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Val Sinestra Hotel and the Ghost of Hermann Haunting the Lower Engadine

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In an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting the Val Sinestra Hotel for ages. But who was he when he was alive, and what was his true name before he died in the remote fortress up in the mountains? And is he still haunting the old halls where he never made his recovery?

Tucked away in the silent snowscape of Switzerland’s remote Lower Engadine Valley lies Val Sinestra, a former 1912 spa-hotel, or a Kurhaus, once famed for its healing mineral springs in the Grisons region of Switzerland. The Kurhaus ‘Val Sinestra’ grew into a real sensation, the foreign newspapers and magazines were full of it and the high society came there to take the cure. Some say that that some of the patients never left.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

Although once a stately institution, In 1914, this glorious period came to an end as the First World War broke out and the Belle Epoque was over for good. The therapy activities of Val Sinestra Hotel closed in 1972, but beneath its former Belle Époque elegance, it harbors a secret far colder in the form of a ghost named “Hermann” who has been haunting its corridors for nearly a century. 

The Haunted Hotel: Hotel Val Sinestra in Graubünden is said to be haunted by a former patient, now known as Hermann. // Source: Agnes Monkelbaan/Wiki

From Spa to Specter: The Legend of Hermann

Originally built to treat tuberculosis patients, Val Sinestra drew visitors seeking cures and rest 1500 metres above the sea levels in the remote parts of Switzerland. The Hotel Val Sinestra stands like a fortress on the rock, eleven stories high with a pointed tower, looming above the valley overlooking La Brancla river. The rust-red, arsenic-laden water from the Ulrich spring was said to cure syphilis, people with consumption and anemic patients.

One of the more talked about ghosts has been one named Herman. Hotel owner Adrienne Kruit has claimed strange things have happened since 1978 when her husband bought the building. He passed away in 2018, and most of the ghost stories told from the hotel, comes from their time running the place. It is said that he was greeted at the door by a spirit screaming at him, scaring him so badly he drove all night to the North Sea. 

“There were loud noises, keys were swinging on their hooks, and the windows were suddenly open!” she said about her experiences since taking over the Val Sinestra Hotel. “Once, a wall clock fell to the floor right next to me. But the hook was stuck in the wall.”

But who was the famed ghost? There have been a lot of theories, but most of them claim was a Belgian patient, who reportedly stayed so long and grew so attached to the Val Sinestra Hotel and its staff  that he refused to leave. He was for a long time known as Hermann.  

Read More: Check out all haunted hotels

In 2010 there were also two mediums ordered to check out the haunting of the Val Sinestra Hotel, and said it was a tuberculosis patient called Gilbert, Guillon or Guillaume, perhaps a Belgium soldier from World War I who stayed there in the 1920s haunting the hotel. 

It is said that he fell in love with Maria, an employee. After his death in the late 1920s, sightings began: a tall, pale figure wandering the old bathhouse halls at night, sometimes glimpsed in the lobby or elevator area. It is said he mostly haunts the lower floors where the patients used to stay. 

Staff and guests describe Hermann as mischievously protective of the Val Sinestra Hotel. Windows will open on their own, the lift runs unoccupied, and he’s even moved objects. 

Haunted Floors & Hotel Whispers

There is little evidence to the story of the poor patient at Val Sinestra Hotel today, especially since the guestbook from this time was stolen at some point. 

The old bathhouse floor—a place of healing in life—has become the epicenter of paranormal activity. Lights flicker, faucets run without explanation, windows open suddenly, wine glasses begin to ring, balls of light emerge at night and cold drafts pierce the temperature of the rooms. Visitors report waking to the hiss of steam and feeling a distant presence when alone..

The Old Sanatorium: Val Sinestra Hotel. // Source: Agnes Monkelbaan/Wiki

Visiting the Phantom’s Realm at Val Sinestra Hotel

Val Sinestra remains an operational hotel, its ghostly inhabitant part of its allure. Guests hoping to connect with Hermann are advised to stay near the old bathhouse, wander empty corridors at dusk, and be open to subtle signs: a misplaced key, sudden draft, or perhaps a feeling of presence. As one medium noted, Hermann doesn’t mean harm—he’s just a restless guardian who cares deeply… and quietly.

According to Thomas Frei and other ghost hunters who have investigated the hotel for years, there are other ghosts said to haunt it as well. A man, a woman and a little girl is also said to be lingering inside of the halls. 

