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Okay, we don't *know* if they're actually haunted, but looking at them, you can't tell me you doubt it...π
Creep factor: Loftus Hall is said to be the most haunted place in Ireland. It started as a castle, then became a private home, a girls' convent, and a hotel before becoming Loftus Hall. The daughter of the Tottenham family, Anne, fell in love with a young man; the story goes that one evening, she noticed he had cloven hooves, and he revealed himself as the devil. Traumatized, Anne became mentally ill and was confined to the Tapestry Room by her family, who was embarrassed of her. She died in 1775, and they couldn't straighten her body so she was buried in the same sitting position she had died in.
Following this, the home was plagued with paranormal activity and there have been several exorcisms performed on the home. Anne's ghost has been seen around the property, and the sound of horses can be heard. The skeletal remains of the infant found in her room during restoration prompted theories that Anne may have actually been pregnant and her father locked her away out of shame. She may have died during childbirth and her family may have killed and hid the baby, explaining the remains. Today, Anne's cemented grave can be found in a local graveyard in Wexford. Loftus Hall was later abandoned and used illegally by people conducting satanic rituals until 2011.
Status: Loftus Hall was purchased and restored in 2011 and is now open to the public. It offers tours and even adult-only paranormal lockdown experiences.
Creep factor: It's true β you can book a room in the John V. Morse Room, where Abby's body was found after being hacked from the back several times. You can even stay in Lizzie's bedroom. In fact, my colleague, Mal Mower, stayed there last month for her birthday! (She is 100% sure that Lizzie did it so that she and her sister would get their father's property instead of Abby.)
The employees who have been working there for decades have their own opinions on whether or not Lizzie did it. There are reports of the floors creaking when there's no one upstairs, doors opening by themselves, cold spots, and a floral scent that appears out of nowhere. The original furnishings, hardware and doors of the house are still there, just as they were when the Bordens lived there. Artifacts from the murder case are displayed inside. Even creepier: Lizzie is related to Thomas Cornell, who was convicted in 1673 of burning his mother to death.
Status: You can stay overnight or just book a tour of the house and museum.
Creep factor: At least six people have committed suicide here. In 1944, 19-year-old Dorothy Jean Purcell threw her newborn baby boy out the window; American serial killer Richard Ramirez, and Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger, both lived in the hotel at different times during their killing sprees. Elizabeth Short, known as the βBlack Dahlia,β reportedly stayed at the hotel right before her unsolved murder in 1947.
The most famous case now is of Elisa Lam in 2013, a Canadian tourist whose naked corpse was found in the hotel's rooftop water tank (people had been showering in and drinking that same water). Her death remains one of the biggest puzzles; with CCTV footage showing Lam behaving erratically in the elevator right before her death, many were convinced of the hotel being haunted, and made eerie connections between Lam's death and the Black Dahlia's. The last reported suicide in the hotel was of a man in 2015. BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime covered it in season 1, episode 3, which you can watch here.
There have been sightings of a young boy's ghost on the fourth floor, as well as loud thumps on the walls, and strange smells. The hotel's tragic history served as inspiration for season five of American Horror Story. The violence of the hotel is so bizarre that Wikipedia has a whole separate page dedicated to a list of all the murders and occurrences.
Status: The hotel is no longer in operation and visitors are not allowed. It is currently undergoing extensive renovation to become a mix of boutique hotel rooms and small apartments.
Creep factor: The owner, a wealthy businessman from Naha, tried to prove that it was safe by staying there until construction was completed but only managed three nights. No one knows what happened to make him return in such a state. He was sent to a mental hospital, where he died. The hotel was abandoned and left to decay and be overgrown by nature. In recent years, children have disappeared in the area. There are rooms full of broken furniture and no straight corridors. The hallways circle around, take sharp turns, and have dead ends. Those who have explored the ruins say they've seen lights flashing and felt the sensation of a cold presence in the empty halls.
Status: It's off limits and the ruins are in rubble. People who have explored the ruins say there is plenty of art and graffiti to be seen on the walls. The decayed hotel is only 55 yards (50 meters) away from Nakagusuku Castle, one of the most famous castles in Japan, so you can see it from there too.
Creep factor: The castle has a long, bloody history starting from the 12th century. Visitors have heard the screams of a young boy, the ghost of a frail woman begging for water, and sinister figures moving around the courtyard at night. The whispering voices heard in the chapel belong to two men. It's impossible to figure out what they're saying, and they stop when one tries to get closer to hear. The castle dungeon has crude letters carved into the walls by the prisoners that were kept there, a "diary" of sorts counting down the days, and a trap-door in the floor reveals the bones of an unknown child in the vault below. The castle also has a genuine torture chamber.
