Playboy Magazine “Exposure”

Haunted Hotels by Playboy.com Staff

• October 17, 2012 : 12:10

There are only so many costume parties you can attend per season without looking like a crazy person (hint: one) but if you love Halloween, there’s no shaking that need to celebrate the holiday with an obsessive spirit that’s teetering on the brink of obsession. If you’re not one for shelling out a few bucks to be artificially frightened by stoned teenagers dressed up as ghosts and psychotic axe murderers, book a room in one of the most notoriously haunted hotels in America.

Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood, California

Courtesy of: Flickr When you think of the Roosevelt Hotel, you don’t think of hauntings. You think of lush rooms, mixed drinks poolside and rubbing shoulders with big names from Hollywood. But what you may not know is the hotel is home to the ghosts of Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and other unknown names (some claim over 35) who have passed on. Monroe is said to appear in a mirror that was in the bungalow she’d frequent, and Montgomery Clift, who lived in the hotel while he was filming From Here to Eternity, has the most haunted room in the building. Many have checked out after experiencing television sets turning off and on, and mugs being thrown, as well as hearing a bugle played late at night, something Clift was known to do if he was had trouble sleeping.

The Queen Mary  Long Beach, C.A.

Courtesy of: Flickr

Making its last trip at sea, The Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, California in 1967 after 70 years of death, war and ghosts on the lonely ocean, transporting prisoners of war and soldiers to and from WWII. Hitler himself even had a bounty on the Queen Mary, promising thousands of dollars to whoever could sink the vessel. There are 55 recorded deaths, 16 crew members and 38 passengers, but no one knows how many soldiers, airmen or prisoners of war perished on its decks. Nowadays visitors both aware and not of its eerie history stay in the ship’s cabins that have been turned into a permanent hotel. Those who stay aboard the Queen Mary are welcome to explore the ship themselves, as many places that are known to be haunted are marked, or have a guided tour of the ship. But don’t think you’ll be able to book the room B3-40. It’s been stripped and the owners have deemed it unusable thanks to the strange disturbances that became so bad guests have fled in the middle of the night, insisting on being moved.

The Stanley Hotel Estes Park, C.O.

Courtesy of: Flickr Many myths and hauntings of The Stanley Hotel have been busted by scientists, but there’s no denying its creep factor. Most famous for being the hotel behind Stephen King’s The Shining, this neo-Georgian hotel in Colorado is home to some of the greatest ghost stories in America. Kitchen and waitstaff have for years reported hearing full-on parties taking place in the ballroom only to find it empty, and guests relaxing in the lobby have been serenaded by an invisible pianist who some think could be the original architect’s wife. The Stanley Hotel does a good job giving interested patrons goose bumps: they have a channel that plays The Shining on loop 24/7, and also hold a masquerade ball during the Halloween season.

Crescent Hotel Eureka Springs, A.R.

Courtesy of: Flickr Dubbed the most haunted hotel in America, the Crescent Hotel located in Eureka Springs was built in 1886 by a couple of tycoons hoping to cash in on a health craze. At the time, Eureka Springs was known for its healing water, which many believed cured ailments and even cancer. In 1937 a man named Norman Baker bought the hotel and opened a cancer hospital and resort, claiming that those who stayed there would walk away cancer free, despite the fact he had no medical training. It is unknown how many people flocked to the hotel, let alone how many left alive. Nowadays patrons experience unexplained phenomena and ghost sightings connected with the cancer hospital that the Crescent Hotel used to house. There are packages available for those who want to take a tour of the haunted grounds as well as conduct their own paranormal research.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum Fall River, M.A.

Courtesy of: Flickr Unlike the others on this list, the Lizzie Borden B&B came to fruition after a grisly murder took place in its rooms. On August fourth, 1892 Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother were murdered; her father was chopped up on the couch and her stepmother lay in the guest room with a crushed skull. Lizzie was tried and acquitted of the murders of her parents at the age of 26 and was ostracised for the rest of her life. Now you’re able to spend a night in the same place where the murders took place, choosing among Lizzie and sister Emma’s bedrooms or the guest room where their mother was found. Guests are also treated to a breakfast similar to what the Bordens ate the morning of their gruesome deaths.