Here at Yahoo Travel we love bringing you fabulous places to stay from around the country. We search for historic inns, trendy city hotels, and quaint bed and breakfasts. But the time has come for full disclosure. Some of the places we have told you about are reportedly … well um … occupied … by um … ghosts.
We tapped into resources like Booking.com and Autograph Collection Hotels, who also felt it was time to tell you the truth about some of the country’s hotels: Not all of the visitors walk in on two feet.
So whether you crave a possible paranormal experience on your next trip or want to avoid having strange spirits rummaging through your luggage, here’s our list of the spookiest hotels in America.
Alabama
In Mobile, Ft. Conde Inn guests often report an eerie feeling on the second floor of this historic inn. Paranormal experts claim to have documented as many as seven distinct spirits living in the area.
Alaska
Silver Bow Inn in Juneau is supposedly haunted by the friendly baker, Gus Messerschmidt, who opened the bakery that is now part of the inn. He is probably just checking to make sure they are still doing the bagels correctly.
Arizona
The Jerome Grand Hotel near Sedona embraces its ghostliness with ghost-hunting nights suitable for all ages. A visit to the nearby copper-mining ghost town of Jerome is in order for the full experience.
Arkansas
We told you the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs was a great place to honeymoon, even warning you that you could indulge in ghost watching while there. We might have been remiss in not disclosing that it is known as America’s Most Haunted Hotel.
California
Hotel Del Coronado has embraced its resident ghost, Kate Morgan, a jilted young woman who took her own life while staying at the hotel in 1892. Third-floor lights flicker, TV’s turn off and on, and strange scents waft through the air from time to time.
Colorado
The Stanley Hotel has long claimed to be Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining. Need we say more?
Connecticut
The Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington is reportedly haunted by its founder Alice Conley, rumored to have died in room 353. Guests often see her favorite rocking chair in the lobby rocking on its own.
Delaware
The Addy Sea Bed & Breakfast is another favorite honeymoon destinations with a spooky reputation. Shaking bathtubs, mysterious organ music, and apparitions sitting on the bed in room 11 are reasons to spend some time ghost hunting at Bethany Beach.
District of Columbia
The Mayflower Hotel is reportedly haunted by none other than President Calvin Coolidge, particularly on January 20, when he pays a visit to the site of his inaugural ball.
Florida
Florida’s most haunted city is St. Augustine, which is home to Casa Monica Hotel, part of the Autograph Collection. Women and children are heard running and laughing on the fourth floor, while others often report seeing a woman in white or a man dressed in a 1920s-era suit.
Georgia
Marshall House in Savannah housed soldiers from both the Confederate and Union armies during the Civil War. Now it looks like a few of them never checked out. Guests claim to hear Taps playing, having their pulse checked by invisible nurses in the night, and seeing uniformed men roaming the grounds.
Hawaii
Hilton Hawaiian Village is home to a mysterious woman in a red dress. Most claim that she is a volcano goddess, but some claim she was a young woman murdered in the hotel.
Idaho
The Owyhee in Boise was built in 1910 and has reports of a ghostly woman appearing in room 136. Staff members over the years have reported the creepy feeling of being watched.
Illinois
Ruebel Hotel in Grafton is home to a young ghost named Abigail, who has roamed the halls since new owners renovated this hotel that was once part of a booming mining and river economy. No one seems to know the young ghost’s story.
Indiana
Yikes! It seems that we had quite a few haunted haunts on our list of the 50 best honeymoon spots in America, including French Lick Resort, which appears to be frequented by its former owner. He sometimes rides his horse in the ballroom.
Iowa
Hotel Blackhawk is supposedly haunted by actor Cary Grant who suffered a fatal stroke on the eighth floor. He died at a nearby hospital. Stop by to see if you can get him to repeat his most famous film misquote, “Judy, Judy, Judy.”
