There are a number of haunted hotels in the country, teeming with rumors of paranormal activity and uninvited guests.
Some are excited about the opportunity to finally see a ghost or get a real scare. Others, like All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, prefer to stay far away. While his teammates from the Los Angeles Dodgers stayed at the infamous Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee for their game against the Brewers, Betts opted for an Airbnb for the second year in a row.
Regardless of which camp you belong to, here are five of the most haunted hotels in the United States and the circumstances that led to their haunting:
Stanley Hotel – Estes Park, CO
Stanley Hotel Communications
The beautiful Stanley Hotel was the inspiration for one of the most classic horror stories of all time: “The Shining”.
Long before Stephen King wrote the legendary novel in the 1970s, guests and paranormal experts reported disturbing activity in the hotel. According to some visitors, rooms 401, 407, 428 and 217 are where the highest levels of spiritual activity occur. Room 401 is said to have an unfriendly ghost, room 407 an invisible force and room 428 has disturbing noises – and a cowboy.
King and his wife stayed in room 217. It is said that the author awoke from a nightmare in which his son was being chased through the hotel corridors by a fire hose. The next day, the sketch of “The Shining” was finished.
Built in 1909, the Stanley Hotel is one of the oldest in Estes Park. It is open to travelers and ghost hunters can book night tours to learn more about the hotel’s history.
The Hotel Chelsea – New York City, NY
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Since its opening in 1884, the Hotel Chelsea has attracted famous creative minds, including Mark Twain, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin (whose spirit supposedly still roams the halls of Chelsea).
What gives the building its reputation as a ghost town are the many suicides and murders that have occurred within its walls. According to a New York Daily News clipping, 38-year-old Etelka Graf jumped from the fifth-floor window of the Chelsea Hotel after cutting off her left hand with a small pair of sewing scissors. Mary, a Titanic survivor, allegedly hanged herself on the fifth floor after losing her husband in the shipping disaster. She is said to roam the west end of the building. Visitors also report that a ghost named Larry speaks to anyone who will listen.
A journalist described her experiences as a child growing up among ghosts in the hotel where you can still stay overnight today.
1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa – Eureka Springs, AR
1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
Built in 1886, the Crescent Hotel & Spa in Arkansas is widely considered to be the most haunted hotel in America and markets itself as such by offering ghost tour guides.
Before it became a hotel, the 130-year-old building served as a women’s college and hospital. The latter was run by Norman Baker, who infamously claimed to have found a cure for cancer. The building is said to be haunted by the many patients who died under his care, including Theodora, who guests claim will clean their rooms when they leave. Less helpful ghosts include Michael, an Irish stonemason who supposedly fell to his death during the hotel’s construction and haunts Room 218. And then there’s the friendly ghost of Morris the cat, who some still refer to as the hotel’s general manager.
Hotel del Coronado – Coronado, CA
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The Hotel del Coronado is considered to be the most haunted hotel in San Diego. This is thanks to Kate Morgan, a young woman who checked into the hotel in 1892 and never left.
According to Historic Hotels of America, 24-year-old Morgan had been waiting for a partner. When he didn’t show up after several days, she took her own life on the stairs to Coronado Beach. Guests report feeling her presence in the third-floor room where she stayed, as well as in the hotel gift shop. Reports of paranormal activity include flickering lights, faucets that opened on their own, and unexplained footsteps and voices.
The Pfister Hotel – Milwaukee, WI
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The Pfister Hotel is a popular four-star hotel that seemed good enough for former President Donald Trump, who stayed at the Pfister during the 2024 Republican National Convention. Still, the hotel has earned a reputation for alienating MLB players since the early 2000s and is rumored to be haunted by owner Charles Pfister.
Carlos Gomez, a former center fielder for the Minnesota Twins, said he heard voices and his iPod went crazy, so he ran into the lobby without pants or shoes. The next time he went there in 2009, he carried a Bible for “extra protection,” according to the Associated Press.
Most recently, St. Louis Cardinals player Carlos Martinez posted an Instagram video in 2018 in which he said he saw a ghost.
“I just saw a ghost. In (Marcell) Ozuna’s room, he saw another one,” Martinez said in Spanish, according to MLB. “We’re all in Peñita’s (Francisco Peña) room. We’re all stuck here. We’re going to sleep together… If the ghost comes back, we’re all going to fight together.”
