6 Haunted Hotels

Union Station Nashville Yards, Nashville, Tennessee

Before it was reimagined as a chic boutique hotel, Union Station was a bustling train terminal and an onlooker to thousands of tearful farewells during the 1900s. Legend has it that a young woman named Abigail once stood on the platform and kissed her fiancé goodbye as he departed for France. They planned to meet at the station again, but he didn’t return, and so she threw herself in front of a train.

Patrons and staff have reported flickering lights and random noises in room 711. They suspect that the ghostly Abigail has come back to wait on her beau, or perhaps they’re together again, enjoying the hotel’s many amenities. The inviting Romanesque lobby, with its 65-foot vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows shining light onto marble floors, would lure anyone from across the ages. The property boasts 125 bespoke modern guest rooms and is within walking distance to the live music venues and eateries on Broadway. Visit UnionStationHotelNashville.com for rates.

While you’re here: If boots are made for walkin’, then scoot on over to the Country Music Hall of Fame, housing the world’s largest collections of music culture. Then slide down to The Gulch for the best boutique shopping and restaurant hopping in Nashville. 

Richard Cummins / Alamy Stock Photo

Grande Colonial Hotel, La Jolla, California 

This landmark 1913 hotel, with its recently renovated guest rooms and suites, is the perfect spot to rub elbows with the stars — or at least their spirits. Visitors in Hollywood’s heyday included Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Groucho Marx, who enjoyed this establishment’s secret entrance to avoid paparazzi. Some of these icons may have loved the exclusive hotel so much that they’ve returned to relive the past. The unearthly partying is so popular among the ethereal and famous that the hotel maintains a log of eyewitness accounts, including staffers who’ve watched pans move across the kitchen and chased the sound of running footsteps into empty rooms. Be treated like a star in the on-site restaurant Nine-Ten, where the kitchen crew have noticed doors opening and closing and mysteriously changing heat settings on the stoves. Don’t worry, the apparitions of the elite have settled down since the restaurant received a Michelin Plate award; they still maintain their high expectations after all. Rates start at $249.

While you’re here: Take a stroll over to La Jolla Cove to see playful harbor seals and sea lions. In the afternoon, catch a play at the La Jolla Playhouse or go shopping downtown, a.k.a. in “The Village,” which is lined with boutiques, galleries, bookstores, coffee shops and restaurants, all within a stone’s throw from your accommodations. Grab a cocktail at George’s Ocean Terrace to toast a breathtaking West Coast sunset. ​​Freelance writer and research editor Mamie Walling has contributed to numerous lifestyle publications, including Coastal Living and Veranda magazines.