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10 MOST HAUNTED HOTELS IN THE WORLD

From the Colorado lodge that inspired 'The Shining' to the 16th-century British
inn haunted by its former proprietor, these hotels are paranormal hotspots.

By
Steven Casale
Steven Casale
 * 

Steven Casale is a New York City-based freelance writer and digital strategist.
He specializes in food, travel, and lifestyle content for publications like
Tasting Table, Travel + Leisure, The Lineup, and amNY.com.

Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
Updated on September 7, 2023
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Trending Videos


Photo:

Jason Edwards / Getty Images

Whether it's an abandoned 1920s hotel balancing precariously on the edge of a
cliff in Colombia or a boutique property in Los Angeles that still attracts
celebrity clientele, these accommodations have one thing in common: They're
purportedly occupied by ghosts, making them the most haunted hotels in the
world.


While most of these hotel ghosts are the friendly Casper type, a few seem to get
their kicks from scaring the life out of the living guests. If you're looking
for a good spook or scare, consider checking in to one of these 10 most haunted
hotels in the world.

01 of 10


THE STANLEY HOTEL, ESTES PARK, COLORADO



Alamy Stock Photo

This historic Rocky Mountains hotel is best known for inspiring Stephen King's
novel 'The Shining.' In 1911, there was a gas leak in Room 217. After the
hotel's chief maid, Elizabeth Wilson, walked in with a lit candle, the resulting
explosion destroyed the entire west wing of the hotel. Although Elizabeth
recovered, it's believed that after she died, her soul returned to live at the
place she once tended. She is one of the many characters that still haunt the
premises, along with the spirits of the Stanley Hotel's original owners, Flora
and F.O. Stanley. You may hear Flora playing the antique Steinway in the Music
Room, catch F.O. overseeing a game of billiards, or find your belongings
mysteriously unpacked by Elizabeth.



02 of 10


HOTEL CHELSEA, NEW YORK CITY


Yevgenia Gorbulsky / Alamy Stock Photo

Poets, writers, and bohemians – in both life and death – have long called at the
historic Hotel Chelsea. The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas first stayed there in June
1952. During a return visit in November 1953, he fell into a coma, dying days
later at a nearby hospital. His ghost is said to frequent room 206, sometimes
appearing as a disembodied head. In October 1978, police charged Sid Vicious,
former bassist for the Sex Pistols, with stabbing his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen,
to death in Room 100. Ever since Vicious died the following February, several
guests have claimed to have seen his ghost roaming the halls and riding the
elevator. Others have reported seeing the ghost of Mary, a woman whose husband
perished on the Titanic, grooming herself in front of a mirror.


03 of 10


THE LANGHAM, LONDON


Courtesy of The Langham London

Many consider the Langham, built in 1865, to be the most haunted hotel in
London, and most of the paranormal buzz comes from Room 333. Only the bravest
(living) souls check in here, and they have seen the spirits of everyone from
the Victorian-era doctor who allegedly killed his wife and himself while on
their honeymoon to the German prince who jumped from the fourth floor and still
dons his military-style jacket in death. A shoeless butler, a footman in a
powdered wig, and emperor Napoleon III have also made ghostly appearances.


04 of 10


RUSSELL HOTEL, SYDNEY


Courtesy of The Russell Hotel

Sydney's Russell Hotel sits in a part of town known simply as The Rocks, one of
the city's most historic and storied neighborhoods. One of the spirits said to
roam its halls is an unnamed colonial-era sailor who never made it back out to
sea. Today, he lurks in some rooms — he's particularly fond of number 8, it
seems — paying special attention to the female guests, according to the patrons
who claimed to have seen him.

At the time of writing, the Russel Hotel is closed for renovations.


