Haunted Hotels Around the World You Can Spend the Night—if You Have the Courage

The Langham, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Property, is one of London’s lushest hotels and also one of the city's most haunted. There’s said to be a collection of ghosts throughout the hotel, including the ghost of a Victorian doctor who hangs out in room 333 during October, a butler trying to serve guests on floor 3, and of course none other than Napoleon III, who prefers spending his time in the basement. These ghosts have even freaked out England’s cricket team.

In March 1929, a famous mobster called Thomas ‘Fatty’ Walsh was shot in The Biltmore, and some say he still haunts the hotel. If so, he might not be the only one. The hotel, another luxury American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Property, was converted into the Army Air Forces Regional Hospital in the early 1940s, and remained in the Veteran’s Administration until 1968, so it’s possible the ghosts of soldiers are around, too.

Hotel Del Coronado has expansive grounds and views across the Pacific Ocean, which we can only assume the ghost of Kate Morgan enjoys. In 1892, she checked into the hotel, and five days later was found dead on a staircase leading to the beach. You might catch a glimpse of her, or, if you’re staying in ‘her’ room, notice a strange breeze or the TV turning on and off on its own.

With a history dating back to 1824, it’s no wonder there’s a bit of ghostly activity at American Express Fine Hotel & Resort Property, The Shelbourne. In that time they’ve hosted everyone from Greta Garbo to the Kennedys to actress Lily Collins. It was the latter who told Jimmy Fallon that, during her stay, she came across an eerie presence. It was likely Mary Masters, a child who apparently died during a cholera outbreak in the mid-1840s.

Back in February, 1905, a woman named Jane Stanford visited the Moana Surfrider. If that name rings a bell, it’s because she co-founded Stanford University, so we think she deserved a bit of R&R. Unfortunately, her vacation was short-lived, because not long after arriving at the Surfrider, she was poisoned. Some say she still wanders the halls.

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The Hay-Adams, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Property, is undoubtedly one of D.C.’s best. It was originally built in 1884 as a home for John Hay, a politician, and Henry Adams, a historian and professor (and descendent of former U.S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams). Adams’ wife, Marian ‘Clover’ Adams, died after drinking potassium cyanide, which she used to develop her photographs, and it’s said she still spends time around the hotel.

The Dalhousie has the distinction of being Scotland’s oldest inhabited castle—some walls have stood since the 13th century. With that kind of history, including plenty of battles for control of the castle, you can imagine it might be inhabited by a few ghosts. One of them is said to be Lady Catherine, a mistress of one of the men who owned the caste. She was locked up in a turret and left to die by the angry wife.

The gorgeous American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Property, Fairmont Banff, is nicknamed ‘castle in the Rockies’ with good reason, given it looks like a chateau dropped in the middle of Banff National Park. Understandably, it’s a popular wedding venue, but brides best be careful. As the legend goes, in the 1930s a young woman tumbled down the staircase on her wedding day and died. Guests have reported seeing her ghost, still in a wedding gown, floating up and down the staircase.

Prefer your ghosts well-read and witty? The Algonquin was home to the ‘Algonquin Round Table,’ also known as the ‘Vicious Circle,’ a group of writers who lunched together every day for the decade between 1919 and 1929. It was also where Harold Ross created The New Yorker, back in 1925. Rumor has it the ghost of Dorothy Parker—one of the Vicious Circle—taunts children at the hotel.

It’s one thing to act brave when you know you’ve got an escape plan, but if you want to up the ante, book into Spitbank Fort Hotel. The sea fortress was built back when England feared a French invasion (though by the time construction finished, the threat was past). It’s accessible only by boat, and is rumored to be home to a rowdy poltergeist and maybe the spirit of a soldier named Henry.