13 Hotels Hosting Ghostly Guests

In October, where else would you want to stay, but in “occupied” rooms.  None of these hotels are for the faint of heart.  If you are looking for a spooktacular adventure, check one out by checking in.

The Hollywood Roosevelt, Los Angeles, CA

This hip, upscale hotel dating to 1927 sits along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and across the street from the TCL Chinese Theatre.  Marilyn Monroe was a resident at this landmark Los Angeles hotel which hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929.  Guests and hotel staff have reported seeing a blonde woman in the long mirror found in Monroe’s former suite.  Her presence is also said to be felt in the hotel's poolside nightclub Tropicana.  The ghost of actor Montgomery Clift has also been reportedly heard playing his trombone from Room 928, where he once stayed.

The Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, Alberta, Canada

This grand hotel in a castle-like building is set in Banff National Park.  It lies within 1.8 km of Bow Falls, and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.  Guests and staff members claim they've encountered a bellhop dressed in full uniform on the ninth floor.  He seems to disappear after he's done helping guests.  He is believed to be the ghost of former employee Sam Macauley, who died in 1967 following the announcement of his retirement.  Stories also suggest a woman dressed in her wedding gown lost her life on the staircase.  There were candles on the staircase when the bride was walking up them, when suddenly her dress caught fire, in a panic she tripped and fell down the stairs, dying from a broken neck.  Many people have reported seeing her ghost in full wedding gown, often dancing in the ballroom.

Karosta Prison Hostel, Liepāja, Latvia

In the 20th century, Karosta Prison was used as a Nazi and Soviet military prison.  It's no wonder the transformed prison-themed hotel is said to experience paranormal activity as thousands of prisoners allegedly died on site.  If staying in the hotel and being treated like a prisoner isn't enough, the staff will tell guests stories about lightbulbs that unscrew from their sockets, doors that open by themselves and the ghost of a woman who hanged herself that wanders the corridors.

Bourbon Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA

This classic hotel with a grand chandelier-accented lobby is a 2-minute walk from St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square Park.  It's rumored that many ghosts from different eras of the building's history roam the halls of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.  The building was once a convent and orphanage and the most frequently told story is of the young girl who is seen rolling a ball and chasing it down the sixth floor corridors.  Others have reported seeing the ghost of a dancer in the ballroom and as well as the ghost of a soldier who is said to inhabit the third and sixth floors.

Langham Hotel, London, England

London’s Langham Hotel opened in 1865 and has been visited by several literary greats, including Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  It is also only 3 blocks from Oxford Street shopping.  The hotel has reportedly been frequented by a number of ghosts.  The most common sighting is of a man in Victorian evening wear in Room 333, who apparently appears only during October.  Another guest claimed to see the figure of a man in military attire standing by the window on the fourth floor, which is said to be the ghost of a German prince who jumped out of a window before the start of the First World War.  It is also believed the ghost of Napoleon III, another former guest, haunts the basement of the hotel.

The Jekyll Island Club, Jekyll Island, GA

This upscale resort, 8 minutes' walk from Jekyll Island Museum, was the playground of the historic Georgia Club, encompassing the original Clubhouse and buildings once owned by Club members.  It housed several famous wealthy Americans, including banker J P Morgan, who was known for smoking his favorite cigar at 5am every morning in the annex. Many years later, guests have reported smelling cigar smoke at the hotel at the same early morning hour.  Samuel Spencer, a railroad executive of Southern Railway, is another former guest of the hotel.  He died in 1906 but is said to visit his favorite suite.

Dragsholm Slot, Horve, Denmark

Built in the 12th century, the Dragsholm Slot castle is said to be haunted by the ghosts of two women and the Earl of Bothwell.  It's rumored that one woman used to work as a maid in the building while the other was the daughter of one of the previous castle owners.  The Earl of Bothwell was allegedly imprisoned in the castle and died in the cellars in 1578.

The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO

Can you say “Jack Nicholson”?  Colorado's Stanley Hotel opened in 1907 and paranormal activity has been a part of the hotel's history ever since.  Elisabeth Wilson, a former housekeeper, who died at the hotel in 1911, is said to have returned to assist guests in Room 217 in the past, unpacking and storing away their belongings.  The sounds of children running and giggling down the halls are also regularly reported on the fourth floor.  The ghosts of Mr. Stanley and his wife are said to pass through the lobby quite frequently, according to staff members and guests.  Mrs. Stanley is also said to be heard playing her piano in the music room.  It doesn’t hurt a thing that Stephen King based The Overlook, from The Shining on The Stanley Hotel.

Grand Hyatt Hotel, Taipei City, Taiwan

This upscale hotel is a 7-minute walk from Taipei 101 Observatory and an 8-minute walk from the Taipei International Convention Center. Taipei's luxurious resort was built over a former wartime political prison and is said to be haunted by the ghosts of several inmates who were executed, according to local residents.  The hotel has placed a Chinese sutra and other sacred scrolls throughout the lobby in an attempt to rid the place of any wandering spirits.

Toftaholm Herrgård, Lagan, Sweden

For more than 600 years, travelers have found lodgings for the night, meals, harmony and time for thought here.  Guests at this 14th century former country manor, set on the shores of Lake Vidöstern in southern Sweden, have reported several unexplained incidents, from strange noises to doors and windows being shut in the morning when they had been left open the night before.  The hotel is thought to be haunted by the ghost of a young peasant boy who fell in love with the daughter of the baron who owned the home.  She was forced into an arranged marriage with a man chosen by her father.  The boy hanged himself in Room 324 on the morning of the wedding and it is believed his spirit has remained there ever since.

Ballygally Castle Hotel, Ballygally, UK

Overlooking Ballygally Bay, this 17th-century estate is 1.5 miles from Carnfunnock Country Park and 1.6 miles from Cairndhu Golf Course.  The castle is reputed to host a number of ghosts, the most active of which is the former resident, Lady Isobel Shaw, who has a habit of knocking on the doors of the rooms and disappearing.  She had reportedly fallen to her death from the window after her husband had locked her in her room and starved her.  Madame Nixon is another ghost who lived in the hotel in the 19th century and can be heard walking around the hotel in her silk dress.  The small room in the corner turret of the castle is known as "The Ghost Room" and is not used as a room in the hotel.  I think it’s nice that the ghosts are given their own space.

Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, UK

There are some fine apartments to let in the actual castle as well as Coaching Rooms where the coaches and horses were once kept.  This appropriately named 12th-century castle in Northumberland has a gruesome history of executions.  Traitors met a grisly end by a variety of means, including being drawn and quartered.  Today, visitors to the castle can visit the Torture Chamber – note the sloping floor designed to allow blood to drain away more easily – complete with an executioner’s block, gadgets for gouging eyes, and thumb screws.  Unsurprisingly, the castle is believed to be haunted by a host of ghosts.

Airth Castle, Scotland, UK

A mile from the M876 motorway, this upscale hotel is set in a 14th-century castle with an annex and landscaped gardens.  It is 5.4 miles from Glenbervie Golf Course.  A ghostly dog that nips at guests’ ankles, unseen children playing in rooms 3, 9 and 23, and sightings of a nanny and two young children who are said to have died in a fire are just some of the sightings at this 14th-century castle in Stirlingshire.