Historic Hotels, Restless Spirits & One Very Important Question: Would You Stay Until Morning?
There are hotels where you spend the night.
And then there are hotels where you spend the night wondering who — or what — just walked past your door.
I’ve stayed in enough old hotels over the years to know that historic buildings have their own nighttime soundtrack. Pipes knock. Floorboards complain. Elevators groan. Old doors occasionally decide they have opinions.
Usually, that’s all perfectly normal.
Usually.
But across America, there are historic hotels where guests and employees have been telling the same strange stories for decades: footsteps in empty hallways, elevators stopping on floors nobody selected, children laughing where no children are staying, mysterious figures appearing on staircases and doors opening without assistance.
Better yet, these aren’t abandoned buildings you’re admiring from behind a fence.
You can actually spend the night.
So pack an overnight bag, charge your phone and maybe leave the bathroom light on.
Here are 10 haunted hotels in America where you can spend the night.
1. The Stanley Hotel — Estes Park, Colorado
If America had a Mount Rushmore of haunted hotels, The Stanley Hotel would be on it.
Opened in 1909 in the mountains above Estes Park, the Stanley became internationally famous after author Stephen King stayed here in 1974.
King and his wife were reportedly among the hotel’s final guests before it closed for the winter season.
They stayed in Room 217.
That evening helped inspire King’s 1977 novel The Shining.
And just like that, an already fascinating Colorado hotel became part of horror history.
But the Stanley’s paranormal reputation extends well beyond the novel.
Stories surrounding the hotel include mysterious piano music, children laughing in empty hallways, unexplained footsteps and apparitions associated with former owners F.O. and Flora Stanley.
The hotel doesn’t hide from those stories.
Quite the opposite.
Today the Stanley offers guided historical experiences as well as a 60-minute nighttime Ghost Tour exploring the hotel’s paranormal folklore and reported activity. The hotel also offers paranormal investigations and a dedicated Shining tour.
And yes, you can spend the night in the historic hotel itself.
The Room Everyone Wants
Room 217 is the famous one.
It was Stephen King’s room, and naturally it has become one of the most requested rooms in the hotel.
City Unknown Tip
Don’t make this just a haunted-hotel trip.
Estes Park sits at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, so spend the day exploring the mountains, return for dinner and then take the nighttime ghost tour.
Then go upstairs.
Turn off the lights.
And remember that you specifically paid money to do this.
Stay: The Stanley Hotel
2. 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa — Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Some hotels reluctantly tolerate their haunted reputation.
The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa basically says:
“Ghosts? Oh, you came to the right place.”
The Crescent opened in 1886 as a luxury resort overlooking Eureka Springs.
Over the years, however, the enormous Victorian building served several purposes, including a women’s college and, during the 1930s, a hospital operated by controversial businessman Norman Baker.
That chapter of the hotel’s history plays a major role in its modern paranormal reputation.
Stories involve several supposed spirits, including Michael, a worker associated with the hotel’s construction, and mysterious figures connected to its hospital years.
Then there’s the morgue.
Yes.
The hotel has a morgue.
And yes.
The ghost tour goes there.
The Crescent currently offers nightly ghost tours, extended tours and even late-night paranormal investigations.
You can also simply book a room and spend the night.
Although “simply” might be doing some heavy lifting there.
City Unknown Tip
Book both the overnight stay and the ghost tour.
The regular tour tells you the stories in the locations where they’re associated — and ends in Baker’s old morgue.
Afterward you get to return to your room and think about everything you just heard.
Excellent planning.
Stay: 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
3. The Queen Mary — Long Beach, California
Technically, this isn’t a haunted hotel.
It’s a haunted ocean liner that happens to contain a hotel.
Which is considerably better.
The RMS Queen Mary first entered service in the 1930s and spent decades carrying passengers across the Atlantic before permanently docking in Long Beach.
Today you can walk aboard and sleep in historic Art Deco staterooms.
But after dark, the ship’s long corridors take on a completely different personality.
Over the years, stories have accumulated around the engine room, former swimming pool, passenger corridors and various cabins.
And then there’s Stateroom B340.
The Queen Mary itself describes B340 as having a long history of reported paranormal activity, including stories of unexplained knocking, lights turning themselves on, faucets operating without assistance and bathroom doors opening and closing.
And here’s the beautiful part.
You can book it.
The ship also currently offers “Paranormal Passage” staterooms inspired by its ghost stories.
City Unknown Tip
If you’re doing this article as a bucket-list challenge, B340 is the room I’d choose.
You don’t drive all the way to a supposedly haunted ocean liner and then request the quiet room farthest from everything interesting.
