Spooky U.S. hotels with dark histories draw travelers seeking unique stays

All over the United States, travelers are checking in Scary hotels Which held prisoners, soldiers, and even cult members.

As travelers crave experiences more than ordinary stays, hotels that have gone from bleak to charming are now embracing their strange and sometimes haunted histories, even hosting weddings and spas.

Paranormal tours and redesigned spaces built on ancient bones will attract everyone from ghost hunters to history buffs, New York Times I mentioned recently. Whether it’s “America’s Most Haunted Hotel” or a motel-turned-prison in Boston, these sites offer a peek into the dark corners of American history.

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The Algonquin Hotel is said to have been haunted for decades. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

1. Algonquin Hotel – New York

The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan’s Times Square was once the meeting place of the famous Round Table—a daily gathering of sharp-tongued writers, critics, and actors whose wit helped define New York City. Jazz era.

Today, guests say the laughter hasn’t completely faded, with reports of footsteps, flashing lights and ghostly chatter echoing through the halls. In 2015, a reporter spent a night in Algonquin with ghost-hunting paraphernalia, and claimed that eight spirits—possibly including Dorothy Parker—answered her call. Standard room rates can start at around $177.

2. McMenamins Edgefield – Oregon

Today, McMenamins Edgefield, located about 15 miles outside Portland, includes a winery, brewery, distillery, spa and golf course. But when it opened in 1917, it served as one of the country’s first detention centers for women accused of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases amid a wartime health scare, according to History.com.

Black Rabbit House is a small bar and restaurant on the McMenamins Edgefield property. (Mark Keefer/Alamy)

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After its closure in 1923, the site became a government-run ‘poor farm’, later housing a military academy, medical staff and elderly residents before falling into disrepair. The McMenamins revived the property in 1990 with a ceremonial “purge of pipes and drums,” and private rooms now range from $130 to $300.

3. The Crescent Hotel & Spa – Arkansas

Widely known as “America’s Most Haunted Hotel,” guests and staff have reported encounters with spirits from its past, including a builder who died during construction and patients from the 1930s, when conman Norman Baker turned it into a fraudulent cancer hospital, examining cancer patients in the hotel’s basement and draining families of their life savings, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“The Most Haunted Hotel in America” is located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. (1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa)

Today, the mountaintop hotel overlooking Eureka Springs offers ghost tours through its Victorian halls and former morgue, with the price per room ranging from about $150 to $600.

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4. Pfister Hotel – Wisconsin

Built in 1893, the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee has long been associated with dim lights, strange noises and shadowy figures said to haunt its ornate halls. Some locals believe founder Charles Pfister still roams the property, according to reports, and even celebrities like rapper Megan Thee Stallion have gone ghost hunting there. Visiting Major League Baseball players in town for a Brewers game often share strange stories, and Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts said he was too scared to stay there. ESPN reported.

Room rates start at $149 and go up to $899.

The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is known for its elegant design and ghostly reputation. (Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archive)

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5. The Richardson – New York

the Upstate hotel It occupies the historic Richardson Olmsted Campus and was originally built in the late 1800s as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. The site became overcrowded and used controversial treatments such as electroshock and insulin coma therapy, according to local reports, and since its abandonment, many visitors have reported paranormal activity in the former ward buildings.

The hotel also hosts weddings, conferences and events, and is now managed by a non-profit board dedicated to preserving the historic campus. Room rates there start at $169 per night.

The Richardson Hotel occupies a restored 19th-century asylum. (John Bellos/Alamy)

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6. Kimpton Armory Hotel – Montana

Originally constructed in 1941 as an armory for the Montana National Guard, the Art Deco building in Bozeman features 18-inch-thick walls, a rifle collection, a soundproof music room, and space for military vehicles.

It has been reopened as Boutique hotel In 2020, it still offers much of its original structure, according to local reports, and honors its history as well as modern amenities, like a rooftop pool and a fitness center equipped with Peloton bikes. A room can cost you from $250 per night to $977.

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Boston’s Liberty Hotel was formerly the notorious Charles Street Jail. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)

7. Liberty Hotel – Massachusetts

Boston’s Liberty Hotel is housed in the former Charles Street Jail, a massive Gothic building that was completed in 1851 and remained open until 1990. Notable prisoners who were held at the prison included Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, civil rights leader Malcolm X and gangster Whitey Bulger, according to records.

It underwent a $150 million transformation and reopened in 2007 as a luxury hotel, preserving many original elements, such as the massive lobby, corridors, former cell doors, and restaurants with names like Clink and Alibi, with rooms starting at $590.

The 1886 Crescent Hotel is known for its grand Victorian charm. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Image Collection)

8. The Lodge at Marconi – California

the Marin County The site was home to a radio reception station in the 1900s before it was acquired by Synanon, a controversial drug rehabilitation program which It developed into a cult Known for stockpiling weapons and allegations of attempted murder, according to reports.

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The state acquired the property in 1984, incorporated it into Marconi State Historic Park, and after a multimillion-dollar renovation, reopened in 2023 as a boutique coastal inn where room rates start at $323.