Most Haunted Places in America

Is the St. James Hotel in Alabama Haunted?

One of the most haunted places in Alabama, the St. James Hotel in Selma was abandoned for 100 years before its reopening in 1997. Apparitions walk its halls and ghost dogs can be heard barking around the premises.

In the 19th century, it was a high-society hotel known as the Brantly, and during the Civil War, it housed Union troops. One of the few buildings to survive the burning of the town by Union forces, it was then taken over by the town’s first African American mayor and later the first African American to be elected to Congress, Benjamin Sterling Turner. During that time, the famous outlaw and gunslinger Jesse James and his brother Frank were among the hotel guests.

The Ghost of Jesse James

Jesse James was hosted by the Saint James Hotel in 1881 before the hotel came on hard times in 1892 and closed for 100 years. Jesse James’ ghost has been spotted in several hotel rooms and corridors along with his girlfriend Lucinda. He is often seen on the second and third floor as well as at a table in the bar. Sometimes, the smell of Lucinda’s favorite scent, lavender, accompanies her appearance. Sometimes visitors do not spot her but the scent of lavender is inexplicably in the air. Guests have also reported ghost sightings of other spirits in 19th-century clothing. They appear to be enacting a long-ago party scene in the courtyard.

Paranormal researchers have visited the hotel and reported the presence of supernatural entities. The spirits at the hotel are peaceful and guests are in for a treat if they catch glimpses of the hotel’s history.

Most Haunted Rooms & Places of the St. James Hotel

• Rooms 214, 314, and 315 are where the ghost of Jesse James is most often reported. These were the rooms he frequented.
• The Hallways and throughout the hotel you may catch a glimpse of Lucinda. If you smell lavender, then you’re in luck.
• The courtyard is where many events have been reported, such as visions of ghosts in 1800s garb and a ghost dog that may have been owned by James’ barking all through the night.

Backstory of the Haunted St. James Hotel

@frightfind The St. James hotel in Selma, Alabama. It’s chilling tales & eerie backstory #fyp #frightfind #alabama #scary #spooky ♬ original sound – FrightFind

The RMS Queen Mary has been reported haunted ever since it was permanently docked in Long Beach, California on December 9th of 1968. The famously haunted ship sailed the Atlantic Ocean from the mid-30s to late-60s and has many reasons to be haunted.

During war time, the vessel had many servicemen and POWs who died during transport while during its time as a passenger ship, 49 crew and passengers are known to have passed on.

Shortly after the Queen Mary’s docking in Long Beach, the rumors of hauntings began. She would be listed in the top 10 most haunted places in America by Time in 2008.

The ghost ship was opened as a hotel in 1971, where guests have reported many paranormal happenings. From lights going on and off by themselves, water turning on and off, guests are awakened to heavy knocking on their doors in the middle of the night yet find no one in sight. Laughter is attributed to the ghosts of young children who died in the ship’s pool and a “lady in white” is famous for walking the halls of B deck.

There are many rooms reported to be haunted. Cabin B340 is said to be the “most haunted” room on the ship where the ghost of a passenger who died in this room is said to have permanently extended his stay. That ghost is said to be of Walter J Adamson, a 3rd class passenger, and his cause of death was listed as unknown. There are various reports that suggest foul play may have been involved in Walter’s death.

Suggested Haunted Rooms

• Cabin B340 is a must stop, although you cannot stay in this room. This is where a man was found dead is said to visit.
• Many of the Main deck, A, and B deck rooms have many mysterious happenings from items moving by themselves, guests awakening to the sense of being levitated, laughter, and many more.

We suggest booking ahead to get a room in one of these areas.

If staying in this haunted ship’s hotel isn’t enough, during Halloween, the Queen Mary hosts the Dark Harbor Haunted Attraction. It may be hard to determine what is and isn’t part of the attraction.

Often called the most haunted place in Vermont, the Green Mountain Inn has a history and a ghost that just won’t give up the dance. might not look haunted from the outside but leaves plenty of guests wondering what they just experienced during a stay.

History of the Haunted Green Mountain Inn

Built in 1883, the Green Mountain Inn once boasted a large dance hall that attracted visitors from all across the region and was a popular place for presidents and famous actors to visit while in Stowe. Owners renovated the old hotel in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which is right around the time that guests and staff began experiencing some peculiar things at the hotel.