Where’s the fun in that?
Stay: The Queen Mary
4. Hotel Monteleone — New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans could probably fill an entire list by itself.
But if we’re choosing one classic haunted hotel in the French Quarter, Hotel Monteleone deserves the stop.
The family-owned hotel celebrates its 140th anniversary in 2026, and its history is packed with generations of travelers, writers and New Orleans characters.
Its paranormal reputation is equally colorful.
One of the best-known stories involves a young boy named Maurice Begere, who died at the hotel while his parents were away for the evening.
According to the hotel’s own account, Maurice’s grieving parents repeatedly returned in hopes of encountering him again, and the boy’s spirit has since become part of the property’s paranormal folklore. Guests have reported seeing him near the floor where he died.
Other stories involve elevators seemingly choosing floors on their own, mysterious shadows and former employees who may still be keeping an eye on the place.
And downstairs?
You’ll find the famous Carousel Bar, where the bar actually rotates.
Ghost or no ghost, I’m staying.
City Unknown Tip
Have a drink at the Carousel Bar, explore the French Quarter after dark and then return to the Monteleone.
New Orleans is one of those rare places where the journey back to your haunted hotel might be just as spooky as the hotel.
Stay: Hotel Monteleone
5. The Marshall House — Savannah, Georgia
If New Orleans could fill one haunted-hotel list, Savannah could fill another.
The Marshall House opened in 1851 and still contains original architectural features, including old wood floors and vintage doors.
The building’s long history includes periods when it was reportedly used during wartime, and naturally the stories accumulated.
Guests have described mysterious noises and unusual sightings over the years.
The hotel doesn’t claim those stories are proven paranormal events, either.
Its own FAQ takes exactly the right attitude: some people believe the Marshall House is haunted, guests have occasionally reported mysterious sights and sounds, and the hotel embraces the stories with a healthy dose of curiosity and fun.
That’s my kind of haunted hotel.
No screaming actors jumping out of closets.
Just a beautiful historic building where you occasionally wonder:
“Was that hallway always empty?”
City Unknown Tip
Stay here while exploring Savannah’s Historic District.
River Street, historic squares, restaurants and many of Savannah’s famous sites are within walking distance.
Then book one of Savannah’s evening ghost walks.
You’ll hear plenty of stories before returning to your room.
Stay: The Marshall House
6. Hawthorne Hotel — Salem, Massachusetts
If you’re going to spend Halloween in Salem, you might as well stay somewhere with a ghost story.
The Hawthorne Hotel opened in 1925 and sits right in historic downtown Salem.
Stories over the years have included mysterious sounds, unusual sensations and supposed apparitions.
But here’s what I particularly like:
The hotel itself doesn’t oversell it.
When asked whether the Hawthorne is haunted, the hotel’s official answer is essentially that nothing has been confirmed, although some guests have shared personal stories about unusual experiences.
Perfect.
That’s exactly how haunted history should be treated.
You get the legend.
You decide what you believe.
Meanwhile, you’re sleeping in the middle of one of America’s most fascinating historic cities.
Why Visit in October?
Salem goes completely Halloween-crazy.
The Hawthorne itself hosts its long-running Halloween Ball, which in 2026 takes place on October 24.
City Unknown Tip
If you’re thinking about Salem in October, book ridiculously early.
This is not the weekend to decide on Friday afternoon that Salem sounds fun.
If you want a quieter trip, stay at the Hawthorne outside peak Halloween season and enjoy Salem when you can actually see the sidewalks.
Stay: Hawthorne Hotel
7. Lord Baltimore Hotel — Baltimore, Maryland
Here’s a hotel that doesn’t merely acknowledge its haunted reputation.
It will sell you a haunted overnight package.
The historic Lord Baltimore Hotel opened in 1928.
Over the decades, guests and employees have reported unusual activity, with one of the best-known legends involving a young girl sometimes called Molly, said to appear wearing a white dress. Stories also involve unexplained elevator stops, footsteps and shadowy figures.
For 2026, the hotel offers a Ghost & Glamour package combining an overnight stay with tickets to Poe’s Magic Theatre and a ghost tour through the hotel.
There’s also a two-night Mystery & Magic Getaway.
Now we’re talking.
City Unknown Tip
Turn this into an Edgar Allan Poe weekend.
Explore Poe-related Baltimore sites during the day, return to the hotel, catch Poe’s Magic Theatre, take the ghost tour and spend the night.
That’s a proper Halloween getaway.
Stay: Lord Baltimore Hotel
8. Hotel Alex Johnson — Rapid City, South Dakota
This one might be the sleeper on the list.
