Fright Night: 13 Haunted Historic Hotels

Many of the country's most legendary hotels are also reported to have some spirited guests who continue to roam the halls long after they should have checked out. These ghosts represent all ages, hired help to wealthy patrons, numerous professions, and others suffering from broken hearts to broken fortunes.

"The best guest comment a hotelier likes to hear is, 'We don't want to leave,' or, 'We can't wait to come back,' " said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. "At many historic hotels across the U.S., hoteliers have told us that they have former guests that never left and these ghosts are visible only to some guests, most frequently at night, and even more frequently during the fall and winter. Or, as I understand, they checked in and never checked out."

If you are interested in a stay in a historic hotel with a paranormal twist, here are 13 of the most haunted Historic Hotels of America, along with the stories that will make you shiver with ghostly anticipation.

1.Hotel Monteleone (1886) New Orleans, Louisiana
A maid known as "Mrs. Clean" reputedly haunts the hotel. Paranormal researchers once asked why she stayed, and the maid, whose mother, grandmother and great-grandmother also worked at the hotel, said she was picking up after housekeeping to ensure high standards.

2. The Red Lion Inn (1773) Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Ghostly rumors continue to swirl at the inn, which has seen the likes of many paranormal investigators and mediums. The fourth floor, in particular, has been said to have the most activity. Both cleaning staff and guests have claimed to see a "ghostly young girl carrying flowers" and "a man in a top hat."

It has been said that guests have awoken to the feeling of someone standing over them at the foot of the bed. Cold spots, unexplained knocks, and electrical disturbances have all been reported. Guestroom 301 is also known to be a haunted hot spot.

3. The Sagamore (1883) Bolton Landing, New York
The Sagamore has its own American ghost story. Opened in 1883 as a playground resort for summer residents of Millionaire's Row, this rambling historic hotel sits on a 6 million-acre state park is rumored to accommodate a ghost or two. Stories persist of the ghost of a silver-haired woman wearing a blue polka-dot dress descending from the second floor to the Trillium, the hotel's fine dining restaurant.

4. Jekyll Island Club Resort (1886) Jekyll Island, Georgia
This hotel has a rumored bellman with a cap and suit like the ones we see in movies of the 1920s, a far different look from actual bellmen who greet you at this historic hotel today. This bellman, from post WWI days, is very particular about delivering freshly pressed suits to bridegrooms. He has been seen, mostly on the second floor of the club building, knocking gently on a guest room door and announcing his purpose. Many guests, who had not ordered these services, have inquired about the mysterious bellman.

5. Green Park Inn (1891) Blowing Rock, North Carolina
This 1891 hotel also keeps a "Ghost Log" in the lobby for its guests to peruse (and add to when they have their own encounters to share). Pay attention to notes regarding Room 318, where Laura Green died. Laura was the daughter of the inn's founding family, and she was jilted at the altar. Reports are that she and her would-be groom continue to be seen on the third floor.

6. Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa (1901) Honolulu, Hawaii
On February 28, 1905, the untimely death of Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, made headlines everywhere. Stanford, who was vacationing in Hawaii following a strychnine poisoning attempt on her life, died in her room at the Moana. There have been reports that the ghost of Stanford still frequents the hotel, whose beautiful ocean vistas brought her short-lived peace. Guests and hotel staff have said that they've seen her walking at night, trying to find her room.

7. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods (1902) New Hampshire
Known affectionately by staff members as "the princess," Caroline Foster was a longtime inhabitant of the hotel. Princess Caroline Foster's ties to the resort go back to its inception when her husband, railroad tycoon Joseph Stickney, built the grand resort in 1902. Incorporating special accommodations for his wife, construction of the resort included an indoor swimming pool and a private dining room for Caroline, known today as the "Princess Room."

A prominent figure at the resort since its opening, many guests who have visited continue to report sightings of the regal Caroline. Visions of an elegant woman in Victorian dress are often spotted in the hallways of the hotel, there are light taps on doors when no one is outside and items suddenly disappear and then reappear in the exact place they were lost. But perhaps the most common sighting of the beloved Caroline is in room 314, where guests report seeing the vision of the woman sitting at the edge of their bed.

8. The Seelbach Hilton Louisville (1905) Louisville, Kentucky
Legend says two lovers were to be married at the hotel in 1907, but the groom met an untimely death on his way to the wedding. His distraught bride threw herself down the elevator shaft, falling fell ten stories to her death. The bride is said to continue to haunt the halls of this historic hotel.

9. The Stanley (1909) Estes Park, Colorado
The inspiration for Stephen King's book, "The Shining," The Stanley has lots of haunting appeal, especially when guests tour the creepy underground tunnel that runs beneath the hotel. But that's not the hotel's most haunting aspect. The hotel's original owner, F.O. Stanley, is known to haunt the hotel. He and his wife have been seen dressed in formal attire on the main staircase and in other public areas, and Flora's piano occasionally echoes in the ballroom.

10. The Omni Grove Park Inn (1913) Asheville, North Carolina
For nearly half a century there has been the belief that there is a ghost who roams the hallways of the main inn. She is referred to as the Pink Lady because of the flowing pink gown she wears. It is believed that this young woman was a guest in room 545 in the 1920s and that she either jumped or was pushed to her death in the Palm Court, five floors below.

No records exist that support any of these claims, but it may have been hushed up to avoid negative publicity. Reports of her sightings still occur, some say they just see a pink mist, others a full apparition of a young long-haired beauty in a pink gown.

11. The Hollywood Roosevelt (1927) Hollywood, California
This historic hotel is haunted by multitudes of ghosts, including the most famous, Marilyn Monroe. She has been said to haunt the full length mirror that was once in her suite. Room 928 is believed to be haunted by the restless spirit of Montgomery Clift, the film and stage actor best known in the film "Red River" in 1948.

12. The Don CeSar (1928) St. Pete Beach, Florida
Thomas Rowe met his beloved Lucinda in the 1890s, when Rowe was studying in Europe. Lucinda's parents forbade the relationship and the forlorn Rowe returned to America. For years his letters to her were returned unopened. In 1925, Rowe built the Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa. The lobby of the hotel included a replica of the courtyard and fountain where Rowe and Lucinda used to meet. Although the fountain no longer exists, employees at the Don CeSar tell tales of seeing a couple who suddenly appear walking hand in hand in the hotel and then disappearing.

13. Francis Marion (1924) Charleston, South Carolina
In the early 1930s, New Yorker Ned Cohen was visiting his Southern lady friend in Charleston. Whatever happened was never clear, but he was found face down, body smashed, in the middle of King Street facing toward the old Citadel's parade grounds. Today, visitors hear eerie and unexplained sounds at night, all too familiar to the bell staff and room attendants walking the halls. Sounds of rustling silk drapes, rattling windows, and an unexplained vision of a man questioning either himself or the witness. Some see the image in shirt sleeves, whereas others just feel his presence throughout the hotel.