, TX	1907	Outlaw-era cattle town	Temporarily closed
The Whit	New Orleans, LA	1857	Garden District mansion	Temporarily closed
Hotel Villa Convento	New Orleans, LA	c. 1840	Madam who never left	Temporarily closed
Jean Lafitte House	New Orleans, LA	1984 tunnel find	Pirate legend, silent woman	Status not confirmed
Fleur De Lis Mansion	New Orleans, LA	1824	Old woman and her cats	Status not confirmed
The Rice	Houston, TX	1913	Lady in White	Former hotel
Coates House Hotel	1005 Broadway (at 10th St), Quality Hill, Kansas City, MO	1868	Victorian grand hotel	Former hotel
Maxwell House Hotel	Nashville, TN	1862–1961	Civil War prison hospital	Demolished
Cadillac Hotel	319 Second Ave S, Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA	1889	Sailors' lodging house	Former hotel
Former Oleander Hotel	Galveston, TX	1913	Green Book hotel, Lady in Red	Former hotel
Cecil Hotel	Los Angeles, CA (Downtown / Historic Core, near Skid Row - not Hollywood; about 7 miles from Hollywood)	1924	Downtown tower legend	Former hotel
Grand Pacific Hotel	San Diego, CA	1887	Grieving apparitions	Former hotel

The South

Southern hotels range from a 1791 Spanish colonial house and antebellum hotels to converted railroad terminals, Ozark spa-town resorts and a hotel opened in 2015. Their stories draw on the Civil War and epidemics, family homes, railroad travel, Prohibition and modern legend; Savannah alone has six.

Charleston, SCOperating hotel

20 South Battery

Also known as: Battery Carriage House Inn; Stevens-Lathers House

1843Room-by-room inn haunting

One of two Charleston entries here, and a waterfront house rather than a purpose-built hotel. It suits readers who want a story told room by room: a frightening tale in one room and a gentle one in another. It also carries a Reconstruction-era layer, since a Union colonel bought it in 1870.

The story people tell

Guests and staff have long told of three rooms. In Room 8, guests describe waking to a floating headless torso. A skeptic who stayed there in 1993 is said to have reached out to it and pulled back when it growled. In Room 10, a grayish figure the staff call the Gentleman Ghost is said to glide about and share the bed with guests.

History we checked · 3 sources

The main house was built in 1843 as a private residence. (ABC News 4 (WCIV), Aug 22, 2023)
Richard Lathers, a Union Army colonel, bought the property in 1870. (ABC News 4 (WCIV), Aug 22, 2023)
Colonel Lathers made the mansion a place where U.S. senators and New Yorkers met with Charleston locals. (The Post and Courier)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Charleston

Chattanooga, TNOperating hotel

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Also known as: Southern Railway Terminal Station; lodging is The Hotel Chalet

1909Railroad terminal spirits

This is a railroad story, not a mansion or tavern story. The building was a grand 1909 train terminal before it took in overnight guests. Choose it if you like hauntings tied to travel, departures and platforms. It pairs naturally with Nashville's Union Station, the other former terminal in this group.

The story people tell

Local lore speaks of phantom train whistles and of passengers and railroad workers who never finished their journeys. The account in our article comes from our own team. While photographing the restored train cars out back one night, they say they watched a white figure step out from between two of the cars and vanish when they looked up.

History we checked · 3 sources

It was built in 1909 as the grand Terminal Station. (Chattanooga Choo Choo (official site))
According to its official history, the last train left the station in August 1970. (Chattanooga Choo Choo (official site))
The station reopened as a hotel complex in 1973. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Chattanooga

Chattanooga, TNOperating hotel

The Read House

1872; 1926 buildingRoom 311 legend

The Read House has two layers of history on one site. An earlier inn there served as a Civil War hospital, and the present tower dates from the 1920s. Its lore is unusually focused on a single room, 311. That makes it a good pick for readers who want one named story rather than a crowd of spirits.

The story people tell

The story told most often centers on Room 311 and a woman local lore calls Annalisa Netherly. Accounts disagree about how she died there. Guests describe feeling watched and being woken by loud noises in the night, and the tradition holds that she dislikes men, especially smokers. Others report shadowy soldiers on the fourth floor, linked in lore to the site's hospital years.

History we checked · 3 sources

The Crutchfield House, which stood on the site, was used as a Civil War hospital in 1863. (The Read House (official site))
The Crutchfield House burned to the ground in 1867. (The Read House (official site))
The Read House opened in 1872; the current building dates to 1926. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Chattanooga Featured on The Cursed in Chattanooga Tour Featured on The Ghosts of Chattanooga Tour

Gatlinburg, TNOperating hotel

The Historic Gatlinburg Inn

1937Woman in white, phantom elevator

One of two Gatlinburg entries here, this 1937 inn opened in the years when the new national park was drawing visitors to the Smokies, and it is no antebellum mansion. Its stories are quiet, everyday ones, a figure in a hallway and an elevator with a mind of its own. Music fans may know it for a well-loved Tennessee song written in one of its rooms in 1967.

The story people tell

Housekeepers have long described a woman in white on the second floor, drifting down the hallway of the older section. One is said to have followed her, thinking she was a lost guest, only to find an empty hall and locked doors. Staff and guests also tell of the vintage elevator opening by itself and riding between floors with no one inside.

History we checked · 2 sources

Rel Maples Sr. opened the inn in 1937. (Gatlinburg.com (Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau))
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote “Rocky Top” in Room 388 in 1967. (The Historic Gatlinburg Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gatlinburg Featured on The Ghosts of Gatlinburg Tour Featured on The Grave Intentions Ghost Tour

Key West, FLOperating hotel

La Concha Key West, Autograph Collection

Also known as: historically La Concha Hotel; Crowne Plaza La Concha; briefly Key West Colonial Hotel

1926Literary Key West lore

La Concha brings a 1920s resort-hotel setting on Duval Street, one of three Key West entries in this group. Its stories lean on literary Key West, with Hemingway lore and a famous guest list that includes Tennessee Williams. It suits readers drawn to the island's writers more than to Civil War or colonial history.

The story people tell

Guests have long reported cold spots and voices, and figures at the foot of the bed that disappear. Local lore says a spirit in the hotel bar has a taste for chardonnay and will take an unattended glass. Some guests believe a presence linked to Ernest Hemingway lingers, reporting objects moving and beds shaking in the night.

History we checked · 2 sources

La Concha was built and opened in 1926; Aubuchon commissioned it. (Key West Historic Marker Tour)
Tennessee Williams was a guest at the hotel. (Key West Historic Marker Tour)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Key West Featured on The Darkside of Key West Tour

Key West, FLOperating hotel

Old Town Manor

Also known as: Eaton Lodge; , 511 Eaton St

c. 1886; Warren from 1913Doctor still on rounds

This is a small guest house whose story centers on one person's working life, not a war or a disaster. It suits readers who want a gentle, single-character haunting. Its setting is domestic Key West: rooms where a local doctor once examined and treated patients.

The story people tell

According to inn staff and guests, Dr. William Richard Warren still makes his rounds. People describe a gentleman in old-fashioned clothing who appears briefly and then is gone. Others describe a sense of someone checking on them in the night. Some wake to find belongings they left scattered neatly put away.

History we checked · 1 source

Dr. Warren used rooms of the house for examinations and minor surgeries. (Key West Historic Marker Tour)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Key West

Nashville, TNOperating hotel

The Hermitage Hotel

1910Edwardian lady, crying child

This is Nashville's Edwardian grand hotel, and its history is political as well as social. Both sides of the 1920 suffrage fight stayed here. Its ghost stories are fewer and more restrained than most in this group, and our article is candid about what it could not trace. That suits a reader who wants elegance first and lore second.

The story people tell

Guests in Room 912 have described waking to the sound of a baby crying in the early morning hours. Local lore attaches a sad story to it that our article could not trace in period newspapers. Others tell of a woman in white, said to be one of the hotel's Edwardian guests. She takes the blame for doors that open on their own, and for a lobby mirror said to crack and then appear whole again.

History we checked · 3 sources

The Hermitage Hotel was built between 1908 and 1910. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))
It was designed by architect J. E. R. Carpenter, who trained at MIT and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))
In 1920, supporters and opponents of woman suffrage both used the hotel as headquarters for their ratification campaigns. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Nashville Featured on The Ghosts of Nashville Tour

Nashville, TNOperating hotel

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

Also known as: opened 1977 as the Opryland Hotel

1977Lady in Black

One of the few modern hotels in this group, built in the 1970s rather than a historic building, with a story tied to the land and a prominent family of the area. It suits readers curious how a ghost tradition attaches to a newer place. Its central figure, the Lady in Black, recurs across many of the accounts.

The story people tell

The story most often told is of the Lady in Black, a woman in a full black antebellum gown seen in rooms, halls and stairwells. Local lore identifies her as Mrs. McGavock of the family that owned land nearby. Former employees describe seeing her late at night. Guests tell of waking at 3 a.m. to find her watching, and others describe hearing a woman whisper in their ear in the night.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Opryland Hotel complex was built in stages beginning in 1977; the Opryland theme park had opened in 1972. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))
The hotel flooded in May 2010 and reopened after extensive renovations in November 2010. (U.S. SEC EDGAR)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Nashville

Nashville, TNOperating hotel

The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection

Also known as: Union Station Hotel

1900Wartime platform farewell

Like Chattanooga's Choo Choo, this was a railroad terminal before it was a hotel. Its story is romantic and wartime rather than Civil War, set on a platform where soldiers said goodbye. Choose it for a single, well-known folk tale and for the grand 1900 station building itself.

The story people tell

The folk tale told here, in several versions, is of Abigail. She is said to have said goodbye to her sweetheart on the platform before he left for France in World War II, and promised to wait for him there. When word came that he had died overseas, the story goes, she took her own life on the tracks. Guests in Room 711, once part of the attic, report footsteps and dragging furniture overhead, though nothing is above them.

History we checked · 3 sources

Union Station was built in 1900. (Union Station Nashville Yards)
It operated as a train terminal until 1979. (Union Station Nashville Yards)
It was converted to a hotel in 1986. (Union Station Nashville Yards)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Nashville

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant

1821–1823Grieving woman, Room 204

Among Savannah's six entries here, this is the tavern inn: a joined set of 19th-century buildings, the oldest from the 1820s, with a bar at its heart. Its lore rests on one ghost in one room. Our article digs into whether the legend fits the building's real owners, which suits readers who like a story examined as well as told.

The story people tell

The ghost staff call Anne is said to keep to Room 204. Guests there report belongings moved or gone, sheets tugged, and a woman's sobs after the lights go out. Legend says Anne leapt from a balcony after losing someone she loved. Our article notes that the records it checked do not fit any known Anne, and the story is told as tradition.

History we checked · 2 sources

The first two parts of the building were constructed between 1821 and 1823. (17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant (official site))
The eastern part of the building was built in 1888 for the Powers family. (17Hundred90 Inn & Restaurant (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

Hamilton-Turner Inn

1873Children, watcher on the roof

This Second Empire mansion on Lafayette Square, built in 1873 for Samuel Hamilton, is one of the Victorian-era houses among the Savannah entries. Its lore mixes playful sounds, children's laughter and rolling billiard balls, with a watcher on the roof, so it suits readers who like a house with several layered stories.

The story people tell

Guests have long reported children's laughter and the sound of billiard balls dropping and rolling across the floor. Local lore ties it to children who once played at a billiard table upstairs during their parents' parties. Others describe a man smoking a cigar on the roof, sometimes holding a rifle, and a soldier who walks the halls and knocks on doors at night.

History we checked · 1 source

The Second Empire house was built in 1873 for Samuel Hamilton. (Hamilton-Turner Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah Featured on The Beyond Good and Evil Tour

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

The Kehoe House

1892Children at play

The Kehoe House is a late-Victorian family home on Columbia Square, and its stories are about childhood and family life. Pick it if you prefer a softer, domestic haunting to a hospital or wartime one. Our article also sets aside one well-worn legend as untrue, which helps readers sort lore from rumor.

The story people tell

Guests often describe the sounds of children playing in the halls, along with perfume from another era drifting through bedrooms. Some report the feeling of a hand on their head or arm as they fall asleep. A darker rumor about children trapped in a chimney still circulates. Our article treats it as untrue and attributes the children's sounds to the many children who once lived here.

History we checked · 1 source

The Kehoe House on Columbia Square was completed in May 1892 for William Kehoe. (The Kehoe House (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

The Marshall House

1851Hospital-era hotel

Unlike Savannah's converted homes, the Marshall House was built as a hotel in 1851. Its history includes wartime and epidemic hospital use. Its stories are institutional: patients, soldiers and a founder. It is the Savannah choice for readers drawn to the city's Civil War and yellow fever past.

The story people tell

Guests report faucets and lights switching on and off and loud noises in the fourth-floor hallway before dawn. One account tells of a young girl who pointed at the 1830 portrait of Mary Marshall in the lobby and said she had seen that lady in the hall. Others describe the clack of an old typewriter from the former room of author Joel Chandler Harris.

History we checked · 3 sources

Mary Marshall opened the hotel in 1851. (The Marshall House (official site))
It served as a hospital during yellow fever epidemics. (The Marshall House (official site))
Union troops under Sherman occupied it in 1864–1865 and used it as a hospital. (The Marshall House (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah Featured on The Grave Tales Tour

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

Olde Harbour Inn

1889–1892Mischievous warehouse spirit

The riverfront entry among Savannah's inns. It is a former warehouse building, not a residence, with an industrial past that includes an oil company and a clothing factory. Its lore centers on one mischievous named spirit. Choose it for the River Street setting and a playful rather than tragic story.

The story people tell

The spirit staff call Hank is said to wander the halls, rattling doorknobs and pounding on doors, and Room 406 is described as his favorite haunt. A former desk clerk staying in Room 405 recalled an alarm clock going off next door in Room 406, which was empty that night. Another guest is said to have felt someone lie down beside her and assumed it was her husband, until she saw him walk out of the bathroom.

History we checked · 2 sources

Dennis J. Murphy built the building in 1889–1890 for the Tide Water Oil Company; it burned in 1892 and was rebuilt in brick. (Olde Harbour Inn (official site))
The building was used as a factory making blue jeans and overalls. (Olde Harbour Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah

St. Augustine, FLOperating hotel

St. Francis Inn

1791Colonial love story

This is the oldest building in this group, a 1791 Spanish colonial residence later turned lodging house. It is the only Florida building here that dates from Spanish rule. It suits readers drawn to a colonial setting and a romantic legend at its center, rather than the Victorian and Gilded Age houses elsewhere.

The story people tell

Our article tells the story of Lily, a young woman said to have loved a soldier from the Castillo de San Marcos. After he was killed, the legend says, she took her own life, and she is linked above all to Room 3A; the inn itself describes Lily as a young house servant. Guests describe a young woman in a white nightgown who sits on beds, strokes their hair and whispers about her lost love.

