Haunted Hotels: The West

Allegedly rooms 302, 304 and 306 are haunted. The resident ghosts include a monk (not Tony Shalhoub) who supposedly hung himself in the attic and a young lady who killed herself after learning her beloved died in war. Paranormal occurrences include exploding drinking glasses.

Some employees of this mountain lodge claim that the first aid room is haunted by skiers and climbers who died on Mt. Hood. As an added bonus, director Stanley Kubrick used the Timberline for exterior shots for his horror masterpiece, The Shining.

This Victorian Bed & Breakfast used to be a girl’s finishing school and legend has it that the headmistress is still looming around, showing up in mirrors (yeah, that’s fun to think about when you wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night). If you’re brave, I recommend staying in Room 410, the Miss Mary Lake Suite.

One of my most favorite ghost stories is the story of Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. In 1866 her infant daughter died of a mysterious childhood disease, which sent Sarah into a depression that she never came out of. Fifteen years later her husband died suddenly. She believed she was being haunted by the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles. A psychic told her to move out west and build a large house to appease all the restless spirits that were haunting her. The only catch, she’d have to constantly keep building the house or else the spirits would become angry. The result is a house that is both architecturally impressive and eccentrically odd. Doors that open to nothing, stairs that lead nowhere. It’s a house many believe to be built by spirits. Book a night…if you dare!

When you stay at the National Hotel in Jamestown, you’ll likely run into Flo, the ghost who stays in the upstairs. She’s often seen floating through walls and the dining room. There are accounts of flickering lights, suitcases falling on the floor inexplicably, and a woman is frequently heard sobbing down the hallways at night.

The Queen Mary is considered to be one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S. due to the fact that it allegedly has a plethora of psychic “hot spots.” Here’s the rundown: The pool is reportedly haunted by the spirits of two women who drowned there in both the 1930s and 1960s; a woman in white haunts the Queen’s Salon; a man in a 1930s suit has been seen roaming around the First Class Suites; children are rumored to play in the Forward Storage Room…and since this ship was used in WWII there are TONS of restless souls, particularly in the kitchen and Morgue.

In 1888 the Hotel Coronado was the bomb. Though it was one of America’s largest wooden buildings, that’s not what made it famous. In 1900 there were two separate instances of pregnant women killing themselves. These women still haunt the hotel. There are also reports of a little boy and a little girl who wander the halls. The dining room is supposedly haunted by a deceased hotel caretaker and a Victorian lady dances with herself on the dance floor.

There have been several ghost sightings at this historic hotel. Of note, a young girl wearing a Victorian dress who enjoys playing with a ball. Some male guests have reported a female ghost watches them while they sleep. The fifth floor is allegedly haunted by a male ghost and there’s high electromagnetic energy in front of rooms 325 and 551.