In Canada:
Algonquin Resort – St. Andrews, New Brunswick
This medievally inspired hotel opened in 1889 and is said to be the home of several ghosts, the most prominent of which is a jilted bride. As the story goes, she checked into the Algonquin Resort in Room 473 on her wedding day, expecting to ready herself for the nuptials later that day in a nearby church. Sadly, however, the groom to be left her at the altar and she died shortly thereafter, presumably of a broken heart. They say her spirit returned to The Algonquin where she began grieving and continues to mourn to this day. Her ghost supposedly has been seen several times in Room 473 as well as aimlessly wandering the hotel grounds.
In addition to the bereaved bride, there are also stories of a bellhop that helps guests to their rooms and immediately disappears into thin air again, almost like he was never there. Also common are reports of doors opening and closing, doorknobs rattling, and items disappearing only to show up later in a completely different area of the hotel.
Chateau Laurier – Ottawa, Ontario
This castle-like hotel that sits alongside the Rideau Canal in Canada’s Capital City, was once owned by railway tycoon Charles Melville Hays. Named after Canada’s Prime Minister, Laurier, the hotel was set to undergo its grand opening on April 25 of 1912. Just 2 weeks prior to the opening, however, business associate J Bruce Ismay invited Hays to join him on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The ill-fated and now infamous journey met with tragedy on April 14, 1912, when the ship struck an iceberg and sank. Hays is said to have helped many women and children onto life rafts, but he himself vanished, presumably having gone down with the ship.
Since then, Chateau Laurier is said to have incurred ongoing paranormal activity that employees believe to be Hays continuing to oversee the hotel, which was his passion. Allegedly, his ghost has been seen walking down hallways and has been known to open and slam doors as well as break things, according to staff and guests. Folklore suggests he only breaks items that he is not particularly fond of and doesn’t want in the hotel.
This hotel has been the subject of numerous reports of a female haunting the property, supposedly a woman who learned of her husband’s death in a car accident and reacted to the tragic news by committing suicide in Room 202.
People have gone on record as seeing blood dripping from the walls and have spoken of sensations of someone climbing into bed with them. There also have been accounts of people waking up to see the ghost standing at the foot of their bed.
However, this woman allegedly is not the only ghost to haunt Fort Garry Hotel. As the story goes, there is a lesser-known entity that can be seen orbiting the lounge or crying in the corner of it.
In the US:
Biltmore Hotel – Coral Gables, Florida
Located in Southern Florida, the luxurious Biltmore Hotel became a hotspot for celebrities and dignitaries in the ’20s and ’30s. However, despite its reputation as a vacation hotspot in paradise, the building originally was a military hospital that saw much suffering and several deaths. And, after opening as a hotel, it incurred yet another death when gangster Thomas “Fatty” Walsh was murdered there. Both of these facts have long contributed to rumors of the property being haunted.
The long list of ghostly tales from the Biltmore includes people walking around the hotel but with their feet several inches from the floor as if floating. It also includes apparitions of army men, sounds of babies crying, party noises despite zero parties happening, and people being touched or tapped on the shoulder. Another story claims some Catholic girls were walking past the Biltmore one day on their way home from school when they allegedly saw a woman waving from the tower, whereas the front desk clerk tells stories of a man that came to the desk for help and then instantly vanished into thin air.
Then there is the theory of gangster Fatty Walsh haunting the 13th floor – the floor on which he was murdered. To that point, the hotel notes that their one and only elevator sometimes rises to the 13th floor all on its own, despite that it requires a key card to operate. Psychics have even been consulted about the property, most of whom agree that issues are arising from ghosts with unfinished business.
Dauphine Hotel – New Orleans, Louisiana
The Queen Mary – Long Beach
The Stanley Hotel – Estes Park
The most infamous on this list is Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. This is mainly because it was thrust into the limelight by horror author Stephen King, who stayed in Room 217 and based his novel, The Shining, on the hotel. Even if you’ve never read the novel, chances are you know about the movie adaptation starring Jack Nicholson.
The hotel (which is also featured in the lead photo) was built in 1909 and began reporting and investigating paranormal activity around the mid-70s. Some people believe the ghosts are former owners F.O. Stanley and his wife Flora, whose apparitions have been seen in the Billiards Room and have been said to play the piano on occasion.
These days, the hotel plays up its reputation by offering nightly ghost tours and allowing select TVs to play The Shining on an infinite loop. They’ve even gone so far as to create a tree maze on the property to honor the film. The hotel is open for business and guests can request to stay in one of several rooms reported to be haunted.