Stay on Main (formerly the Cecil Hotel), Los Angeles, California, USA

Constructed in 1927, when the neighborhood was in much better shape, Stay on Main/Hotel Cecil has a long and gruesome past.

In 1962, 27-year-old Pauline Otton, suicidal following an argument with her husband, threw herself from her window. Otton got her death, but so did an unlucky pedestrian after she landed on him.

In 1964, guest Goldie Osgood was both strangled and stabbed (in addition to being robbed and raped). Her murder is still unsolved.

Serial killer Richard Ramirez (aka "The Night Stalker") lived in the Cecil in 1984-85, during which time he murdered 13 women. Not to be outdone, copycat killer Jack Unterweger moved into the Cecil in 1991, prior to murdering 3 women.

On January 26, 2013, 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a Canadian student, checked into the hotel. She was visiting various cities along the West Coast, and planned to spend five days in L.A. before continuing to San Diego. She called her parents daily, but on the day she was supposed to leave L.A., no phone call came. Her parents promptly contacted the Los Angeles police and flew to the city to search for their daughter. The search was extensive and fruitless, until guests of the hotel began complaining of low water pressure and an odd taste to the tap water. On February 19, one of the water tanks on the roof of the hotel was opened, and found to contain Lam's naked body. The autopsy concluded that death was due to accidental drowning.

Questions surround her mysterious death. How did she access the roof, when the doors were locked and protected by an alarm? Why would she want to climb into one of the water tanks in the first place? Assuming that she climbed into it herself, how did she lift the heavy lid? Why was she naked, with her clothes in the tank with her? Why did police dogs, which were brought to the roof, fail to find her scent?

Furthermore, what caused Lam's bizarre behavior in the hotel elevator on the day after she had intended to check out of the Cecil and depart for San Diego? Video footage (released on February 14) shows Lam entering the elevator, making odd gestures, leaving the elevator, and re-entering it. However, the doors remain open for much longer than the usual time. Was someone outside the elevator, and outside the field of view of the elevator camera, pressing the button? Was Lam interacting with this person? The video is available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQcTuTXpj3c

This blog post differs from the others in that the hotel doesn't abound with ghost stories - but it is, by all accounts, a creepy place to stay.

Jailer's Inn Bed & Breakfast, Bardstown, Kentucky, USA

True to its name, the Jailer's Inn was once a jail. It operated almost two hundred years, from 1797 to 1987, being converted into a b&b in 1988. This, of course, provides more than enough history to account for several hauntings.

One of the odd things reported is the sound of a baby crying - the child of one of the inmates? The child of a warden? Nobody knows. Whispering and conversation are heard, along with footsteps traveling upstairs and down.

The courtyard, now used for serving meals, was once the site of the gallows - a little gruesomeness with your breakfast. Guests stay in converted cells, though they are not locked in.

Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England

Chillingham Castle is exactly what one might expect from a castle - it's hundreds of years old, it's solid, and it's haunted.

The castle caters enthusiastically to its ghost-seeking clientele, with ghost tours offered (only to those aged 16 or older) and even all-night vigils. Those wishing to stay in the building can do so, with elegant rooms offered - and a little extra; some guests have reported supernatural occurrences in their rooms. Visitors can see the castle's original torture chamber, with frightening instruments

The castle was the site of no less than eighteen executions, some by drawing and quartering, a particularly gruesome, drawn-out method involving hanging, disembowelment, and the body being quartered. It seems, however, that it is not these unfortunates who haunt the castle, or if they do, they are kind enough to appear intact.

A white ghost in the "Inner Pantry" appears from time to time, always begging for water. A "blue boy" once glided out of a wall in one of the rooms, wearing clothing appropriate for the time of King Charles II. He was dressed in blue and surrounded by a blue glow, hence the name. Only in the 1920s, when restoration work was being performed, did anyone break into the wall - to reveal the skeleton of a young boy, with shreds of blue clothing adhering to it.  The bones were given a proper burial, and the ghost never appeared again, though flashes of blue light were occasionally seen in the room after dark.

The Story Inn, Story, Indiana, USA

The Inn has the distinction of being the whole (tiny) town of Story, Indiana. The Story story is listed on the website. Old buildings that once served other purposes (the general store, old mill, carriage house, etc.) have been converted to provide lodging, with a restaurant in the basement of the general store.

The Inn also boasts a resident spirit, known as the Blue Lady. Rumor has it that she can be summoned simply by turning on a blue lamp. The Inn offers a "Ghost Hunter's Special", despite the fact that the owner is reluctant to believe in the Blue Lady, or in any other ghost. More information on the haunting is available here.

Cedar Grove Mansion, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA

Built in 1852, Cedar Grove Mansion was the property of the Klein family until 1919. The first owners were John Klein and his young wife, Elizabeth. Of their ten children, four died young - two in infancy (the cause of death is not given, but may have been SIDS), a daughter from undisclosed causes, and one of their sons, who dropped his gun, which then discharged and killed him. He was seventeen.

During the Civil War, the mansion was occupied by the Union Army and used as a hospital, where more than one soldier died. Another occupant of the house at a later date shot herself in the ballroom.

Elizabeth Klein, who loved her house, still looks after it, as more than one eyewitness can attest. John Klein's pipe smoke is noticed when someone he dislikes enters or goes near the parlor. Babies crying have been heard; a little girl has been seen on the staircase to the second floor. Ghosts of Union soldiers have been reported.

The St. James Hotel, Selma, Alabama, USA

The St. James Hotel was originally known as the Brantley, built in 1837. Union forces used it for lodging during the Battle of Selma in the Civil War. The hotel survived the burning that destroyed most of the city during the war.

Among the hotel's less-than-savory guests were those notorious train-robbing brothers, Frank and Jesse James. Jesse and his lover, Lucinda, are often reported as persistent guests at the hotel. Jesse is seen in rooms 214, 314, and 315, since he often stayed in those rooms. Guests have complained about the barking of a dog in the courtyard, which faded as soon as anyone investigated the source of the noise. Jesse was known to have a dog. Jesse is also seen, unsurprisingly, in the bar.

Lucinda announces her presence - seen or unseen - with the scent of lavender, her favorite. Sometimes, she is seen strolling the halls of the hotel.

In addition to the famous couple, guests have seen people wearing 19th-century clothing in the courtyard.

The Plains Hotel, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

The Plains Hotel is an imposing building in Wyoming's capital city. It opened in 1911, offering one hundred guest rooms and five elevators - no small feat for a hotel of that time, even in a major city.

It's no surprise that the hotel was a destination for honeymooning couples. One new bride, called Rosie, checked in with her husband on what was to be the last trip of her life.

Rosie's husband (no Prince Charming, he) wandered down to the lounge one evening for a drink or two. Hours later, when he hadn't returned to their room, Rosie found him still in the bar, getting friendly with a prostitute.

Rosie's new husband, with his new friend, left the bar and went to the prostitute's room on the fourth floor. Rosie followed, and with her husband's gun, shot the prostitute, her husband, and (back in the honeymoon suite) herself.

The ghosts of all three parties to the murder/suicide have been seen by staff and guests. Rosie, wearing a blue gown, walks the hallways of the hotel. Laughing and crying have been heard from the room that was once hers. Her husband is seen on the fourth floor, and - oddly - the basement. The prostitute is seen on the second floor.