Val Sinestra Hotel stands as a beautifully preserved relic of early 20th-century health resorts—but it is Hermann’s spectral shadow that lingers darkest. And in the silent snowfall of Lower Engadine, the gentle hum of unseen footsteps may well be the echo of a man who never truly left.

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References:

TVI Traveler – Hotel Val Sinestra

Geisterjäger sicher: Im Hotel Val Sinestra spukt es wirklich – 20 Minuten

Schweizer Ghosthunter kommen im Val Sinestra mehreren Geistern auf die Spur

Val Sinestra (2019) CH

historie — Hotel Val Sinestra

A letto con gli spiriti nella Val Sinestra – Ticinonline

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The Ghosts of the Britannia Adelphi Hotel: Shadows in Liverpool

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The current Britannia Adelphi Hotel is the third building here used as a hotel, and filled with ghosts according to rumours. From the dark basement to the haunted suites in the upper floors, this Liverpool hotel is often dubbed Britain’s most haunted one. 

In the center of Liverpool stands a grand and opulent hotel whose luxury hides a darker history. The Britannia Adelphi Hotel, once hailed as the most elegant hotel outside of London, has long been a magnet for both travelers and the supernatural. 

Behind the crystal chandeliers and marble halls lurk whispers of ghostly figures, disembodied voices and strange tapping noises from the walls, and something much more sinister said to dwell on the third floor. Guests have checked in expecting a night of comfort only to find themselves face-to-face with the unknown.

A History of Grandeur and Ghosts

A hotel has occupied this site since 1826, when it first replaced Ranaleigh Gardens, one of Liverpool’s earliest public recreation spaces. The original building gave way to a second hotel fifty years later, which was purchased by Midland Railway in 1892. By 1911, the current Adelphi Hotel replaced the old ones. When it opened its doors, it quickly became a symbol of wealth and sophistication, welcoming guests from across the world.

Famous figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Laurel and Hardy once graced its rooms. Even Roy Rogers brought his beloved horse, Trigger, to stay within its walls. Yet despite its polished surface, the Adelphi has always seemed to carry something restless beneath its grandeur, as though the echoes of its past refuse to fade.

The Haunted Adelphi Hotel

According to the stories, Adelphi is haunted because of the many deaths and suicides that have taken place here since it opened. 

Read More: Check out more haunted hotels around the world

There are plenty of ghosts believed to haunt the hotel. One of them being a bellboy, 15 year old Raymond Brown, who was trapped in the baggage lift and died in 1961. He can now be seen picking up guests’ bags and carrying their luggage before he disappears around a corner or slips into the shadows. 

In the elevators there is a whistler who is breathing down people’s necks and tapping them on the shoulder. A female ghost who is pickpocketing the guests, rifling through their belongings in the early morning, vanishes when she is caught.

In the basement it is said that a lady wearing Victorian clothing is haunting. Among the many tales, one rumor stands out—accounts of a demon that prowls the upper corridors, growling and whispering in a voice not of this world.

The Haunted Third Floor

The most haunted floor in the hotel is said to be the third floor. This is according to the staff. There have been several reports about people getting sick when staying there for too long, and people also claim to have seen shadows and ghostly figures at the end of their beds. 

It is said that this shadow is the ghost of a man known only as George in a tuxedo and a toothbrush mustache. He is said to stand silently by people’s bed, his expression unreadable, before fading away into the shadows. 

Some believe it is the ghost of a man who took his own life inside the hotel in the 1930s. It is said that he died in the elevator in the hotel or fell to his death. He is also said to call out to people from a particular window on the Brownlow Hill side of the hotel.

The Haunting of the Titanic Crew in The Sefton Suite

It is said that The Sefton Suite in the hotel is an exact replica of the first-class smoking room on the ship. It has later been disproven by the hotel itself. But this myth is perhaps the reason people think that Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the Titanic in 1912, is haunting this hotel. 

A paranormal researcher and author Tom Slemen claims to have witnessed three men haunting the room, saying it was Smith together with two other naval officers who also went down with the ship.

“During one talk, there was standing room only, and I and many other people saw three men standing at the far end of the room who were dressed as naval officers with white caps and dark jackets with all the braiding. The middle officer, who looked about sixty, had a white beard and stood about 5 feet 7 or 8, and the trio were there one moment then gone the next, and there were gasps of shock when this trinity of ghosts vanished.” Source

 It is also said that a woman in a grey Victorian dress is haunting it. 