History we checked · 2 sources

Gaspar Garcia built the house as his residence around 1791, during the Second Spanish Period, on a lot granted by the King of Spain. (St. Francis Inn (official site))
What began as a military residence later became an inn: a lodging house from 1845, named the St. Francis Inn in 1948. (St. Francis Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted St. Augustine

Nashville, TNOperating hotel

Dream Nashville

Also known as: Printers Alley; incorporates the Utopia Hotel, Climax Saloon and Embers buildings

2019; older buildingsSaloon-era shooting legend

Dream Nashville opened in 2019. It joins a new tower to older Printers Alley buildings, including the old Utopia Hotel. That makes it the nightlife-district choice in Nashville, set apart from the Hermitage's elegance and Union Station's railroad past. Its lore comes from the rougher saloon era of those older buildings. Choose it for a story with a name, a floor and a room number.

The story people tell

Local legend holds that in 1897 a man named Tim Hanifin was shot by a sheriff on the second floor of the old hotel. Guests and staff have since described a misty man in a vest and white shirt walking that hallway. Others report a weeping woman in a high-necked Victorian dress at the windows. Room 217 carries the most stories: faucets turning on, belongings rearranged overnight, and the feeling of someone sitting on the bed.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel incorporates historic buildings in Printers Alley. (Nashville Sites (Nashville Public Library / Metro Historical Commission project))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Nashville Featured on The Nashville Haunted Pub Crawl

Savannah, GAOperating hotel

Foley House Inn

1896Skeleton in the wall

Among the Savannah inns here, this is the one built around a mystery rather than a named ghost alone. It is an 1896 house on Chippewa Square built for Honoria Foley. Its central tale, a skeleton said to have turned up inside a wall, is one our founder has researched and treats as unresolved. It suits readers who like a story with open questions.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is that during construction work in 1987, workers opening a wall found a skeleton inside it. Savannah tradition links the remains to an unwelcome suitor and a secret sealed into the walls, though our article notes the real record is complicated and incomplete. Our article also mentions a vain opera singer said to linger in Room 113, along with a colonel said to expect to be called sir.

History we checked · 1 source

The house was built in 1896 for Honoria Foley. (Wikipedia, reproducing the Chatham County–Savannah MPC 'Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District' (2011))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Savannah

24 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, FLOperating hotel

Casablanca Inn on the Bay

Also known as: opened 1914 as the Matanzas Hotel; adults-only 21+ from Aug 1, 2026

1914Lady with the Lantern

This is St. Augustine's second entry and a clear contrast with the St. Francis Inn. That inn began as a 1791 Spanish colonial home; this one opened as a hotel in 1914, a bayfront building facing Matanzas Bay. Its lore runs in two layers, a colonial physician and a Prohibition-era signal light. Choose it for a waterfront setting and a story tied to rum-running.

The story people tell

The inn's signature legend is the Lady with the Lantern. In the version the inn tells, a widow ran the place as a boarding house during Prohibition and signaled rum-runners from the roof with a lantern whenever government agents were in town. A second legend, retold in our article, places an old Spanish hospital on the site. Guests in rooms 10 and 12 describe a tall figure in colonial dress, called Dr. Sanchez, who seems to check their pulse at night.

History we checked · 2 sources

It opened as a hotel in 1914. (Casablanca Inn (official))
The inn says the building was then known as the Matanzas Hotel, and that a widow later ran it as a boarding house during Prohibition. (source)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted St. Augustine

Eureka Springs, AROperating hotel

1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa

We write about Eureka Springs but do not run tours there.

1886Victorian resort, false-cure hospital

The Crescent is the Ozarks' great Victorian resort, a limestone hilltop hotel whose strangest chapter came in the late 1930s, when Norman Baker, later convicted of mail fraud, ran a cancer "hospital" inside it. Its story mixes spa-town glamour with that dark episode, unlike the Civil War, epidemic and family histories behind most Southern hotels here.

The story people tell

Guests and staff tell of Theodora, said to be a patient from the 1930s hospital years, near Room 419, a man in a white suit in the old basement morgue, and a stonemason said to have died during construction who is blamed for mischief in Room 218. The hotel's own ghost tours retell these accounts.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel opened in 1886, built of limestone from a nearby quarry. (CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
Norman Baker bought the hotel in 1937, opened the Baker Hospital and Health Resort for cancer patients in 1938, and was convicted of mail fraud in 1940. (CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Eureka Springs

Eureka Springs, AROperating hotel

1905 Basin Park Hotel

We write about Eureka Springs but do not run tours there.

1905Spa-town hotel

The Basin Park is Eureka Springs' downtown counterpart to the Crescent: a limestone hotel that opened in 1905 on the site of the burned Perry House, right next to Basin Spring Park. It suits readers who want a walkable, spa-town stay in the middle of a small Victorian resort town.

The story people tell

Guests describe a tall cowboy on the third and fourth floors, a child's giggling in empty stairwells, and phantom music and cold spots in the top-floor Barefoot Ballroom. Some say the lower levels built into the bluff carry whispers and shadow figures.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel opened in 1905, built of local limestone on the site of an earlier hotel, the Perry House, which had burned. (CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
It stands next to Basin Spring Park at Spring and Center streets. (source)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Eureka Springs

Charleston, SCOperating hotel

Mills House Charleston, Curio Collection by Hilton

Also known as: Mills House Hotel; St. John Hotel early 1900s; Mills Hyatt House 1970; Holiday Inn Mills House 1983; Mills House Wyndham Grand 2013

1853Antebellum grand hotel

The Mills House is Charleston's grand downtown hotel on Meeting Street, opened in 1853 and rebuilt in its original style around 1970, with its iron balconies saved. It suits readers who want a full-service historic hotel in the heart of the old city, where Theodore Roosevelt once stayed and guests fought the Great Fire of 1861 from the windows.

The story people tell

Guests and staff describe a man in nineteenth-century work clothes walking the hallways, heavy footsteps in empty corridors, a woman's crying before dawn, and a presence in Room 301. The story goes that the old hotel's spirits stayed on through its rebuilding.

History we checked · 3 sources

Grain merchant Otis Mills bought the property in 1836; architect John Earle redesigned it and the hotel opened in 1853. (Mills House Charleston (official site))
The hotel survived the Great Fire of 1861, with guests and others fighting the flames from its windows. (Mills House Charleston (official site))
Found unsalvageable in 1967, it was rebuilt with its iron balconies salvaged and two floors added, and reopened in 1970 as the Mills Hyatt House. (Mills House Charleston (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Charleston

Key West, FLOperating hotel

Marrero's Guest Mansion

Old Town guesthouse

Marrero's is the Key West entry for readers who want an intimate, adults-only guesthouse rather than a resort: a restored Victorian house in Old Town, half a block from Duval Street, with a dozen rooms.

The story people tell

Guests describe a woman in white seen in the upstairs rooms and hallways, the sounds of a child at play, and an elderly gentleman glimpsed in the common areas and gardens. Many tie the stories to the families and boarders said to have lived in the house.

History we checked · 1 source

The guesthouse is a restored Victorian house in Old Town Key West, an adults-only bed and breakfast with 12 rooms. (Florida Keys & Key West (Monroe County Tourist Development Council))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Key West Featured on The Darkside of Key West Tour Featured on The Ghosts of Key West Tour

Gatlinburg, TNOperating hotel

Courtyard by Marriott Gatlinburg Downtown

2015Modern hotel, shadow figures

The Courtyard is one of the newest buildings in this collection. It opened in 2015 near the Gatlinburg Convention Center and shows that ghost stories gather around modern buildings too. It suits readers who want a conventional downtown base for the Smokies rather than a historic inn.

The story people tell

Guests describe shadowy figures glimpsed at the edge of their vision, standing in the corners of rooms or passing their doors, and unexplained noises at night. Our article notes that we found no record tying any real tragedy to the site.

History we checked · 1 source

The 130-room hotel opened in July 2015 near the Gatlinburg Convention Center. (Small Market Meetings (2015-07-02))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gatlinburg Featured on The Grave Intentions Ghost Tour

St. Augustine, FLOperating hotel

Casa de Sueños Bed & Breakfast

Also known as: Carcaba residence; Garcia Funeral Home

c. 1904Colonial legend, bridal suite

Casa de Sueños is the St. Augustine bed and breakfast with a twentieth-century story under its Mediterranean Revival look: a family home of about 1904, later a funeral home, now a seven-room inn on Cordova Street. It suits readers who want a small, romantic stay in the historic district.

The story people tell

Ghost stories told about the house center on Esperanza Rosario, said to have died in a 1728 yellow fever epidemic, though no record ties her to this site and the house was built long after. Guests in the bridal suite describe the scent of orange blossoms and the faint sound of a music box.

History we checked · 2 sources

The house was likely built around 1904 as a one-story residence and later expanded into its Mediterranean Revival form by the Carcaba family. (Casa de Sueños (official site))
It served as the Garcia Funeral Home in the mid-1900s before later becoming a bed and breakfast. (Casa de Sueños (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted St. Augustine

Gatlinburg, TNOperating hotel

The Edgewater Hotel

Also known as: Edgewater Hotel & Conference Center

Room 413, man in a dark suit

The Edgewater is a modern eight-story hotel on the Little Pigeon River in downtown Gatlinburg, and it shows that ghost stories gather around newer buildings too. Our article admits it has no single defining tragedy; what it has is a cluster of quiet, recurring accounts from guests and staff.

The story people tell

Guests and staff tell of Room 413, where guests describe waking to the feeling of someone sitting on the edge of the bed; of a tall, thin man in a dark suit who walks the halls late at night and vanishes near the third-floor vending machine; and of guests woken by the roar of rushing water inside the walls, only to find the bathroom dry.

History we checked · 1 source

The Edgewater is an eight-story, 205-room hotel at 402 River Road, on the Little Pigeon River in downtown Gatlinburg. (The Edgewater Hotel (official))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gatlinburg Featured on The Grave Intentions Ghost Tour

Louisiana

New Orleans hotels from the French Quarter, the Central Business District and Uptown, ranging from a colonial cottage rebuilt in 1781 and a former bordello bar to Canal Street towers, a St. Charles Avenue mansion and a two-room bed and breakfast.

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Andrew Jackson Hotel

1890Children in the courtyard

The Andrew Jackson is a modest two-story brick building on Royal Street, standing since 1890, but its lot once held the Federal District Court, which sat at 919 Royal from 1812 to 1823. Readers who want a French Quarter story built around children's voices and a tidy housekeeper, rather than ballrooms or bordellos, will find a gentler, household-scale lore here.

The story people tell

The story most often told concerns children: five boys tied by legend to an earlier boarding school on the site are heard playing in the courtyard late at night. Room 208 is linked to a child the lore calls Armond, whose giggling wakes guests, and a spirit thought to be a former housekeeper straightens towels, fluffs pillows and moves chairs closer to the window.

History we checked · 2 sources

The two-story brick building has stood on the lot since about 1890. (The Historic New Orleans Collection)
Between 1812 and 1823 the Federal District Court in New Orleans sat at 919 Royal, in a building since demolished. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Disclosure: Ghost City Tours has a package partnership with Andrew Jackson Hotel (New Orleans) (confirmed on the property's own site October 28, 2026). It did not affect this listing.

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans Featured on The Ghosts of New Orleans Tour

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Bourbon Orleans Hotel

1815–1881Ballroom to convent

The Bourbon Orleans layers three lives on one site: the Théâtre d'Orléans, finished in 1815; the Orleans Ballroom of 1817; and, from 1881, the home of the Sisters of the Holy Family. Its stories draw on all three, so it suits readers who want Creole society and religious history in the same place.

The story people tell

Guests and staff describe four recurring figures. A woman is said to dance alone beneath the chandeliers of the old ballroom, children's laughter echoes in halls where the sisters are said to have cared for orphans, a wounded Confederate soldier limps down the corridors, and Room 644 is known for anguished cries heard in the night.

History we checked · 3 sources

Construction of the Théâtre d'Orléans began in 1806, but the War of 1812 delayed its opening until 1815. (Bourbon Orleans Hotel (official site))
In 1817 John Davis rebuilt the theatre and added the Orleans Ballroom. (Bourbon Orleans Hotel (official site))
In 1881 the Sisters of the Holy Family bought the former Orleans Ballroom and converted it into a convent. (Bourbon Orleans Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans Featured on The Bad Bitches Ghost Tour

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Hotel Monteleone

1886Phantom child, 14th floor

Hotel Monteleone is the large, family-founded hotel among the New Orleans entries, its story beginning when Antonio Monteleone bought a hotel on Royal Street in 1886. Where the smaller Quarter inns draw on Creole houses, its lore spreads across a big working hotel: former employees, a restaurant door, and a floor that is not quite what its number says.

The story people tell

The most familiar account is of a small boy the legend names Maurice Begere, said to play pranks on the 14th floor, which is really the 13th renumbered out of superstition; in the story, his mother returned year after year hoping to see him, and once did. Staff and guests also describe the lobby restaurant door opening and closing by itself, a habit lore credits to two former employees who disagree about whether it should stay open.

History we checked · 1 source

In 1886 Antonio Monteleone bought a hotel on Royal Street. (Hotel Monteleone (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Lafitte Hotel & Bar

Also known as: Lafitte Guest House

1849Creole family home

The Lafitte is the house-scale choice in the Quarter: a private family home whose history, according to the hotel, began in 1849, set at the quieter, residential end of Bourbon Street. Its lore is concentrated in one room and one family story, a clear contrast with the many-ghost grand hotels elsewhere in this group.

The story people tell

Room 21 is the center of the lore, linked to a young girl the story calls Marie and associates with the family who first lived in the house. Elsewhere, guests describe lights switching on and off, furniture rearranged while they were out, and, most often, the sound of something being dragged across the floor of an empty room upstairs.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel dates its history to 1849, when the house began as a private family home. (Lafitte Hotel & Bar (official))
It stands at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip Streets in the French Quarter. (Lafitte Hotel & Bar (official))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Le Pavillon, New Orleans, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

1907Jazz Age couple

Le Pavillon is the Central Business District entry, a 1907 grand hotel a few minutes from the French Quarter. Its stories are Jazz Age and urban rather than colonial: an elegant couple in the lobby, a young traveler tied to the street outside, and a prankster upstairs, which gives it a different texture from the Creole houses nearby.

The story people tell

Guests describe a well-dressed couple in 1920s evening clothes walking hand in hand toward the elevators, which then open empty. Room 930 is linked to a young woman investigators called Ava, Eva or Ada, said to have been hurrying to catch a ship in the 1840s, and a dark-haired man on the third floor is said to pull the sheets off sleeping guests.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel opened in 1907. (New Orleans & Company (neworleans.com))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Astor Crowne Plaza

Also known as: Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter - Astor

Canal Street commercial block

The Astor is the Canal Street choice: a large modern hotel built into a block whose history runs from antebellum commercial buildings through a department store and a Woolworth's. It suits readers who want a big full-service base at the edge of the French Quarter, with Bourbon Street at the door.

The story people tell

Guests describe the trailing sound of phantom footsteps, mysterious orbs and full-bodied apparitions, and a sense of ominous energy. Stories told about the hotel place the most activity in its older Alexa tower.

