Haunted hotels in the United States combine documented history with stories passed down by guests, employees and local tour guides. The 13 properties below are operating hotels with well-known paranormal traditions, but a reported cold spot, apparition or unusual sound is not proof of a supernatural cause.
This guide separates verifiable history from hotel folklore. Each entry links to an official hotel, tourism or preservation source so you can check the current story, tour schedule, room availability and visitor rules before planning a stay.
Reader note: Ghost stories are presented as reports and folklore. Prices, room numbers, tour schedules and access policies change, so confirm details directly with each property.
Haunted hotels in the United States at a glance
| Hotel | Location | History or legend to know |
|---|---|---|
| The Stanley Hotel | Estes Park, Colorado | Stephen King connection and Room 217 folklore |
| Hotel del Coronado | Coronado, California | Kate Morgan’s documented 1892 death and later reports |
| The Menger Hotel | San Antonio, Texas | 1859 hotel beside the Alamo with long-running ghost lore |
| Hotel Monteleone | New Orleans, Louisiana | Family history and stories associated with Maurice Begere |
| 1886 Crescent Hotel | Eureka Springs, Arkansas | Norman Baker hospital history and hotel ghost tours |
| Hawthorne Hotel | Salem, Massachusetts | Unconfirmed guest reports in a 1925 landmark |
| Omni Shoreham Hotel | Washington, D.C. | The hotel’s Ghost Suite 870 legend |
| La Fonda on the Plaza | Santa Fe, New Mexico | Centuries of hospitality on a historic plaza site |
| The Marshall House | Savannah, Georgia | Civil War hospital history and reported soldier sightings |
| Hassayampa Inn | Prescott, Arizona | The hotel’s Faith Summers legend |
| The Mills House | Charleston, South Carolina | 1853 hotel history and local Civil War-era folklore |
| Congress Hall | Cape May, New Jersey | 1816 resort history and Cape May ghost stories |
| The Wort Hotel | Jackson, Wyoming | Official stories about former engineer Bob Tomingas |
1. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado
The Stanley opened in 1909 and became inseparable from modern horror culture after Stephen King’s stay helped inspire The Shining. The property now offers history, ghost and Shining-themed tours that distinguish the hotel’s documented past from the folklore attached to it.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Room 217, founder F.O. Stanley, Flora Stanley and stories associated with the fourth floor appear frequently in the hotel’s paranormal tradition. Guest accounts commonly mention music, footsteps and objects that seem to move. Treat those accounts as folklore rather than independently verified events. The hotel’s official tour page is the best source for current access and tour information.
Planning a visit
Book popular tours and rooms in advance, especially around autumn. Guest rooms may not be included on a tour, and access to Room 217 is never guaranteed. For more regional context, explore our guide to haunted places in Colorado.
2. Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California
Hotel del Coronado opened in 1888 and is a National Historic Landmark. Its best-known ghost story centers on Kate Morgan, who checked in under an assumed name in November 1892 and was found dead five days later on an exterior staircase. The county coroner ruled the gunshot wound self-inflicted, although questions about her visit have fueled more than a century of speculation.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The hotel’s official history documents Morgan’s stay and death. The property also publishes reports of flickering lights, unexplained sounds, temperature changes and sightings linked to her former third-floor guestroom. These are hotel and guest accounts, not scientific proof of a haunting.
Planning a visit
The Del offers history and haunted tours at selected times. Room numbering and access can change during renovations, so use the hotel’s current tour and reservation pages instead of relying on older room-number lists.
3. The Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas
The Menger opened in 1859 beside the Alamo and expanded repeatedly as San Antonio grew. Its documented guest history includes Theodore Roosevelt, who recruited Rough Riders at the Menger Bar in 1898.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Hotel lore commonly features chambermaid Sallie White, founder William Menger and other figures associated with the property. Apparition stories, footsteps and unusual sounds are part of the hotel’s reputation, but estimates of an exact number of ghosts are promotional claims rather than a historical count. Read the hotel’s official timeline for verified building history.