The Living and the Dead

Today, the Adelphi Hotel continues to welcome guests into its 402 rooms, each richly decorated with touches of old-world charm. Visitors can enjoy fine dining beneath sparkling chandeliers, relax in the sauna and marble swimming pool, or sip a quiet drink in the bar. Yet as night falls, and the last lights dim, the grandeur takes on a different tone. The laughter from the dining halls fades, replaced by faint whispers down long corridors and the creak of unseen footsteps.

For some, the Adelphi is a place of elegance and nostalgia. For others, it is a labyrinth of shadows and memories that refuse to die. Whether George’s ghost still stands watch or something far darker prowls the third floor, one thing is certain—those who stay at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel never quite leave as they arrived.

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The Haunted Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool

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The Eerie Legends of Adelphi Hotel Liverpool – DeadLive Events

Spookiest things to have ever happened at The Adelphi Hotel – Liverpool Echo

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The Blue Room’s Lament The Haunted Legend of Hotel Union Øye

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Left by her lover, the ghost of a maid who once worked at the Hotel Union Øye in Norway is said to be lingering inside of the Blue Room. Is she still staying there?

Hotel Union Øye beside the still waters of Norangsfjorden in Sunnmøre, is known as one of Norway’s most breathtaking historic hotels. Could it be that it is also one of the most haunted ones?

In 1887, Christian Thams, a Norwegian architect, industrialist and diplomat, experienced a violent earthquake that shook the Italian and French Rivieras where he lived, claiming 600 lives, mainly due to the collapse of mortar and brick buildings. He believed that such a tragedy would have been prevented if the building tradition of Norway, with its half-timbered houses. This would eventually lead him home to Norway and build the Hotel Union Øye.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

This way and in this tradition, the hotel opened its door in 1891 with its 38 rooms, all named after their famous guests that would end up staying there, from Emperor William, King Oscar, Queen Maud and Princess Victoria. There were also authors like Karen Blixen, Knut Hamsun, Henrik Ibsen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; composer Edvard Grieg, mountain pioneers William Cecil Slingsby and Kristoffer Randers and polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

Source

But one room is not named after its famous guest, but rather for its haunting story. Sometimes you can apparently hear the footsteps wandering at night, a chill that slips along the halls and the unmistakable sound of quiet sobbing drifting from a single, timeworn chamber known as the Blue Room. 

A Forbidden Love at the Edge of the Fjord

Near the end of the 1800s, Hotel Union Øye was a retreat for Europe’s elite. Its guestbook carried the names of kings, artists and adventurers. Among its most frequent visitors was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who often traveled with a retinue of officers. Every other year from 1890 to 1908, he holidayed as a guest at the hotel with his entourage. One of these men, a young German count, became the center of a secret affection that would leave a permanent shadow on the hotel.

Linda, a Norwegian maid working at Øye, was known for her warm nature and quiet charm. The officer, Philip von Moltke from Dortmund, Germany, was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, found in her a kindness and sincerity he had never known at home. Their meetings were discreet, hidden from the eyes of the aristocratic circle surrounding him. When he visited Øye, they stayed together in the Blue Room, a chamber with deep sapphire walls and heavy antique furnishings that seemed to seal them away from the world beyond the fjord.

The love between them grew, but so did the tension around their affair. The count sought a divorce, desperate to free himself and build a life with Linda. He gave her a brooch and a wedding ring before he left. His request was denied, coming from a catholic family. Bound by duty, honor and the rigid expectations of his rank as well as the risk of being banished, he saw no escape. In a moment of despair, he took his own life, leaving Linda shattered. Some say that he jumped off the boat coming back to Norway. 

Her grief was unbearable. Wearing a bridal gown and a crown of flowers meant for a wedding that would never come, she walked into the waters of the fjord and drowned, in 1901, according to some sources.. Some say she waded out into the cold waters to join him in his death, some say that she had lost his brooch gifted to her in the river and that she was looking along the riverbank to find it. 

The Lady in the Blue Room

Since that night, guests who stay in the Blue Room in room nr. 7, often speak of strange happenings and that they are both haunting the area around the Blue Room. The most common report is the sound of a woman crying softly in the darkness. Some say the weeping drifts through the walls as if someone is sitting beside the bed, shoulders shaking with sorrow. Others hear footsteps pacing the floorboards, slow and restless, pausing near the window that overlooks the fjord.