History we checked · 2 sources

The site once held part of the Touro Buildings of 1856; after fires in the 1890s, A. Schwartz & Sons built a department store here. (The Historic New Orleans Collection)
Woolworth acquired the property in 1944, and the current hotel complex was built in 2002. (The Historic New Orleans Collection)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Photo: “New Orleans, 2011” by jericl cat (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; resized and converted to WebP (licence)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

The Columns Hotel

1883Uptown mansion hotel

The Columns is the St. Charles Avenue mansion hotel: an 1883 Italianate house built for merchant Simon Hernsheim, on the streetcar line Uptown, with a famous front porch and bar. It suits readers who want a small, atmospheric stay away from the French Quarter, in a house that has welcomed guests since 1953.

The story people tell

Guests describe cold spots in certain rooms and the voice of an older man heard in the lobby, and some feel a presence at the old mahogany bar. The spirits here are said to be gentle, and some wonder whether the well-dressed gentleman who greets guests is Simon Hernsheim, who built the house.

History we checked · 2 sources

The house was built in 1883 for merchant Simon Hernsheim, to a design by architect Thomas Sully. (Clio (cites NRHP nomination, 1982))
It became an upscale boarding house in 1917 and a hotel in 1953. (Clio (cites NRHP nomination, 1982))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Photo: abbeyprivate (Flickr), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (licence)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Creole Gardens Guesthouse & Inn

Guesthouse remodeling lore

Creole Gardens is the small, quirky guesthouse option in the Lower Garden District: a historic main house and courtyard cottages set around a banana-tree courtyard, a block from the St. Charles streetcar. It suits readers who want an informal, pet-friendly stay rather than a grand hotel.

The story people tell

The inn's proprietor has told of heavy doors that slammed shut and reopened during the remodeling, and of tiles found neatly stacked overnight. Guests since have described shadow figures and the feeling of being watched, especially in Room 2C, and local tradition links the house to a nineteenth-century minister.

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

The Westin New Orleans

Also known as: Westin New Orleans Canal Place

Riverfront lore

The Westin at Canal Place is the riverfront high-rise option, with guest floors above the Shops at Canal Place at the foot of Canal Street. Its stories are about the ground and the river rather than the building, which makes it a different kind of entry from the old houses and grand hotels here.

The story people tell

Guests have described orbs and partial apparitions, and local lore ties the unrest along this stretch of riverfront to the city's past, including the enslaved people who passed through New Orleans' markets in the nineteenth century.

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Photo: “Canal Place & Westin Hotel complex, New Orleans 4 Sept 2025” by Infrogmation, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; resized and converted to WebP (licence)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Dauphine Orleans Hotel

Also known as: buildings include May Baily's Place bar, Main House, Carriage House, Hermann House

Bordello bar, courtyard soldier

The Dauphine Orleans is the French Quarter hotel with a nineteenth-century bordello in its bones: May Baily's Place, now the hotel bar, is the story here. It suits readers who want a quiet courtyard hotel a block off Bourbon Street, with a bar whose history is the main attraction.

The story people tell

Staff and investigators have nicknamed a figure in a dark Confederate uniform the Worried General; he is said to pace the outer courtyard. A longtime employee at May Baily's tells of locking the front door at dawn and turning to find it standing open.

History we checked · 1 source

May Baily's, now the hotel bar, operated as a bordello in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. (Dauphine Orleans Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Hotel St. Pierre

Also known as: incorporates the Gabriel Peyroux House

1781Colonial cottage, waiting servant

The St. Pierre is the back-of-the-Quarter choice built around an eighteenth-century Creole house that Gabriel Peyroux had moved in pieces from Bayou Road to the corner of Burgundy and Dumaine in the 1780s. It suits readers who want a small, low-key hotel with deep colonial roots.

The story people tell

Guests and staff most often report footsteps in the old Peyroux House. Employees describe the apparition of a man in a blue shirt and trousers with black boots near the entrance, said by some to be the Peyroux family's carriage master still waiting for them.

History we checked · 2 sources

In 1781 Gabriel Peyroux contracted to have his house on Bayou Road taken apart and reassembled on his father-in-law's lot at Burgundy and Dumaine; the reassembly appears to have been finished between 1784 and 1787. (Richard Campanella / PRC)
The house survived the fires of 1788 and 1794; the Peyroux family owned it until 1850. (Richard Campanella / PRC)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Disclosure: Ghost City Tours has a package partnership with Hotel St. Pierre (New Orleans) (confirmed on the property's own site October 28, 2026). It did not affect this listing.

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

The Haunted Hotel

Also known as: New Orleans

Axeman legend

The Haunted Hotel is the small Ursulines Avenue guesthouse in the French Quarter that wears its reputation on its sign. It suits readers who want a deliberately spooky stay run by people who lean into the lore, rather than a historic hotel that keeps its ghosts quiet.

The story people tell

According to legend, the house is haunted by the Axeman, the unidentified killer who terrorized New Orleans in 1918 and 1919, and visitors describe a sudden unease on entering. Guests also tell of the misty apparition of a woman called Maime and a voice asking, "Who are you?"

History we checked · 1 source

The Axeman's attacks ran from May 1918 to October 1919; a letter published in March 1919 promised to spare homes where jazz was playing. (Wikipedia (citing Katz 2010, p. 59))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Disclosure: Ghost City Tours has a package partnership with The Haunted Hotel (623 Ursulines, New Orleans) (confirmed on the property's own site October 28, 2026). It did not affect this listing.

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Dauphine House

Also known as: bed and breakfast

1860Host's first-hand accounts

Dauphine House is the most intimate stay in this section: a two-room bed and breakfast in the Faubourg Marigny whose host, described in our article as a paranormal investigator, lives on site. It suits readers who want to hear the house's stories first-hand, the kind of place where the host's own site invites a chat on the patio.

The story people tell

The owner describes a little girl's spirit, a man in a top hat and formal overcoat, and doors that close, latch and pop open again. A visiting investigator friend is said to have woken one night with a nagging sensation and seen a dark shadow gliding along the ceiling.

History we checked · 1 source

The house was built in 1860 and has been a licensed bed and breakfast since 1999, with its host living on the property. (Dauphine House (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

The Chloe

Also known as: boutique hotel, opened 2020; - formerly the Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast (closed June 2018); historically the Henry Picard house

1891Original owner's knocking

This 1891 St. Charles Avenue mansion is the entry for readers who want an Uptown boutique stay on the streetcar line. It operated for years as the Avenue Inn bed and breakfast, closed when its owners retired in 2018, and reopened as The Chloe, a 14-room hotel with a pool and restaurant.

The story people tell

A guest of the old Avenue Inn reported singing from the empty former nanny's quarters, and during a wedding held in the house, knocking was heard from the dining-room fireplace. The inn's longtime owners said they suspected it was the original owner, Henry Picard, offering his congratulations.

History we checked · 3 sources

The house was built in 1891 for the Picard family to designs by architect Thomas Sully, according to the inn's directory listing. (TourLouisiana.com directory (inn-supplied text))
The Avenue Inn stopped operating on June 5, 2018, after its innkeeper-owners retired. (Avenue Inn (official site, via Wayback Machine))
The mansion now operates as The Chloe, a 14-room boutique hotel. (The Chloe (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAOperating hotel

Hotel Maison de Ville

Also known as: The Celestine

Cottage soldier

Maison de Ville was the French Quarter townhouse hotel on Toulouse Street where Tennessee Williams once made his home. The hotel closed in 2023, and the building reopened in 2024 under new owners as The Celestine; the ghost stories here come from the Maison de Ville years, so this entry is for its history and lore.

The story people tell

Guests and employees of the old Maison de Ville described a soldier in a 1940s uniform in Cottage Four, his hand resting on a radio that kept returning to country music. During a 2013 investigation, the Louisiana Paranormal Society reported footsteps and whispering, and books moved in the Frenchman's Cottage.

History we checked · 3 sources

Tennessee Williams made the Maison de Ville his home for a time in the 1960s. (Ned Cheever / Via Nola Vie)
A suite at the hotel was named for Williams. (source)
The building at 727 Toulouse Street now operates as The Celestine hotel. (source)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

Texas

Texas's haunted hotels gather around Alamo Plaza, Galveston Island and Austin, so the battle of 1836, the 1900 storm and cattle-era fortunes shape much of the lore. The settings range widely, from a former jail and a 1920s medical building to a Stockyards bordello, private mansions and Austin's first high-rise hotel.

Austin, TXOperating hotel

The Driskill

1886Cattle baron and staircase child

Among America's grand Victorian hotels, the Driskill pairs a cattle-baron founder with a much-told child-ghost legend. Its stories are personal rather than military: a little girl on the staircase, the builder's cigar, a longtime resident who keeps checking his watch. It suits readers who want a Gilded Age lobby where the lore is built around named characters.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of a senator's young daughter who chased a bouncing ball down the grand staircase in 1887 and fell; guests say a little girl, often called Samantha, still darts along the mezzanine stairs and lingers near a fifth-floor portrait of a girl holding flowers. Staff also describe cigar smoke in the non-smoking lobby, credited to Colonel Driskill, and a security guard's tale of a voice behind him asking, "Got a match?"

History we checked · 2 sources

The Driskill was built and opened in 1886. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)
It was built by cattle baron Colonel Jesse Driskill. (The Driskill)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Austin Featured on The Ghosts of Austin Tour Featured on Austin Haunted Pub Crawl Featured on Madame's Curse Ghost Tour

Austin, TXOperating hotel

Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection

Also known as: Perry Estate

1928Jazz Age private mansion

Rather than opening as a hotel, the Perry Estate was built as a family's private Italian Renaissance mansion in the late 1920s and only later took in guests. Its reputation rests on quiet, accumulated impressions rather than a single dramatic legend, which makes it a fit for readers who prefer understated estate atmosphere to famous named ghosts.

The story people tell

Guests and staff have long reported unhurried footsteps in empty hallways and the murmur of conversation from rooms that turn out to be vacant, mostly late at night and in the early morning. Staff describe a watchful, not threatening, feeling in the parts of the house that were once the family's private rooms, and a few people have glimpsed shadowy figures at the ends of corridors that dissolve when looked at directly.

History we checked · 3 sources

It was built in 1928 as a private mansion. (National Park Service, NPGallery)
The house was built for Edgar "Commodore" Perry, a prominent Austin businessman. (Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Sites Atlas)
It was designed in the Italian Renaissance style. (The Cultural Landscape Foundation)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Austin

Austin, TXOperating hotel

Hotel Ella

Also known as: Goodall Wooten House

1898–1900Physician's family mansion

Hotel Ella began as a physician's family home at the turn of the twentieth century, near the University of Texas rather than a battlefield or busy downtown. Its stories are domestic and subtle, centered on the old family rooms, so it appeals to readers drawn to haunted house-museum atmosphere rather than frontier drama or celebrity ghosts.

The story people tell

Guests have described footsteps in hallways with no one in sight and indistinct, conversational voices from rooms that prove to be empty. Staff speak of a focused sense of being watched in the corridors that were once the family's private spaces, and of brief cold spots that seem to move through a room, as if someone were passing by.

History we checked · 3 sources

The house was built as a private residence between 1898 and 1900. (The Alcalde (Texas Exes))
It was built for Goodall Wooten, a physician. (The Alcalde (Texas Exes))
The mansion is listed on the National Register as a property of architectural significance. (Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Sites Atlas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Austin

Fort Worth, TXOperating hotel

Miss Molly's Hotel

c. 1910Stockyards bordello

Miss Molly's is a small Stockyards hotel that is frank about its past: built around 1910 with a boarding house called the Palace Rooms upstairs, the building was The Oasis during Prohibition, the Gayatte Hotel in the 1940s, and is remembered as a former brothel. Its ghosts are cowboys, madams and working women rather than statesmen, giving readers an intimate, Old West counterpoint to the grand city hotels elsewhere on this list.

The story people tell

The story most often told here involves "Jake the Cowboy," seen as a full figure who walks into a room and shuts the door, leaving it empty when someone looks inside. Another spirit is said to be a former madam named Josie King, reported at the foot of guests' beds around 3 a.m., and a "Tipping Ghost" is credited with leaving spare change in freshly cleaned rooms. The Cattlemen and Cowboy rooms are where reports cluster.

History we checked · 3 sources

The building went up around 1910, with a boarding house called the Palace Rooms on the upper floor. (FortWorthArchitecture.com)
It was called The Oasis during Prohibition and the Gayatte Hotel in the 1940s. (FortWorthArchitecture.com)
The building once operated as a brothel. (Fort Worth Stockyards (official district site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Fort Worth

Galveston, TXOperating hotel

Grand Galvez

Also known as: historic Hotel Galvez

1911Gulf Coast waiting bride

The Galvez was built as part of Galveston's recovery after the 1900 storm, and it sits facing the Gulf on the seawall rather than on a city street. Its central legend is a seaside love story of waiting and loss, so it suits readers drawn to coastal, storm-shaped history more than battlefield or gangster lore.

The story people tell

According to local lore, a young bride-to-be, usually called Audra, took Room 501 whenever her mariner fiancé was at sea and climbed to the west turret to watch for his ship; told it was lost in a storm, she is said to have died in the hotel days before he returned alive. Guests report doors slamming, lights and televisions switching on by themselves, key cards for Room 501 failing, and a light in the unlit turret.

History we checked · 3 sources

The hotel opened in 1911 as part of Galveston's recovery from the 1900 storm. (Rosenberg Library Museum)
It was named for Bernardo de Gálvez, who never visited the island. (Rosenberg Library Museum)
During World War II the U.S. Coast Guard commandeered the hotel and closed it to tourists. (Rosenberg Library Museum)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Galveston

Galveston, TXOperating hotel

The Tremont House

1839; current building 1980sCivil War soldier and storm spirits

The Tremont is unusual among American haunted hotels because its name has passed through three buildings since 1839, the current one a converted nineteenth-century commercial block. That layered identity shapes its lore, which mixes a Civil War soldier with a mischievous child and storm-night disturbances, making it a choice for readers interested in how a hotel's story outlives its walls.

The story people tell

The figure most often described is a Civil War soldier who marches through the front lobby past the elevator shaft, turns toward the front desk and back, his boots clattering when he cannot be seen. Front-desk staff also tell of "Young Jimmy," a boy glimpsed from the corner of the eye in their first weeks of work who likes to overturn cups. During storms, guests report televisions and ceiling fans switching on by themselves.

History we checked · 3 sources

The original Tremont House opened in 1839. (The Tremont House)
That building burned in 1865; a second Tremont designed by Nicholas J. Clayton opened in 1872 and was demolished in 1928. (The Tremont House)
The present, third Tremont occupies the former Leon & H. Blum Co. Building and opened in the 1980s. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Galveston Featured on The Ghosts of Galveston Tour Featured on The Shadows of Revelry Ghost Tour

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

The Crockett Hotel

1909Alamo battlefield spirits

The Crockett's distinction nationally is its ground: it sits beside the Alamo, and its lore is tied to the 1836 battle rather than to anything that happened in the hotel itself. Built by a fraternal lodge in the early 1900s, it suits readers who want Texas Revolution legend in a modest-scale historic hotel.