Kansas
The Drury Plaza Broadview Hotel in Wichita has numerous reports of flickering lights, rearranged furniture, and doors shaking violently — all from unknown sources.
Kentucky
The Brown Hotel in Louisville is reportedly haunted by J. Graham Brown who designed and built the hotel in 1923. He lived in the penthouse suite on the 15th floor until he died in 1969. His spirit wanders the hotel, often prompting reports from fourteenth-floor guests who say they hear pacing and furniture moving on the floor above. It’s eerie because the 15th floor is now only used for storage.
Louisiana
Hotel Monteleone proclaims itself as one of the “premier haunted hotels in New Orleans.” Their ghost story revolves around Maurice Begere who roams the stately halls.
Maine
The Captain Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport is said to be haunted by the wife of Captain Nathaniel Lord, who died before his hotel was completed. She especially enjoys the Lincoln bedroom.
Maryland
The Lord Baltimore Hotel has been proclaimed one of the country’s best historic hotels. That history includes a young suicide victim whose spirit frequents the ballroom, the elevators, and rooms throughout the hotel.
Massachusetts
The Bordon House was home to the country’s most famous young ax murderer. Take a tour of Lizzie’s house or stay the night—if you dare.
Michigan
Henderson Castle Inn in Kalamazoo may look like your average serene bed and breakfast, but it’s haunted. The list of ghostly occupants includes the original owners, a Spanish-American War veteran, a child, and even a dog.
Minnesota
The Kahler Grand Hotel gets its ghostly fame from the story of Helen Voorhees Brach, heiress to the Brach Candy fortune. She disappeared in 1977 after a stay at the hotel in conjunction with a checkup at the nearby Mayo Clinic. Guests today often swear to seeing her in the elevator.
Mississippi
Monmouth Historic Inn in Natchezis is reportedly haunted by former Mississippi Governor, General john Quitman, whose family owned the property until 1924.
Missouri
The Lemp Mansion is St. Louis’ most famous haunting, revolving around the tragedies of the Lemp brewing family. Your visit here can include ghost hunts, ghost stories, and chilling Edgar Allen Poe readings.
Montana
The Pollard in Red Lodge is home to a woman in a yellow dress. She often leaves the light on in room 310, and sometimes her perfume floats through the second floor.
Nebraska
Hotel Deco XV is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is often a big clue to a hotel’s haunted status. There is no real evidence of a serious spirit presence here, unless you believe former late-night TV host Craig Ferguson, who claimed in 2012 that a ghostly woman in front of the hotel told him the hotel was haunted.
Nevada
Circus Circus probably is not the only haunted hotel on the Strip, but here guests report mysterious events in rooms 123, 230, 576, and 203. The words “Help Me” have reportedly appeared on the mirror in 123.
New Hampshire
The Inn at Jackson has a ghost that likes to clean in room 14. Reportedly, it is the spirit of a young boy hired in the early 1990’s to help clean out the attic that would become what is now room 14. After hooking up with a dangerous group of boys, he ended up in jail where he tragically hanged himself.
New Jersey
The Southern Mansion in Cape May is haunted by one of the last occupants to call the property home in the 1920’s. Ester’s spirit is reported to roam the hallways and the kitchen. Guests often smell her perfume or hear the swish of her petticoats.
New Mexico
We first told you about the possible haunting of Hotel Parq Central in Albuquerque back in March in a story about affordable chic urban hotels. But it’s said to be haunted by patients of both the original Santa Fe Railroad employee hospital, and the young psychiatric patients housed there after the railroad sold the property.
New York
Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley has a ghostly giggler, with reports of a child giggling circulating among the staff. Others claim that Mohonk was the actual inspiration for The Shining, not The Stanley in Colorado. Are you sure it was the butler who lit the fire in your room’s fireplace while you were at dinner?
North Carolina
The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville is home to tales of The Pink Lady who has haunted the hotel for half a century. Guests feel a chill in room 545, claim their doors open and close, and that someone pulls their covers off while they sleep.
