Most historic hotels have great stories to tell, and some of them even have great ghost stories to tell. In fact, the ghost thing is definitely intriguing if you wouldn’t mind sharing your room with an apparition or two. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there’s impressive architecture and other lively pursuits to distract you at these Instagram-worthy Autograph Collection Hotels. Here’s seven of the most haunted hotels in the USA:
1. Union Station Hotel | Nashville, TN
The hotel is on the site of a restored 19th century railroad station where a train collision took place in 1918 killing 101 people. Many people believe that the ghosts of this tragic accident haunt the hotel to this day.
Guests and employees have reported a young man wearing a World War II uniform, a woman in bloody and torn clothes, and a woman flinging herself off the 3rd floor balcony. Guests have also reported lights and televisions turning off without explanation.
Ghost-free option: Sup among the living in the four-star Prime 108 restaurant.
2. Mayflower Hotel | Washington, D.C.
Said to be haunted by President Calvin Coolidge since 1937 when his inauguration date was changed to January 20th, every year on that date the Mayflower relives the night of President Coolidge’s ball.
The lights in the Grand Ballroom dim and flicker around 10 p.m. when the guests of honor would have been announced. One elevator inexplicably refuses to move from the eighth floor to the lobby until 10:15 pm, around the time when the President would have left his holding room to arrive at the ball.
Mysteriously, hors d’oeuvres and wine have been found on the balcony that don’t resemble anything served that day in real time.
Ghost-free option: Act presidential and treat yourself to the 22,000 square-foot Mayflower Suite with sweeping D.C. views.
3. Hotel Blackhawk | Davenport, IA
Actor Cary Grant suffered a fatal stroke on the 8th floor of this hotel and died at a nearby hospital. Some say they’ve caught glimpses of the actor wandering throughout the hotel and guests have also reported seeing the ghost of a woman in a vintage-style evening gown roaming the halls.
Ghost-free option: Throwback a little champagne with jazz over brunch in the Bix Bistro.
4. The Davenport Hotel | Spokane, WA
Guests and staff claim that the ghost of a woman wanders around the mezzanine above the grand lobby dressed in 1920s attire looking around for someone or something. She peers over an iron railing and then disappears into thin air.
This ghost is likely Ellen McNamara, a visitor from New York who walked out of her 3rd floor doorway and fell to her death through a skylight in the lobby in 1920. The hotel’s namesake, and original owner, Lois Davenport, is also said to make occasional, friendly appearances.
Ghost-free option: Escape to the highly-rated spa with your honey.
5. The Casa Monica Hotel | Saint Augustine, FL
The fourth floor of this hotel is said to be the most haunted. Guests and employees alike have reported hearing children running up and down the halls and women talking and laughing, but when they go to investigate, no one is there. There is also a suite that’s said to be haunted by a woman in white, who has even been photographed. The most common ghost sighting reported is a man walking around in 1920s-era clothing.
Ghost-free option: Hide away in an oasis of eclectic art in the Grand Bohemian Art Gallery.
6. Algonquin Hotel | New York City, NY
The daily lunch spot for the legendary Algonquin Round Table made up an eclectic and eccentric group of artists and authors that met almost daily for a decade just after World War I. Today’s hotel guests have claimed to see ghosts resembling members from this group in the lobby and dining area of the hotel.
Ghost-free option: Pet a cat. Hamlet has taken over cute kitty duties from Matilda, the Algonquin’s previous resident and renowned feline.
7. The Brown Palace Hotel | Denver, CO
Up until 1985, there were many people who made this hotel their home, died here and haunt the hotel to this day. Guests and employees have reported seeing ghosts of train conductors walking around as well as travelers carrying luggage and dressed in clothing from the early 20th century. An employee of the hotel reported seeing an entire string quartet playing in the hotel — when he told them they had to leave, the musicians told him they lived at the hotel and then vanished into thin air.
Ghost-free option: Have high tea in the Mile High City with Devonshire cream shipped from England.
A version of this article originally appeared on LuxeGetaways.com in partnership with Autograph Collection Hotels.
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