The story people tell

Local lore holds that the Alamo's defenders never left this ground: staff and guests describe whispers in empty offices, chanting and footsteps in the halls, and the clip-clop of hooves. Employees tell of a man in a dark blue jacket who drifts toward the patio where a tavern once stood, and of the sensor-operated front doors sliding open as if someone had stepped up to them. Some say Davy Crockett himself walks the hotel named for him.

History we checked · 1 source

The San Antonio Odd Fellows lodge built the hotel, which opened in 1909 as the Crockett Hotel, with the fraternal order using the upper floors. (KSAT 12 (Aug 21, 2024))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk

Also known as: Alamo National Bank Building; article also covers Drury Inn & Suites San Antonio Riverwalk (201 N St. Mary's St)

1929Depression-era bank

Here the haunted building is a late-1920s bank skyscraper, a rarer setting among American haunted hotels than a mansion or an inn. Its lore is thin compared with its neighbors and centers on the banking years, so it is a choice for readers who value the restored architecture and Riverwalk setting over a famous named ghost.

The story people tell

According to local lore, the building's spirits date from its days as a bank: the story goes that Depression-era bankers and clients linger in the restored halls, among the stained glass, marble and 1920s crystal chandeliers that still hang in the lobby. Our article focuses as much on the haunted landmarks within walking distance as on any single encounter inside.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel occupies the former Alamo National Bank Building, a 24-story structure completed in 1929. (Drury Hotels)
The Drury Plaza Hotel opened in 2007. (Drury Hotels)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Disclosure: Ghost City Tours has a package partnership with Drury Plaza Hotel & Drury Inn & Suites San Antonio Riverwalk (Drury Hotels) (confirmed on the property's own site October 28, 2026). It did not affect this listing.

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

The Emily Morgan San Antonio - a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel

1924; hotel 1984Medical building ghosts

Former hospitals are a recognizable type among American haunted hotels, and the Emily Morgan is a striking one: a 1920s Gothic Revival medical building with gargoyles, beside Alamo Plaza. Its lore is clinical rather than military, built on floors that once held doctors' offices and surgery, making it a contrast to the battlefield stories next door.

The story people tell

Guests and staff have long reported sounds like surgery on the twelfth floor in the early hours, the clank of metal and a saw running, along with cries from empty rooms. On the fourteenth floor people describe a woman in white who passes through doors, and the story often told on the seventh floor is of a ghost bride in a wedding dress; one worker said she stepped into an elevator that was empty when the worker followed a moment later.

History we checked · 2 sources

The building was erected as the 13-story Gothic Revival Medical Arts Building, by builder J.M. Nix and architect Ralph Cameron, in 1924, and served as a medical center. (The Emily Morgan Hotel)
It opened as the Emily Morgan Hotel in 1984, according to the hotel's official timeline. (The Emily Morgan Hotel)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio Featured on The San Antonio Haunted Pub Crawl

120 Camaron St, downtown San Antonio, TX 78205Operating hotel

Holiday Inn Express San Antonio N-Riverwalk Area

Also known as: 82 rooms; in the 1878 Old Bexar County Jail; opened Nov 26, 2004 as Comfort Inn Alamo/Riverwalk

1878Jail and gallows

Behind a familiar chain name is one of the more unusual buildings among American haunted hotels: a former county jail fitted with a gallows. Its lore is about confinement and sound, not luxury, which makes it a choice for readers interested in a jail-to-hotel story in the middle of a city better known for the Alamo.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is that the old hanging floor was on the third story, and local tradition links the scrape of chains heard there in the small hours to prisoners led to the gallows. Staff tell of beds made and tucked tight that are found undone moments later. One guest who stayed on the third floor wrote to us about waking at 3:30 a.m. in sudden heat, a mist high on the wall, and chain-like noises before dawn.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel occupies the old Bexar County Jail. (San Antonio Current (Dec 16, 2004))
The jail was fitted with a trap-door gallows between its second and third floors. (San Antonio Current (Dec 16, 2004))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio Featured on The Madames and Mayhem Ghost Tour

105 N Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205 (Alamo Plaza, downtown)Operating hotel

Hotel Gibbs

Also known as: 1909 Gibbs Building; opened as Hotel Indigo San Antonio at the Alamo, April 2010

1909Alamo cannon and old elevators

Hotel Gibbs is a 1909 office tower on Alamo Plaza whose lore blends the 1836 battle with its own building life, especially its old manually operated elevators. That mix of revolution legend and quiet office-building detail sets it apart from San Antonio's grander hotels and suits readers who like small, specific stories.

The story people tell

According to local lore, a guard in the old post office next door once watched two shadowy figures push a heavy cannon from the Gibbs building toward the Alamo, then found there had been no reenactment that day. Inside, guests say they see the out-of-service vintage elevator doors close, sometimes on the wisp of a dress, and describe figures in old-fashioned clothes in the halls or already standing in their rooms.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Gibbs building was built in 1909. (San Antonio Conservation Society)
It was perhaps the last downtown San Antonio building to employ elevator operators. (San Antonio Conservation Society)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

The Menger Hotel

1859Rough Riders and Roosevelt

The Menger is an antebellum hotel founded by a German immigrant brewer, and among American haunted hotels it has an unusually famous ghost: Theodore Roosevelt, tied to the hotel's real role in recruiting the Rough Riders. It suits readers who want a nineteenth-century hotel where presidential history and lore meet in one room, the bar.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is that Teddy Roosevelt still holds court in the Menger Bar: staff closing up at night describe a nearly translucent man seated there who stares, and sometimes calls out and tries to recruit them, as he recruited the Rough Riders in life. Guests elsewhere in the hotel report rapping noises, cigar smoke in non-smoking rooms, heavy doors opening on their own, and faces appearing beside their own in mirrors.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel opened in 1859, founded by William and Mary Menger; William A. Menger was a German immigrant who had earlier run a brewery. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)
Theodore Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders at the hotel in 1898. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio Featured on The Ghosts of San Antonio Tour Featured on The San Antonio Haunted Pub Crawl

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

The Gunter Hotel

Also known as: Sheraton Gunter; Marriott Tribute Portfolio

1909Blues legend and two feuding spirits

The Gunter's place among American haunted hotels comes from music history: blues musician Robert Johnson made his first recordings here. Its lore runs to Jazz Age figures and that recording room rather than battles, and the site's earlier life as an army headquarters adds depth for readers who want a music-and-nightlife story.

The story people tell

Guests and staff describe two spirits nicknamed Ingrid and Peggy, said to haunt opposite parts of the hotel and sometimes heard arguing; Ingrid appears in a long white dress on the upper floors, and one hotel employee told a newspaper she watched such a figure pass through one wall and then another. Local tradition also holds that Robert Johnson's presence lingers in Room 414, where his first recording session is said to have taken place.

History we checked · 3 sources

The Gunter Hotel opened in 1909. (Texas Public Radio (Oct 1, 2025))
Robert Johnson held his first recording session at the hotel on November 23, 1936; he died in 1938 near Greenwood, Mississippi. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)
The Vance brothers' building on the site served as U.S. Army headquarters and later became the Vance House hotel; the site has been a hotel since. (Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio

San Antonio, TXOperating hotel

The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel

1909Society lady and ballroom

The St. Anthony was conceived from the start as a cattlemen-financed luxury hotel, and its lore is about high society: a woman in red, ballroom dancers and a private club that seemingly never closed. It suits readers who want the glamour strand of American haunted-hotel stories rather than battlefield or jailhouse ones.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of a Lady in Red seen on the third floor, waiting for a lover who never arrives, sometimes only as a reflection or a flash of red fabric at a corner. Security and cleaning staff report big band music from the empty Anacacho Ballroom and translucent couples dancing, and housekeepers describe tenth-floor beds found rumpled in unoccupied rooms and elevators halting there on their own.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel opened in 1909 as a purpose-built luxury hotel financed by cattlemen. (KSAT 12 (Aug 21, 2024))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Antonio Featured on The San Antonio Haunted Pub Crawl

Austin, TXOperating hotel

The Stephen F. Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel

Also known as: Stephen F. Austin Hotel; planned as 'The Texas'; renamed Royal Sonesta Dec 2020

1924Capitol-district high-rise

The Stephen F. Austin was the first high-rise on Congress Avenue in the Texas capital and has long been its political hotel: a 1924 Beaux Arts building where Lyndon B. Johnson ran his first congressional campaign. It suits readers who want a full-service downtown stay a few blocks from the Capitol, with a century of Austin history in the walls.

The story people tell

The hotel's best-known ghost story is one guest's account of Room 408, where a light switched on and flashed by itself and a closed bathroom door slowly swung open. Other visitors speak of a presence in this century-old hotel, though no records explain it.

History we checked · 4 sources

The hotel opened on May 19, 1924, as Austin's first high-rise on Congress Avenue. (Sonesta International Hotels (official))
Lyndon B. Johnson headquartered his 1937 congressional campaign at the hotel. (Sonesta International Hotels (official))
It stood vacant from 1987 to 1998 and reopened in 2000. (Sonesta International Hotels (official))
It was restored in 2000 and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2002. (Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Sites Atlas)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Austin Featured on Austin Haunted Pub Crawl

The Mid-Atlantic

The Mid-Atlantic hotels split between Civil War Gettysburg, where inns stand on or near the 1863 battleground and one served as a Confederate headquarters, and the grand city and seaside hotels of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Washington and Cape May.

Baltimore, MDOperating hotel

The William Fell Baltimore, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Also known as: the Admiral Fell Inn

Late 1700sPhantom sailors, Lady in White

This is the harbor-front choice in the region: a row of joined Fells Point buildings whose oldest parts go back to the late 1700s and once served sailors as a boarding house and ship chandlery. Its lore is maritime and spread across many eras. No single tragedy anchors it, which sets it apart from the one-ghost hotels elsewhere in this group.

The story people tell

Guests and staff have long described phantom sailors in the hallways and a recurring Lady in White who appears and vanishes. Footsteps cross empty floors, and some guests have asked to change rooms in the middle of the night. The most retold tale is of a ghostly party heard in the building during a hurricane in the 1990s.

History we checked · 2 sources

The inn's oldest buildings date to the late 1700s. (Preservation Maryland)
Before it was an inn, the property served as a sailors' boarding house and a ship chandlery, among other uses. (Preservation Maryland)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Baltimore

Baltimore, MDOperating hotel

Ulysses

Also known as: Hotel Ulysses; , Latrobe Building, 2 East Read Street

Early 2020sNewly forming hotel lore

This is the newest hotel in the group, and its ghost stories are still taking shape. It opened in 2022 in the Latrobe Building in Mount Vernon, which over the past century was a fine residence, a bachelors' rooming house, a flophouse and offices. Most of the other hotels here carry a century or more of lore. At the Ulysses you can see how a hotel's ghost story starts.

The story people tell

The accounts that circulate are modern ones, shared by guests, staff and online reviewers. Most involve sounds: footsteps in empty hallways or rooms above, doors that seem to open or close on their own, and murmuring voices with no clear source. A few guests describe a shadowy figure glimpsed at the edge of sight, and many of them admit they are not sure what they saw.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Ulysses opened to guests on September 21, 2022, the fourth hotel from New York-based hotelier Ash. (Baltimore Fishbowl)
It occupies the Latrobe Building at Charles and Read streets in Mount Vernon, which over the past century served as a residence for well-off Baltimoreans, a room-and-board house for bachelors, a flophouse and offices for nonprofits. (Baltimore Fishbowl)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Baltimore

Baltimore, MDOperating hotel

Lord Baltimore Hotel

1928Jilted Jazz Age bride

Choose this one for Jazz Age glamour and a high-rise setting, unlike the low brick inns elsewhere in the region. It is a downtown tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its lore is concentrated on one upper floor and one room number, which gives it an unusually specific shape among these hotels.

The story people tell

The story most often told is of Molly, a bride said to have been jilted on her wedding night. In the legend she still searches the 19th floor for the groom who never came, and night staff describe a woman in a white dress riding the elevator to that floor around midnight. Room 1910 carries its own reputation for unsettling activity, and guests also tell of a gentleman in 1930s evening wear who guides lost guests to their rooms and then vanishes.

History we checked · 1 source

The Lord Baltimore Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Maryland Historical Trust)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Baltimore

Cape May, NJOperating hotel

Congress Hall

1816Nameless woman in hallways

This is the only seaside resort in the group. Its history begins in 1816, which makes it one of the oldest hotel stories here. It was rebuilt in brick after an 1878 fire and later hosted a president's summer White House. Its ghost lore is quiet and nameless: corridors and unoccupied rooms, with no famous tragedy behind them.

The story people tell

The account heard most often is of a woman in old-fashioned dress seen in the upstairs hallways. She moves away from guests without hurrying and disappears around a corner, and people who follow find the corridor empty. No one claims to know who she was. Staff also describe footsteps, scraping furniture and voices behind the doors of rooms where no one is checked in.

History we checked · 3 sources

Thomas Hughes built the first building, a wood-framed boarding house, in 1816; it was later renamed Congress Hall. (Cape May Magazine)
The Great Fire of 1878 destroyed the hotel. It was rebuilt in brick and finished in 1879, and that is the building standing today. (Cape May Magazine)
President Benjamin Harrison made Congress Hall his Summer White House. (Cape May Magazine)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Cape May

Gettysburg, PAOperating hotel

Farnsworth House Inn

c. 1810–1833Civil War sharpshooter

Of the Gettysburg hotels in this group, this is the one with the battle written on its walls. The house stood in 1863, its oldest sections date to about 1810, and its south wall carries marks from the fighting. Its stories tie closely to the battle and the town's civilians. Readers who want a building that was there, not one built on the field later, should start here.

The story people tell

According to local lore, a Confederate sharpshooter still paces the attic, and guests below hear his footsteps at night. The most frequently described apparition is Mary, a woman in mourning who weeps into a handkerchief in the hallway or near the windows. Guests also tell of a small boy giggling on the stairs and of a smiling man in the Sara Black Room who vanishes moments later.

History we checked · 3 sources

The rear sections of the house date to about 1810, and John McFarlane built the brick front structure in 1833. (Gettysburg Daily)
During the 1863 battle the house belonged to the Sweney family. Confederate sharpshooters occupied buildings in the area, but records of exactly which Confederates were inside this house are scarce. (Gettysburg Daily)
The inn states that the house still bears more than 100 bullet holes. (Farnsworth House Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gettysburg Featured on The Blood on the Battlefield Ghost Tour

Gettysburg, PAOperating hotel

The Doubleday Inn

Battle site, 1863Union soldier on watch

Pick this one for its setting. It sits on Oak Ridge, ground where the first day of fighting took place, and describes itself as the only B&B directly on the battlefield. The house itself came after the battle, so its stories are about the land rather than the building. That sets it apart from the in-town inns and hotels nearby.