The most common story told surrounds a man by the odd name of Boots Berry. Local legend claims that he earned the nickname Boots because he learned how to tap dance from a fellow prisoner while in jail and would delight locals by dancing through the streets. Supposedly born in one of the rooms at the inn, Berry later became the man in charge of the inn’s horses. When the horses escaped the property and raced through the streets, Berry was the one who chased after them and brought them back. People in town were so grateful for what he did that men and women alike lined up in the hopes of buying him a drink. Berry grew so famous that he eventually stopped working and lived solely on what his fans gave him.

Boots Berry also developed something of a drinking problem, which led to the owners firing him. Though not distraught, Berry did leave town and only came back several years later. Not long after moving back, he heard a young girl screaming and discovered her about to fall off the roof of the hotel. Berry raced upstairs and managed to pull her back to safety, only to die himself when he slipped off the roof.

Many people believe that Boots is the Inn’s resident ghost because of the noises they hear, which sounds just like someone tap dancing across the roof. Guests staying on the top floor of the Green Mountain Inn occasionally hear the sounds of someone dancing and footsteps jumping back and forth across the roof.

Boots Berry and his haunting of the Green Mountain Inn is unique because he doesn’t make appearances like other ghosts do. Rather than jumping out from behind closed doors and knocking on walls, he just likes to cut a rug on the roof of the old inn. Even decades after his death, he still loves to show off his dancing skills.

The Sorrento Hotel in Seattle, WA has been accepting guests since 1909. In the early days of the hotel’s existence, there weren’t any signs of apparitions or appearances. That changed when Alice B. Toklas died. She’s been seen haunting the halls of the Sorrento. Her family lived in the First Hill neighborhood in the late 1890s, which is where the Sorrento now stands. It’s thought that’s why she haunts the location.

Numerous people have seen a ghostly figure walking the halls in a flowing white gown. She’s especially visible on the fourth floor around room 408. Locals around the hotel have seen a strange looking woman with a parasol wandering around outside the hotel at night.

Some guests have seen glasses move in the bar area. One woman reported that she was sitting in the bar when she felt someone poke her gently in the back. Her husband was several feet away and no one else was near her.

Other guests have heard stomping footsteps in the hallway at all hours of the night. One guest reported that he would fall asleep only to wake up to screaming and yelling from the hallway. There have been cold spots in some of the rooms, phones not working and moving objects in some of the rooms.

The Shining Hotel – AKA The Stanley Hotel

It takes a lot to scare legendary horror author Stephen King, but years ago his visit to the Stanley Hotel rattled his nerves enough to wake him in the middle of the night.  That’s when he began to conceive his masterpiece, The Shining. King’s experience at Colorado’s landmark Stanley Hotel served as the inspiration for the book which has many people dubbing it The Shining Hotel.

History of The Stanley Hotel

Built at the turn of the 20th century, the hotel was the brainchild of Freelan Oscar Stanley. After receiving a diagnosis of tuberculosis, Stanley’s doctor recommended that he travel west and get away from the city. He and his wife enjoyed Estes Park so much that he decided to build a hotel and hoped it would attract similar tuberculosis patients and those suffering from other medical conditions. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Stanley Hotel is easily one of the most haunted places in the country and maybe the world.

There are so many ghosts haunting the hotel that it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. Former owner Stanley and his wife occasionally make appearances on the main staircase, but others spotted them in the billiard room and lobby. They typically appear dressed in old-fashioned clothing dating back to the 1910s or 1920s. Others spotted the dapper man in the main offices.

Hauntings of the Stanley Hotel

Several rooms in the hotel are haunted as well. An older man, who many believe is the original owner of the land where the hotel sits, haunts room 407. Guests report smelling the scent of his pipe in the room, and visitors sometimes see his face staring back at them from the window. The ghost of Elizabeth Wilson haunts room 207. The young housekeeper died when a spark ignited a pocket of gas. Guests report seeing doors and windows open and close and seeing lights flickering.

Stanley Hotel Room 217

Other guests found themselves complaining about children running loose when there were no kids staying at the hotel. King himself heard kids laughing and playing in the hallway outside his room, but when he called the front desk, he discovered he and his wife were the only guests staying on that floor. Guests will sometimes hear tricycles racing through the halls, balls bouncing against their doors or the walls of the hallway and kids laughing and running. Those sounds led to more than one guest checking out in the middle of the night. While there are other haunted hotels in the U.S., few can beat the ghosts of the Stanley.

