America's 15 Most Haunted Hotels
| 10/22/22
Most travelers prefer to spend the night at a place where people haven’t died. But perhaps you’re one of those brave (or foolish!) few who wants to tempt fate.
Yelp has identified hotels with the largest concentration of reviews with keywords such as “ghost,” “spooky,” "haunted,” and “paranormal.” Here are the top 15 haunted hotels in the U.S. according to Yelp.
15. Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant, San Diego, CA
This San Diego hotel, originally the “Casa Bandini” was built in 1827 by cattle rancher Juan Bandini. In 1928, it was turned into a hotel by Bandini’s grandson, Cave Couts Jr., in memory of his mother, Ysidora Bandini de Couts. Ysidora seemed to appreciate that gesture a bit too much. Her spirit haunts rooms 4, 5, and 11.
14. Jerome Grand Hotel, Jerome, AZ
This Arizona hotel, perched precariously on a mountainside, started as the United Verde Hospital. It’s no surprise, then, that the hotel has its share of ghost sightings, including those of a displeased “Head Nurse.”
13. The Palace Hotel, Port Townsend, WA
This late 19th-century hotel, once a brothel, may not have an elevator or air conditioning, but it does have plenty of ghosts. Its rooms are named after the girls who purportedly never left the premises, including “Miss Simone,” “Miss Lilly,” and “Miss Rose.”
12. The Skirvin Hilton, Oklahoma City, OK
This 14-story, art deco hotel in Oklahoma City is said to be haunted by a Prohibition-era maid. Effie, as she is nicknamed, jumped to her death after having a secret child with the hotel’s founder, W.B. Skirvin.
11. Hotel Leger, Mokelumne Hill, CA
Established in 1851, the Hotel Leger is one of the longest operating hotels in California. It's also one of the most haunted. Ghost sightings include founder George Leger wandering the halls and a “woman in white” in room 2.
10. Queen Anne Hotel, San Francisco, CA
This San Francisco hotel, once a 19th-century mansion, boasts Victorian antiques and woodburning fireplaces. Room 410, however, is furnished with a bit more. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of schoolmistress Mary Lake.
9. Padre Hotel, Bakersfield, CA
The Padre Hotel, opened in 1928, has been compared to the lodge in The Shining. In those hundred years, there have been a suspicious number of deaths, including two suicides and a love triangle resulting in a deadly shooting.
8. McMenamins Edgefield, Troutdale, OR
Troutdale, an Oregon city just 12 miles east of Portland, is home to McMenamins Edgefield. This hotel, built in 1911 as a poor farm, has so many ghost stories, there’s a whole blog devoted to them.
7. Hotel Vendome, Prescott, AZ
Room 16 of this historic Arizona hotel is said to be haunted by the ghost of Abby Byr, who owned the hotel with her husband in the 1920s, as well as her cat.
6. The Driskill, Austin, TX
It's never a great sign when a hotel has "kill" in the name. This Austin destination was built in 1886 by cattle baron Jesse Driskill. Guests report smelling Colonel Driskill’s “phantom cigars” throughout the halls. A (mostly) friendly spirit, named Samantha, has been spotted near a fifth-floor portrait of a girl holding flowers.
5. Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA
The 14th floor (which is really the 13th floor) of this New Orleans hotel is haunted by a ghostly toddler. During the 1800s, Jacques and Josephine Begere left their son, Maurice, with a nanny so they could go to the opera. But that night, Maurice developed a fever and died in his room. According to legend, Maurice’s grief-stricken parents returned to the hotel each year to be closer to their son.
4. Bourbon Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA
This New Orleans hotel was once a convent, orphanage, and medical ward run by the Sisters of the Holy Family. It comes as no surprise, then, that a ghostly little girl has been seen chasing her ball down the sixth-floor corridors. There is also a Confederate soldier, known as “The Man,” who haunts the third and sixth floors. The Orleans Ballroom is home to a lonely ghost often seen dancing beneath the crystal chandelier.
3. Glen Tavern Inn, Santa Paula, CA
The haunted third floor of this Santa Paula hotel was a speakeasy and gambling parlor during Prohibition. A cowboy named Calvin, who was shot in the head after being caught cheating, haunts room 308. Next door, room 307 is reported to be haunted by a prostitute named Rose who was beheaded by one of her clients.
2. The Marshall House, Savannah, GA
This hotel in the heart of Savannah was a hospital during the Civil War and through two yellow fever epidemics. Guests report faucets turning on by themselves and hearing children running in the halls late at night. The entire fourth floor, especially room 414, is said to be haunted. A creepy painting of founder Mary Marshall hangs behind the front desk.
1. Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah, NV
This 100-year-old hotel, located in a former Nevada mining town, is haunted by several ghosts. Most famous is the one that gives the “Lady in Red Suite” its name. But there’s also Senator Key Pittman, who died of a heart attack on the eve of the 1940 election. According to legend, Pittman’s supporters kept his body on ice in a Mizpah bathtub until the election was over. Today, the Pittman Café honors his memory.