The story people tell

Guests most often describe a Union soldier with piercing blue eyes and a tattered uniform, standing by the windows and looking out toward the battlefield. Many say they have heard marching boots at night, from outside or from the floor above when no one was staying upstairs. Staff tell of shuffling footsteps and doors opening and closing while the building was empty.

History we checked · 2 sources

The inn stands on Oak Ridge, ground fought over on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863. (Gettysburg Times)
The inn describes itself as the only B&B directly on the battlefield, beside the positions of the Union First Corps. (The Doubleday Inn (official))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gettysburg

Gettysburg, PAOperating hotel

Federal Pointe Inn

1896Schoolhouse children

This Gettysburg hotel is the former Meade School, built in 1896 and converted to a hotel in 2012, and its lore follows the building's own past. The other Gettysburg inns here center on soldiers. This one's most familiar stories are about children and a teacher-like figure, which suits a reader who wants Gettysburg's atmosphere without the battle at the center.

The story people tell

The accounts guests share most often are of phantom children: running footsteps in empty hallways, giggling, and the faint sound of a bouncing ball when no children are staying. Some link these sounds to the building's years as the Meade School. Others describe a woman in a gray dress or cloak standing silently near the stairwells or in the lobby late at night before she vanishes.

History we checked · 1 source

The building was built in 1896 as the Meade School and was converted into a boutique hotel in 2012. (Federal Pointe Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gettysburg

Gettysburg, PAOperating hotel

Hotel Gettysburg

Also known as: Gettysburg Hotel; , 1 Lincoln Square

1797Civil War nurse

This is the town-square hotel among the Gettysburg choices. It traces its start to a tavern on the square in 1797, though fire destroyed the old building in 1983 and the present hotel was rebuilt and reopened in 1991. Its lore centers on a ballroom and a gentle nurse rather than on combat, which makes it a quieter counterpart to the battlefield inns.

The story people tell

The story most often told is of Rachel, believed in local tradition to be a Civil War nurse, described as a gentle presence. Guests report drawers opening on their own, belongings moved, and the soft swish of skirts in the hallway at night. Others tell of a woman in period dress dancing in the ballroom and a Union soldier standing at attention in a guest room before vanishing.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel traces its history to 1797. A fire destroyed the building in 1983; it was rebuilt and reopened in 1991. (ABC27 (WHTM))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Gettysburg Featured on The Haunted Echoes Ghost Tour

Philadelphia, PAOperating hotel

The Bellevue Hotel, in The Unbound Collection by Hyatt

Also known as: Bellevue-Stratford

1904Gilded Age guests

This is Philadelphia's entry and the group's grand Broad Street hotel, opened in 1904 as the Bellevue-Stratford. The ghost stories are recent, mostly told by guests in the last few years, and they describe friendly spirits rather than tragedy. That suits a reader who wants a gentler story than the Gettysburg battlefield inns offer.

The story people tell

Guests describe the temperature in their rooms dropping sharply in the night, and something tugging at their covers, and their toes, as they try to sleep. Some say they felt an intense, paralyzing sensation on entering certain rooms. By most accounts the spirits here are friendly.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel was built and opened in 1904. (99% Invisible)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Philadelphia

Richmond, VAOperating hotel

The Jefferson Hotel

1895Woman in white

Richmond's entry is a Gilded Age grand hotel that opened in 1895. It has come through two fires: one in 1901 that gutted much of the building, and another in 1944. Its stories are the classic grand-hotel kind, centered on an evening-dressed woman and the upper hallways. Readers comparing big-city landmarks should weigh it alongside the Bellevue and the Lord Baltimore.

The story people tell

The story most often told is of a woman in a pale, old-fashioned gown, seen in the upper hallways or near the staircase and gone when anyone looks twice. Some imagine a bride, and the descriptions vary enough that she may not be one woman at all. Guests on the upper floors also report footsteps and doors closing in vacant rooms, and a formally dressed older gentleman in the elevator whom no clerk can identify.

History we checked · 3 sources

The Jefferson, Lewis Ginter's project, opened in 1895. (The Jefferson Hotel (official site))
A fire in 1901 gutted much of the hotel. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1907. (The Jefferson Hotel (official site))
Fire struck the hotel again in 1944. (The Jefferson Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Richmond

Washington, DCOperating hotel

The Hay-Adams

1927–28Gilded Age photographer

Washington's entry builds its lore around one historical woman. Clover Adams, a photographer, died in 1885 in a house that stood on this site; developer Harry Wardman razed the old homes in 1927, and the hotel opened in 1928. Its stories have a political flavor that fits a building facing Lafayette Square, which sets it apart from the soldier and sailor lore elsewhere in the region.

The story people tell

The story most often told centers on Clover Adams. Guests have described the smell of photographic chemicals in their rooms and waking to see a sad woman in white sitting in a chair. Local lore adds a gathering of political ghosts: papers shuffling in empty meeting rooms, and bartenders in the Off the Record bar hearing conversations about long-settled issues.

History we checked · 2 sources

Marion "Clover" Adams died in 1885 in a house on H Street that stood on what is now the site of the Hay-Adams. (White House Historical Association)
Developer Harry Wardman bought and razed the Hay and Adams homes in 1927, and the hotel opened in 1928. (The Hay-Adams (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Washington DC Featured on The Dark Nights in DC Ghost Tour

Cashtown (mailing: Orrtanna), PAOperating hotel

Cashtown Inn

In the village of Cashtown, Pennsylvania, about 8 miles west of Gettysburg.

c. 1797Confederate headquarters

The Cashtown Inn is the Gettysburg-area stay with the clearest link to the days before the battle: a 1790s inn on the old pike west of town that served as a Confederate headquarters and field hospital. Its rural setting gives a quieter night than the inns on the battlefield's edge.

The story people tell

Guests describe heavy boots pacing the halls at night, voices and murmurs in empty rooms, and the figure of a Confederate soldier. Ghost City Tours' founder has described his own unsettled nights here, and paranormal investigators return to it often.

History we checked · 2 sources

The inn dates to around 1797. (Cashtown Inn (official site))
It served as Confederate General A.P. Hill's headquarters before the Battle of Gettysburg and as a field hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. (Cashtown Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our Gettysburg coverage

Pittsburgh, PAOperating hotel

Omni William Penn Hotel

We write about Pittsburgh but do not run tours there.

1916Industrialist's palace

The William Penn is Pittsburgh's grand 1916 hotel, built by steel magnate Henry Clay Frick to rival the great hotels of Europe and still operating downtown. It brings the industrial fortunes of western Pennsylvania into a section otherwise shaped by Civil War inns and East Coast seaside and city hotels.

The story people tell

Staff and guests describe a stern figure in old-fashioned formal dress who some say is Frick himself, still keeping an eye on his hotel. Others tell of phantom music drifting from empty ballrooms late at night and of children's running footsteps in corridors that turn out to be empty.

History we checked · 1 source

Built by Henry Clay Frick, the William Penn opened in March 1916. (WESA (Pittsburgh NPR), 2016-03-08)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Pittsburgh

New England

Boston's entries are city hotels, from the 1855 Omni Parker House and the 1912 Copley Plaza to modern hotels near Faneuil Hall. Salem's include a 1920s grand hotel and smaller historic houses whose stories draw on sea captains and the 1692 witch trials.

Boston, MAOperating hotel

The Bostonian Boston

Also known as: Millennium Bostonian Hotel

1982Historic neighborhood lore

The Bostonian is a modern hotel on an old block. Its draw is location, on the Blackstone Block across the street from Faneuil Hall, more than its own walls. Choose it if you want a base among colonial Boston's sites and their stories, rather than a building with a long ghost history of its own.

The story people tell

Our article's stories center less on the hotel itself than on its old neighborhood. Visitors to nearby Faneuil Hall have long reported disembodied screams, some say a woman's and some a man's. A short walk away, the Old State House carries a legend of a cursed ship's figurehead blamed for a fire.

History we checked · 3 sources

The hotel opened in 1982. (The Christian Science Monitor (1983))
It sits on the Blackstone Block, across the street from Faneuil Hall. (The Christian Science Monitor (1983))
Faneuil Hall was built in 1742. (National Park Service)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Boston

Boston, MAOperating hotel

Omni Parker House

1855Founder who stayed on

Of the New England entries, this is the classic city hotel, open since 1855. Its lore centers on its own founder rather than a tragedy. It suits readers who want a named ghost, a specific floor and a long nineteenth-century guest history, including a notorious visitor in 1865.

The story people tell

Longtime staff told of Harvey Parker roaming the tenth floor. In one account from around 1950, a guest saw a mist outside Room 1078 turn into a heavyset older man with a black mustache, who looked at her and faded away. Another guest in Room 1012 described a smiling gentleman in 1800s dress at the foot of her bed.

History we checked · 2 sources

Harvey Parker opened the hotel in 1855. (Hotel-Online (Stanley Turkel, CMHS))
John Wilkes Booth stayed at the Parker House in the week before he assassinated Lincoln in April 1865. (Hotel-Online (Stanley Turkel, CMHS))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Boston Featured on The Death and Dying Ghost Tour Featured on The Boston Haunted Pub Crawl

Salem, MAOperating hotel

Hawthorne Hotel

1925Mirror ghost, Room 612

Salem's 1920s grand hotel on Washington Square. Its lore is a puzzle more than a single tale, with witch-trial rumor, sailors and fires all proposed as sources. Our article weighs those theories openly. It suits readers who want a full-service historic hotel at the center of town.

The story people tell

Guests have long singled out Rooms 325 and 612. In Room 612, people describe a woman's figure moving about the room and studying her near-transparent reflection in the mirror. Others report faucets and toilets running on their own, a boy who heard a child sobbing while he and his mother were alone in their room, and the scent of apples that local lore links to Bridget Bishop's orchard.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Hawthorne Hotel opened in 1925. (Salem State University Archives & Special Collections)
The effort to build it began in 1921, and the Salem Marine Society offered its Franklin Building as the site on condition that the hotel include a room for the Society's own use. (Salem State University Archives & Special Collections)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Salem

Salem, MAOperating hotel

The Merchant

Also known as: Joshua Ward House

1784Witch-trial sheriff, Lady in Black

This Federal-era merchant's house has the deepest Salem roots in the group. It stands on land once owned by the sheriff of the 1692 witch trials, and George Washington slept here. Choose it if the witch-trial past is the reason you came to Salem.

The story people tell

One figure described here is the Lady in Black, a woman in dark clothing with black curls whose skin is said to look almost like glass. A 1980s photograph taken of an employee is said to show her full-length figure. Legend also says Sheriff George Corwin's presence lingers on his former land, felt by some as a tightening grip.

History we checked · 3 sources

The house was built in 1784 for merchant Joshua Ward. (Lark Hotels (official operator))
It stands on land that once belonged to Sheriff George Corwin of the witch trials. (Lark Hotels (official operator))
George Washington stayed in the house during his 1789 visit. (Lark Hotels (official operator))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Salem Featured on The Salem Witch Trial Tour

Salem, MAOperating hotel

The Salem Inn

Also known as: West House / West Cogswell House, Curwen House, Peabody House

1834Room 17, ghost cat

The Salem Inn spreads across three nineteenth-century homes, starting with a sea captain's house. Its stories are small and domestic: a woman's room, a ghost cat, a child's footsteps. Pick it for a quieter, B&B-style choice over the Hawthorne's grand hotel or the Merchant's witch-trial lore.

The story people tell

Staff speak of three spirits. Room 17 is linked to a woman some call Elizabeth and others Katherine, with reports of objects moving and shadows that cannot be explained. Staff also describe a cat darting between rooms, though no cats live at the inn. A guest in Room 11 recalled feeling a small animal jump onto the bed and paw at her feet.

History we checked · 3 sources

Sea captain Nathaniel West built the West House in 1834. (The Salem Inn (official site))
The West House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the West Cogswell House. (National Park Service NPGallery)
The Curwen House was built in 1854 by the Curwen brothers, and the Peabody House in 1874. (The Salem Inn (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Salem

Boston, MAOperating hotel

Club Quarters Hotel, Faneuil Hall

Also known as: Compton Building, 161 Devonshire Street

c. 1903Slave-trade history

This is a business hotel in an 11-story Classical Revival office building, the Compton Building, put up around 1903. Like the Bostonian, it sits close to Faneuil Hall. Its lore, though, comes from a harder chapter of that history: the slave-trade wealth behind the hall. Choose it if you want a story that faces Boston's past directly rather than a founder or a society ghost.

The story people tell

Our article describes full-bodied apparitions and unexplained disturbances said to occur around the property, though it ties them to the neighborhood's history rather than to any one room or reported encounter. The idea is that the suffering behind the fortune that built nearby Faneuil Hall has left a lingering, melancholy presence in the area.

History we checked · 1 source

Peter Faneuil, who built Faneuil Hall, made part of his fortune from the trade in enslaved people. (National Park Service, Boston NHP)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Boston

Boston, MAOperating hotel

Fairmont Copley Plaza

Also known as: opened as the Copley Plaza Hotel

1912Sixth-floor noises, Jazz Age revelers

The Copley Plaza is the Back Bay entry: a 1912 grand hotel on Copley Square, built where the Museum of Fine Arts stood from 1876 to 1909. It opened more than half a century after the Omni Parker House, and its lore is about glamour, not a founder. The stories describe revelers from a vanished era, which suits readers drawn to ballrooms and celebrity history.

The story people tell

The account told most often centers on the sixth floor. Guests there report whispers and bangs coming from rooms that turn out to be empty, and sometimes from inside their own room. Our article also tells of Jazz Age spirits said to carry on their revelry, from the ballrooms to the suites.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel opened in 1912. (Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Accor))
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed at the hotel in 1964, and about a thousand people gathered there to see them. (Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Accor))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Boston

The Midwest

The Midwest hotels trace the region's growth from Galena's steamboat years through Kansas City's cattle-and-coffee fortunes and Chicago's World's Fair to St. Louis's railroad era, plus a former Odd Fellows Home outside Kansas City. Their stories lean toward travelers, residents and society nightlife more than battlefields.

Chicago, ILOperating hotel

Congress Plaza Hotel

1893World's Fair hotel shadows

The Congress opened for Chicago's World's Fair year and grew into a big-city hotel over the next two decades, so its lore is urban and crowded: a century of guests on many floors. It suits readers who want a large Michigan Avenue landmark whose stories center on shadow figures and closed-off rooms rather than one tragic romance.

The story people tell

The figure most often described is the "Shadow Man," a dark shape that glides through the halls and seems to follow guests and staff; one security guard is said to have chased him all the way to the roof, where he vanished. Staff also tell of a small boy in worn clothes on the twelfth floor who grins and fades, and of "Peg-Leg Johnny," blamed for pushed chairs and slammed doors. Lore holds that several rooms were closed off, one sealed entirely.

