Haunted Hotels

Maybe the haunting of Mobile, Alabama’s Kate Shepard House is just a rumor. The home was originally built in 1897 by railroad man Charles Shepard from plans by renowned architect George Barber. A few years later, in 1910, Charles’s daughters, Kate and Isabel, turned the house into a boarding school for the children of prominent community members. Perhaps one of them is the elderly woman who reportedly haunts the property.

Currently, the property houses a library of Civil War relics and memorabilia. Books from its days as a boarding school are still on display, and the rest of the picturesque scenery is sure to leave visitors feeling immersed in Alabama history. But what about those other feelings? Guests of the hotel have reported a strange presence all over the building.

While the evidence supporting hauntings at the Kate Shepard House is thinner than it is for other places around Alabama, some guests are quite certain that their experiences aren’t quite of this world. The elderly woman who wanders this bed-and-breakfast is its most famous spectral resident. She’s been seen in many of the guest rooms and public areas of the property, and any visitor who could snag a photo of her could surely put the debate about the Kate Shepard House’s haunted status to bed.

Tucked away in the Downtown Historic District of Mobile, Alabama, the Malaga Inn makes the short list of most haunted hotels in Alabama. Originally built as twin town houses by two brothers during the Civil War, the two buildings that make up the property have changed hands several times since. Today, the town houses are connected, and 39 rooms and suites overlook the central courtyard that once separated them. More than a century’s worth of history haunts guests, even despite renovations.

Tunnels still run under the two buildings, and they may have something to do with the hotel’s paranormal occurrences. The current owners believe the tunnels were used by Confederate soldiers to hide during the war, and their coming and going may be responsible for the mysterious movement of beds and other furniture around the hotel.

Additionally, guests report lamps becoming unplugged and unusual swaying of the chandelier that hangs in the lobby. Most notably, though, is the Lady in White.

Originally spotted walking the veranda of Room 007, the mysterious figure comes and goes with no apparent rhyme or reason. Her visage has been reported through the years by hotel staff and guests, and a sighting her is sure to be a highlight for ghost-seeking visitors.

Travel and Leisure named the Coombs House Inn one of the best bed and breakfast hotels in the country, but the magazine didn’t make mention of its haunted past. Built as a private home for James M. Coombs, the wealthy local man and his family moved into the house in 1905. Maria, his wife, loved the house but was heartbroken when a fire destroyed much of the property. The woman sadly passed away before ever getting to go back home again. Both staff and guests firmly believe that both Maria and James haunt their former home.

Later owners purchased the old home and did some renovation work as part of their goal of turning it into a bed and breakfast. They and others who worked on the project claim that the paranormal activity started almost as soon as the renovation work began. Construction workers often found their tools moved around the room and that drop cloths and other equipment was in new places when they came back to work the next day.

Both James and Maria occasionally make an appearance at the inn. Though they sometimes appear alone, most report seeing the two standing together near the front door or walking around the grounds together. As still in love as ever before, they usually appear holding hands, smiling and talking quietly with each other. Others witnessed doors opening and closing while no one else was there. It’s clear that the ghosts haunting Florida’s Coombs House Inn have a deep connection to their former home.

Ghostly voices, shadowy apparitions, and bright flashes are just a few of the features of Battle House Renaissance Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. Here are two of its most popular stories.

Mr. Henry Butler

A former Mardi Gras king, the story goes that Mr. Butler was caught “dillydallying” with Mrs. Raymond Dyson, his Mardi Gras queen. When her husband and his brother caught wind of the affair, they lured Mr. Butler to room 552 of the Battle House Renaissance Hotel and beat him. They left him in the room to call a lawyer — to prosecute him for the dillydallying — and then the front desk staff.

The front desk staff hurried to the room to assist the injured Mr. Butler, but by the time they got there he was dead, and his ghost has haunted the fifth floor of the hotel ever since.

The Forlorn Bride

None of the Crystal Ballroom’s many celebrations ended as tragically as this one. Shortly after a young woman’s wedding in 1910, her husband was called away on some undisclosed business. He promised to return, but loneliness got the better of her. She hung herself from the chandelier.

Hotel guests noticed years later that a gray figure appeared in the background of her wedding portrait, which hung in the Ballroom — her husband returned to find her.

While the hotel has been renovated since Mr. Butler’s murder and the tragic death of the forlorn bride, specters still haunt the hallways of the Battle House Hotel.

The main building that houses the Fort Conde Inn was built in 1836. Settlers built a fort there in 1711, and this historic area has been known to have hauntings throughout the entire city.

It doesn’t have specific ghost encounters that guests have reported, but workers have reported encounters. The guests report a sense that they feel like they are not alone. There have been disembodied voices reported when no one is around too.

The Fort Conde Inn features a two-floor main house where guests seem to have more experiences on the second floor, but the inn has cottages too. In the Antunez cottage, a housekeeper reported that she place a bucket of water outside the door to one of the suites. Her water began to roll down the stairs on its own very slowly. It stopped once then continued down the stairs again.

A worker in the Antunez reported that he walked into a room and came upon a confederate soldier in uniform staring out the window. The soldier turned slowly to stare at the worker. The worker ran from the building and said he wouldn’t come back to the property ever again.

More workers in the Antunez reported that they heard heavy footsteps walking up the stairs, but when they yelled out to ask who was there, no one responded. The steps faded. No one else was in the building.