- Stay for a night, or meet the past guests and stay forever.
Podcasts about hauntings and ghost stories have exploded in popularity recently. But have you ever wanted to stay the night with actual ghosts?
Well, we can’t promise that you’ll experience anything supernatural. But in a bit of a head start to the spookiest month of the year, we thought we’d compile a list of places where you can try to see a real ghost.
Here are eight haunted hotels from around the world where you can actually get a room for the night. Hopefully you’ll also leave come morning.
1) Mermaid Inn — Rye, England
The Mermaid Inn, located in the town of Rye in southeast England, has a history that dates back to the 1100s. Although most of the building is from 1420, the original ancient cellar still exists.
In the 1700s, the hotel served as a base for the Hawkhurst Gang, a band of notorious smuggles. Several gang members still supposedly haunt the Mermaid Inn’s age-old rooms.
Guests have reported seeing ghastly figures walking through bedroom walls, chairs changing places, suddenly dropping temperatures, and even the spirit of former chambermaid continuing to carry out her duties.
2) The Stanley Hotel — Estes Park, Colorado
If you visit the Stanley Hotel, it may seem eerily familiar. That’s probably because it served as the inspiration for Stephen King’s novel The Shining and the subsequent movie.
King didn’t reportedly experience anything supernatural, although the enormous, mostly empty building did give him the creeps. However, many guests say they’ve experienced all manner of otherworldly activity at the hotel.
Among the experiences are hearing deranged laughter from nowhere or soft piano music with no clear origin. Whether the guests have just read King’s novel a few too many times, we don’t know, but the hotel organizes tours of the most active rooms.
3) Lizzie Borden House — Fall River, Massachusetts
The Lizzie Borden House is not just any bed and breakfast establishments. This is the actual house where the unsolved Borden axe murders happened.
If you don’t what that’s all about, Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother were brutally murdered in 1892. Lizzie was tried for the killings, but judges later acquitted her.
The dead Bordens still supposedly linger on in the building. Guests have seen doors opening and closing on their own, experienced strange sensations, and even noticed a faint small of flowers supposedly emitted by Abby Borden.
4) Dalhousie Castle — Cockpen, Scotland
The Dalhousie Castle was originally built in the 1100s, but most of the current structure dates to 17th century. Still, with such long history, it’s no wonder people say the spirits of the long dead roam the ancient castle.
Among the deceased occupants is Sir Alexander Ramsay, who was starved to death in 1342. There’s also the Gray Lady, the mistress of one of the castle’s lords who was locked up in one of its turrets and left to die.
These are just two of the ghosts people have reported seeing at Dalhousie Castle. All in all, there are supposedly dozens of specters haunting the place.
5) Château de Marçay—Marçay, France
Château de Marçay in France definitely looks like something out of a ghost story. The fancy, turreted 15th-century castle has quite a story behind its alleged haunting.
According to legends, the castle was once home to a noblewoman who could turn into a werewolf. A farmer accidentally shot her one fateful night after she had transformed into the best.
Honestly, if the story is true, we can’t really blame the farmer. But the lady is said to still haunt her former home, with both guests and staff telling tales of their encounters with the mysterious woman in white.
6) Lord Milner Hotel — Matjiesfontein, South Africa
It’s no wonder this place is haunted. The Lord Milner Hotel was a military headquarters during the South African War and also the place where the following war crime trials were held.
According to the hotel, there are two female ghosts present. One of them is Lucy, the ghost of a woman who checked in at a room on the hotel’s first floor — and never checked out.
But unlike many other ghosts, the negligée-wearing Lucy isn’t threatening. She mostly flutters about the hotel’s corridors, though sometimes she can be heard having an animated argument with… Someone.
7) The Mayflower Hotel — Washington, DC
The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, has a famous eternal guest. It’s none other than President Calvin Coolidge.
The story goes that President Coolidge missed his inaugural ball at the hotel due to his son’s death. But since his death, he appears at the hotel every year around January 20 to make up for not attending the party.
There are reports of lights flickering around 10 p.m. on the day — just when the ball’s guest of honor was supposed to be announced. And a bit later, at 10:15, one of the elevators consistently gets stuck on the eighth floor, where the President’s suite was.
8) The Langham — London, England
The Mayflower may have a President, but the Langham in London raises the stakes with an emperor. Napoleon III spent his last days in exile at the hotel, and people say they’ve seen him still haunting its basement.
On top of that, guests and staff have reportedly seen a German prince and soldier, and the ghost of a doctor who killed his wife and himself during their honeymoon. If you want to give the Langham a go, try booking room 333 — it’s supposedly the most active.