12 Haunted Hotels You Can Actually Book for a Halloween Getaway

We hope you love the spooky stays we recommend! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to book a stay.

Photo: Queen Mary

Docked permanently in Long Beach, the Queen Mary is both a hotel and one of the most famous haunted ships in the world. Legends surround the vessel’s darker corners: the engine room’s “Door 13,” where a crewman was crushed during a drill, and the drained first-class swimming pool, where visitors still report splashes and footsteps in the empty chamber. The ship offers two main ghost experiences. Haunted Encounters is a one-hour daytime tour through the areas most often tied to strange sightings. The Paranormal Ship Walk takes guests into restricted sections at night for a hands-on investigation with ghost-hunting tools. The bravest can book an overnight stay in Stateroom B340, long considered the vessel’s most paranormally charged cabin. Each fall, the ship goes all in with Dark Harbor, a Halloween festival that fills the decks with haunted mazes and roaming performers.

Where: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California

Photo: Farnsworth House Inn

During the Battle of Gettysburg, the Farnsworth House sheltered Confederate sharpshooters, and its brick walls still bear more than a hundred bullet scars from the fighting. Local legend says the spirits of those soldiers never checked out — guests report the sound of boots pacing overhead, snatches of fife-and-drum music, and even visits from ghostly figures in the bedrooms. Today, the inn builds on that haunted reputation with nightly candlelit tours and “Mourning Theatre” performances in the cellar, where guides in period costume tell stories of Gettysburg’s darker side. For those who want to go further, ghost hunts with EMF meters and night-vision cameras take curious visitors into the attic and other active spaces long after the living have gone to bed.

Where: Farnsworth House Inn, 401 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Photo: Glenn Taylor/Shutterstock

We, of course, can’t overlook The Stanley Hotel, the Estes Park, Colorado standby which gained fame as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, based on the Stephen King book of the same name. The Stanley family, who established the remote hotel to experience the healing winter air of the high Rockies, apparently never actually checked out of the place. It’s reported that they haunt the corridors, which provided ample inspiration for the creepy book and movie, as well as the nightly tours that draw ghost fanatics from around the globe. The hotel’s spirited reputation peaks each October with the annual Shining Ball, a costume party that draws horror fans from around the world. For anyone hoping to channel their inner Torrance, a night in the Stanley promises both luxury and unease in equal measure.

Where: The Stanley Hotel, 333 East Wonderview Avenue, Estes Park, Colorado

Photo: WanderRoamRove/Shutterstock

The name is a dead giveaway with this one. The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast is based in the former home of its namesake, everyone’s favorite axe murderer. Located in Fall River, Massachusetts, the house was the scene of the brutal killings of various members of the Borden clan and must be one of the most famously haunted places to stay in the Northeast. You can stay in the very rooms where they met their endings or in Lizzie’s room itself. Tours of the house are run every day, or you can rent the whole house for an extra creepy family reunion.

Where: Lizzie Borden House, 230 Second Street, Fall River, Massachusetts

Photo: FiledIMAGE/Shutterstock

Looking out over the old copper mining town of Jerome, the Jerome Grand Hotel has a past as chilling as its clifftop views. Originally built in 1926 as a hospital, the building was converted into a hotel in the 1990s and quickly became famous for its paranormal activity. Guests have described lights flicking on and off, furniture shifting on its own, and the sound of children laughing in empty hallways. Among the eeriest reports is the ghost of Claude Harvey, a maintenance man who died in the elevator shaft in 1935; many say his footsteps can be heard near the lift. Today, visitors can book a stay, dine at the aptly named Asylum Restaurant, and see for themselves why the Jerome Grand is often called Arizona’s most haunted hotel.

Where: Jerome Grand Hotel, 200 Hill Street, Jerome, Arizona

Photo: Darryl Brooks/Shutterstock

Savannah has no shortage of ghost stories, but The Marshall House is one of the city’s most famous haunts. Built in 1851, the building once served as a Civil War hospital and later housed patients during yellow fever outbreaks. Guests today say the past is still alive inside its walls, with faucets that turn on by themselves, flickering lights, and ghostly children running through the halls. Stories from visitors often mention shadowy soldiers missing limbs, said to be the spirits of those who never left the hospital wards. Despite its eerie reputation, the hotel embraces its history — wine receptions in the library are a nightly tradition, and its central location makes it a favorite stop on Savannah’s many ghost tours.

