We are familiar with a good number of historic haunted hotels. Places like the Stanley Hotel to the Omni Parker House are world renowned for their supernatural activities. But in some hotels there are rooms so haunted that the management keeps them off limits to guest. Here are a few hotel rooms where you probably will never be allowed to check in.
Room 18 (St. James Hotel, Cimarron NM): Former presidential chef, Henry Lambert founded this hotel in 1872 when General Ulysses S. Grant suggested he take his talents out west. He opened the St. James Hotel in a town renowned for its high amount of violence and this hotel would be no stranger to murder. One of the most famous murders in Cimarron took place at Room 18 of the St. James. According to the tale, a man by the name of Thomas James Wright beat the then-owner of the hotel in a game of cards and the winner's purse was the St. James itself. Any relishing in this victory was short lived as Wright was shot while going back to his room and bled to death right at the door. It seems that his spirit has now refused to leave Room 18 and is unafraid to make his presence known in "his" hotel. He has been known to appear in an orange light which reportedly radiates with anger, often knocking furniture around and even getting violent towards people. One of the former owners of the St. James claims she was literally shoved to the ground by the ghost of Thomas James Wright. While he is far from the only spirit to haunt the hallways of the St. James, Wright is dangerous enough that his room remains padlocked with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a hand of playing cards on the dresser to placate him.
Room 311 (Read House Hotel, Chattanooga TN): If you want to stay in a room where a young woman was murdered by her jealous husband, plan accordingly. Because Room 311 at the Reading House is only open for reservations 5 nights out of the entire year. While the historic hotel has served as host to distinguished guests from Winston Churchill to Al Capone, it is Annalisa Netherly who stayed in room 311 during the 1920's who has truly left her mark on the place. Stories vary, but what seems to be the case was, it seems as though Annalisa's husband believed she was cheating on him, later on she was discovered by hotel staff in the bathroom with her throat cut from ear to ear. Those who do check into her old room immediately feel like they are being watched, male guests especially. Faucets turn themselves off and on, pictures are tilted in thin air and items will inexplicably go missing in her old room. Annalisa has often made her presence known in the middle of the night as either a disembodied voice or a full-bodied apparition. The current owners of the Read Hotel, see her spirit as merely a ploy to charge a premium price of room 311, but they could one day learn a lesson in exploiting the dead for profit.
Room 873 (Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff Alberta): In this picturesque region is a renowned luxury hotel. In addition to its world-class amenities, what the Fairmont Banff Springs is known for is its paranormal activity. There is the specter of a bride who wanders down its marble staircase, a child who roams the halls, even a helpful elderly Scotsman. The most sinister spirits are centered around Room 873 where a family allegedly checked in but never checked out. Supposedly the patriarch of the family murdered his wife and daughter before killing himself. The staff at the Fairmont Banff are quick to dismiss this as an urban legend, but there is a great hesitancy to show any guests this room. Guests who staid there in the past have claimed to awake in the middle of the night to the sound of horrible bloodcurdling screams. Though nobody checks into this room, just being on the 8th floor is enough, as many have claimed they encountered the young girl who was slaughtered in the room wandering the halls like she is lost.
Unnamed room on the 12th floor (The Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago IL): A famously haunted hotel in the heart of a city full of famed haunted sites. Dubbed the "Landmark of Chicago Hospitality" the Congress Plaza Hotel first opened its doors in 1893 and has remained popular ever since. With so many people who have passed through its doors it would seem the spirits of a good number of them have lingered around. Today if you venture to the 12 th floor of the Congress Hotel, you may notice a door without a number, you would be wise to avoid it. In a hotel where an elevator in the South Tower will occasionally be filled with disembodied moans or a room where people have witnessed portraits on the wall rotating 360 degrees in thin air or the spirit of a young boy who roams the hall, if a room is so haunted it is off limits, then it must truly be filled with paranormal activity. To the public staff maintain this room is nothing more than out of use, antiquated space, they sometimes speak in hushed tones that there is still furniture in the room that has not been used in years.