Status: You can book a room or an apartment in the castle. Or you can visit for a group or private tour, which includes going down to the Torture Chamber.
Creep factor: Bipasha Basu, the main actress in the film, revealed that after a night of shooting, the film crew checked in but were bothered and kept awake the entire night by loud sounds of someone shifting and rearranging furniture in the room above. Unable to sleep and with an early morning schedule ahead, they tried calling reception, only to find that the line was dead. The next morning, they went down and complained. To their horror, the receptionist brought them outside and pointed upwards to show that there was, in fact, no room or floor above. Who or what did the group collectively hear? Needless to say, Basu was relieved that they did not have to stay in the hotel another night.
Status: The hotel has reopened and resumed its position as a royal hotel for tourists in Ooty. You can book a room here.
Creep factor: Norman Bakerβs βmiracle cureβ was just crushed watermelon seeds mixed with spring water. He would cut his patients open and pour the liquid directly into the tumor. In 1940, he was caught, convicted of fraud, and sentenced to four years in prison.
Baker used the third floor as a pain ward, where he brought his patients to die. Guests on the third floor have heard sounds of squeaky wheels, and have seen apparitions of a nurse pushing a gurney down the hallway at night. The ghost of Theodora, a patient of Dr. Bakerβs, has been seen outside room 419. Guests in that room have found their belongings inexplicably moved around. The woman in room 3500 is said to wear a Victorian nightgown. In fact, many apparitions are seen wearing Victorian clothing, as Eureka Springs was a Victorian village. In room 218, guests have heard strange sounds, seen hands emerge from the mirror, and doors slam shut by themselves in the middle of the night, jolting people awake. Room 218 is also where one of the original builders of the hotel, Michael, an Irish stonemason, died in 1885.
Status: You can book a room here or buy tickets to their ghost tour, where they even take you down to the morgue that's still part of the hotel.
Creep factor: In 1997, a man brought two prostitutes back to to the hotel and murdered them after having slept with them. He then chopped up their bodies and flushed the pieces down the toilet. One report of paranormal activity involves a guest who complained that each time she stepped into the bathroom, she'd smell heavy perfume, even though she had not brought any fragrances with her. After placing her makeup on the countertop the night before, she woke up the next morning to find all of it in disarray.
Status: Open. You can book a room here. Just watch out for the smell of perfume.
Creep factor: A flight attendant who stayed at the hotel complained of being kept awake by the sound of a leaking tap and loud footsteps moving across the floor of the room upstairs. The next morning however, she realized that there was no room above her. She was already on the highest floor of the hotel. Other guests have complained of these sounds as well.
In 1999, a "self-enlightenment" cult stayed in the hotel for months, refusing management's request to leave. When police were called, they found the body of Shinichi Kobayashi inside, a 66-year-old man who had been dead for four months by then due to a blood clot. His son had refused medical help for his father and brought him to the cult leader, Koji Takahashi, for treatment. The lack of care caused Kobayashi to die but Takahashi convinced his followers that he was still alive and the cult "treated" him in the hotel room through touch. A member even noted at one point that Kobayashi was smiling. The son and Takahashi were both arrested and charged. It was revealed that other cult members have died due to their "rituals," including a student.
Status: The hotel enjoys a good reputation and besides the hauntings, has good reviews. You can book a room here.
Creep factor: Locals believe that the hotel is haunted by the numerous people who leaped from the hotel's ravine to their death, many because of broken hearts. The hotel failed and became a shadow of its former grand self after the river became contaminated with industrial waste, causing foul smells. When plans for reconstruction were abandoned, it remained a broken symbol of unrealized dreams for over 25 years.
Status: The hotel was restored in 2011, and opened as a museum in 2013, which you can now visit. It has been renamed the "Tequendama Falls Museum of Biodiversity and Culture," and serves as a symbol of cultural heritage and environmental restoration. It aims to raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems.
Creep factor: The owners, James and Beatrice Shanley, lost three children in the hotel, all of whom died before their first birthday. Beatrice's sister also died there from the flu. In 1911, Rosie, the 3-year-old daughter of the hotel's barber, died when she tumbled down the hotel's well. Her body was found two hours later. The hotel has secret passages and has gone through 20 owners. In the 1990s, it was abandoned for 10 years before being restored; then closed again in 2017 after poor management. It reopened in 2018 under new management.