Haunted Rooms of the Stanley Hotel

• Room 401 is said to be the most haunted room in the house.
• Stephen King stayed in room 217, which is the focus haunted room in The Shining novel.
• Stanley Kubrick’s Shining infamously changed the haunted room in the movie to room 237.
• Room 407 is haunted by an older man smoking a pipe.
• Room 207 is haunted by the ghost of Elizabeth Wilson.

Story of the Stanley Hotel &amp: Stephen King

@frightfind Quick history of the Stanley Hotel! #fyp #frightfind #scary #spooky ♬ original sound – FrightFind

Is Salem’s Hawthorne Hotel haunted?

The Hawthorne Hotel is ranked as one of the most haunted hotels in America. Guests have frequently reported moving furniture, sightings of a ghostly woman, unexplained noises and crying and more. The show Bewitched even filmed an episode in one of the elevators during the 70s and in 1990 the hotel held a seance in the Grand Ballroom to try and contact Harry Houdini.

The Hawthorne Hotel was established in 1925 in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts. Frank Poor was the founder who created what he would call a “modern hotel for the business traveler” in the roaring 20s. Presidents and dignitaries have visited the hotel over the years and it holds a spot on the Historic Hotels of America national trust.

What rooms of the Hawthorne Hotel are haunted?

Room 325 is easily the most haunted room in the hotel and one of the most requested too. Many believe the room is home to the ghost of a baby or a toddler because they wake to hear the sounds of a child crying in the wee hours of the morning. Though some might scoff or find a reasonable explanation for the crying, most cannot explain why so many children who stayed in the room told their parents about hearing a baby’s cries waking them in the middle of the night. Guests also found that the faucet in the bathroom turned itself on and off, and other guests woke to the feeling of something abruptly pulling their sheets and blankets off the bed.

Guests and workers feel leery about room 612 at the hotel as well. A young woman staying at the hotel saw another woman in a long white dress wandering down the sixth-floor hallway with a disturbed look on her face before stopping at the door to room 612. After pausing to unlock her own door, she turned to offer the woman help and found the woman gone. Other guests have reported the same woman standing outside the door to 612. Multiple workers refused to clean the inside of the room because of the uncomfortable feeling they get while working in the spooky room.

Guests staying in room 612 often get the feeling of someone touching them. They feel an icy cold hand touch their shoulders or arms, and some guests even felt the spirit lightly tug on their hair or clothing.

Ghosts abound on the lower floors too. Workers sometimes find that someone or something moves the furniture around the lobby and other parts of the first floor. One worker, who was responsible for rearranging furniture in a first-floor room to make space for a group meeting, came back minutes later to find all the furniture back in the original places in the room.

Visitors often refer to Salem, Massachusetts as one of the most haunted places in the world, which might explain some of the ghosts walking the Hawthorne Hotel.

Haunted Rooms of the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA

• Room 325 is the most haunted room in the hotel
• Room 612 and the 6th floor have reports of a ghostly woman walking the halls
• The lobby and the 1st floor have things moved without explanation

The Haunted Admiral Fell Inn

Baltimore doesn’t have the best reputation today, but the city once had an even worse reputation. Its proximity to the water lead to seamen and sailors arriving in the city and looking for a place to unwind. The Admiral Fell Inn now consists of several buildings once used by those sailors for gambling, finding women of the night and partaking in other illegal activities. Trip Advisor added the hotel to its list of the top 10 haunted hotels in the nation.

One of the more common stories told about the hotel only dates back to 2003. When the National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for Baltimore, the owners decided to evacuate the hotel. A few workers remained behind to board the windows and take care of the hotel. A poor exhausted manager sat down to take a short break and felt the floor vibrating beneath him. He then heard loud music blaring from the second floor, footsteps bouncing and moving across the floor and people laughing and singing. When a second worker stopped in, he confirmed that he too heard the noises. It sounded like a large party happening right above them. As quickly as it started, the music and noises stopped.

Some of the noises heard in the hotel might date back to the days when the buildings were more boarding houses than hotels. The rough and tumble sailors staying in the hotel often enjoyed parties filled with alcohol, prostitutes and gambling. Those nefarious men definitely explain why so many guests reported seeing men in dirty white clothing wandering around the hotel buildings.

