Happy Halloween Dear Readers! One of my favorite sites to read is Curbed; recently they did an article on the 9 Most Haunted Hotels in America; surprisingly, I have stayed at three of them!
The Driskill in Austin, Texas. From Curbed: The Driskill...is infested by so many ghostly presences that staff has a handout on them for guests. They include its namesake, Civil War Colonel Jesse Driskill, who had the place built and then promptly lost it in a card game; he makes his presence known with the scent of his cigar smoke, especially in rooms occupied by women. A spirit that might or might not be Driskill has been reported to operate the elevators, move furniture, push guests out of their beds, and hide their belongings. Then there are the creepy "suicide brides" and the painting haunted by a four-year-old girl who fell to her death at the hotel.
Why was I not aware of this handout when I stayed there? I feel cheated!
The Hollywood Roosevelt. From Curbed: The Roosevelt competes with the Knickerbocker for most celebrity hauntings--Marilyn Monroe supposedly appears in a full-length mirror from Suite 1200, where she stayed when she first started becoming famous; Montgomery Clift is said to hang out in and around room 928, where he lived while shooting From Here to Eternity. One psychic says he's also detected Humphrey Bogart, Carmen Miranda, and Betty Grable. There's also a cold spot in the Blossom Room (the first home of the Oscars) near where a dapperly-dressed thirties-era man is said to hang around.
I never felt much going on at the Roosevelt. The staff is too snooty for my tastes and the clientele is a bit more Kardashian than I care for. I can't imagine Humphrey and Marilyn would want to hang here anymore.
Omni Royal Orleans. From Curbed: On the site of a former slave market, the hotel is rumored to be haunted (as is just about every place in the Quarter). More creepiness: Zack Bowen strangled his girlfriend, Addie Hall, dismembered her body, cooked some of her body parts, went on a wild bender, then jumped off the rooftop deck of the Omni Royal Hotel. His suicide note led police back to their apartment, the scene of the grisly murder.
The view from the roof when I stayed here back in 2002:
Curbed also did an LA version of this article, and of course it featured my favorite hotel, The Chateau Marmont.
From Curbed: John Belushi liked to party here so much, it would make sense he'd stop by in the afterlife. People say Bungalow 3, where he fatally overdosed in 1982, is the site of strange occurrences. The most disturbing story involves a toddler whose family stayed there for a stint in 1999. As the Travel Channel tells it, his parents would hear him laughing alone. They got up the nerve to ask him why, and he responded, "The funny man." Then, "when his mother was leafing through a book of celebrity guests of Chateau Marmont, the boy pointed to John Belushi and exclaimed, ‘The funny man!’"
The way to Bungalow 3:
When Willis and I stay at the Chateau, he does his business outside Bungalow 3. EVERY time in the same spot. Guaranteed.
See more haunted (and not haunted) hotel photos at my main website.
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