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A few visitors claim to have seen the faint outline of a woman in a white gown standing at the foot of the bed. She is described as delicate, her face partially hidden by hair damp and tangled, as if she has just stepped out of the cold fjord. She never approaches. She only fades when the witness blinks or looks away.

Hotel staff speak of sudden pockets of cold air in the Blue Room, even during the warmest summer nights. Objects are sometimes found moved from where they were placed, and the heavy door has been known to creak open by itself. Those who experience these disturbances describe an overwhelming sense of sorrow rather than fear, as if Linda’s grief saturates the very walls.

A Haunting That Became Legend

The story of Linda and the count has become part of the identity of Hotel Union Øye. Some visitors come hoping to glimpse the Blue Room’s restless spirit. Others avoid it entirely. The owners do not shy away from the tale and claim that Linda was in fact a real person, although the details of the story are less certain. Phillip von Moltke on the other hand, is a plausible, but uncertain element. 

It is true that the Moltke family was European nobility in Germany, Prussia and Scandinavia, and made into counts in 1868 by King William 1. Curiously though, the closest friends of Kaiser Wilhelm II were Prince Philip von Eulenburg and General Moltke, involved in the Eulenburg scandal about homosexual affairs within the Kaiser’s closest circle. So if there ever was an officer von Moltke who had an affair with a maid in Norway, there is little to no evidence of it found. 

Source

They preserve the room exactly as it has been described for more than a century, honoring the tragic love that took place within it.

In the reception, a bowl of garlic is placed for the guests staying in the Blue Room they can bring to the room. Placing it inside will keep the ghost away, so you will have a good night’s sleep. If you want something more happening throughout the night, you place the bowl outside the door. 

Despite its haunting reputation, the hotel is not known for malevolent spirits. According to an article, there has only been one cancellation when people have heard about the haunted rumours. The haunting of the Blue Room is quiet, mournful and deeply human. It is the echo of a promise that could never be fulfilled, preserved in the heavy silence of the fjord and the deep blue walls of the room where two lovers once found a fleeting happiness.

Guests leave Hotel Union Øye with memories of grandeur, mountain shadows and still waters. Some leave with more. They speak of tears that were not their own, the faint scent of wet flowers, or the unsettling certainty that someone unseen sat beside them in the dark.

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References:

https://www.unionoye.no/no/hotellet/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23046816155&gbraid=0AAAAADeWuny510Elimp6MbDkZox2IlNrq&gclid=CjwKCAiAxc_JBhA2EiwAFVs7XNZhAeuBCWFT9yJCokGesPRGskVkFP5VUw2YthAPBhZsXCbZRUv9CxoClVUQAvD_BwE

Det uforklarlige

Spøkelset på Union Øye

Moltke family – Wikipedia

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The Haunting of Dalen Hotel and the English Lady of Room 17

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In the deep fjords of Norway, the Dalen Hotel is one of the places said to be haunted by a guest who never really checked out. Who was the English Lady of Room 17?

Among Norway’s many haunted lodgings, few inspire as much unease as the grand and secluded Dalen Hotel in Telemark. Its turrets and dark timbered halls have earned it the nickname “The Fairytale Hotel,” but behind the elegance lingers a story soaked in sorrow. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Guests whisper of a presence that still moves through the corridors, most often felt near one room in particular: Room 17, where the English Lady is said to linger.

The Dalen Hotel: Known for its unique Norwegian dragon style architecture, is famous for its haunting stories, particularly of the English Lady in Room 17. // Source: Eirik Solheim

The Haunted Dalen Hotel

The hotel was completed in 1894 and is a striking building among the green in the Norwegian dragon style with its towers and spires that took inspirations from stave churches and the viking age. 

The Haunted Hotel: The elegant interior of the haunted Dalen Hotel, showcasing its intricate wooden design and vintage decor were the ghost of a lady in grey is said to haunt. // Source Eirik Solheim

The hotel was, by the standards of the time, extremely luxurious. It even had running water and electric light not at all common around these parts. And from the very beginning it was a success and a tourist magnet, attracting princes and aristocrats from Norway and Europe.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

During the second world war, the Germans took over the hotel and removed the interior and let it fall to decay. It is said that a canal boat sailed out fully loaded with furniture and other equipment. Most of this has not been recovered. After many years of disrepair, it was restored and reopened in 1992 with 49 rooms. 

When the last guests check out in October for the winter close down, one guest is said to remain within the rooms. 