Planning a visit
The oldest sections of the hotel attract the most folklore, but they remain active guest and event spaces. Ask staff about public history offerings and respect restricted areas rather than attempting an unsanctioned investigation.
4. Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana
Hotel Monteleone has operated in the French Quarter since 1886 and remains family owned. It is also a recognized literary landmark associated with writers including Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and William Faulkner.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The hotel’s official history discusses paranormal traditions and a 2003 investigation. Its most familiar story concerns Maurice Begere, a young guest who died at the hotel and was later said to have appeared to his grieving mother. Reports of children’s voices, moving elevators and opening doors remain accounts, not verified evidence.
Planning a visit
The Carousel Bar and public areas are accessible without booking a paranormal experience. If you plan to record, get permission and avoid filming other guests without their consent.
5. 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
The Crescent opened as a resort in 1886 and later served as a school before Norman Baker converted it into a fraudulent cancer hospital in 1937. A 2019 archaeological investigation uncovered bottles and medical specimens associated with the Baker period.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The property’s official history documents the Baker clinic and archaeological discovery. Hotel ghost tours feature figures called Michael and Theodora, along with morgue stories. The hotel openly markets these traditions as ghost-tour material, while the historical Baker artifacts provide the verifiable context.
Planning a visit
The Crescent offers scheduled tours and selected paranormal programs, including late-night experiences. Follow the hotel’s access rules and never enter medical-display or staff areas without a guide. See more haunted locations in Arkansas.
6. Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts
The Hawthorne opened in 1925 beside Salem Common. Its location places guests near the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, historic waterfront and several museums, but the hotel itself was built more than two centuries after the 1692 trials.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Online stories often focus on Rooms 325 and 612 or a woman seen on the sixth floor. The hotel takes a careful position: its official FAQ says hauntings are unconfirmed and that some guests have shared personal experiences. Claims that the hotel stands on an execution site or that its ghosts are proven witch-trial victims should be treated skeptically.
Planning a visit
October demand in Salem is intense, so reserve early and confirm parking and cancellation terms. Most guests visit for Salem’s history and seasonal events rather than a formal hotel investigation.
7. Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Omni Shoreham opened in 1930 and has hosted presidential inaugural events, diplomats, entertainers and major political gatherings. Its paranormal reputation centers on the area known as Ghost Suite 870.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The hotel’s published story concerns executive housekeeper Juliette Brown, who died of natural causes in the suite, and Helen, the adopted daughter of minority shareholder Henry Doherty, who also died there. Later accounts describe lights, televisions and housekeeping carts behaving unexpectedly. The hotel’s official history page identifies Suite 870 as a continuing legend. Stories about a murdered woman and a recurring bloodstain are not supported by the hotel’s account.
Planning a visit
The Ghost Suite may be used or marketed differently over time. Confirm its current status with the property instead of assuming that a specific room can be requested.
8. La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico
La Fonda sits on a Santa Fe Plaza site associated with hospitality for centuries. The present Spanish-Pueblo Revival building opened in 1922 and later became a celebrated Fred Harvey property.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The hotel’s official history documents the current building, architects and Harvey House period. La Fonda also acknowledges ghost stories and offers related experiences, but individual tales about executions, a bell-tower death or specific apparitions vary between retellings. Present them as local folklore unless a historical record supports the details.
Planning a visit
La Fonda offers art, history and occasional ghost-themed tours. Ask the concierge about the current schedule and public-access areas before recording or bringing investigation equipment.
9. The Marshall House in Savannah, Georgia
The Marshall House opened in 1851 and served as a hospital during the Civil War and yellow fever outbreaks. That medical history is the foundation for its reputation in one of America’s best-known ghost-tour cities.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Visitors commonly report footsteps, children’s voices and Civil War-era figures. Savannah’s official tourism site includes The Marshall House among the city’s haunted hotels and notes its former hospital use. Sensational claims about piles of amputated limbs should not be stated as established fact without archaeological or archival evidence.
Planning a visit
The property is in Savannah’s historic district near several walking tours. Use an established tour for historical context, and ask permission before conducting any extended recording in shared hotel spaces.