05 of 10


DRAGSHOLM CASTLE, HØRVE, DENMARK


Courtesy of Dragsholm Slot

When the Norwegians (who ruled what was then Denmark-Norway) captured James
Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, in the mid-1500s, they imprisoned him at
Dragsholm Castle. The isolation drove Hepburn mad, and he was ultimately tied to
a pillar and left to die. To this day, his spirit cannot leave the estate.
Guests sometimes see him riding horseback through the grounds at night. He is
accompanied by the White Lady, believed to be the ghost of Celina Bovles, a
young girl who was imprisoned by her father in the castle's dungeon after
becoming pregnant before marriage. During a 1930s renovation, workers supposedly
found a skeleton in a white dress within the castle's walls. Many believe it to
have been the remains of Celina.


06 of 10


NOTTINGHAM ROAD HOTEL, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA


Courtesy of Nottingham Road Hotel

Rumor has it that Charlotte, a sex worker who frequented Nottingham Road Hotel
at the turn of the century, fell deeply for a British soldier passing through
town. When she learned that her love was gone — either indifferent to her
affections or killed in battle — she threw herself from the balcony of Room 10.
Now, she passes the time of her afterlife by rearranging flowers, moving mirrors
to catch her best angle, and folding guests' clothes.


07 of 10


THE BELL HOTEL, NORFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM


Getty Images

This modest inn, which sits on the main square of a small village, is anything
but sleepy. It's not uncommon to catch a glimpse of a hooded monk or the former
landlady Betty Radcliffe, who was murdered in the hotel by her lover. She is
most often seen in room 10, where guests sometimes get a whiff of a strange
perfume. After more than six centuries in business, the tavern has racked up
many spooky stories of these encounters.


08 of 10


HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL, LOS ANGELES


GC Images

In the City of Angels, a clutch of spectral celebrities refuses to leave the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Marilyn Monroe was a frequent guest, and she was
especially fond of Suite 1200 and its full-length mirror. Now, guests gaze into
the mirror for a glimpse of the superstar, whose reflection has been known to
appear time and again.


Like Monroe, the ghosts of other celebrities such as Carole Lombard, Errol
Flynn, and Montgomery Cliff, have also chosen to make the hotel their eternal
residence, and they're rather protective of their hangout. They often make their
presence known with playful hijinks like messing with phones and knocking on
doors.



09 of 10


HOTEL DEL SALTO, SAN ANTONIO DEL TEQUENDAMA, COLOMBIA


"Museo Salto del Tequendama" by Petruss - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
via Commons

Hotel del Salto, no longer a hotel but a museum of biodiversity and culture, is
still best known for its past life as a luxury destination for Colombia's elite.
Perched on the edge of a cliff, the hotel gave guests an unobstructed view of
the over-400-foot-high Tequendama Falls. After the hotel was abandoned in the
1990s, it acquired a haunted reputation – partly from the property's history of
suicides.

Countless individuals have thrown themselves into the ravine, but perhaps the
most famous stories are those of the indigenous Muisca people, some of whom
supposedly threw themselves into the falls to evade the Spanish conquistadors.
They believed that the falls would transform their souls into eagles, allowing
them escape a life of enslavement. There are even stories of former hotel guests
hearing distant and disembodied voices speaking in the indigenous Chibcha
language.


10 of 10


ROSS CASTLE, KILLARNEY, IRELAND



SteveAllenPhoto/Getty Images

One ghost in particular haunts this 16th-century castle. Sabina, the daughter of
an English lord known as the Black Baron, fell in love with a young man named
Orwin, the son of her father's rival. When the star-crossed lovers attempted to
escape across a nearby lake, a storm capsized their boat and Orwin drowned. The
distraught Sabina then locked herself away inside Ross Castle and soon perished
herself – having refused in her grief to eat or drink anything. Now she is
believed to haunt the castle alongside the ghost of her father, who was
devastated by his daughter's death. Guests in the castle, now a
bed-and-breakfast, often have run-ins with the phantom duo, reporting strange
banging sounds in the middle of the night. Others say they have even spotted
Sabina and the Black Baron roaming the grounds or showing up in photographs.




Updated by
Jamie Ditaranto
Jamie Ditaranto
 * 
 * 

Jamie Ditaranto is a Brazilian-American journalist who has traveled to all seven
continents in search of the best trip ever. Her work has been published in
National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, USA Today, Business Insider, and more.
learn more
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