History we checked · 3 sources

It opened in 1893, the World's Fair year, as the Auditorium Annex. (Congress Plaza Hotel (official site))
A South Tower was added between 1902 and 1907. (Congress Plaza Hotel (official site))
It was renamed the Congress Hotel in 1911, after its location on Congress Street beside the Congress Plaza section of Grant Park. (Congress Plaza Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Chicago Featured on The Wind and Souls Ghost Tour

Galena, ILOperating hotel

DeSoto House Hotel

1855Lady in Black and vanished floors

The DeSoto House dates to the steamboat era and carries real presidential associations with both Lincoln and Grant. Its signature lore is architectural: ghosts tied to a building that physically shrank, which makes it distinctive for readers who like stories where the past layout of a hotel explains what people report today.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of the Lady in Black, described in a period dress and hat, who walks into a lower-level wall; according to hotel lore, flood repairs in 2011 revealed a sealed doorway in that very spot. Guests on the third floor report footsteps, doors and even party sounds from above them, where the upper floors once stood. Room 333 is said to be the most active, with voices and the feeling of someone sitting on the bed.

History we checked · 4 sources

The DeSoto House opened on April 9, 1855. (DeSoto House Hotel (official site))
Abraham Lincoln spoke from its balcony on July 23, 1856, in support of John Frémont. (DeSoto House Hotel (official site))
The hotel suffered a fire in 1859 and a boiler explosion in 1869, and its upper two floors were removed in 1880. (DeSoto House Hotel (official site))
Ulysses S. Grant used rooms 209 and 211 as presidential campaign headquarters. (DeSoto House Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Galena

Galena, ILOperating hotel

Jail Hill Inn

Also known as: Jo Daviess County Jail; , 319 Meeker St

1878County jail carvings

This former county jail keeps its historic evidence literally in the room: prisoners' names carved into the original window sills. Its lore is quiet and personal rather than theatrical, a contrast with the grand hotel down the hill, and suits readers drawn to small-scale, tangible history.

The story people tell

Guests describe a feeling of being watched, sounds with no source and passing cold spots. Some visitors single out Suite 301, where carved inmate names survive in the woodwork; they say the room feels heavier and more watchful than the rest of the inn, as if the men who left those marks stayed near them. Local storytellers also link the jail to Galena's Alby House, though the details vary.

History we checked · 3 sources

The building was erected in 1878 as the Jo Daviess County jail and served as the county jail until 1977. (Landmarks Illinois)
Its original first- and second-floor windows were preserved, and their sills still carry carvings by former prisoners. (Landmarks Illinois)
It reopened as the Jail Hill Inn in the mid-2010s; a Summer 2016 report described it as just opened. (source)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Galena

St. Louis, MOOperating hotel

The Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza

1922Jazz Age elevator lady

The Chase Park Plaza represents the 1920s side of American haunted hotels: a luxury hotel opened after World War I and joined by a tower finished on the eve of the Depression. Its lore is about elegance and nightlife, an elevator ghost and phantom parties, so it suits readers who prefer glamorous stories with a melancholy edge.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of the Lady of the Elevator, a woman in 1920s finery who steps in, sometimes smiling, presses no button and rides in silence as the car turns cold, then simply vanishes before an upper floor. Staff setting up events describe couples dancing in empty ballrooms, and guests and staff report big band music and party sounds late at night from spaces that turn out to be empty and silent.

History we checked · 2 sources

The original Chase Hotel opened in 1922. (St. Louis Magazine)
The adjacent Park Plaza tower was completed in 1929. (St. Louis Magazine)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted St. Louis

St. Louis, MOOperating hotel

St. Louis Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market Street

1894Railway travelers and Harvey Girls

Union Station began as a railroad terminal, and its lore follows from that: travelers, waiting rooms and the workers who served them. With its Romanesque Revival hall and Harvey House past, it suits readers who want a story about journeys and work rather than one family or one tragedy.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of the Lady in White, said to be a bride-to-be who came to meet her fiancé's train and learned he had died in an accident; she is reported in former waiting areas, the Grand Hall and the upper floors. Staff and guests describe young women in black-and-white Harvey Girl uniforms carrying trays, the smell of coffee where none is brewing, and a redcap porter wheeling an empty luggage cart past guests.

History we checked · 2 sources

Union Station opened in 1894, designed by Theodore Link in the Romanesque Revival style. (Clio (nonprofit; secondary))
The headhouse included a Fred Harvey restaurant. (Clio (nonprofit; secondary))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted St. Louis

Liberty, MOOperating hotel

Belvoir Winery & Inn

Also known as: Odd Fellows Home

In Liberty, Missouri, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City.

1900–1908Former Odd Fellows Home

Belvoir is the Midwest's institutional haunt: the red-brick buildings of a former Odd Fellows Home, where orphaned children and elderly members once lived, now a winery with a small inn. It is a different kind of stay from the city hotels here, closer to a country retreat with a long communal past.

The story people tell

Visitors and staff describe children's laughter and running footsteps in empty upper halls, an elderly man walking the corridors before vanishing, and a rocking chair that moves on its own. Many also report shadow figures in the basement and service areas and the feeling of being watched.

History we checked · 1 source

The complex was built between 1900 and 1908 as the Odd Fellows Home, which educated orphans and cared for elderly members of the order. (Missouri Preservation)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our Kansas City coverage

Kansas City, MOOperating hotel

Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Also known as: Hotel Thorne 1889; Savoy Hotel from 1894; 21c Museum Hotel 2018-2025

1888Victorian hotel and grill

The Savoy is Kansas City's coffee-fortune hotel, built in 1888 by owners of the Arbuckle Coffee Company, whose Savoy Grill (1903) kept Harry Truman's booth. It suits readers who want a cattle-and-railroad-era city hotel with a historic grill, reopened after a long renovation.

The story people tell

Local lore tells of several sad deaths at the hotel over the decades, none of them named or documented in historical records, and guests describe a heavy, mournful atmosphere in certain areas, footsteps in empty halls and a woman heard weeping behind closed doors.

History we checked · 2 sources

Built in 1888 by owners of the Arbuckle Coffee Company, it opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne and was renamed the Savoy in 1894. (Wikipedia)
The Savoy Hotel and Grill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (National Park Service NPGallery)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Kansas City

The Mountain West & Southwest

These hotels grew out of the railroad, mining-boom and frontier West: Denver's silver-era palaces, a mountain resort in Estes Park, Flagstaff's downtown hotels, Tucson's depot hotel, a Tombstone bordello, and Las Vegas casinos from 1940s Fremont Street to a 1990s pyramid on the Strip.

Denver, COOperating hotel

The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa

1892Phantom string quartet

This is Denver's silver-era grand hotel, completed in 1892 for Henry C. Brown. Of the Western hotels here, it comes closest in style to the grand hotels of the East. Its lore is unusually varied: a phantom string quartet, a socialite's suite, and a conductor-like figure. That variety suits readers who want many small, specific stories rather than one dark legend.

The story people tell

Staff tell of an employee who heard music in the closed dining room and found four men playing. When he told them they could not be there, one replied, "Don't worry about us. We live here." Other accounts describe calls to the switchboard from Room 904, once the suite of socialite Louise Crawford Hill, during a renovation, and a man dressed like an old train conductor lingering near the Brown Palace Club.

History we checked · 1 source

The Brown Palace, designed by Frank E. Edbrooke for Henry C. Brown and his co-owners, was begun in 1889 and completed in 1892. (Denver Public Library Special Collections)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Denver Featured on Denver After Dark Ghost Tour

Denver, COOperating hotel

The Crawford Hotel

Also known as: Denver Union Station

1881–1914Phantom rail travelers

This is the railroad choice. The hotel opened in 2014 in the upper floors of Denver Union Station, which dates to 1881 and was redesigned in Beaux-Arts style in 1914. The setting shapes the lore, which is about travelers in transit, not residents or tragedies. Readers drawn to train stations and Western travel history will find it a natural pick.

The story people tell

The most common reports describe figures in old-fashioned traveling clothes, such as men in suits and hats and women in long dresses, seen briefly in hallways or at windows. Workers restoring the station said they heard footsteps and voices in areas sealed off for decades. One construction supervisor described a man in an old railroad uniform standing on a closed-off platform.

History we checked · 3 sources

Denver Union Station opened in 1881. (The Crawford Hotel (official))
The station was extensively redesigned in Beaux-Arts style in 1914. (The Crawford Hotel (official))
The Crawford Hotel opened in 2014 in the station's upper floors. (The Crawford Hotel (official))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Denver

Denver, COOperating hotel

The Oxford Hotel

1891Jealous-lover legend

The Oxford has been taking in guests since 1891. It is a smaller downtown counterpart to the Brown Palace, and its lore is darker. Its signature story is a single-room legend of jealousy and rage, not friendly music or ghostly travelers. Readers who want Denver's more unsettling hotel tale, tied to one room number, will find it here.

The story people tell

According to hotel lore, a woman was killed by a jealous lover in Room 320 sometime around the turn of the 20th century, though the details have blurred with time. The legend holds that her anger lingers. Men who stay in the room have reported being pushed or scratched, and some say they saw a furious face in the mirror.

History we checked · 1 source

The Oxford Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1891. (The Oxford Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Denver Featured on Denver After Dark Ghost Tour

Denver, COOperating hotel

The Patterson Inn

Also known as: Croke-Patterson-Campbell Mansion

1891Cursed mansion, ghost dogs

This mansion was built in 1891 and later owned by Senator and newspaper publisher Thomas Patterson. It went on to serve as a music school, a radio station and apartments before it was bought in 2011 and turned into an inn. That domestic history gives it household-scale stories, which set it apart from the big hotels and casinos in this group.

The story people tell

Local lore holds that the builder, Thomas Croke, believed the house was cursed and left after only a few months. The most familiar tale is of two Dobermans said to haunt the house after leaping from a second-floor window. Another account comes from the apartment years: a pregnant tenant said a woman appeared at her bedside, gently helped her shift position, and then vanished.

History we checked · 3 sources

Thomas Croke built the house in 1891 and moved out after about six months. (Colorado Encyclopedia (History Colorado))
In 1893 Croke sold the house to Thomas Patterson, a U.S. congressman and senator and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News. (The Patterson Inn (official site))
After the Pattersons, the house was home to the Joe Mann School of Orchestra and a radio station, became apartments in 1930, and was bought in 2011 and converted to an inn. (Colorado Encyclopedia (History Colorado))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Denver

Flagstaff, AZOperating hotel

Hotel Monte Vista

1927Phantom bellboy

Flagstaff's 1920s hotel was open with 73 rooms by New Year's Day 1927. Two years later it also housed Mary Costigan's KFXY radio station. Its stories have a Hollywood and Route 66 flavor, with a famous knock at the door. That sets it apart from its older Flagstaff neighbor, the Weatherford, which has frontier roots.

The story people tell

The most familiar ghost is the Phantom Bellboy, who is said to knock on doors late at night and announce "room service" in a muffled voice. Some guests say they have seen him standing outside Room 210, and the hotel's lore claims John Wayne had an encounter with him. Guests also tell of a chair that moves by itself and an old woman gazing out a window.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel was open with 73 guest rooms by New Year's Day 1927. (Hotel Monte Vista (official site))
In 1929 Mary Costigan, the second woman in the world to receive a radio broadcasting license, moved her station KFXY to the Monte Vista. (Hotel Monte Vista (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Flagstaff Featured on The Ghosts of Flagstaff Tour Featured on The Hell's Highway Ghost Tour

Flagstaff, AZOperating hotel

Weatherford Hotel

1900Frontier hotel spirits

The Weatherford is the frontier-era hotel in this group. It opened on New Year's Day 1900, after fires led Flagstaff to require brick, stone or iron buildings. Its lore mixes a ballroom spirit, a bootlegger and two named child ghosts. That makes it the Old West counterpart to the Monte Vista's 1920s glamour in the same downtown.

The story people tell

Employees tell of two child spirits, a well-behaved girl named Matilda and a prankish boy named Alginon, in the basement. They also describe the footsteps of a bootlegger going up and down the basement stairs. In the Zane Grey Ballroom, people have reported a figure gliding across the floor and disappearing into a wall. Some describe it as a young girl and others as a small, thin older woman.

History we checked · 3 sources

John W. Weatherford built the hotel, which opened on New Year's Day 1900. (National Park Service)
Fires swept Flagstaff in 1897, leading to an ordinance requiring business buildings to be made of brick, stone or iron. A three-story brick addition followed in 1899. (National Park Service)
Brothers Henry and Lloyd Taylor bought the hotel around 1975, the year a building inspector recommended tearing it down. (Route 66 News (citing Arizona Daily Sun), June 2025)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Flagstaff Featured on The Ghosts of Flagstaff Tour Featured on The Hell's Highway Ghost Tour

Las Vegas, NVOperating hotel

Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel Apache

1951Old Vegas gamblers

This is old downtown Las Vegas. Benny Binion founded the casino on Fremont Street in 1951, and it still welcomes guests there today. Its stories are about gamblers and the founder himself, not boomtown society or travelers. Readers who want the casino side of the West's haunted history, with a sense of mid-century Vegas, should look here before the Luxor.

The story people tell

Staff and visitors describe a stocky figure in a cowboy hat and western clothes, said to resemble Benny Binion, walking the casino late at night near the poker room. Other accounts tell of phantom gamblers at empty tables and footsteps in the hotel corridors. Security guards speak of a feeling that someone is still watching over the floor.

History we checked · 1 source

Benny Binion bought the property at 128 Fremont Street in 1951. (Binion's (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Las Vegas Featured on The Ghosts of Las Vegas Tour Featured on The Shadows of Sin City Ghost Tour

Paradise (Las Vegas Strip), NVOperating hotel

Luxor Hotel & Casino

Also known as: Luxor Las Vegas

1993Pyramid curse legend

The Luxor, built in 1993, is by far the newest building in this group. Its lore is modern legend shaped by its Egyptian theme, not a story rooted in a long past. Readers interested in how ghost stories gather around contemporary megaresorts will find it a clear contrast with Binion's old Fremont Street and the historic hotels elsewhere.

The story people tell

Word on the Strip is that the pyramid is cursed or haunted. Guests tell of chanting in an unknown language and of a metallic clang said to sound in Room 30018 every morning at 8:30. A recurring tale describes guests in several rooms dreaming of the same unknown blonde woman and waking with the feeling of hands at their throats.

History we checked · 1 source

The Luxor was built in 1993. (Tutor Perini (contractor))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Las Vegas

Paradise (Las Vegas Strip), NVOperating hotel

Horseshoe Las Vegas

Also known as: Bally's Las Vegas, originally the MGM Grand Hotel

1980 fireDisaster-era apparitions

This Strip resort has carried three names. It opened as the MGM Grand, became Bally's, and was renamed Horseshoe Las Vegas in 2022. It is the one Las Vegas entry whose lore rests on a real disaster, the 1980 fire, rather than on gamblers, mobsters or a theme. Readers should come to it knowing the story is about loss: the fire killed 85 people, the figure most often given.

The story people tell

Since the 1980 fire, guests and staff have told of figures that appear in the hallways and vanish an instant later. Some describe groups of transparent people crossing the casino floor for a few seconds before they disappear. One often-repeated account tells of a guest who called the front desk in distress after seeing a pair of feet floating in her room. Some employees are also said to avoid one service elevator connected with the fire.