Guests have seen rocking chairs rocking on their own, and heard clocks suddenly chiming, whistling, footsteps, and children giggling. They've also smelled aromas of food cooking when no food is being prepared. Many have seen apparitions, particularly of a woman in a Victorian dress, along with the scent of perfume, believed to be Beatrice. There is evidence in the form of photographs and EVPS (electronic voice phenomenons) that have recorded voices and whispers coming from the shadows. Guests have reported hearing their names called by disembodied voices. The hotel has been featured on several ghost-hunting shows like Ghost Hunters.
Status: Open year-round. The hotel also conducts public ghost hunts by reservation or you can reserve a private investigation for your group. They even offer some ghost-hunting equipment, though you can bring your own. There are also special events held such as seances, that you can book with or without accommodation.
Creep factor: Room 303 is also haunted. In 1949, a liquor salesman committed suicide in this room by mixing whisky with poison; guests reported the smell of whisky and cigars, even after the room was cleaned, and the sound of piercing laughter coming from inside. The bathtub water would also turn on by itself. After constant complaints, the hotel converted the room into a storage closet.
In one incident, a security officer reported that one evening, he saw the shadow of a man on the wall in the Bosworth section, the oldest section of the hotel. He stepped aside to let the man pass by him, but turned to find no one there. The strange thing was the shadow had been wearing a stovepipe hat.
Status: You can book a room. Maybe your elevator will stop at the third floor too.
Creep factor: Frances came to stay at the hotel with her friend, Eva Mountstephen. They were both spiritualists and conducted seances, trying to contact the dead. A day after Eva left the hotel, Frances was found dead in her room, poisoned with strychnine, a cyanide-based poison. With the door locked from the inside, police could not figure out who committed the murder or how. Even stranger, her doctor was found dead of the same poison a few months later. Eva was tried but found not guilty. No one was ever convicted.
Guests have reported doors opening mysteriously by themselves, the ballroom piano playing melodies on its own, and an apparition resembling a woman. In one case, a guest noted seeing a woman who looked perfectly normal and human until she turned and walked right through a closed door.
Status: The hotel is well-known and popular. You can book a room here. Watch out for swinging chandeliers though.
Creep factor: Guests who stayed in Room 873 before it was sealed off heard bloodcurdling disembodied screams that woke them up, experienced pillows being yanked out from under their heads, and being pushed off the bed by an unseen entity β perhaps the residual haunting of the family's murder. Housekeepers found bloody fingerprints on the bathroom mirror that they couldn't clean. The hotel's representatives assert that there was no such crime and no room behind a brick wall. However, while there are rooms ending in the numbers β73β on all other floors, there is no such room on the eighth floor. The baseboard where Room 873 is supposed to be is cut, as if there used to be a door there.
The Ghost Bride is said to have died on the staircase in the 1920s; she slipped and fell, breaking her neck on the stairs. Staff and guests have seen a veiled figure and a strange white haze moving up and down the stairs and in the ballroom. They've also heard noises coming from the bridal suite even when the suite is unoccupied.
The most friendly spirit is Sam McAuley, a jolly Scottish man who was head bellman during the 1960s and '70s. He died in 1975 and loved the hotel so much he'd said he'd return to haunt it. Most sightings involve him helping the guests, dressed in his old '60s uniform. Some have said that upon handing him a tip, he vanished right in front of them. In one incident, two women called the front desk after their room key didn't work. By the time the regular bellhop arrived, their room was unlocked. The women said an older bellman in a plaid jacket had helped them β describing Sam exactly. He is often seen on the ninth floor.
Status: You can book a room here. And maybe go check out the eighth floor for the mysterious Room 873.
Creep factor: One of our staff members actually toured the hotel this year, and explained how the very atmosphere felt uneasy and ghoulish. Room 612 is said to be one of the most haunted rooms in the hotel, as staff have seen the apparition of a woman they believe to be Bridget Bishop. Guests staying in room 612 complain of feeling as if they are not alone and of feeling as if they have been touched by an unseen hand. In room 325, there are repeated reports of lights and faucets turning on and off by themselves, and the sound of a baby crying.
Status: You can book a room here, attend their annual Halloween ball, or simply take a tour.
Creep factor: The girl has dark hair and wears a long yellow dress. She is said to be the youngest daughter of the wealthy family that first lived in the house. As a child, she suffered a carriage accident, leading to her limp, and died not long after. She was buried at the property alongside her father, and is now seen around the house at times and often heard humming.