Where: The Marshall House, 123 East Broughton Street, Savannah, Georgia

Photo: Patrick Horton/Shutterstock

The Crescent Hotel first opened in 1886 as a grand resort in the heart of the Ozarks. Its story took a darker turn in the 1930s, when a con artist posing as a doctor transformed the property into a hospital and lured desperate patients with promises of miracle cancer cures. Many of those patients died here, and their stories have become part of the hotel’s haunted reputation. Guests speak of ghostly figures appearing in mirrors, voices drifting from empty rooms, and a spectral cat that slips silently through the lobby. Embracing its eerie past, the hotel now offers nightly ghost tours, while Room 218 has earned a reputation as one of the most paranormally active spots in the South.

Where: 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa, 75 Prospect Avenue, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Magnolia Hotel, Texas

Photo: Airbnb

Photo: Airbnb

In the heart of Seguin’s historic downtown stands the Magnolia Hotel, a frontier landmark built in 1850 that has lived many lives: stagecoach stop, saloon, restaurant, and brothel. Today, it’s best known for its ghostly residents. Guests have reported the clinking of long-gone tavern glasses, phantom footsteps echoing in the halls, and sudden cold drafts that have no earthly source. When you book, you’ll get exclusive access to the restored five-room suite upstairs, along with the option to explore an unrestored 11-room wing that remains as chilling as the day it was abandoned. The hotel’s haunted reputation has even drawn investigators from Ghost Adventures and BuzzFeed Unsolved, who agree that Magnolia is one of the most paranormally active spots in Texas. The owners asks only one thing: come with respect. If you want to film, you need prior written permission — or the ghosts may politely, but firmly, ask you to leave.

Where: Magnolia Hotel, 203 South Crockett Street, Seguin, Texas

Photo: Ruthin Castle Hotel

The Ruthin Castle Hotel in Wales offers overnight stays in a historic fortress — plus, it’s home to a drowning pool, a few dungeons, a whipping pit, and a lot of creepy things that go bump in the night. The best-known apparition is Lady Grey, said to have murdered her husband’s mistress before facing execution, and still glimpsed around the battlements and chapel. Guests have also reported a one-gloved soldier in the corridors, the sound of children laughing when no one is there, and eerie moans rising from the old chapel. Alongside its haunted lore, the castle welcomes overnight guests in restored suites and regularly hosts medieval banquets where visitors don costumes and dine in the shadow of its darker history.

Where: Ruthin Castle Hotel, Castle Street, Ruthin, Wales

Photo: VMKphotos/Shutterstock

In County Kerry on Ireland’s southwest coast, Ballyseede Castle is best known for the ghost of Hilda Blennerhassett, the last of the family to live here. Guests and staff say she lingers in her old bedroom, the Crosby Room, and often announces herself with the scent of roses. Her figure has also been spotted at upstairs windows and on the main staircase, especially on March 24, the anniversary of her death. Other reports mention unexplained voices and the sound of children running through empty halls. Despite the hauntings, Ballyseede operates as a full-service hotel with elegant rooms and classic Irish hospitality — where ghost sightings come as a bonus, not a guarantee.

Where: Ballyseede Castle, Ballyseede, Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland

Photo: Castello della Castelluccia

In the Lazio hills about 10 miles north of central Rome, Castello della Castelluccia has stood since the 12th century, built on the remains of a Roman villa. Over the centuries it was home to powerful families like the Orsini and later the opera singer Francesco Marconi. Ghost stories tie the grounds to Emperor Nero, said to wander from his nearby tomb, an alchemist killed by lightning who drifts through the towers, and phantom horses that gallop across the courtyard after dark. The castle also operates as a hotel with antique-furnished suites, a medieval-style restaurant, a spa, and an outdoor pool, with shuttle service for easy day trips into Rome.

Where: Castello della Castelluccia, Via Carlo Cavina 40, Rome, Italy

Photo: Tulloch Castle

Scotland’s Tulloch Castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of a lady in green — Elizabeth Davidson, a daughter of the former owner. If you spy her, she’s apparently a bit of a sad soul, often spotted wandering the hallways mournfully exclaiming “why” over and over. Guests report feelings of overwhelming sorrow in her presence.

Where: Tulloch Castle, Tulloch Castle Drive, Dingwall, Scotland