The Woman Who Never Checked Out

The ghost said to haunt the Dalen Hotel is known as The English Lady and although her story is known by most people working there and the locals around it, the details of the story are rather hard to find tangible evidence from.

The story goes, late in the 1800s, an Englishwoman named Miss Eliza Greenfield arrived alone at Dalen, her demeanor polite but withdrawn. Staff noticed her unusual habits and her long, solitary walks, but no one suspected the secret she carried. For months she lived quietly behind the door of Room 17. When she finally left, she offered polite farewells and vanished down the road without a backward glance.

Her departure should have been the end of her story. Instead, it was the beginning of a horror story. Soon after her room was cleaned, staff found a dead infant hidden inside. The story doesn’t often specify if the child was stillborn or if something more ominous had killed the child. 

The discovery shocked the entire region. Miss Greenfield was tracked down on her ship back to England, arrested for the crime of murdering her child. However, she took her own life before the trial started. In some versions of the tale she was actually executed for her crimes. 

The Woman in Grey in Room 17

How true is the story though? Although Christin Normann, manager at the hotel claimed the story was true in a hotel magazine, there are little to none traces of Miss Greenfield and her crimes. 

Guests staying in Room 17 still report strange occurrences though. Soft footsteps cross the floor at night when no one is there. The sound of quiet weeping rises and fades with no apparent source. In this room today, a cradle still stands, and it is said that she has returned to her child.

The haunting hallways: leading to Room 17 at the Dalen Hotel, where the ghost of the English Lady is said to linger. // Source: Wikimedia

Some visitors claim they have awakened to see a pale woman at the foot of the bed, her figure faint, her expression hollow with regret before she dissolves into the shadows.

One of the most repeated tales is about a man who once spent a night in the room and was unaware of its tragic history. Disturbed by unexplained noises, he left not only the room but also the hotel in the middle of the night.

Eirik Solheim/Wikimedia

Staff members tell of cold pockets in the hall outside the room, or a sudden fragrance of old-fashioned perfume drifting past. A few have claimed to hear a gentle knock on the door as if someone is still trying to soothe a restless child. Those who sense her presence say there is no malice in it, only unbearable grief.

A Table Set for a Ghost at Dalen Hotel

In the hotel’s restaurant, a single table remains permanently set in her memory. Candles are lit, plates arranged, cutlery polished. It stands as a quiet acknowledgment that Miss Greenfield never truly left Dalen Hotel and that the staff take notice of this. Her story lingers in every creak of the floorboards and in every shadow that slips through the lamplit corridors.

The Table set for a Ghost: Still to this day, the staff remembers and honors their hotel ghosts by giving her a plate at her table. // Photo: Per-Åge Eriksen

Some swear they have felt her pass by them in the night. Others say they caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in Victorian clothing reflected in the old mirrors.

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Dalen Hotel

Spøkelseshistorien om Dalen Hotel | Strawberry

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The Architect’s Ghost: Hauntings at Grand Hotel Giessbach

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The Grand Hotel Giessbach has housed the Swiss elite for over a century and is said to be haunting the ghost of Horace Edouard Davinet, the architect behind it all. 

Above the glacial waters of Lake Brienz, the Grand Hotel Giessbach is a Swiss landmark of timeless elegance. Built in 1874, the hotel’s grand façade and sweeping views of cascading waterfalls have drawn royalty, artists, and weary travelers alike. 

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Horace Edouard Davinet, the renowned 19th-century architect, poured his soul into creating the Giessbach after being commissioned by the Hauser family of hoteliers, from Wädenswil in the Canton of Zurich who wanted to expand on the guesthouse they had there. The Grand Hotel Giessbach was said to be one of his crowning achievement, a luxurious Belle Epoque retreat with stucco-decorated ballrooms and salons meant to harmonize with the surrounding Alpine wilderness. Yet behind its Belle Époque charm lies a spectral secret — the restless spirit of the man who designed it.

The Ghost of the Architect

Horace Edouard Davinet was a Franco-Swiss architect. He was born in 1839 and studied, worked and lived in Bern where he designed buildings for the Swiss elite. Before he died in 1922, he designed several hotels, including the original Rigi Kulm Hotel at the summit of Rigi mountain in Switzerland. Although there is nothing but designing the hotel that connects him to this Grand Hotel Giessbach, this is where they say he haunts.