Status: You can book the haunted bedroom on Airbnb. Keep your ears peeled for humming.
Creep factor: My colleague, Elizabeth Lilly, stayed in the hotel a year ago, right above Kate's room! She reported her bed shaking in the middle of the night and the bathroom door harshly and suddenly swinging open after she'd securely shut it tight. That's quite creepy, as guests and employees have reported similar strange events, such as doors that randomly open and slam shut, televisions turning on and off by themselves, sudden gusts of wind like someone is passing by, and disembodied footsteps and voices. They've also witnessed products flying off the shelves in the resort's gift store. Paranormal researchers have found evidence of supernatural activity in Kateβs room.
The hotel has published a book on Kate and the paranormal happenings guests and staff have experienced. She checked into the hotel under an alias and told employees she was waiting for a man to join her. She spent five days waiting, and went into town to buy a handgun. When her lover didn't show up, she shot herself. She was identified by police as a married woman who was estranged from her husband, and had come to meet with a lover. Witnesses reported that during her stay, Kate looked sickly and sad.
Status: You can book a room or reserve a spot on their ghost tour. The room Kate stayed in on the third floor is (obviously) the most requested room at the hotel.
Creep factor: This place actually has a hard time getting people to stay the whole night because of the amount of paranormal activity. The most famous spirit is of Chloe, a slave owned by Clark Woodruff. After he punished her for eavesdropping by cutting off her ear, she baked a cake poisoned with oleander leaves. Clark's wife Sara and their two children died from the poisoning, and Chloe was hanged by the other slaves and thrown into the Mississippi River. She is said to roam the property in a white apron, and sounds of children playing are often heard throughout the house. Smudges that are difficult to clean appear on the mirror, sometimes resembling handprints. The ghosts of slaves appear sometimes, asking if there are any chores to do.
The only verified murder on the grounds is of William Drew Winter, an attorney who lived in the house in the 1860s, and was shot by a stranger on the porch. He staggered inside and died on the 17th step of the stairs. Visitors and employees say they sometimes hear dragging footsteps in the house. The place is also haunted by a young girl who died in 1868 after being treated by a local voodoo practitioner. She is said to practice voodoo on people sleeping in the room. In 2001, the crew of Unsolved Mysteries had technical difficulties while trying to film onsite.
Status: Today, the Myrtles Plantation is a bed and breakfast where you can book a room or book one of their evening mystery tours.
Creep factor: Room 441 is the most notorious: security is called there more than any other rooms in the hotel, and guests always report the same thing: seeing the shadowy figure of a woman. There have been sightings of a man who may have been murdered in the hotel, and the gloved hand of a construction worker sticking out of the wall he was buried behind. As for the sealed room on the 12th floor, that remains a secret: whatever the staff saw there was so frightening that the door has been shut from the outside.
Status: The hotel is open to reservations.
Creep factor: The owner, Sean Doyle, revealed that 10 years ago, he'd found an old barrette in the house and upon picking it up, saw an image of a little girl in a white dress flash in his head. The descendants of the family who built the house in 1883 contacted Doyle a year later, and he learned that in 1908, one of their family members, Rosalia Fihn, died of typhoid fever in the house. When they showed Doyle old family photos, he identified Rosalia in one of the photographs β it was the girl he'd seen.
Status: You can book a room here. Maybe it's even the room where Rosalia died.
Creep factor: Dylan Thomas died in room 206 in 1953 after a heavy drinking binge that led to alcohol poisoning. Charles R. Jackson died by poison in 1968. Nancy Spungen was in a heavily abusive relationship with bassist Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. Their relationship was plagued by domestic violence, drug abuse, and public displays of verbal abuse. They booked room 100, where they spent their time taking drugs. Spungen was found dead in the bathroom of their room in October 1978 with a stab wound to the abdomen. Sid Vicious was charged, pleaded not guilty, and died of a heroin overdose before trial.
Guests have reported loud music coming from room 100 as well as sounds of a couple arguing, even when the room is known to be unoccupied. Loud footsteps have been heard in the corridor outside room 206 room but the corridor is always empty. Most recently, guests have said they heard a woman's scream, a sink that kept turning on and off, and bubbles rising from the drain. Spungen's body was found under the sink in the bathroom.
Status: The hotel has been under renovation since 2011 so you cannot book a room. Tenants who lived at the hotel before construction are the only people still living there. It is expected to reopen this year.