History we checked · 2 sources

On November 21, 1980, a fire at the MGM Grand killed 85 people, the toll given in the National Fire Protection Association's investigation report. (source)
Some later news counts put the toll at 87, with more than 600 injured. (KTNV 13 Action News)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NVOperating hotel

El Cortez Hotel & Casino

1941Mob-era casino

El Cortez is the 1941 choice, ten years older than Binion's and far older than the Luxor. It was downtown's first major resort, and one owner, Jackie Gaughan, held it for 45 years. Its lore draws on the mob-era investors linked to its 1940s sales. Pick it for Fremont Street's earliest casino chapter and a quiet, close-up kind of haunting.

The story people tell

Employees have described pale, disembodied hands reaching out of the dark in rooms that were empty. Guests in the Cabana Suites tell of loud, repeated knocking at the door when no one else was staying on the floor. Others describe a still, silent shadow in the corner of the room that vanishes once noticed. Local lore links the activity to the hotel's early ties to figures such as Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky.

History we checked · 2 sources

El Cortez debuted on November 7, 1941, as what the Mob Museum calls the first luxury hotel in downtown Las Vegas, with a reported 91 guest rooms. (The Mob Museum)
Jackie Gaughan bought the hotel in 1963 and owned it until 2008. (Clio)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Las Vegas Featured on The Ghosts of Las Vegas Tour Featured on The Shadows of Sin City Ghost Tour

Tombstone, AZOperating hotel

Tombstone Bordello Bed & Breakfast

1881Frontier bordello

This is the only boomtown bordello among the Western hotels here. It was built in 1881 as a working bordello during Tombstone's silver years. It was moved to its present site in 1923, and two rooms still keep their original layout. Its lore is about the women who worked there and their regular customers, not lawmen or gunfights.

The story people tell

The most familiar figure is Suzette, a French working woman who, according to local lore, died of tuberculosis in Room 3. Guests there describe the scent of French perfume and the feeling of someone sitting down on the bed. Heavy footsteps and cigar smoke are credited to Big Jim, said to have been a regular customer. Clara, remembered as the last madam, is said to appear in 1920s dress, tidy rooms and wake guests who oversleep.

History we checked · 2 sources

The building was put up in 1881 as a working bordello. (Arizona Highways)
It was moved from the red-light district to its present site in 1923, and rooms were added later. Two rooms, Soiled Dove and Fallen Angel, keep their 1881 layout. (Arizona Highways)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Tombstone

Estes Park, COOperating hotel

The Stanley Hotel

In Estes Park, Colorado, about 65 miles northwest of Denver. Our Denver tours do not visit it.

1909The Shining's hotel

The Stanley belongs here as the mountain resort behind one of the best-known haunted hotel stories, Stephen King's The Shining. Its Colonial Revival buildings stand in Estes Park near Rocky Mountain National Park, a world away from the city palaces elsewhere in this section, and its fame rests on a novelist's stay as much as on its own long history.

The story people tell

Guests describe a housekeeper's presence in Room 217, the sound of children laughing and running in the fourth-floor halls, and piano music drifting from the concert hall late at night. The main staircase, nicknamed the Vortex, is said by some to be a kind of portal for the hotel's spirits.

History we checked · 2 sources

Stephen King and his wife Tabitha stayed at the hotel in 1974, in Room 217, shortly before it closed for the winter; the stay inspired The Shining. (Boulder Weekly, Oct. 30, 2024)
An earlier resort in the valley, the Earl of Dunraven's Estes Park Hotel, opened in 1877; F.O. Stanley later acquired Dunraven's land. (National Park Service, Rocky Mountain National Park)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our Denver coverage

311 E Congress St, downtown Tucson, AZ (~115 mi from Phoenix; filed under Phoenix)Operating hotel

Hotel Congress

In downtown Tucson, about 115 miles southeast of Phoenix.

1919Railroad hotel, gangster history

Hotel Congress is the Southwest's railroad-depot hotel with a gangster chapter: a 1919 building beside Tucson's Southern Pacific station where a 1934 fire led to the capture of John Dillinger's gang. It suits readers who want a working, lively historic hotel, with a club and bar downstairs, rather than a grand resort.

The story people tell

Guests and staff tell of a woman in white seen in the upper hallways and of a figure said to be a soldier who spent his last night in Tucson here before shipping out during the Second World War. Some describe a presence in particular guest rooms that seems to rearrange belongings.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel was built in 1919 directly south of Tucson's Southern Pacific depot. (source)
A fire at the hotel in January 1934 led to the capture of members of John Dillinger's gang; Dillinger was arrested in Tucson on January 25, 1934. (Pima County Public Library)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our Phoenix coverage

The Pacific Coast

West Coast hotels from San Diego to Seattle, from an 1888 beach resort and a Gaslamp hotel reassembled from two 1880s Victorians to San Francisco's Jazz Age tower and a girls' school turned inn. The stories lean toward film-era glamour, frontier wealth and long-term guests.

Los Angeles (Hollywood), CAOperating hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt

1927Golden Age movie stars

The Hollywood Roosevelt is the film-history entry: it opened in 1927 and hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929. Unlike the other Pacific Coast hotels, whose ghosts are anonymous or locally known, its stories attach to screen stars, which suits readers interested in Hollywood's early decades.

The story people tell

The most familiar account centers on a full-length mirror from a suite used by Marilyn Monroe, where guests and staff say a blonde woman's reflection appears over their shoulder. Room 928, linked to Montgomery Clift's long stay, is known for reports of a bugle playing in the night, and the Blossom Ballroom for jazz and applause heard when it is empty.

History we checked · 3 sources

The hotel opened on May 15, 1927. (Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
It hosted the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, in the Blossom Room. (Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
Montgomery Clift stayed at the hotel for months while filming From Here to Eternity. (The Hollywood Roosevelt (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Hollywood Featured on The Fame Kills Ghost Tour Featured on The Ghosts of Hollywood Tour

Portland, OROperating hotel

The Heathman Hotel

Also known as: New Heathman Hotel

1927Woman of Room 703

The Heathman is Portland's 1927 hotel near the city's concert hall and art museum, and its lore is quiet and literary rather than glamorous: a woman on the seventh floor, piano music in the Tea Court, books left open in the library. Readers who prefer an unexplained, low-key story without a famous name will find it a contrast to Hollywood's star-driven lore.

The story people tell

The account told most often concerns Room 703, where guests describe an unidentified woman in period dress, a heavy sense of sadness, and blankets pulled from the bed around 3 a.m.; one guest described seeing her outline at the foot of the bed. Staff also report late-night piano music in the Tea Court and library books found open on tables after the room was locked.

History we checked · 1 source

Developer George Heathman built the hotel in 1927. (Heathman Hotel (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Portland

Seattle, WAOperating hotel

Arctic Club Hotel

Also known as: Arctic Building

1908Gold Rush clubmen

The Arctic Club was incorporated in 1908 by Seattle men tied to the Alaska trade and its gold rushes, and the terracotta walrus heads on its facade make that northern history visible from the street. Its stories are about clubmen and the women who waited for them, a natural pairing with the Cadillac Hotel, which now houses Seattle's Klondike Gold Rush museum.

The story people tell

The lore centers on a gentleman in period clothing, said to be one of the club's founding members, whom guests and staff describe in the old meeting rooms gazing toward Elliott Bay amid the scent of cigars. In the bar, staff tell of a woman in Victorian dress glimpsed in the antique mirrors, and the old brass-and-wood elevator is said to travel between floors on its own.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Arctic Club, founded by men involved in the Seattle-Alaska trade, was incorporated in 1908. (HistoryLink.org)
The building's terracotta facade is decorated with walrus heads. (HistoryLink.org)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Seattle

Seattle, WAOperating hotel

Hotel Sorrento, 900 Madison Street

1909Gracious long-term guests

Hotel Sorrento opened on First Hill in 1909, conceived by Seattle businessman Samuel Rosenberg, and its lore matches its intimate scale: courteous, discreet presences rather than dramatic ones. Readers comparing Seattle's two operating hotels will find the Sorrento's stories centered on long-staying guests, while the Arctic Club's turn on Gold Rush wealth.

The story people tell

The figure most often described is 'the Countess,' an elegant woman in period evening wear whom staff and guests say nods graciously to them in the lobby and dining room. The fourth floor is linked to 'Professor Whitman,' a scholarly gentleman seen reading in quiet corners amid the scent of pipe tobacco, and the antique elevator is said to answer calls from floors where no one is waiting.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel opened in 1909, conceived by Seattle businessman Samuel Rosenberg. (HistoryLink.org)

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Seattle

Coronado, CAOperating hotel

Hotel del Coronado

In the City of Coronado, California, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego.

1888Victorian beach resort

The Hotel del Coronado is a grand Victorian beach resort, an 1888 landmark on the sand in the City of Coronado. Its ghost story rests on a documented death: the hotel itself tells the history of the young woman who died there in 1892, which sets it apart from the film-era stories elsewhere on this coast.

The story people tell

The woman who registered as Lottie A. Bernard, later identified as Kate Morgan, is the hotel's best-known ghost. Guests in the room said to have been hers report flickering lights, sudden cold, and the scent of perfume, and some describe a Lady in Black in the hotel's corridors.

History we checked · 2 sources

The hotel was built and opened in 1888. (Hotel del Coronado (official))
In November 1892 a young woman checked in alone as "Lottie A. Bernard" and died at the hotel; she was later identified as Kate Morgan. (Hotel del Coronado (official))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our San Diego coverage

San Francisco, CAOperating hotel

Beacon Grand

Also known as: the Sir Francis Drake Hotel; , 450 Powell St

We write about San Francisco but do not run tours there.

1928Jazz Age tower hotel

The Beacon Grand, long known as the Sir Francis Drake, is San Francisco's Jazz Age Union Square tower hotel, a 21-story building opened a year before the 1929 crash. It adds a big-city tower-hotel story to a coast whose other entries lean toward Hollywood and Gold Rush history.

The story people tell

Staff and guests describe a woman in white on the upper floors, footsteps and voices in empty rooms, and elevators that are said to stop on floors no one has called. Some tie the stories to the hotel's Depression years, though those accounts are passed down rather than recorded.

History we checked · 1 source

The hotel opened in 1928 as the Sir Francis Drake, a 21-story, $5 million building, and was renamed the Beacon Grand in 2022. (Beacon Grand (official site))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Francisco

San Francisco, CAOperating hotel

Queen Anne Hotel

We write about San Francisco but do not run tours there.

1890Headmistress's watchful presence

The Queen Anne is a Victorian girls' school turned boutique hotel, and its ghost is a gentle one: a headmistress said to look after her guests, tucking in blankets and folding clothes. It suits readers who want a small, atmospheric stay rather than a grand hotel.

The story people tell

Guests in Room 410, said to have been Miss Mary Lake's bedroom, describe waking to find their blankets tucked in or their clothes folded, and some report a feeling of being watched over. Staff tell of a woman in Victorian dress on the grand staircase who vanishes before the next landing.

History we checked · 2 sources

The building was commissioned by Senator James Graham Fair as a girls' school, with Mary Lake as headmistress. (Pacific Coast Architecture Database (University of Washington))
It opened as the Queen Anne Hotel in 1980. (Pacific Coast Architecture Database (University of Washington))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Francisco

San Diego, CAOperating hotel

Horton Grand Hotel

Also known as: combines the 1886 Grand Horton and the 1887 Brooklyn Hotel / Kahle Saddlery building

1886Rebuilt Victorian, saddlery horse

The Horton Grand is the Gaslamp Quarter's rebuilt Victorian: two 1880s hotels that were taken apart, stored and reassembled on Island Avenue in 1986. It suits readers who want a historic-feeling downtown San Diego stay whose story is as much about preservation as about ghosts.

The story people tell

Our article tells of Roger Whitaker, a former employee said to be unwilling to leave his old workplace; the UCSD Guardian (2002) and the San Diego Reader (2023) instead describe a gambler named Roger shot in Room 309. Guests and guides also tell of phantom hoofbeats in the halls, credited to Sunshine, the old Kahle Saddlery's papier-mâché horse that still stands in the lobby.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Grand Horton opened in 1886, built by Peter Mayerhofer; the Brooklyn Hotel next door opened in 1887. (Horton Grand Hotel (official site))
Both buildings were dismantled, stored and rebuilt on Island Avenue, reopening together in 1986. (Times of San Diego (April 28, 2026))

Today: Operating as a hotel or inn — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Diego Featured on The Specters and Sinners Ghost Tour

Temporarily closed

These hotels are closed for now. We include them for their history and stories — check reopening plans before you make travel plans.

Three historic lodgings that are closed for now: a Fort Worth Stockyards hotel under renovation, a New Orleans mansion being reopened under a new name, and a St. Augustine inn closed for renovation. Each entry shows what we found about its reopening.

Fort Worth, TXTemporarily closed

Stockyards Hotel

1907Outlaw-era cattle town

The Stockyards Hotel opened in 1907 in Fort Worth's stockyards district and was restored in 1982; it is now closed for renovation and expected to reopen in 2027. Its stories have an outlaw-era flavor, centered on a suite named for Bonnie and Clyde, along with a phantom employee and late-night phone calls. It suits readers who want Western history rather than Southern or Gilded Age settings.

The story people tell

Much of the lore centers on Suite 305, named for Bonnie and Clyde, who by local tradition stayed there while on the run in 1933; guests have reported the bathroom faucet turning on and off by itself. Accounts tell of the front-desk phone ringing at night with no one on the line, once reportedly traced to the empty lobby, and credit a ghost called Jake, who is also said to ride the elevators.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Stockyards Hotel opened in 1907. (Historic Fort Worth, Inc.)
It was restored in 1982. (Historic Fort Worth, Inc.)

Today: Temporarily closed (closed for renovation; the hotel says it returns in 2027) — not currently taking guests; verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Fort Worth

New Orleans, LATemporarily closed

The Whit

Also known as: Magnolia Mansion / Harris-Maginnis House

1857Garden District mansion

This is the Garden District entry: a mansion built in 1857 for a cotton merchant and his bride, not a purpose-built hotel, now reopening as The Whit. Its stories are domestic and intimate, set in the themed suites of its bed-and-breakfast years rather than ballrooms, and its later use by the American Red Cross gives it a chapter none of the French Quarter hotels in this collection share.

The story people tell

The account told most often comes from the suite then known as the Vampire Lovers' Lair: a guest glimpsed a man stepping into the room in the mirror, assumed it was her husband, and later realized he had never been there. Innkeepers described doors unlatching moments after being locked for the night, and guests in what was then an adults-only house reported the sound of children laughing.

History we checked · 3 sources

The house was built in 1857 for cotton merchant Alexander Harris and his wife, Elizabeth. (Afar)
It was designed by architect James H. Calrow. (USModernist / Architects + Artisans (2016))
The American Red Cross later used the mansion. (Afar)

Today: Temporarily closed (renovated and due to reopen as The Whit in November 2026) — not currently taking guests; verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LATemporarily closed

Hotel Villa Convento

c. 1840Madam who never left

This is a Creole townhouse from about 1840 on Ursulines Avenue, near the Old Ursuline Convent. Before it became a hotel it was home to the Taormina family for more than four decades. Its lore draws on a rumored bordello past and the old claim that it inspired the song "House of the Rising Sun." That gives it a different flavor from the Garden District mansion in this group.