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Two World Wars plus economic crises with their devastating consequences for the Swiss hotel industry combined with a different understanding of tourism led to the fading of the lustre and glory of the Giessbach. After many years of decline, the Grand Hotel Giessbach closed its doors in 1979 before opening up again with a haunted rumor.

Edouard Davinet: architect and inspector of the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, 1919, by Wilhelm Paul Friedrich Balmer, Museum of Fine Arts in Bern.

And though Davinet passed away long ago, it seems his devotion to the building has tethered him to its halls. And as the hotel director, Mark von Weissenfluh says: “We firmly believe that our hotel is primarily home to good spirits,”

The Haunting of the Grand Hotel Giessbach

For decades, staff and guests alike have whispered of eerie happenings within the Grand Hotel Giessbach, particularly during the quiet, snow-draped winter months when the rooms sit empty and the wind howls through the valley. Footsteps echo along deserted corridors, doors creak open without cause, and the air turns inexplicably cold in certain parts of the hotel — especially near the grand staircase, said to be Davinet’s favorite feature.

He is said to have gently touched two employees on the shoulder during their nightly rounds, but there are no malicious or negative stories coming from guests and staff about encounters with the house spirit. 

The most unsettling encounters, however, involve the large, formal portrait of Davinet that hangs prominently in the hotel’s main hall. Many claim to have seen the eyes in the painting follow them as they pass, while others report a faint, spectral figure resembling the architect himself, standing motionless at the top of the staircase, vanishing the moment one’s gaze meets his.

Though skeptics brush it off as old hotel creaks and overactive imaginations, many believe Horace Edouard Davinet’s spirit continues to walk the halls of Grand Hotel Giessbach, ever watchful, ensuring that his masterpiece stands proud against the passage of time and that no one forgets the man who dreamed it into being.

For those brave enough to stay during a quiet winter’s night, keep an ear open for those ghostly footsteps — and if you pass the portrait in the main hall, you might just catch a flicker of movement in the architect’s unblinking eyes.

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https://www.beobachter.ch/konsum/reisen/grandhotel-giessbach-fliegende-geranien-und-spukgeschichten?srsltid=AfmBOoqKeErPZ9YGbiVNyikuifpNuxSU0AEi9kTriL4aqcaPFlPWTK_M

Horace Edouard Davinet – Wikipedia

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Most Haunted Hotels in Hawaii

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Even on the sunny beaches and tropical resorts, ghosts still linger. Many of the hotels you’ll find in Hawaii, come with a haunted history. Here are some of the most haunted hotels from the state.

Hawaii, known for its breathtaking landscapes, rich culture, and inviting spirit, is also home to tales of the supernatural that whisper through its lush valleys and along its pristine shores. Among the islands’ scenic beauty lies a hidden realm of ghostly legends and paranormal intrigues, particularly within the walls of its historic hotels that you can stay in today.

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From the shadowy figures that roam the corridors to the scents of jasmine and lilies lingering in empty rooms, each haunted hotel offers a unique glimpse into Hawaii’s past and the spirits that have yet to depart. In this article, we will explore some of the most haunted hotels in Hawaii, delving into their eerie histories, the legends they harbor, and the ghostly encounters reported by guests and staff alike.

Ghosts Haunting Hawaii’s Volcano House and the Volcano Goddess

The Island of Hawaii/Big Island

The Volcano House, situated within the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, is steeped in history and myth, believed to be haunted not only by ghosts but by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. Originally built in 1846, the hotel has seen a tumultuous past, including a devastating fire in 1940 that left behind lingering spirits. Visitors and staff have reported encounters with a ghostly elderly woman and a mysterious white dog, thought by some to be a manifestation of Pele herself. Pele’s legend is deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture, as she is considered the creator of the Hawaiian Islands and is often depicted in various forms. The Volcano House stands as a bridge between history and the supernatural, highlighting the enduring connection between the land and its mythological heritage.

Read the whole story: Ghosts Haunting Hawaii’s Volcano House and the Volcano Goddess

The Haunting of Coco Palms Resort: Spirits of the Past on Kauaʻi

Kauai

Coco Palms Resort: Exterior of the backside of the Lagoon Terrace Lounge and Heritage Room buildings at the Coco Palms Resort on the island of Kauai. The hotel was destroyed by hurricane Iniki in September 1992.// Wiki

The Coco Palms Resort in Kauai, Hawaii, once a luxurious destination, now stands abandoned and haunted, housing the spirits of its past, including legends of Elvis Presley and a woman named Helen who died under mysterious circumstances. These are just some of the ghost said to still linger. Opened in 1953, the resort faced a devastating decline after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and has since become a site of eerie stories, with claims of ghostly encounters and haunting sounds of chanting and drumming. The resort’s location is rooted in deep cultural significance, believed to be sacred ground connected to Hawaii’s last reigning queen. Despite ongoing redevelopment efforts, the echoes of lost souls remain at this once-grand escape, capturing the haunting spirit of Kauai’s history.

