Sleep or fear? Spend a night in the world’s most haunted hotels

Looking to add some uncertainty to your travels? Then book a room at these seven of the creepiest hotels in the world!

First World Hotel – Genting Highlands, Malaysia

First World Hotel has a little bit of everything. Yes, this flamboyant resort atop Malaysia’s Titiwangsa Mountains; It may have an exotic tropical rainforest, a shopping mall, bowling alley, and an amusement park, but most shocking of all is the sheer number of paranormal happenings within it. Reportedly, the world’s fourth-largest hotel has had visitors spending sleepless nights by the restless spirits that haunt its 6,118 rooms. These noisy sleepwalkers who roam at night are said to be the ghosts of gamblers who ended their lives after playing big and losing at the resort’s 24/7 casino. While most haunted hotels have some haunted rooms to avoid, the First World Hotel covers an entire floor. Rumor has it that the hotel’s elevator doesn’t even stop at the 21st Floor due to the horrors it houses.

Hotel Burchianti – Florence, Italy

A popular haven for the poets, artists, and Benito Mussolini of the 1930s, Hotel Burchianti has also earned a reputation as one of the scariest places in Florence (from €120). Wandering the elegant winding corridors of Burchianti feels like maybe you’ll come face-to-face with a ghost when you turn the next corner. A ghostly old woman sitting in a chair in the lobby knitting and also a ghostly maid who gets up early and cleans the rooms are just some of the things visitors have said they’ve seen. If you’re a coward, you should stay away from the Fresco Room, as the disturbingly decorated ceiling is under the influence of frightening creatures that haunt the room. Fearless visitors who spend the night in this magnificent sarcophagus describe that they were watched by an unknown entity during the night and felt its cold breath on their faces. We can say that these frightening encounters did not hinder Burchianti’s shining reputation.

Dragsholm Castle – Odsherred, Denmark

By day, this 800-year-old structure is one of the most fascinating coastal areas in all of Denmark. And when darkness falls, the Dragsholm Slot (meaning ‘castle’) becomes a place of mystery, wandering shadows and an abundance of ghosts! Often known as the most haunted castle in all of Europe, Dragsholm is claimed to have a hundred ghosts wandering around and in its restaurants. Luckily, the ghouls haven’t managed to spoil the top-notch food yet. Two of the castle’s three most famous ghost-dwellers: the Gray Lady, one of the castle’s former servants, known for helping visitors unpack their bags, and the Earl of Bothwell, a Scottish noble and ex-convict who rides around the courtyard. The third and most tragic is the White Lady, a young nobleman imprisoned in her room forever by her father when it is revealed that she is in love with an ordinary castle worker. During one of those much-needed restorations of the castle in the 1930s, workers horrified found a skeleton in a white suit buried inside one of the castle walls… Horrible!

The Russell Hotel – Sydney, Australia

If you want to see the scary face of Sydney, spend a night at The Russell Hotel. One of the highlights of The Rocks, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, the hotel was once a frequented stay for rough sailors, but was later used as a temporary hospital during the bubonic plague of the early 1900s. The Russell Hotel, which left the epidemic behind, has turned into one of the boutique bed and breakfast hotels over time. But some of that sailor’s past still roams the corridors of Russell, and a ghostly sailor staying in Room 8 is said to have watched over visitors and made sure they were ‘sleeping safely’ at night.

The Queen Anne Hotel – San Francisco, USA

Located in San Francisco’s scenic Pacific Heights area, this cozy bed and breakfast that began life as Miss Mary Lake’s School for Girls is allegedly haunted by the ghost of the school’s ruling headmistress. Surviving the school, which was sold against his will, he lingers in the ostentatious Victorian building, grooming himself in front of the mirrors and eroding the ivory keys of the old Victorian piano. Not exactly intimidating, though, Miss Mary Lake’s presence leads to The Queen Anne (from $135) an old Victorian home filled with antiques as far as the eye can see and an afternoon ritual with sherry and cookies for each guest. It can be said that it adds class. If you want a world-class experience at The Queen Anne, be sure to book room 410, which is Miss Mary Lake’s room; At night, he will happily fluff his pillows for you and cover you.

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac – Quebec City, Canada

Also a revered UNESCO World Heritage Site, this lofty and imposing Québéc chateau, the centerpiece of the old town, has a rich and heartbreaking past. The hotel is named after Louis de Buade de Frontenac, the 17th-century governor of New France, who died in 1698 at what was then known as the Chateau St-Louis. While the cause of death is unknown, the hopeless romantics among us speculate that the heartache caused by his wife, who was living in Paris at the time, played a role. More than three centuries later, guests of the Château Frontenac (starting at $157) say they still see the governor wandering the halls in search of his soul mate. If old-school romance isn’t for you, then the other rather ‘intimate’ ghost of this Quebec resort might be of more interest to you. The other resident of the castle, the Lady in White, had a reputation for getting into bed with guests.

The Stanley Hotel – Colorado, USA

If this uncivilized Colorado resort could give horror writer Stephen King chills, we’d say he’d be terrified there. Inspired by the best-selling novel The Shining, The Stanley Hotel (starting at $263) lives up to its fearsome reputation, inviting guests on five-hour ghost hunts and late-night icy tours of the hotel grounds. If you like to wander around alone, you better watch out for the giggling little girls running around on the fourth floor. If you get a lot of jokes and pushy games, you can go downstairs and join the boisterous fun in the ballroom. But don’t be surprised to learn that this is a ghost-only party…