According to former guests, room 413 is the most haunted room in the hotel. A former guest checked in one night and didn’t come down for several days. By the time the front desk sent workers to the room, the man was long dead. Some claim it was natural causes, but others claim he was a victim of the mobsters littering Baltimore at the time. Housekeepers and maintenance workers feel so uncomfortable in the room that some refuse to even go inside. They feel an eerie cold chill sweep over them, see shadows moving from the corners of their eyes and feel a ghostly presence in the room. Though room 413 might be your best chance to see a ghost, you might experience other strange things at the Admiral Fell Inn.

Haunted Rooms of the Admiral Fell Inn

• Room 413 is said the be the most actively haunted room in the Admiral Fell Inn. A former guest was found dead in this room, said to have been the victim of mobsters.

Professional athletes sometimes have encounters with the paranormal. Several NBA players have reported strange happenings when they stay here.

The owner and his family lived in the hotel, and his bad behavior may be responsible for the ghosts that haunt the halls. A maid named Effie is reported to have jumped to her death after having a child by William Skirvin and being locked up in the hotel.

People have heard a child crying when there wasn’t one on the floor. It seems that Effie and her baby may still be at the hotel.

Is the The Heathman Hotel haunted?

Some reports of hauntings from hotels are of a fairly benign nature with guests reporting strange noises or apparitions spotted in hallways, but the spirit or spirits in Portland, Oregon’s Heathman Hotel, one of the most haunted hotels in the United States, seem to take a somewhat more sinister approach to alerting people to their presence. Not content to simply make an appearance now and again, these ghosts climb into bed with guests, swaddle them in bedclothes and stare at them menacingly from shadowy corners.

Haunted Rooms End in “03”

A column of rooms ending in the number “03” are said to be particularly haunted with the most activity reported in rooms 703, 803 and 1003. One story says that a guest once jumped or fell from a window in this row of rooms although this is unconfirmed. At least one psychic has also reported that the spirits are friendly, but that may offer little comfort to the guest who wakes thinking that an intruder has entered their hotel room in the night.

Guests often report the sensation that someone has climbed into bed next to them. One person woke to find someone standing at the foot of the bed while another says a man ran from his closet, but security could later find no sign that anyone had been in the room. Meanwhile, odd shadows lurk on video taken in the hotel, and guests say that on returning to rooms, they sometimes find items such as water glasses and towels moved around. When key cards are checked, there is no recorded activity from staff or anyone else in those rooms.

It’s not just the guests who report encounters with restless spirits. Housekeeping staff say they have had trouble entering the rooms on occasion. Room 703 seems to be the main hotspot for spectral activity, and in the 1990s a psychic confirmed this. It is also believed to be the room from which someone jumped and is frequently requested by ghost-hunting guests.

However, hauntings have been reported in other places as well. A guest in room 510 saw the apparition of a woman sobbing in a chair, and the person who jumped would have landed in the space that is now the hotel library prior to its construction. Ghost enthusiasts are likely to be rewarded with a stay in the Heathman, but they might want to bring a companion and take turns falling asleep at night.

Heathman Hotel’s Haunted Rooms

• Rooms ending in the number “03” are said to be particularly haunted with the most activity reported in rooms 703, 803 and 1003.
• Room 703 has had the most reportings of haunted activity.
• Room 510 was reported to have the ghost of a woman crying in a chair.
• The Hotel Library has seen activity.

Is the Yankee Pedlar Inn haunted?

The Yankee Pedlar was built in 1891 in downtown Torrington, Connecticut. The original owner of the inn, Alice, is rumored to have died in the Yankee Pedlar in 1910, which may have marked the day that paranormal activity began. She’s said to have died in room 353, which has various reports of apparitions as well as strange smells. The Pedlar’s success is said to have come from Alice’s astute management of the hotel as well as her outstanding cooking. She may have stuck around for that reason.

Alice’s ghost has been seen in various parts of this haunted inn making sure guests have a pleasant stay. In the lobby, Alice’s rocking chair often moves on its own. Room 295 has had strange reports too. Guests have seen spirits as well as felt a presence climb into bed with them. Room lights flicker off and on by themselves. One guest reported a strange dream. That guest’s companion had the same exact dream.