North Dakota
Sage Hill Bed & Breakfast has a slightly creepy long-dead school superintendent overseeing the bed and breakfast that once was a schoolhouse. The smell of cigar smoke and a ghostly mist hail his presence.
Ohio
Layfayette Hotel in Marietta has prankster ghosts who turn suitcases upside-down and empty shampoo bottles. The third floor is apparently also permanent home to one of the former owners of the property.
Oklahoma
The Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City has high profile experience with its ghosts, who are apparently big fans of basketball. Reports of ghostly interference come from sources with the Knicks, the Bulls, the Heat, and even the Baylor Lady Bears, all of whom have unexpectedly lost games while the team stayed at the Skirvin. It makes a good excuse, right?
Oregon
The Benson in Portland is reportedly haunted by its unhappy original owner, Simon Benson. It’s also possibly haunted by Mitch Mitchell, Jimmy Hendrix’s Drummer who died there in 2008. The list of reports also includes a woman in a white dress, a woman in a turquoise dress with red rings, and a little boy.
Pennsylvania
The Logan Inn in New Hope has its share of Revolutionary War soldiers roaming the property, but room #6 reportedly has two children in residence, and the scent of lavender heralds the appearance of a woman whose picture hangs in the lobby.
Rhode Island
Hotel Viking in Newport is home to ghost parties in its courtyard. Guests often claim to hear laughter and music coming from the grounds, even when no party is in progress.
South Carolina
Barksdale House Inn is one of the many Charleston inns with stories of apparitions. The most popular story involves an elderly gentleman that disappears through closet doors.
South Dakota
How could the Historic Bullock Hotel not be haunted?After straightening out the riff raff in Deadwood, its original sheriff Seth Bullock settled into the hotel business with business partner Sol Star. He died there in 1919 in room 211. Today, Bullock apparently haunts the hotel he loved along with a young girl and numerous unseen spirits that unroll the toilet paper, turn on lights and showers, and tap guests on the shoulder.
Tennessee
Union Station Hotel in Nashville apparently has apparitions of victims from a tragic train collision that happened on the site in 1918, killing 101 people. Besides sighting of the victims, guests often report lights and TVs that turn off and on by themselves.
Texas
The Driskill in Austin opened originally in 1886. Its hauntings include several brides who committed suicide in the hotel and a little girl who died on the grand staircase.
Utah
Ben Lomond Suites has a whole host of tragic spiritual residents who leave water running in the tub, talk to guests, and run elevators up and down.
Vermont
Green Mountain Inn supposedly has a tap dancing ghost. Boots Berry was born in room 302, and many guests report hearing his singing and dancing in the hotel of his youth.
Virginia
Edgewood Plantation was the home of southern belle, Lizzie Rowland. Her beau never came back from the war, and witnesses say she still peers out of the upstairs windows waiting on him to arrive.
Washington
Hotel Andra dates back to the raucous and often violent Prohibition era of speakeasies. Apparently, the bootleg alcohol party never ended at this Seattle hotel. Guests claim to hear jazz music, laughter, and breaking glass coming from the ninth floor.
West Virginia
Guests at Belnnerhassett Inn in Parkersburg report seeing a ghostly man in a gray three-piece suit. He has a beard, slicked-back hair, carries a cane, and sometimes wears a top hat. Other guests experience children playing tag, and the hotel ballroom is often the site of ghostly parties that suddenly cease when the doors are opened.
Wisconsin
Retlaw Plaza Hotel in Fond du Lac supposedly has a hair-pulling ghost, a haunted ballroom, and strange noises on the seventh floor.
Wyoming
Historic Plains Hotel in Cheyenne is another hotel affected by the often-violent past of the western frontier. The spirits of prostitutes, jilted brides, and murdered husbands are among the many spirits said to roam these rooms.
All photos courtesy of Yahoo! Travel
