The 10 Most Haunted Hotels in America

Have you ever wanted to perform a paranormal investigation on an allegedly haunted location? You're not alone—but that doesn't mean it's easy to find a place you can stay overnight.

Most places that are allegedly haunted will not let you spend the night, or might even arrest you if they catch you snooping around. Hotels, though, are always happy to let you spend the night if you have high hopes of having a seriously frightening time.

That's one of the reasons why so many haunted hotels never seem to have an issue finding willing guests. That being said, sleeping in a hotel that's allegedly haunted isn't for the faint of heart.

We're going to check out the most haunted hotels in America, and give you the scoop on each place. Would you be willing to have a sleepover in any of these spooky venues?

Without a doubt, one of the most haunted hotels in America has to be the Stanley Hotel—even if it's just by reputation alone. Since it was built in the 19th century, the Stanley Hotel has seen a number of tragedies that led to the deaths of guests and workers alike.

While multiple people have checked out of the Stanley Hotel, some chose to never leave. Among them include the ghost of a 12-year-old child, the ghost of a housekeeper caught in an explosion while cleaning a room, and Paul, a former employee who usually kicked out patrons.

That being said, well over a dozen ghosts have been reported here. Some are friendly, others are not. Rumors suggest that there may be a vortex that allows the dead to travel around the hotel vicinity.

In terms of evidence, the amount that has surfaced is insane. Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) and photographs featuring people who weren't present at the time are the norm. People regularly report hearing kids playing in the middle of the night, and sometimes also report being touched.

It's hard to explain how famous this hotel is for its paranormal activity, and the fact that it's one of the top haunted hotspots you can legally visit makes it all the better. Horror writer Stephen King wrote The Shining after spending the night here and having a paranormal occurrence happen to him.

San Francisco has seen quite a fair share of tragedy and trouble, especially in the city's older section. Prior to being a luxury venue, the building that houses the Queen Anne Hotel was the site of a girls' finishing school. During that time, the school was overseen by a headmistress called Miss Mary Lake.

Lake loved the girls at the school so much, she stuck around. Visitors who spend the night in Room 401 will often have their feet covered at night, or may see their luggage unpacked and folded for them. Overall, she seems like a cool ghost.

If you ask many people, New Orleans might just be one of the most haunted places in the United States. That might be why no one's ever surprised to see that some of the most haunted hotels in America can be found in "N'awlins."

The Dauphine Orleans Hotel puts a lot of other haunted venues to shame when it comes to the number of ghost stories tied to it. Many guests have claimed to see Civil War soldiers walking through the hallways, and others have claimed to see shadows that move of their own accord.

The most famous resident, though, would have to be May Bailey, who owned the upscale bordello that was once the centerpiece of the Dauphine Orleans Hotel. She's often spotted wearing 19th century regalia, looking happy and serene as can be—right before she vanishes in front of you.

Hollywood just naturally seems to attract drama and wild stories—and that might explain why the Hotel Roosevelt remains one of the most haunted hotels in America.

Once the setting of the first Academy Awards, the Hotel Roosevelt has a history as star-studded as most red carpet lineups. It was the regular haunt of names like John Belushi, Britney Spears, and Marilyn Monroe.

Incidentally, many of their celebrity guests seem to have chosen to spend the afterlife here too. Several ghosts have seemed to claim residence here, some of which haven't fully been identified.

Marylin Monroe's ghost has been known to be spotted around the hotel, often in the reflections of mirrors around her. Others who have been around the area claim to see orbs of white light and a weird feeling of being watched.

Some of the more obscure ghostly residents include Irene Gibbons—dressmaker to the stars. The troubled woman died here after throwing herself off the 11th story floor, allegedly after hearing that her lover had an affair.

Perhaps the only East Coast hotel to have a story as glamorous as the Roosevelt is the Chelsea Hotel. Known for being the place where artists, writers, and rockers hung out, the Chelsea Hotel has seen guests like Bob Dylan, Sid Vicious, Mark Twain, and Patti Smith.

With all the craziness that comes with tortured artist souls, it's not surprising that it was home to a number of grisly deaths—including Nancy Spungen's murder.

Over the years, guests have seen shadow people walking through the halls, felt cold spots, and have caught strange voices on tape. Both Nancy Spungen and Sid Vicious have been spotted hanging out here after they died.

Las Vegas was, and might always be, the City of Sin. During its fledgling years as a casino hotspot, the entire city was run by the mafia. The mob's crown jewel was the Flamingo Hotel—and as you can imagine, some seriously sordid stuff happened there during its early years.