And I mean that in every possible sense.
The historic Hotel Alex Johnson stands in downtown Rapid City and has developed a long-running reputation for paranormal activity.
Stories include a mysterious Lady in White as well as reports associated with Alex Johnson himself.
The hotel openly discusses those legends and notes that paranormal investigators have explored the property.
But here’s why it makes this particular list.
The hotel offers a Ghost Adventure package.
That package includes accommodations in a reportedly paranormal room, a K2 meter used by paranormal enthusiasts, dining credit and valet parking.
That’s commitment.
City Unknown Tip
Make this part of a Black Hills road trip.
Use Rapid City as your base for exploring the Black Hills and surrounding attractions during the day.
Then come back and spend the night voluntarily pointing a ghost detector around your bedroom.
Vacation!
Stay: Hotel Alex Johnson
9. Jekyll Island Club Resort — Jekyll Island, Georgia
This one has exactly the atmosphere I want from a haunted Southern hotel.
Huge old clubhouse.
Massive trees.
Historic grounds.
Gilded Age millionaires.
And stories about guests who apparently decided checkout was optional.
The Jekyll Island Club dates to the late 1880s and became the exclusive winter playground of some of America’s wealthiest families. Today you can still stay in the historic club complex.
One legend involves General Lloyd Aspinwall, a founding club member whose figure has reportedly been seen walking the veranda.
Another concerns railroad executive Samuel Spencer. Stories claim newspapers in his former room have mysteriously been disturbed and coffee cups seemingly moved or “sipped.”
Then there’s the mysterious bellman reportedly seen wearing an old-fashioned uniform and delivering freshly pressed clothing that nobody requested.
Imagine explaining that to the front desk.
“Your bellman brought my suit.”
“Sir, we didn’t send a bellman.”
Nope.
City Unknown Tip
Jekyll Island makes this much more than a haunted-hotel trip. Explore the historic district, beaches and island during the day.
The island also offers seasonal Gilded Age Ghosts & Ghouls experiences featuring paranormal stories from the historic district.
Stay: Jekyll Island Club Resort
10. La Fonda on the Plaza — Santa Fe, New Mexico
We’re finishing in Santa Fe.
Because if you’re going to spend a night looking for ghosts, you might as well do it somewhere beautiful.
The current La Fonda on the Plaza dates to 1922, but the site has hosted lodging for centuries.
Its best-known ghost story involves Judge John P. Slough, who was fatally shot after an argument in 1867.
Guests and employees have since reported seeing a mysterious man in a long black coat wandering the property.
Another legend involves a businessman who supposedly lost his money gambling and plunged into a well once located where the hotel’s restaurant now stands.
People have reported seeing a figure approach that spot…
and disappear.
The hotel embraces Santa Fe’s ghost stories and currently offers a Ghost Tour package for guests interested in the city’s paranormal folklore.
City Unknown Tip
This is the haunted hotel I’d recommend turning into a full weekend.
Stay on the Plaza, explore Santa Fe’s historic streets, eat New Mexican food, visit galleries and museums and take the ghost tour after dark.
Even if you never encounter anything paranormal, you’ve still had a fantastic Santa Fe getaway.
Stay: La Fonda on the Plaza
So, Would You Actually Sleep in a Haunted Hotel?
I would.
That’s probably how I ended up writing this article.
Here’s the thing I’ve learned about supposedly haunted hotels:
The ghost story gets you through the door. The history makes you remember the place.
You’re sleeping inside buildings that have welcomed travelers for decades — sometimes centuries.
People celebrated weddings there.
Families vacationed there.
Soldiers passed through.
Presidents, writers, actors, railroad executives, millionaires and everyday travelers walked those same hallways.
That’s a lot of human history under one roof.
Do I know whether Maurice still wanders the Hotel Monteleone?
No.
Do I know whether someone will hear footsteps outside their room at the Crescent tonight?
Nope.
But that’s what makes spending the night fun.
At 2:13 a.m., when the hallway is silent and something goes…
creeeak.
…you get to decide for yourself.
The City Unknown Haunted Hotel Challenge
If you’re going to stay at one of these hotels, don’t just sleep there.
Make a trip out of it.
Take the history tour.
Take the ghost tour if one is offered.
Have dinner in the hotel.
Ask the bartender about the stories.
Explore the surrounding neighborhood.
Read about the property’s history before going to bed.
Then put the phone away.
Turn off the television.
And listen.
Historic hotels sound completely different after midnight.
Just remember one important rule:
If someone knocks on your hotel door at 3 a.m., look through the peephole before opening it.
If nobody’s there?
I’m going back to bed.
You can investigate.
