There’s something uniquely unsettling about a hotel room. You’re surrounded by walls that have held countless strangers, slept in a bed where hundreds have laid their heads, and occupied a space thick with history you’ll never fully know. Most of the time, we brush off that eerie feeling and drift into sleep without a second thought.
Sometimes, though, a room is so disturbing that guests simply refuse to stay. Whether it’s the oppressive chill in the air, the sense of being watched by invisible eyes, or objects moving on their own in the dead of night, certain hotel rooms have earned reputations so chilling that even skeptics think twice before checking in. These aren’t just dusty legends spun for tourists. These are spaces where staff members avoid going alone, where seasoned travelers have fled in the middle of the night, and where the line between myth and reality gets uncomfortably thin.
Room 152 at the Westin Excelsior Florence
In Florence, Italy, room 152 at the elegant Westin Excelsior has earned a chilling reputation among tour directors who routinely stay there. At least three different tour directors have reported feeling watched and experiencing other unnerving encounters in this particular room. The space is small, tucked away on the first floor, and seems ordinary enough at first glance.
One tour director named Michel refused to sleep in the room after his first night, choosing instead to stay awake all night with the TV and lights on or sleep in the motorcoach rather than ask for a different room. The experience apparently left such a deep impression that he retired not long afterward, leading some to wonder if that terrifying night pushed him out of the business entirely.
The Congress Plaza Hotel’s Room 441
Chicago’s Congress Plaza Hotel holds many secrets, especially on certain floors where even security guards tread carefully. Security is called to room 441 more than any other room, and guests consistently report seeing the same thing: the shadowy outline of a woman. Night after night, different guests describe the identical figure, as though she’s permanently etched into that space.
Nighttime security staff, including one guard who’s been on the job for 26 years, speak about several incidents and entities as very regular occurrences. What makes this place particularly unnerving isn’t just one ghost story. It’s the sheer volume of paranormal activity reported across multiple floors, suggesting something darker lingers in the building’s bones.
Room 217 at The Stanley Hotel
The Stanley Hotel in Colorado is famous as the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining and remains a popular spot for paranormal enthusiasts. Room 217 is the very suite where King was inspired to create his novel, and it’s also considered one of the most actively haunted rooms in the entire property. Guests who’ve stayed there report strange sensations, objects moving, and an overwhelming feeling that they’re not alone.
The room’s eerie reputation is so strong that it’s become the estate’s second-most requested room, right behind room 401. People either want to experience the paranormal firsthand or desperately avoid it. There’s rarely a middle ground when it comes to room 217.
The Dreaded Room 810 at Emily Morgan Hotel
If you dare to stay in room 810 at the Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio, guests have described waking up in the middle of the night with an unsettling feeling of being watched. Others have heard faint whispers in the room when they were completely alone. The hotel itself has a dark past, having once served as a medical facility with the basement used as a morgue.
Elevators within the hotel have exhibited peculiar behavior, stopping inexplicably on the seventh floor, a floor unoccupied and inaccessible to guests, often accompanied by a cold chill. Honestly, the entire building seems designed to freak you out. The combination of its medical history and relentless reports of shadowy figures makes room 810 a space most guests would rather avoid altogether.
Room 873 at the Banff Springs Hotel
A man allegedly murdered his family in room 873 at the Banff Springs Hotel, and later on, the room was boarded up due to increased ghost activity. The hotel management eventually sealed it off entirely, refusing to rent it to guests. Let’s be real, when a hotel would rather lose revenue than deal with what’s happening in a room, you know something deeply unsettling went down there.
The room essentially doesn’t exist anymore on the hotel’s floor plans. Staff members won’t talk about it openly, and the few who do speak in hushed, uncomfortable tones. It’s one of those places where the tragedy was so profound that the space itself seems cursed beyond repair.
Room 311 at the Read House Hotel
Room 311 at the Read House in Chattanooga is where some experience the ghost of Annalisa Netherly, and guests who have stayed there have called the front desk complaining they couldn’t sleep due to a strange feeling. The room has even been renovated to reflect the time period of the ghost who haunts it, which is either a brilliant marketing move or an acknowledgment that she’s never leaving.
Other guests have reported sightings, claiming she appeared before them. Some say she died of a broken heart; others believe she was murdered by a jealous lover. Either way, her presence is so strong that people have packed their bags and switched rooms in the middle of the night rather than endure another hour in 311.
Stateroom B340 on the Queen Mary
Thrill-seeking guests won’t want to miss the opportunity to spend the night in Stateroom B340 aboard the Queen Mary, where past guests have reported unexplainable phenomena such as flickering lights, faucets turning on and off without being touched, and loud knocking on their door in the middle of the night. The ship, now permanently docked in Long Beach, California, has been transformed into a floating hotel with a seriously haunted reputation.
One crew member was crushed to death under a hatch door in an area called Shaft Alley, and his ghost is said to haunt the area now. The ship’s long history of tragedy and death has left it saturated with stories. Stateroom B340 might be the most infamous, but the entire vessel feels like it’s holding onto something it can’t quite let go of.
Conclusion
These hotel rooms aren’t just the stuff of campfire stories or exaggerated travel blogs. They’re real spaces where real people have experienced things they can’t explain, things that left them shaken, sleepless, and sometimes fleeing into the night. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s something undeniably compelling about a room so unsettling that guests refuse to stay. Maybe it’s the weight of tragedy, the energy of past suffering, or just our own minds playing tricks in unfamiliar spaces.
What do you think about it? Would you dare to book one of these rooms for a night, or would you request the farthest possible room from the action?