The Flamingo Hotel was famed mob boss Bugsy Siegel's personal project, and as you can imagine, that means that this hotel has been the setting of a lot of mafia dealings. Incidentally, this hotel was also the very same thing that caused Bugsy Siegel to get killed by the mob.

According to visitors, they often see someone who looks like Bugsy walking through the hotel's gardens at night. Others claim to wake up to a dark figure standing at the foot of their bed. Even more claim to feel watched and hear eerie whispers.

The Queen Mary Hotel isn't like most other haunted hotels in America. It wasn't originally a hotel; it was a cruise ship that was designed to be the finest of its kind. Ever since the 1930s, it catered to the finest echelons of high society.

During World War II, the Queen Mary was used to transport military personnel... and somehow, things started to get weird. Due to the nature of war, it's very likely that people died onboard while trying to get back home.

Whatever the reason, World War II's energy seemed to cling to the Queen Mary. When the boat was retired from the seas, it found its home in Long Beach. People who decided to visit and spend the night started to notice strange things happening at night.

The most common sightings include disembodied voices and seeing figures in military attire walking down hallways. In the pool area, there are some specters of unknown children who occasionally are heard playing in the water.

Most interestingly, though, is the spirit of a lady who is dressed in white. No one knows who she was, or why she's attached to the Queen Mary. Countless paranormal investigations have been held here, many of which have had visible evidence as a result.

To date, the Queen Mary Hotel is considered to be one of the most haunted places in America. That alone should tell you something.

Though the Brown Palace Hotel might not have the reputation of being one of the most haunted hotels in America right now, that's very likely to change. Over the decades it's been in business, the Brown Palace Hotel had become the home of hundreds of people—and some even died there.

The Brown Palace was originally created as a way to outdo the Windsor Hotel, which had snubbed the Browns due to their cowboy attire. Within a couple of years, the Brown Palace had onyx, marble, sandstone, and wood throughout.

It became the place to vacation in Colorado, and regularly was a hotspot for celebrities. Almost every president since 1909 has been to the Brown Palace, and several Hollywood socialites followed suit.

Due to its hotspot as a travel location in the early 20th century, people have also been known to see travelers dressed in clothing from the 1930s, as well as train conductors in the main lobby.

Over the years, there have been quite a few denizens that never seem to fully want to leave. Ghost children are often heard throughout the hotel, and it's not that unusual to see people who seem to vanish by walking through a wall.

One such person was a troubled and lovelorn socialite who lived in the hotel from 1940 to the mid-1950s. When tours of the hotel started up later, they'd mention the woman's residency and her love troubles.

The concierge would then start getting phone calls from her room—number 904. This was impossible, since the phone line to that room was cut. Once they stopped talking about her, the calls stopped.

One employee had the fright of his life when he saw four formally dressed men playing music in the lobby. He told them to leave, saying it was too late at night to do that. One of them smiled and said, "Oh, don't worry about us. We live here," and the four vanished into thin air.

If you ask us, the creepiest issue people have experienced here is what happens under your feet. In one of the main rooms, guests have felt the carpet crawling underneath them.... as if hands are moving towards them from the floor.

The Algonquin Hotel is historic, and not just because of how old it is. This was the meeting place of one of the most famous literary groups in all of New York City.

Once the lunch meeting spot of the Round Table, the Algonquin was the favorite haunt of people like Franklin Pierce Adams, Harpo Marx, Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker, and Ruth Hale. Though the Round Table meet-ups ended around the late 1920s, it seems like some members still stuck around.

People have claimed to see members of the Round Table walking through the dining area in both the day and night. Paintings and books are known to move on their own, while others claim to feel cold spots that seem to waft through them.

California seems to have a knack for having some of the most glamorously haunted hotels in America—and few have as much of a reputation as Cal-Neva. Originally started as a nondescript hideaway for the wealthy and famous, Frank Sinatra bought the hotel in the 1960s and installed tunnels underneath.

The bungalow-like hotel quickly became a Hollywood hotspot with regulars like Marylin Monroe, Dean Martin, and Sinatra regularly using it as a hangout and vacation destination. Judy Garland of Wizard of Oz was even discovered here, after she performed a song at only 11 years old.

It's said that Monroe spent her last weekend here before she died of an overdose. Over the years, tragedy has struck a number of times and it seems like some of that energy continues to echo through its halls.

Disembodied footsteps are regularly heard pacing hallways, and once in a while, people claim to see Frank Sinatra himself in Lodge #5, as he enjoys the view of the lake.