The Hotel Chelsea is virtually a Who's Who of artists. Past guests include Allan Ginsberg, Brendan Behan, William S. Burroughs, Mark Twain, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Tennessee Williams, and Andy Warhol.
Two infamous guests were Sid Vicious, of Sex Pistols fame, and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Their violent relationship culminated in murder, when Sid allegedly stabbed Nancy to death. She was all of 20 years old when she died. (There are theories that Nancy was killed by a drug dealer while Sid was zonked out on drugs.) Vicious is believed to haunt the Chelsea; evidently, Sid (who died of a drug overdose in 1979, just a few months after Nancy) makes his presence known in the elevator, as well as in Room 100, where Nancy died. Oddly enough, for someone who in life was so self-destructive, Sid is very helpful in the elevator, pushing buttons and opening and closing the doors. Room 100 is a different story; guests have reported sounds of a couple arguing in there.
On November 4, 1953, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas walked into the Chelsea and announced, "I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record!" Five days later, he was dead of bronchial disease. His presence is particularly eerie; he is said to haunt Room 206, where he stayed before his fatal illness, and his disembodied head has been seen at the ends of guests' beds.
Eugene O'Neill has appeared at the Chelsea, as has Thomas Wolfe. Both of them have been seen in the hallways.
A less-famous ghost is that of a woman named Mary, who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Her husband was among those who went down with the ship. Overwhelmed with grief over her loss, Mary hanged herself in her fifth-floor room at the Chelsea. She is seen gazing at her reflection in the mirror.
Two infamous guests were Sid Vicious, of Sex Pistols fame, and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Their violent relationship culminated in murder, when Sid allegedly stabbed Nancy to death. She was all of 20 years old when she died. (There are theories that Nancy was killed by a drug dealer while Sid was zonked out on drugs.) Vicious is believed to haunt the Chelsea; evidently, Sid (who died of a drug overdose in 1979, just a few months after Nancy) makes his presence known in the elevator, as well as in Room 100, where Nancy died. Oddly enough, for someone who in life was so self-destructive, Sid is very helpful in the elevator, pushing buttons and opening and closing the doors. Room 100 is a different story; guests have reported sounds of a couple arguing in there.
On November 4, 1953, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas walked into the Chelsea and announced, "I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record!" Five days later, he was dead of bronchial disease. His presence is particularly eerie; he is said to haunt Room 206, where he stayed before his fatal illness, and his disembodied head has been seen at the ends of guests' beds.
Eugene O'Neill has appeared at the Chelsea, as has Thomas Wolfe. Both of them have been seen in the hallways.
A less-famous ghost is that of a woman named Mary, who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Her husband was among those who went down with the ship. Overwhelmed with grief over her loss, Mary hanged herself in her fifth-floor room at the Chelsea. She is seen gazing at her reflection in the mirror.
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