Overview
The Haunted American Club Hotel
Don’t let the glamorous exterior of The American Club Hotel fool you. It may be a member of The Historic Hotels of America but it’s also a member of The Most Haunted Hotels in Wisconsin. The grand establishment was built in 1918 to house immigrant laborers who came to the states to work for the Kohler Company. As the workers started buying houses and building families within the community, the estate began to fall into despair from lack of care and use. Decades later in 1981, the lavish American Club Hotel opened after heavy renovations. While the renovations may have changed the appearance of the once-decaying building, the spirits within have decided they are there to stay.
The most haunted part of the hotel, which also happens to be the oldest, is said to be the East wing. One famous paranormal event happened one evening when a guest was walking down the hallway and noticed a man dressed in a dirty and torn flannel shirt, smoking a cigar, and standing close to the wall. This attire would be considered strange given the prestigious hotel environment. As the guest walked by, they greeted the man but got no reply. This does not seem like an outlandish interaction but security footage from that floor revealed that the guest greeted a blank wall instead of a human being. As they were returning to their room, the guest saw the same poorly dressed man who appeared to have not moved from his original spot in the hallway. The guest hurried past, saying nothing. Turning to look over their shoulder, the guest was taken aback to be greeted by an empty hallway.
Most Haunted Rooms of the American Club Hotel
Rooms 209 and 315 are supposedly the two most ghost-infected rooms in the hotel. The spirit of a young woman in a blue hat can be seen standing forlornly next to the fireplace in room 209, or as it is also referred to, the Washington Room. After receiving the news of her husband’s untimely death in an industrial accident, she hanged herself out of grief. The death of another woman took place in room 315 but instead of her spirit haunting the floor, a man can be seen stalking the hallway and outside the room. As he strides down the hallway, lights blink on of their own accord.
A number of guest and staff members have reported feeling intensely frigid pockets of air and hushed conversations in a number of different languages. The American Club Hotel has not publicly claimed to be haunted, but they do have a grandiose reputation to keep.
Hi I was invited to tour the factory, I am from Canada so I knew nothing about the American club Hotel. I spent the night in the west wing in room 272. I was awakened at 5 am by sounds in my room. Very clear and loud noises. I went and turn the lights on in the bathroom to light the area a bit and went back to bed. A couple minutes later I heard the chair by my desk slide out. I grabbed my phone and started video taping the area because I was totally freaked out. Nothing else happened but I asked the tour guides if this place is haunted and they say no. I was still bothered by it so when I got home to Canada l googled if the place is haunted and was surprised to see all the stories..so I guess this is another one you can add to the rest..so freaky
My name is John. I’m staying in room 208. I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
I just started working at the American Club a few weeks ago in turn-down service. I haven’t seen anything myself, but every coworker I ask has confirmed that disappearing figures and general odd occurrences happen around 209 and in the 316-325 hallway.
As a former staff member I can confirm that 316-235 freaks nearly every staff member out. 330-340 (3rd floor, center of hotel) also is very odd. If you are a guest, I would highly suggest asking to be on 1st floor, west portion of the building. It is the most normal feeling part of the hotel.
I used to work there in housekeeping and i can confirm that theres some weird stuff happening. I always dreaded working the 300 rooms. I used to hear people walking the hallways outside the rooms but when i looked there was never anyone there. I have two stories of incidents i cant explain no matter how hard i try. Once I had a glass fall off my cart in the hallway while i was cleaning a bathroom but there wasnt anyone else around. Another time i went into a room and started cleaning it and when i went to leave the room there was a gift bag on the counter that wasnt there when i entered (i wiped the counter off so i know nothing was on it) my cart was directly in front of the door with dozens of drinking glasses on it so its not like someone could have gotten in without me hearing them move my cart. Glad i got out of there. Made for some scary nights as a 16 year old girl
Please tell me more about your experience as I too worked there from May 2021- November 2021 and also have some crazy experiences. I wonder if we ever worked together?
(in response to the last few reviews) as a current worker (7/29/2022) that started in july 2021, i can counter than no one is afraid of cheri’s section (316-325). it is peaceful and easy to clean. third center is also super quiet and fantastic to claim as a housekeeper. wish i could claim either of those as section for myself as they are perfect for a housekeeper that can work quickly and not be deterred by not receiving help from others.
I worked at the American Club in 2013-2017 in In-Room Dining, mainly third shift. My experiences included seeing a white mass zoom by the 1st floor gold elevators as I was leaving first floor center – about 1 or 2am. Second experience happened as I was wrapping up at 2am and forgot to clear the Winnebago Room. As I loaded a tray of glasses, I heard a voice in my ear say “Thank you kindly.” I reached for where my radio would be but remembered I had taken it off for the night — I ran out of there *so* fast. Another experience involved two other IRD gals and I, we walked past the Washington Room as the clock chimed. I checked my watch and it was not time for the clock to chime. Maybe a malfunction, but it certainly made us jump and it being so close to room 209.
I was working on the underground parking garage for that hotel, for a corporate company many moons ago, late February 2018 I believe the date was. I was doing night shift another fella and myself. I had my ear buds in shoveling wet concrete and gravel. Around 1:30 am I happened to look up and seen a mid 40s looking man that looked to me like a lumberjack, with a torn and dirty blue flannel, a cigar and a beard. I didn’t think nothing of it until I looked back up and realized what just happened, but to my suprise he was gone. thinking it was a homeless fella in need of shelter since it was late february I got in contact with my co-worker and went up to our vehicles to talk about the incident. As we were standing there we both looked at each other and decided to see if it had any paranormal activity due to the way it looked & the age of the the overall property, we stumbled across this website & as soon as I read the part about the flannel man I jumped in my vehicle and parted ways with that company & that job . To this day I still get goose bumps talking about it. Most people get a kick out of the wild story, but to the few that have witnessed it as well, we know what we saw. It was honestly a spectacular experience, knowing he wasn’t there to hurt us but to watch over us. Who knows maybe he passed away doing the same line of work?