The Most Haunted Hotels In New York

Some Of The World's Most Luxurious Hotels Can Be Found

In New York City... And Some Of The Most Haunted

photo: Brian Hatton Photography

THE BOWERY HOTEL

The Bowery Hotel was built in 2002 as part of the Lower East Side’s revitalization. But the land it was built on holds a dark past. The hotel was built on the site of the historic Dry Dock Savings Bank, built in 1875. During the bank’s lifetime, the Lower East Side was booming with criminal activity. So much so that the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York is based on the area and this period.

With all the mysterious and violent deaths that occurred in the area, it’s no wonder that a few spirits have chosen refuge at the Bowery. The most famous ghost seen at the Bowery Hotel is The Woman In White. She has been seen by hundreds of staff and guests during the hotel’s short history. The entity typically stops to ask guests for directions before evaporating into thin air. Other guests have been scared out of their wits when they awake to see her sitting at the foot of their bed.

The elevators at the Bowery are also a hotbed for paranormal activity. It seems that the elevators sometimes begin malfunctioning around 1 AM, moving on their own or stopping all together. A phantom elevator operator has been seen by countless witnesses. Unsurprisingly, hotel employees dread having to use the elevators. Especially at night.

Outside of this downtown hotel, the ghost of a woman named Annie Moore has been seen gliding down the street. Annie worked at a nearby brothel ominously nicknamed “Suicide Hall.” She was murdered by a customer in 1906. The case was never solved, and it seems Annie is unable to move on from her unavenged death.

THE HOTEL CHELSEA

Built between 1883 and 1884, The Hotel Chelsea is one of the most colorful, textured histories of any building in New York. Over the past three centuries, guests and residents at the Chelsea have included Mark Twain, Janis Joplin, Arthur Miller, Jack Kerouac, Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Iggy Pop, Sid Vicious, Thomas Wolfe, and Ethan Hawke... just to name a few. This impressive guest list has made the hotel a go-to destination for artists, writers, and creatives. In some cases, guests have never checked out.

The best-known ghost at Hotel Chelsea is Mary. Mary was a survivor of the Titanic. She stayed at the hotel after arriving in New York following the doomed cruise liner's fateful 1912 voyage. Due to the lack of lifeboats and women and children being saved first, Mary’s husband perished in the disaster. 

A heartbroken Mary took her own life by hanging herself in a fifth floor room of the Chelsea. Since then, Mary’s ghost has been spotted at the west end of the hotel, usually standing beneath an archway, staring into a hallway mirror. The way Mary has stared at herself for over a century has garnered her the nickname “The Vain Ghost.”

Another spirit seen outside the Chelsea is named Nadia. Nadia was the daughter of a wealthy man who lived in the hotel. She ran off with a man her family disapproved of and had two children with him. When her husband became an alcoholic, Nadia returned to the Hotel Chelsea, asking her family to take her back. 

They agreed on the condition that she do chores and pull her weight. It seems that Nadia only wanted to work on her art. In one morbidly stunning moment, Nadia cut off her hand with a pair of industrial scissors and jumped from a hotel window. Since then, her spirit remains outside the hotel, seemingly unable to get back in. 

Lastly, there’s Larry the Ghost. Larry has been able to communicate with the living and claims that the land The Hotel Chelsea is built on has a special energy that draws creative people to it. He also believes that the outside world is nothing but an illusion, and the inside of the hotel is the only thing real.

pictured: the legendary Algonquin cat

THE ALGONQUIN HOTEL

Built in 1902 in Midtown Manhattan, the Algonquin Hotel quickly became known for its unique traditions, including always having a resident cat. It was also famous for its prestigious Algonquin Round Table, which hosted some of the greatest writers, actors, and thinkers of the 20th century. To the shock of many hotel guests, some members of the round table are still seen at the Algonquin.

Spirit sightings include pop culture icons like George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, and Dorothy Parker. Parker’s ghost made a distinct impression on a group of loud children whom she “shushed” before disappearing after thoroughly terrifying the kids. Parker may also be connected to the hotel since it’s rumored she attempted to take her own life there.

Other guests have experienced hearing people in their room when no one was around. One guest woke up in the middle of the night to the distinct sound of a razor blade tapping against the bathroom’s porcelain sink. Upon inspection, the room was empty. 

Another guest was riding the elevator with her husband when she heard a disembodied voice singing "I’m In The Mood for Love". What was especially unnerving about this particular encounter was that the husband didn’t hear anything. 

Other paranormal activity at the hotel includes spirits moving heavy furniture late at night and waking disgruntled guests, as well as elevators stopping on the wrong floors or operating on their own.

The supernatural animations at the hotel are so powerful that staff engage in an informal exorcism every New Year’s Eve, which involves banging pots and pans in an attempt to keep the ghosts at bay. However, the spirits never stay quiet for long at the Algonquin Hotel.