Thanks to films like The Shining and its real-life inspiration, the Stanley Hotel, for some thrill-seekers there’s something frighteningly fun about the thought of spending the night in one of the world’s most haunted hotels. Just take a look at the hundreds of forums on TripAdvisor discussing destinations with a history of spooky occurrences; for many, just like a pool or free Wi-Fi, paranormal activity is another must-have amenity.
Ghost sightings and unexplained phenomena have long been noted at some of America’s most famous hotels, like Marilyn Monroe’s apparition at the Roosevelt in Hollywood and Civil War soldiers at the Marshall House in Savannah, Georgia. Overseas, you might find yourself sharing a room with poltergeists of royals or WWII prisoners. Intrigued? These eight hotels are some of the creepiest real-life haunted houses you can pass through this Halloween—if you dare.
The Hotel Chelsea, New York City
If it’s scary enough for tough-guy MLB athletes to admit publicly, then this place must really have some serious haunts—and the main culprit is allegedly the ghost of the hotel’s original owner, Charles Pfister. Baseball players in town to play the Milwaukee Brewers are generally put up at this hotel and have reported lights flickering, moving furniture, and the radio turning on and off. As Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds said, “I came into the room and just sat on the bed. Then, for some reason, the damn radio turned on. So I turned it off and got in the shower. When I was done, that motherf—er turned back on.”