Where The Innkeeperswas filmed

The Yankee Pedlar Inn is the hotel where the movie The Innkeepers was filmed on location. The Yankee Pedlar’s haunted history makes its way into the film and helps set a stage for a spooky time. We suggest watching the movie before you stay.

Haunted Rooms of the Yankee Pedlar Inn

• Room 353 – Where the founder, Alice Conley, died.
• Room 295 – Many reports of items moving, noises in the night, and an uneasy feeling make this room quite spooky.

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.

The Historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wy

If the lore of the Old West appeals to you, then you’ll want to stop by this one-time combination hotel, saloon, and bordello dating to the 1880s. Guests and employees have reported seeing the ghostly presence of the daughter of a prostitute who met her maker on the hotel’s upper floor.

The ghostly dark-haired woman, described as wearing a white dress, is known for her interactions with guests, sometimes offering shoulder taps. Ghosts of outlaws and gold miners who once frequented the hotel may be partly responsible for strange lights seen from the unoccupied upper floor rooms. Many visitors have reported faint echoes of ghostly laughter from the unoccupied floor.

Hotel workers recount paranormal stories. Objects moving with no”body” there. Some employees were even frightened enough to find new jobs. The piano has been reported to occasionally make a little noise on its own. The Historic Occidental Hotel is a beautiful location with a rich history, ornate decor, and a great atmosphere. The paranormal activity and ghostly history make the stay even more interesting.

The Ghost of Emily

Other stories suggest the ghost of a child named Emily who haunts the hotel. She reportedly died of cholera in the 1900s. In the room Emily died, stuffed animals are left for the young spirit as an homage to the child and to lift her “spirits.” Guests have reported light shoulder taps and pinches from time to time. Children even write the ghost of Emily letters and notes sometimes the notes suggest that they kids had played together. Children reportedly have heard balls bouncing and even playing hide and seek with the ghost.

Haunted Rooms and Reported Activity in the Historic Occidental Hotel

• The Herbert Hoover Room – The faint smell of perfume has been reported in the Herbert Hoover room, yet nobody in the room was wearing any scents.
• The Haunted Saloon and Bar – Many odd reports in the saloon can make an evening of libation more interesting indeed. Read below.
• The Prairie Cowboy Room –The Prairie Cowboy Room is said to have the most paranormal reports. This room has reported visible entities whooshing by in the late night hours.
• Room 56 – There have been reports of a heavy iron moving across the floor.
• Haunted Piano – The piano keys have reportedly played a few chords from time to time. Perhaps you might request an old tune?

Haunted Saloon in the Historic Occidental

The bartenders have reported whiskey bottles flying off the shelves or wine bottle corks popping off randomly. Glasses occasionally break while someone is trying to pour into them. On Fridays there is a bluegrass musician session that is said to rile up the activity in the hotel at times.

The Haunted National House Inn

The National House was a stage stop for travelers going to Detroit or Chicago and was built in 1835. Before the Civil War, the inn served a different purpose. A hidden room constructed in the cellar made the inn part of the Underground Railroad. The secret room was found years later and during Prohibition hid illegal liquor shipments.

Spirits attach themselves to people, places or objects. When the inn was renovated and antiques placed in the rooms, paranormal occurrences started. Most of the ghostly visitations revolve around the “Lady in Red” who wanders around the inn, apparently going about her routine as she did when she was alive. Ask hotel operators nicely and they’ll tell you about the room that The Lady in Red insists the door be closed at all times.

Who was The Lady in Red?

Many theories of the identity of ghost dubbed The Lady in Red have been tossed around. The most popular are:

• A resident when the building was converted into apartments
• A woman traveling on the railroad who met a violent death
• Someone involved with the mob during Prohibition

Haunted Rooms of the National House Inn

• Hotel operators say the most haunt activity takes place in the “Charles Dickey Room.” Guests report that pictures have been knocked off the wall, guests have nightmares, and they sometimes smell cigar smoke when no person near has been smoking.

The area of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is synonymous with President Abraham Lincoln’s speech given there during the time of the Civil War. It was a speech where President Lincoln assured that new freedoms were to be won and the United States would never be destroyed as a whole. Months prior, Gettysburg was the site of over fifty-one thousand casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg. One hundred and fifty-six years later, visitors to the Gettysburg Hotel are finding it is busy with supernatural activity.

Is the Gettysburg Hotel Haunted?

