Guests in America’s hotels come and go – but there are some who refuse to leave. And that’s not to mention the members of staff who have never clocked off.
Welcome to the spookiest hotels in the U.S., six properties where hauntingly good stays are guaranteed.
There’s the Tennessee hotel with a room said to be haunted by a murdered guest; the grand property in Pittsburgh with mysterious elevators that refuse to serve particular floors; and a Missouri hotel with a lap pool rumored to be watched over by the spirit of a Prohibition gambler.
Our paranormal portfolio also features a Colorado property with a spectral piano player and a ghostly chambermaid who unpacks suitcases. The hotel is so eerie that it inspired Stephen King to write The Shining after he stayed there in 1974.
Read on… if you dare.
1. The Read House Hotel, Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Read House Hotel in Chattanooga, which appears on the National Register of Historic Places, opened in 1872 and claims to be the longest continuously operating hotel in the Southeast.
Step inside and you enter a world of 1920s-style glamour: dazzling chandeliers sparkle above checkered floors, wood-paneled walls gleam, majestic green chairs beckon guests to linger and there are 241 luxuriously appointed rooms to spend the night in.
But one comes with a warning.
Room 311 is said to be haunted by the restless spirit of Annalisa Netherly, who, according to local lore, was murdered in the bathtub by a jealous lover in 1927.
Guests who’ve stayed there claim to have experienced all manner of spooky happenings — from unexplained noises and lights flickering without cause, to taps turning on by themselves and shadowy figures appearing out of thin air.
Room 311 was restored to resemble its original state during the hotel’s most recent renovation.
Many original features evoking Annalisa Netherly’s time remain, including a vintage clawfoot tub, AM radio and a manual lock on the door that requires a physical key, just as guests would have used in 1927.
If you’re not brave enough to spend the night, you can request a quick tour instead.
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2. The Hay-Adams, Washington, D.C.
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Known as the closest you can get to the White House without an invite, The Hay-Adams is an iconic Washington, D.C. hotel, located just 1,000 feet from the most famous house in the United States.
And it’s a luxurious property befitting of its location, dripping in opulence with five-star service to match. But beneath the glamour lurk a dark history and tales of ghostly goings on.
The hotel opened in 1928, built on the site where the homes of John Hay and Henry Adams once stood.
Novelist Henry Adams was married to an American socialite named Marian “Clover” Hooper, and legend has it that following the death of her father, Clover suffered a dark depression, ultimately resulting in her suicide in their home in 1885.
The cause of suicide was deemed to be the chemical potassium cyanide, known for its distinctive almond fragrance.
It is said her residual energies never left the site where the Hay-Adams hotel now stands, and over the years, staff and guests alike have continued to encounter Clover’s presence within the hotel.
Some witnesses claim to have seen a full-body apparition, whilst others report bizarre noises, chandeliers mysteriously swaying, a woman crying, and strange sensations in rooms.
The most common clue of Clover’s haunting is an unexplained faint scent of almonds, reminiscent of the potassium cyanide that ended Clover’s life.
For those hoping to encounter Clover first-hand, it is rumored she is most active during the first two weeks of December.
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3. 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, Eureka Springs, Arkansas
The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs is home to so many spirits that it even hosts ghost tours.
One of the most frequently reported spectral figures is that of con man “Dr.” Norman Baker. In the 1930s, when the hotel operated as a cancer hospital, he posed as a licensed physician and swindled patients out of their savings, falsely claiming he’d be able to cure them.
Guests have reported seeing the shady entrepreneur in the hotel lobby sporting the same purple shirt and white linen suit he wears in surviving photographs.
Another phantom presence is Theodora, one of Baker’s patients who died on-site. Theodora is said to reveal her presence by folding guests’ clothes and tidying up scattered belongings in their rooms.
One couple even claimed that they deliberately left loose change in their room before dinner and returned to find it all neatly stacked.
The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa serves a cocktail named Theodora’s Surprise in honor of its most famous eternal guest and was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2000.
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4. The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado
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The Stanley Hotel, built in 1909 by inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley as a luxury mountain retreat, is practically haunted hotel royalty – personally endorsed by horror writer Stephen King, who was inspired to write The Shining after a chilling stay in Room 217 in 1974, just before the property closed for the winter.
Several ghosts are said to roam the hotel, but this room is considered one of the most active spots for spectral events.
It’s whispered to be haunted by the spirit of former chambermaid, Elizabeth Wilson, who was injured in a gas explosion there in 1911.
Guests claim she still “helps” by unpacking suitcases and tidying rooms. But she also prudishly places a cold presence between unmarried couples.
Other paranormal hotspots include Room 407, where the spirit of previous landowner Lord Dunraven is said to linger; the Concert Hall, where the ghost of Stanley’s wife, Flora, plays the piano; and the Concert Hall basement, where the spirit of former caretaker Paul enforces an 11 pm curfew.
Shadow figures, ghostly children, disembodied voices and footsteps are also commonly reported, particularly on the eerie fourth floor, the former servants’ quarters.
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5. Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh
The Omni William Penn, which opened in 1916, offers daring guests a spine-chilling range of occurrences, including a ghostly animal.
This takes the form of a panda brought into the U.S. by author and socialite Ruth Harkness in the 1940s after a visit to Shanghai, an event she wrote about in a book titled The Lady and the Panda.
Harkness died at the Omni William Penn in 1947, and there have been accounts from staff members and guests of a panda bear apparition inside the hotel, as well as sightings of Harkness herself.
The grand property is also stalked by the ghost of a traveling salesman, a whiskey bootlegger and a former guest who died by suicide in his room in 1922 after becoming distraught about threats being made on his life. His spirit is said to take the form of a shadowy figure, with encounters involving feelings of despair and fear.
The Omni William Penn’s elevators have also been giving guests goosebumps — the doors sometimes mysteriously refuse to open at certain floors, including 16 and 17.
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6. The Elms Hotel & Spa, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel, Excelsior Springs, Missouri
The Elms Hotel & Spa has hosted notorious gangsters Al Capone and Bugsy Moran, as well as President Harry S. Truman.
But while they long ago checked out, another past guest refuses to leave, with a gambler from Prohibition days known to haunt the lap pool.
The hotel is also fabled to be watched over by a ghostly housekeeper in a 1920s uniform. Guests agree that the spirits are friendly, often seen as guides to new adventures at the hotel, which fully embraces its reputation for inexplicable escapades with a “Paranormal Experience Package”.
This includes one night’s stay plus two tickets to the 9 pm Paranormal Tour, reserved at check-in.
Guests can explore hidden passageways, historic halls, and tucked-away spaces throughout the property while hearing legendary ghost stories.
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