Overview
Is the Omni William Penn Hotel Haunted?
The Omni William Penn Hotel is often referred to as the “grandest hotel in the country.” The Omni William Penn is also referred to as one of the most haunted hotels in the United States with many reports of paranormal activity within its historic walls. With its 23 floors and nearly 1,600 guest rooms, the historic landmark casts a large shadow on the streets of downtown Pennsylvania. But not all of its history is grand; the hotel is marked with a bit of scandal, dating back to its earliest days when a traveling salesman was found dead in his hotel room.
Pittsburgh’s Penn Hotel Haunted History
In March 1922, Michael York, a lingerie salesman, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his hotel room at the Omni Penn Hotel. The death became more mysterious when police recovered telegrams from within the hotel room that portrayed a series of bad whiskey deals that led to York’s life being threatened.
Police questioned York’s taxicab driver who claimed that York had been out late at a party on the evening of his demise and had shown the driver a handgun. York reportedly told the driver that he planned to “end it all” unless his circumstances changed dramatically that night.
Tragically, it was discovered that a woman had attempted to contact York on the night of his suicide. It is believed that the information she planned to report to York would have assuaged his fears and likely saved his life. According to the hotel operator, her call was connected to York’s room only minutes after his act was carried out.
While it is unclear on which floor the deed took place, there have been reports of strange sightings, sounds, and smells coming from the uppermost floors of the hotel.
Top Floor Paranormal Activity
Omni Hotel is said to house dozens of spirits, most of them occupying the 22nd and 23rd floors, which are largely uninhabited… by the living. Years ago, the two floors were converted and are now used for storage, but that hasn’t halted the reports of odd sounds, cool drafts, and a generally spooky feeling.
Locked door on the 22nd floor of the Omni Willaim Penn Hotel
One hotel guest reported a dream while staying in the hotel. Sarah had a vision of an elderly couple who entered her guest room carrying luggage. “The old lady dropped her luggage when she realized I was in “her bed,” she wrote. “She yelled at me that the bed was hers because she was murdered there.”
Several guests have experienced a sensation of being watched while wandering the halls of Omni Penn Hotel.
Friendly Ghosts
In July 1976, an argument broke out between two employees of the hotel. Nelson Cooper, 70, shot and killed Samuel Bankhead, 65. The two were lifelong friends who were working as dishwashers in the hotel’s banquet hall. It is common for guests to report hearing the sounds of two drunken, though friendly men chatting idly in the hallways outside of their hotel rooms. When one such report was investigated by hotel staff, the men could not be located.
A Titanic History
If history had been written differently, the Omni William Penn Hotel may never have been built. Industrialist Henry Clay Frick provided much of the financial backing for the construction of the hotel, and in April 1912 his wife became ill. Had she not been under the weather, both she and Frick would have been under the sea along with the Titanic after it set off on its maiden voyage.
As it happened, Frick lived to fund the hotel, and it opened on March 11, 1916. The Omni Penn Hotel was designed by Benno Janssen and Franklin Abbott at a cost of nearly $6 million; its unique “E” shaped structure contains more than 1,600 guest rooms. When the hotel opened, it employed more than 800 staff including its own silversmith and locksmith, and fittingly, its very own butcher.
Guests, Ghosts, and Dignitaries
Omni Hotel has played host to several historical figures over its 101 years in operation, including John F. Kennedy and Bob Hope, who supposedly proposed to his wife Dolores at the location. According to Pittsburgh Magazine, however, the story was fabricated.
There is no denying the popularity of the Omni Hotel. The hotel recently underwent a multi-million dollar overhaul, making it the second largest hotel in the nation. Though guests may find themselves encountering a suicidal salesman or a drunken dishwasher among the hotel’s haunted hallways.
I used to work there.. the elevator goes to ballroom but if you work there the other elevator takes you to the laundry room on floor 18 and you can take the stairs all the way up.. I went up there on lunch break one time and didn’t feel weird until I got to the door lol.. if only I could know what’s behind it. The way up way quite weird too
I used to work there too, I talked security into letting me up on the locked door floors 22 and 23 and it was cold and creepy as hell lol. Then I got a chance to go on the roof of the hotel it was less scary and amazing. (I hated driving that old ass elevator)
My airline has us staying there whenever we layover in PIT 24+ hours and let me tell you, both times I’ve stayed here, I’ve had nothing but spooky experiences. You feel this eerie, dark feeling whenever you’re in your room & it feels like someone is watching you in a corner. My first time there I didn’t feel a presence but I was on the 6th floor. Second time I was put on the 16th & instantly felt like someone was in the corner of my room watching me sleep. I had terrible nightmares EVERYTIME I fell back asleep. & I was so scared to go back to sleep, I ended up turning on my room light to help my nerves.
Last time I stayed there was 2 nights ago. There is definitely an evil presence lurking the halls/rooms of this hotel. It was around 3 am & I had my lamp on dim. It was the lamp that you turn the knob to turn the light on/off. The lamp slowly turned off by itself and I was so creeped out I jumped out of bed & turned on all the lights in the room & didn’t go to bed till the sun came out & had my blinds open so the sun can beam in my room. I truly believe if spirits are friendly, they don’t mess with the living for their own amusement & your intuition won’t feel like heaviness the way I did. God bless those who stay there tho.
I am also an airline crew member. I’ve stayed at the OWP several times and I enjoy it. It is spooky because of the style and architecture. Never felt uncomfortable at all and its a great location! The staff is pretty awesome as well. After reading this… I will explore more next time.
My boyfriend and I stayed here 7/7-7/8 on the 16th floor. The first night we didn’t have any issues, but the second night things got weird. We got back up to our room around midnight after a wedding reception to change and freshen up when we heard a knock the door that connects to the room next door. We heard a women’s voice saying “Can I come in?” We asked what for, and she replied letting us know that she had to wake up at 6am. We apologized if we were being too loud and left to go to the after party.
At 3am we came back to the room with a few friends. We let them know that we had to keep it down because the woman next door needed to wake up early. This is when one of our friend’s pointed out that we were the last room at the end of the hall (there was no room next door) the only thing next to our room was the elevator shaft.
At this point we were a bit spooked, but decided to investigate and open our side of the door. Right as we did this, the other door swung open and there was a lady standing there in her night gown. All 5 of us saw her. She looked angry and said again that she needed to wake up at 6am. She was standing there for about 20 seconds before she closed the door.
The following day driving home we couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I called the hotel to ask which room connected to ours with that door. He put me on hold, and then he confirmed what we all suspected. There was no connecting room! The only thing next to us was a maintenance closet or something for the elevator shaft!!!
Even more weird, when I explained to him that had a paranormal experience there, the hotel guy responded with “yeah….sorry about that.” As if this was not the first time he was hearing about this!
Craziest thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s hard to not believe in ghosts after staying here.
i work here now and just started a few months back , there is an employee bathroom but i don’t like using the employee bathroom because of sanitary reasons, so usually i will use the main lobby bathroom or the bathroom on the 17th floor. earlier today i went to use the bathroom on the 17th floor like i usually do (sometimes it’s locked so i don’t always have access to it but it was open today) i walk inside and go to a stall. ask i’m using the bathroom i heard someone in the other stall moving around so i assume it’s someone else using the bathroom. the toilet flushes but don’t hear any one walking out but i can still hear movement. a few minutes go by the toilet flushes again i don’t think anything of it until i hear a weird hissing sound like someone was doing it from their mouth. i jump up quickly and run out of the stall pulling my pants up and i come to see no one was in the bathroom with me every stall door was open. very scary and strange i will not be using that bathroom again.