Haunted Locations · Spooky Travel

Haunted Hotel Stays

Looking for a haunted place to stay? Previously, I’ve written about haunted Savannah hotelsbut I don’t have any experience staying at any of these hotels. Here’s a list of some of the creepier places we’ve stayed while traveling though & the spooky stories that go with them…

Baladerry Inn, Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg makes the list of top 10 most haunted cities in America at number 2 (read the complete list and our visits there at 10 most haunted cities)so it makes sense it would have a haunted hotel. The Baladerry Inn was once a farmhouse that was used as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. Naturally, the hotel is now haunted by the men that died there. I even heard that there are soldiers buried under what is now a tennis court. A tennis court! There are also stories of soldiers walking out of the woods and across the grounds (while we stayed here I could have sworn I felt someone watching me from the trees…)

While we didn’t have any ghostly encounters here, we did see one of the creepiest things. There is a set of bloody footprints left on the floor in the main part of the house. I’ve read in one place that they were left by a soldier, I read somewhere else that they were left by a surgeon who was standing in the room, using the table for amputations and this is where the blood pooled around his feet. Either way, it’s a grim reminder of what happened there so many years ago. 

Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, IL

Chicago comes in at number 8 on the list of most haunted cities in America; when we stayed at this hotel, we didn’t even know it was haunted until after we booked it. Did you know this place was frequented by the first serial killer, H.H. Holmes? While it wasn’t his murder castle, it was where he met many of his victims in the lobbby. As if one infamous visitor wasn’t enough, how about two? Al Capone was said to frequent the hotel and is said to haunt it still. 

The creepiest part of this hotel is the room on the 12th floor that is said to be so haunted that they had to lock it from the outside…

Andrew Jackson Hotel, New Orleans, LA

New Orleans is the 4th most haunted city in America, though it’s the one where I had a ghostly encounter at the hotel we stayed at! The hotel used to be an orphanage and is said to be haunted by the spirits of children that died there during a fire. They are said to pull on the blankets (which I had happen), take pictures of you while you’re sleeping (thankfully, this didn’t happen) & they are known to change the tv channels to cartoon stations (which also happened to us and is super wholesome).

Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado

While Estes Park is not on the list of top 10 haunted US cities, the Stanley Hotel made famous by The Shining is located here. The fourth floor is said to be haunted by young children that run the halls at night. I do swear that I heard running on our floor the first night we were there, but I admit that could have been anyone since I didn’t get up to see, especially with how many people I would see coming out to wander the hotel at night. The music room in the main hotel is said to be haunted by Flora Stanley, the original owner’s wife; he put in the room especially for her because of her love of playing the piano. Overall, the hauntings here seem a bit more wholesome than the ones portrayed in the book/movie (the sense of isolation here in the winter is overwhelming though, I’m sure). Another example is a golden retriever that used to drop off newspapers at the Lodge (the smaller accommodations next to the main hotel) who can be heard scratching at bedroom doors early in the morning.

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