10. Hassayampa Inn in Prescott, Arizona
The Hassayampa Inn opened in 1927 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its paranormal identity centers on a hotel legend about a newlywed named Faith Summers.
Documented history and reported hauntings
According to the inn’s official account, Faith’s husband left during their honeymoon and never returned; the legend says she later took her own life. The hotel shares reports of a woman in a pink gown, crying, floral scents and cold spots. Her name is Faith, not Faye, and the hotel presents the story as a legend rather than a verified case file.
Planning a visit
Ask the property about the current room associated with the story because room names and inventory can change. Pair a stay with our broader guide to Arizona haunted locations and legends.
11. The Mills House in Charleston, South Carolina
The Mills House opened in 1853 and survived Charleston’s Great Fire of 1861. The property has undergone extensive reconstruction and renovation, so descriptions that imply every hallway is original are misleading.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Charleston ghost tours sometimes connect the hotel with Civil War soldiers, footsteps and apparitions. The hotel’s official history supports the opening date and fire history but does not verify a particular rooftop death or named resident ghost. Those details should remain labeled as local tour lore.
Planning a visit
The hotel is an active property in Charleston’s historic district. A licensed city walking tour can provide broader context without encouraging access to roofs, service stairs or other restricted spaces.
12. Congress Hall in Cape May, New Jersey
Congress Hall began as a boarding house in 1816. The original structure was destroyed in Cape May’s 1878 fire and replaced with the brick hotel that became associated with presidential visits and the city’s resort era.
Documented history and reported hauntings
Cape May folklore includes stories of a woman in old-fashioned dress, children’s voices and unusual doors or footsteps. The property’s official history verifies its founding, the 1878 fire and presidential connections. It does not support the claim that Congress Hall served as a wartime hospital, so that assertion has been removed.
Planning a visit
Check the hotel’s event calendar and Cape May’s established history-tour organizations for current offerings. Summer and holiday periods can sell out well ahead of time.
13. The Wort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming
The Wort opened in 1941, added the Silver Dollar Bar in 1950 and suffered a major fire in 1980. It reopened in 1981 after the community supported its reconstruction.
Documented history and reported hauntings
The Wort’s official ghost story concerns Bob Tomingas, a former maintenance engineer remembered as a friendly trickster. That account is more reliable for describing the hotel’s own folklore than unsourced stories about a mysterious man in a duster, sliding glasses or fire-related cold spots.
Planning a visit
The Silver Dollar Bar is a working restaurant and music venue. Check performance schedules, dining hours and guest policies before visiting, especially during ski season and summer travel peaks.
How to plan a responsible haunted hotel stay
A historic hotel is a business, a workplace and a temporary home for other guests. Treat a paranormal-themed trip like a careful field visit rather than a private investigation you can conduct anywhere.
- Book through the official property: verify current prices, fees, cancellation rules and room availability directly.
- Ask before recording: get permission for tripods, audio sessions, lighting or extended equipment use in common areas.
- Respect privacy: never record through doors, enter closed floors or include identifiable guests without consent.
- Establish a baseline: note elevators, HVAC systems, routers, appliances, plumbing and exterior noise before labeling an event unexplained.
- Document context: record time, location, weather, device mode and nearby electronics with every observation.
- Avoid certainty: an EMF change, sound or temperature shift does not prove paranormal activity.
If you use field equipment, review how to use an EMF meter for ghost hunting and how EVP recorders work before your trip. A repeatable process is more useful than collecting isolated spikes or ambiguous audio.
Choosing the right haunted hotel
Choose a property for its documented history, public access and willingness to discuss its folklore. The Stanley, Hotel del Coronado, Crescent, La Fonda and other properties on this list offer organized experiences that provide context while protecting guests and historic spaces. At hotels that do not run paranormal programs, enjoy the architecture and local stories without assuming that investigation access is included with a room.
Browse more haunted locations and hotel stories, or visit the HauntGears shop for field equipment. Affiliate disclosure: HauntGears may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through product links, at no additional cost to you.
Discover more from Haunt Gears
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