The story people tell

The story most often told here is of a madam who never left. Guests have reported knocking at their door late at night, which hotel staff liken to a madam's signal that time was up. Some men describe glimpsing a woman dressed all in black beside the bed, a figure no one else in the room can see. Staff also tell of a longtime guest who saw an apparition in Room 302 and would not stay in that room again.

History we checked · 2 sources

Louise Forstall Poeyfarre bought the lot in 1833, and the present townhouse dates to about 1840. (The Historic New Orleans Collection)
Pasquale Taormina bought the property in March 1902, and the family lived there until 1946. (The Historic New Orleans Collection)

Today: Temporarily closed (under renovation; the hotel's own site anticipated reopening in October 2026) — not currently taking guests; verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans Featured on The Bad Bitches Ghost Tour

Status not confirmed

We could not confirm whether these hotels are currently taking guests. Their history and stories are here; check with each property before you plan a stay.

Two New Orleans guesthouses whose current operation we could not confirm, so their entries focus on history and lore rather than a stay.

New Orleans, LAStatus not confirmed

Jean Lafitte House

Also known as: guest house / timeshare

1984 tunnel findPirate legend, silent woman

This small guest house at 613 Esplanade Avenue is the archaeology story of this collection. In 1984 its owner discovered an underground tunnel on the property, during pool work according to our article, and the article treats finds like that as possible clues to the pirate legend in its name, which remains unproven. Readers who like hauntings tied to physical clues, not grand-hotel history, will find this one distinctive among the New Orleans entries.

The story people tell

The account told most often involves a pale woman in white, seen seated in an upstairs corner room off the main stairwell. She is said to be silent and to have features no one can make out. Two housekeepers reportedly quit on the same day after seeing her. Guests also report hearing voices in the dead of night and asking in the morning whether there had been a party outside. The owner tells of watching a glass of water slide across a table in Unit 1 and shatter on the floor.

History we checked · 1 source

In 1984 the owner discovered an underground tunnel running parallel with the guest house. (FOX 8 WVUE)

Today: We could not confirm whether it is currently taking guests (checked October 28, 2026) — contact the property before you plan a stay (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

New Orleans, LAStatus not confirmed

Fleur De Lis Mansion

Also known as: bed and breakfast; Fleur De Lis Mansion LLC

1824Old woman and her cats

The Fleur de Lis is a Lower Garden District mansion on Annunciation Street that its owners date to 1824, restored as a bed and breakfast after decades empty. We could not confirm it currently takes guests, so this entry is for its history and lore.

The story people tell

A daughter of the family who lived in the house in the 1970s came to believe the upstairs is haunted by an eccentric old woman who spent her last years on the second floor with several dozen cats; in the telling, the cats stayed with her. Later guests describe music and a lamp switching on by themselves in a corner room, and a crystal dish that vanished and reappeared.

History we checked · 1 source

The owners date the house to 1824; it stood vacant from around 1980 until it was sold and restored in 2010. (Fleur De Lis Mansion (official site, via Wayback Machine))

Today: We could not confirm whether it is currently taking guests (checked October 28, 2026) — contact the property before you plan a stay (source)

Read the full story Haunted New Orleans

Former hotels

These buildings are no longer hotels, or no longer stand. You cannot stay in them; we include them because their stories are part of the history of their cities.

Seven former hotels, from a Green Book hotel in Galveston and a Civil War-era Nashville landmark that no longer stands to a downtown Los Angeles tower now used as housing. Their ghost stories have outlived their years as hotels.

Houston, TXFormer hotel

The Rice

Also known as: Rice Hotel; Post Rice Lofts

1913Lady in White

The Rice is one of the Texas entries among the former hotels: a downtown Houston landmark that opened in 1913 and is now apartments. Its stories belong to a grand-hotel world of ballrooms and society evenings rather than to wartime hardship or working-class lodging, which sets it apart from the other buildings in this group.

The story people tell

The figure reported most often is the Lady in White, a woman in a flowing white gown seen gliding through the upper floors, described as beautiful but melancholy. Hotel legend makes her a young bride of the 1920s whose wedding ended in heartbreak, and one resident described waking to find her standing at the foot of the bed before she faded like morning mist.

History we checked · 1 source

The current Rice Hotel building opened in 1913. (The Heritage Society (Houston))

Today: No longer a hotel — now apartments (The Rice); you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Houston

1005 Broadway (at 10th St), Quality Hill, Kansas City, MOFormer hotel

Coates House Hotel

Also known as: NRHP 1972, ref. 72000715; surviving north section restored 1984-87 as apartments (Quality Hill)

1868Victorian grand hotel

The Coates House takes readers back to Kansas City's growth after the Civil War, when the first hotel of that name opened in 1868. Its surviving north section is now apartments. The lore attached to it is classic Victorian grand-hotel material: a woman at an upper window, a gentleman in formal wear in the lobby, and dance music in an empty ballroom.

The story people tell

The most familiar account is of a young woman in late Victorian dress seen at the same upper window, looking out over the city with an air of deep sadness; staff were said to avoid glancing at that window after dark. Others reported a distinguished gentleman in 19th-century formal wear in the lobby who faded when approached, and orchestra music drifting from the empty ballroom.

History we checked · 1 source

The first Coates House opened in 1868 at Broadway and 10th Street. (Clio)

Today: No longer a hotel — now apartments (the surviving north section); you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Kansas City

Nashville, TNDemolished

Maxwell House Hotel

Also known as: original, 1869–1961

1862–1961Civil War prison hospital

Of the former hotels in this group, the Maxwell House is the one shaped by war. Its partially finished building served the Union army before it became a celebrated Nashville hotel, so its stories are of soldiers and hospital staff rather than hotel guests. The hotel burned in 1961 and no longer stands, and it carries a coffee-slogan tradition tied to Theodore Roosevelt.

The story people tell

The accounts most often told involve Confederate prisoners: young men in ragged gray uniforms seen in hallways, stairwells and basements on the site, some calling for water. Witnesses also describe a man in a surgeon's apron who seems to be hurrying to patients, and a woman in black 1860s mourning dress seen near windows as if watching for someone.

History we checked · 3 sources

During the Civil War, the partially finished building served as barracks and a prison hospital for the occupying Union army. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))
A remark by Theodore Roosevelt during a visit is credited with inspiring the 'Good to the Last Drop' slogan. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))
A fire destroyed the hotel on Christmas night 1961. (Tennessee Encyclopedia (Tennessee Historical Society))

Today: The hotel no longer stands — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Nashville Featured on The Murder in Music City Ghost Tour

319 Second Ave S, Pioneer Square, Seattle, WAFormer hotel

Cadillac Hotel

Also known as: alt. Derig Hotel; , now Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Unit visitor center/museum and NPS offices

1889Sailors' lodging house

The Cadillac is the working-class counterpart to the grand hotels in this collection. Built in Pioneer Square right after the Great Seattle Fire, it housed laborers rather than society guests, and its lore is about sailors and dockworkers. The building is now the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park's Seattle visitor center.

The story people tell

The building's most familiar spirit is 'Captain Murphy,' a merchant marine officer said to have lived in a third-floor room while waiting for his next ship. Residents and staff described a bearded man in a naval peacoat checking room numbers on foggy nights, his arrival announced by the scent of salt water and pipe tobacco, with Room 312 said to be the most active.

History we checked · 2 sources

The building went up in 1889, shortly after the Great Seattle Fire. (National Park Service)
It served as a working-class hotel for laborers. (Pacific Coast Architecture Database, University of Washington)

Today: No longer a hotel — now the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park's Seattle visitor center; you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Seattle

Galveston, TXFormer hotel

Former Oleander Hotel

Also known as: Green Book-era Black-owned hotel; 1913 commercial building now Antique Warehouse

1913Green Book hotel, Lady in Red

The Oleander is the collection's Green Book hotel: a Black-owned hotel listed in the travel guide that helped African American motorists find safe lodging, in a 1913 building on 25th Street. It no longer takes guests, but the building stands, now an antiques store, and its story sits at the edge of Galveston's old red-light district.

The story people tell

The building's best-known ghost is the Lady in Red, a woman in an elegant red dress said to appear on the upper floors, gazing out of the windows. Staff and shoppers also describe footsteps upstairs after closing and the scent of old perfume.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Oleander Hotel at 421½ 25th Street was listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book. (Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library)
The 1913 commercial building also housed other Black-owned businesses and now houses the Antique Warehouse. (Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library)

Today: No longer a hotel — now an antiques store (Antique Warehouse), open to customers during store hours; you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted Galveston Featured on The Galveston Haunted Pub Crawl Featured on The Shadows of Revelry Ghost Tour

Los Angeles, CA (Downtown / Historic Core, near Skid Row - not Hollywood; about 7 miles from Hollywood)Former hotel

Cecil Hotel

Also known as: Hotel Cecil; part rebranded 'Stay on Main' in 2011; an affordable-housing complex

In downtown Los Angeles, about 7 miles from Hollywood. Our Hollywood tours do not visit it.

1924Downtown tower legend

The Cecil is one of the best-known hotel legends in America and now no hotel at all: a 1924 downtown tower that became affordable housing in 2021. It is here for its reputation, built on infamous guests such as Richard Ramirez, the 2013 death of Elisa Lam, and the stories that grew from them.

The story people tell

Some claim shadowy figures walk its hallways and that a spirit lingers in its elevators, and its notorious history has made it one of the most retold hotel legends in America.

History we checked · 2 sources

The Cecil opened on December 20, 1924, and was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2017. (Wikipedia (citing KCET 2015, KPCC))
The building has been converted into affordable housing for 600 people who were unhoused or housing insecure. (KTLA)

Today: No longer a hotel — now affordable and supportive housing (since December 2021); view the exterior from Main Street only; you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story More from our Hollywood coverage

San Diego, CAFormer hotel

Grand Pacific Hotel

Also known as: Hotel Salem; Pacific Hotel; St. John's Hotel

1887Grieving apparitions

The Grand Pacific is the Gaslamp Quarter's former hotel: a Victorian lodging house begun in 1887 at Fifth and J that served as the Helping Hand Mission's home for the poor from 1901 to 1907 before becoming a hotel again under a string of names. It no longer takes overnight guests, and its ghost lore is about sorrow rather than spectacle.

The story people tell

Staff and visitors describe female apparitions in the hallways and rooms, some in clothing of the 1970s through the 1990s, who seem frightened and lost, along with crying from empty rooms that stops when the door is opened. Other accounts tell of cold spots and moved objects in certain rooms, running footsteps and shadow figures in the halls, and a crushing sadness that even skeptical night workers say they feel.

History we checked · 4 sources

Construction began in 1887 for attorney Frank Jennings and physician George Crippen, and the building operated as a fine lodging house on its upper floors above small street-level shops. (Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation (Wayback capture 2023-05-31; live site Cloudflare-blocked))
In 1901 it became the home of the Helping Hand Mission, a charity for the poor. It returned to hotel use in December 1907, while the mission's children's department stayed on and eventually became the Children's Memorial Hospital of San Diego. (Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation (Wayback capture 2023-05-31; live site Cloudflare-blocked))
The 1980 National Register nomination for the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District lists the Grand Pacific among the district's historically and architecturally significant buildings. (National Park Service (NPGallery))
After a 2016 sale, the upper floors were operated as Grand Pacific Executive Suites. (Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation (Wayback capture 2023-05-31; live site Cloudflare-blocked))

Today: No longer a hotel — now a building with street-level retail whose upper floors were run as "Grand Pacific Executive Suites" after a 2016 sale (2021 account; current use not confirmed); you cannot stay here — verified October 28, 2026 (source)

Read the full story Haunted San Diego Featured on The Specters and Sinners Ghost Tour

Choosing among them

The hotels here fall into a few families. Grand city hotels — the Menger, the Driskill, the Brown Palace, the Omni Parker House — were built to impress, hosted famous guests, and tend to collect stories about famous guests and long-serving staff. Small historic inns and bed-and-breakfasts in Savannah, St. Augustine and Gettysburg are often converted homes, so their stories are domestic: a child on the stairs, a former owner still keeping watch.

Railroad and frontier hotels — from Flagstaff's downtown hotels to Fort Worth's Stockyards district — grew up around travel and trade, and their legends lean toward cowboys, drifters and boom-town violence. Then there are buildings that became hotels late in life: a nineteenth-century jail in San Antonio, early-twentieth-century office buildings turned into boutique hotels. Their stories usually belong to the building's earlier life, not to the hotel.

If you want to stay somewhere with a story, start with the operating hotels in each region, read the full article, and look at what the story is actually about — a famous guest, a tragedy, a building's earlier use — to find the kind of history that interests you.

Staying at a haunted hotel

Many of these hotels are proud of their history and some offer their own history programs; others prefer to keep the ghost stories low-key. Ask at the front desk rather than assuming a particular room is available or that staff will share stories. Remember that other guests are on vacation, and that the people in these stories were real people with families.

Hotels change hands, rebrand and close for renovation. The status shown with each entry reflects what we found on the date given — confirm directly with the property before you book.

Go deeper by city

Some of our destinations have their own collection with every place of this kind we cover there.

Where we run ghost tours

Ghost City Tours runs tours in these destinations. Being listed in this collection does not mean a tour visits a place: a tour includes a place only where its entry says “Featured on”.

Ghost tours in Charleston

Ghost tours in Chattanooga

Ghost tours in Gatlinburg

Ghost tours in Key West

Ghost tours in Nashville

Ghost tours in Savannah

Ghost tours in St. Augustine

Ghost tours in New Orleans

Ghost tours in Austin

Ghost tours in Fort Worth

Ghost tours in Galveston

Ghost tours in San Antonio

Ghost tours in Baltimore

Ghost tours in Cape May

Ghost tours in Gettysburg

Ghost tours in Philadelphia

Ghost tours in Richmond

Ghost tours in Washington DC

Ghost tours in Boston

Ghost tours in Salem

Ghost tours in Chicago

Ghost tours in Galena

Ghost tours in St. Louis

Ghost tours in Kansas City

Ghost tours in Denver

Ghost tours in Flagstaff

Ghost tours in Las Vegas

Ghost tours in Tombstone

Ghost tours in Hollywood

Ghost tours in Portland

Ghost tours in Seattle

Ghost tours in San Diego

Ghost tours in Houston

By The Ghost City Tours editorial team. Historical details were checked against the sources cited with each place on October 28, 2026. Ghost stories are presented as the accounts people tell, not as established fact.

Hotel operations, access rules and hours change — confirm with each place before you travel.

Reviewed by Tim Nealon on October 28, 2026.

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At a glance

The South

Louisiana

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Temporarily closed

Status not confirmed

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Choosing among them

Staying at a haunted hotel

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