Haunted travel: Hotels only for the brave?
Looking for a little adventure when during your holidays? Getting jaded over the boring hotels you’ll be confined to when you go on your annual vacation? Well, here’s a suggestion for you: Why not take a tour or stay at one of these 5 haunted hotels featured below? One word of caution: it’s not for the faint of heart and you should also be prepared to bring your own ouija board ghost hunting equipment!
1. Castle Leslie, Ireland
This ornate castle was build more than 3 centuries ago and belonged to the Leslie family ever since. Perfect for celebrities and those who are rich and famous, this 5-star retreat offers ideal solitude with the absence of the Internet, telephones and televisions. And if you have a craving for the supernatural, do ask to stay in the Norman Room, so called based on the name of the ghostly apparition that manifests from time to time. Don’t worry, he’s harmless, only known to haunt that particular room and appear to guests as a smiling entity.
2. Crescent Hotel, Arkansas, Unites States
The hotel itself was established in the year 1886 but due to financial problems, it was abandoned in the 1940’s. Several decades later, the new owners of the Crescent Hotel re-opened the grand Victorian structure in the year 1972. From then on, ghostly hauntings were so common that even the infamous Ghost Hunters team from the titular TV show deemed it fit to visit the hotel and conduct their investigations. During the course of their one night stay there, they captured a dark figure roaming the grounds with their infra red camera. So know you know the hotel has been given a seal of approval – for possibly America’s most haunted lodging establishment.
3. Hotel de Coronado, San Diego, United States
The Hotel de Coronado in San Diego bears two similarities to the Crescent Hotel featured above: it was also built in the 19th century and featured Victorian designs on its exterior facade. In the recent years, this hotel is well known amongst both locals and tourists as a premier Victorian beach resort AND a haunting hot spot after the spirit of one Kate Morgan was reported to roam the hotel grounds and especially room 302 in the year 1892. Why room 302, you ask? That’s because it was the room that she was supposed to meet and make up with her estranged spouse, Tom. Tom never did appear and her dead body appeared on the main hotel steps six days later, with a bullet wound on her head. As much as the locals would draw their own conclusions, the mystery was never solved…
4. The Langham Hotel, London
This hotel was established in the year 1865 and was deemed the first luxurious hotel in the London. The British Broadcasting Corporation were once owners of this opulent hotel in its heyday and although the hotel since retained its regality, it is now a famous site for ghost hunters and those who seek a paranormal thrill during their stay in London. It was said that Room 333 houses the most spiritual activity where a spirit dressed to the nines in Edwardian costume was said to have appeared out of thin air. Assorted ghosts such as a German soldier and the spirit of Napolean III has been seen in the compound.
5. Hollywood Roosevelt, California
This hotel is a historical landmark in the city of California, United States. Named after President Teddy Roosevelt, the hotel was built in the year 1927 and was situated most strategically across the street from the Chinese Theater, ensuring that the Hotel Roosevelt was never short of celebrities in its guest roster, especially the ghostly apparition of Marilyn Monroe who continued to haunt her favorite suite 1200 even after her death.