Chateau Marmont
Chateau Marmont‘s hotel and bungalows have housed the most celebrated personalities in the industry, with many calling the hillside retreat “home” for weeks or months at a time — including the first actor to play Frankenstein, Boris Karloff. The gorgeous property was built in homage to a 15th-century Loire Valley estate, but the history of the hotel is replete with tragedies on a cinematic scale, with a famous deaths and lesser-known tales of woe taking place in the decadent abode since it opened its doors in 1929.
For decades, visitors have documented sightings of A-list spirits, including Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes and Jim Morrison. And the comedian John Belushi — who died on the property in 1982 of a drug overdose — has been a decidedly friendly presence. Years after the “SNL” star’s death, the two-year-old son of a young family living in Belushi’s former bungalow would dissolve into unexplained fits of giggles. When asked why by his parents, he would say “because of the funny man.” When the toddler saw his mother looking at a picture of Belushi, he pointed to the image and exclaimed, “the funny man!” But the hotel is known for its discretion, and the staff will not comment on the bold-faced paranormal activity.
Radio City Music Hall
One of the world’s most legendary concert venues, New York City’s Radio City Music Hall has been keeping audiences entertained for decades with its preternaturally leggy Rockettes and elaborate stage productions. But there’s a reported interloper within the building’s stately Art Deco-era walls: Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel, a theater impresario who was one of the original developers of the building. It’s said that Rothafel still shows up on opening nights to skulk around the theater with a beautifully dressed female companion. But who could blame him, really, since he passed away in 1936 — just four years after the music hall’s founding.
The Biltmore Estate
In 1886, George Washington Vanderbilt — an heir to the illustrious family’s industrial fortune — began work on The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. He spared no expense as he appointed the home with a series of amenities, including an onsite winery, a bowling alley, a grand pool, a great lawn and even a private railway to deliver Vanderbilt family to the palatial grounds during visits. At the time, it had the distinction of being the largest privately-owned home in America.
Vanderbilt was justifiably proud of his creation and quite fond of his library in particular. So fond, in fact, that on more than a few occasions, the estate’s staff and visitors have reported seeing his shadowy presence hovering among the room’s 22,000 tomes.
1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
The year 1886 appears to be a significant one in America’s paranormal history, as it brought with it not only the groundbreaking of the Biltmore Estate, but also the appearance of a hotel that would rise to fame for the spooky goings-on within its walls. The aptly named 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Arkansas is frequently dubbed “the most haunted hotel in the world.” When the grand Victorian building opened as an upmarket health spa in the late 19th-century, it was met with breathless reception. A newspaper article from the time writes that “the magnificent structure [is] furnished in the most exquisite manner… it is lighted with Edison lamps, heated with steam and open grates, has a hydraulic elevator, and is truly a showplace of today’s conveniences.”
But this initial enthusiasm waned, and the hotel was reopened as a college in 1908. Later, in 1934, a man named Norman Baker purchased the property and converted it to a hospital. The one problem? Baker lacked any medical credentials. And his unfortunate patients are among the apparitions spotted by present-day guests. The hotel’s frequent citations of ghostly happenings — from unexplained temperature changes to unexplained whispers — persuaded the management to hire an onsite Director of Ghosts, who counts haunted room tours and paranormal conferences among his duties.
Millenium Biltmore Hotel
While many have heard of The Black Dahlia — one of California’s most infamous murder stories — fewer are aware that the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is the last place that the tale’s protagonist, Elizabeth Short, was ever seen before her 1947 death. The dark glamour of the property’s traditional decor lends itself well to the eerie occurrences that are told and retold by visitors and staff alike. These include the sounds of laughter emanating from the Crystal Ballroom to cell phones commandeered by spirits, suddenly showing film clips from the Academy Awards, which were hosted at the hotel for several years in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Hollywood has always loved a tale of mystery, and this hotel offers plenty, even naming a drink after its most famous guest with black raspberry Chambord as its base. What’s more, the site even cemented itself in a particularly beloved piece of afterlife-obsessed cinema. In Ghostbusters, the now-iconic apparition, Slimer, may be glimpsed haunting the hotel’s music room.
Le Pavillon Hotel
Steps away from New Orleans’ French Quarter, Le Pavillon Hotel grandly welcomes New Orleans guests into its ornate lobby, where Gilded Age architectural flourishes are offset by vintage Czechoslovakian chandeliers and 19th-century French antiques. But historical design is only one draw for guests who pass beneath its entryway gaslight, as Le Pavillon is also known as one of the most haunted hotels in town.
In 1996, when hotel management hired paranormal consultants to investigate the many reports of apparitional visits, they received word that there were “a total of five entities. The young couple in the restaurant, a young child in the restaurant, the man on the third floor and the young girl in suite 930. None of these spirits are malevolent… [though some are] a little mischievous, but do not disrupt the operation of Le Pavillon.” The investigators’ conclusions jibe with guest reports of spotting a sweet but vaporous couple traversing the lobby, and a gentle shoeless prankster who hides room keys and other belongings.
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