The Gettysburg Hotel was originally constructed in 1797 in the form of a tavern named Scott’s Tavern. After a few years, it was purchased by a retired local sheriff who continued in the tavern tradition while slowly adding on rooms to accommodate weary travelers to the area. In 1863, the year of both the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg address, there is a local legend that the spare rooms on the site of the tavern were makeshift medical rooms to help with the battle site overflow of wounded and dying victims. Sometime during the 1890s, the tavern was purchased by a new owner who formally began construction and remodeling on the tavern’s site. In 1893, the Gettysburg Hotel officially opened for business.

Over the next few decades, more and more amenities were added such as electricity, hot running water, and a fine dining restaurant. The visitors to Gettysburg were quite eager to stay at what was the finest hotel in the formerly battle-worn area.

The Nurse Who Haunts The Gettysburg Hotel

Into the twentieth century is when the first paranormal ghost sightings began to occur. The most popular of these sightings are of a Civil War-era nurse named Rachel. Clad in period piece nurse’s clothing from the Civil War, Rachel has been seen walking throughout the halls, as most reports do not have her floating. In fact, her ghost has been sighted on the outside sidewalks as well, fully walking before disappearing entirely. The origin of her name is a complete mystery as is her purpose there. She can be seen appearing in guest rooms, opening up their dresser drawers, rearranging items, opening, and closing closets, and turning the lights on and off.

The prevailing paranormal enthusiast theory to this is she is somehow must have died nearby during the Battle of Gettysburg. With the Gettysburg Hotel being a former tavern that served as an impromptu medical location during the Civil War, this makes the theory of her ghostly existent that much more valid. Her behavior in the rooms is very nurse-like, as she opens, closes and inspects things, keeping everything very orderly. She has not been known to be malicious or violent in any capacity. Just recognized by guests and the staff as a spirit who still sees herself eternally attending to the injured Civil War soldiers and the recently deceased ones.

Civil War Spirits

Aside from Rachel, another Civil War-era spirit has been seen roaming the many halls of the Gettysburg Hotel. His name was James Culbertson of Company K from the Pennsylvania Reserves and he was a much-respected soldier for the ultimately successful Union forces. Legend has it that Culbertson was brought to the makeshift medical tavern during the Battle of Gettysburg. Despite his many attempts to want to return to the battlefield, he succumbed to his penetrating gunshot wound hours later.

Guests have reported over the years about seeing a pale and faint looking spirit of a man dressed in Civil War Union forces attire, suffering from what appears to be a bloody hole in his torso. In very rare instances, Culbertson’s spirit has been known to speak and remark about wanting to join the battle and keep fighting. Lingering cold spots are also known to accompany him any time that he appears.

The hotel contains a small ballroom area, and a younger woman in Civil War period dress has been known to appear and swiftly moves around from side to side as if dancing to music unheard. At times in the ballroom, the ghostly apparitions of Civil War soldiers have been seen at times near her dancing spirit, possibly serving as ghostly protection. A former employee of the hotel claimed that while in the basement late one evening, he heard a set of footsteps behind him. He looked back in time to see a simple dining cart that was used for hauling dinnerware glasses, begin rolling on the flat surface. It traveled an estimated twelve feet before turning completely around and coming to a total stop.

These days, the Gettysburg Hotel is one of the most visited hotels in the area considering it sits across from the Gettysburg National Military Park. The hotel has once again undergone renovations, granting it a popular four-star review online with many guests praising the modern amenities. While being so close to all the historical significance, the Gettysburg Hotel is truly one of a kind in regards to actual spirits from the Civil War still making their silent presence known.

The Lemp family who built the mansion experienced a lot of tragedy and drama in spite of their wealth. William Lemp shot himself in the house. William’s son was born with Down’s Syndrome and was hidden away in a secluded room. William’s wife Lillian was a wealthy socialite married for her money. The presence of Lillian, known as the Lavender Lady, is still felt in the mansion.

When renovations started, unhappy entities made their presence known. Manifestations occur in William and Lillian’s suites and the basement tunnel that led to a cave for William’s parties. Misty apparitions and shadow figures appear in the basement near the sealed tunnel entrance.

• A scent of lavender is in Lillian’s suite
• Locked doors open by themselves
• Glasses in the bar break for no reason

Investigators have determined that six members of the family and a dog are still haunting Lemp Mansion.