Read the whole story: The Haunting of Coco Palms Resort: Spirits of the Past on Kauaʻi 

The Lady in Red Haunting of Hilton Hawaiian Village

Oahu

Hilton Hawaiian Village: View from the Tapa Tower. // Source: Joel Solomon/Wikimedia

The Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Honolulu, is reputedly haunted by a ghost known as the “Lady in Red,” which some believe to be the spirit of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. Guests and staff have reported sightings of this beautiful apparition dressed in red, often seen wandering the resort’s hallways and the beach. The legend suggests that Pele’s spirit lingers in Hawaii after her violent demise, appearing in various forms. Additionally, the hotel is also said to be home to another ghost, a man in white, who has been spotted by staff on the 14th floor. This rich tapestry of ghostly tales adds an intriguing dimension to what is otherwise a luxurious getaway filled with sun, sand, and pools.

Read the whole story: The Lady in Red Haunting of Hilton Hawaiian Village

The Haunting of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

The Island of Hawaii/Big Island

King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. // Source: W Nowicki/Wikimedia

The King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is steeped in history and rumored to be haunted by the spirit of King Kamehameha the Great, who united the Hawaiian Islands in 1810. Built on land believed to be his burial site, the hotel reflects his legacy and features eerie sightings reported by guests and staff, including a tall figure in traditional Hawaiian attire and sounds of distant battles. Additionally, a haunted portrait of Queen Liliuokalani on display is said to exhibit strange phenomena, leading to speculation about its haunting.

Read the whole story: The Haunting of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

The Haunted Prince Waikiki Hotel and its Blue Lights

Oahu

Jeff C/Flickr

The Prince Waikiki Hotel in Hawaii is reputed to be haunted, with guests reporting eerie phenomena such as moving luggage, strange blue lights, and unexplained whispering voices throughout the property. Built in the mid-20th century, the hotel’s history is intertwined with tales of restless spirits believed to be linked to its past and the land it occupies, which once belonged to ancient Hawaiian tribes. Guests have described encounters with ghostly apparitions, including a man in a red and white Hawaiian shirt and a princely figure, contributing to the hotel’s mysterious and chilling reputation.

Read the whole story: The Haunted Prince Waikiki Hotel and its Blue Lights

The Haunted Ihilani Resort: Does the Spirit Remain at Four Seasons Resort Oahu?

Oahu

Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina: Before it became the four seasons, it was the Ihilani Resort. This is when an alledged untimely death of a guest created a ghost story that have lasted through the rebranding as well. // Source: Farragutful/wiki

The Four Seasons Resort Oahu, formerly known as the Ihilani Resort, is intertwined with a haunting tale related to a guest who tragically passed away on its seventeenth floor. Despite the resort’s luxurious reputation and transformation, whispers of paranormal activity persist, with reports of eerie occurrences such as doors opening by themselves, cold drafts, and sightings of an apparition resembling a woman who once occupied that floor. As the hotel’s brand evolved, so did speculation about whether the ghost remained tied to the site of her untimely death, leaving guests to wonder if the spirit still lingers in this now lavish destination.

Read the whole story: The Haunted Ihilani Resort: Does the Spirit Remain at Four Seasons Resort Oahu? 

The Haunted Lodge at Koele: Spirits in Paradise at the Four Seasons Resort

Lanai Island

The haunted resort: Main building of the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele on the island of Lanai, Hawaii. // Terence Faircloth/Flickr

The Four Seasons Resort, formerly known as The Lodge at Koele, is located in the lush highlands of Lanai Island, Hawaii, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted hotels in the area. Despite its tranquil and luxurious atmosphere, the resort is home to numerous ghostly tales, including sightings of a little girl in old-fashioned clothing who appears at night, as well as unexplained phenomena like flickering lights and cold spots. Interestingly, the hotel’s history does not include any documented tragedies to explain these hauntings, leaving the origin of the spirits a mystery. Guests are drawn to the resort not only for its stunning landscapes and elegance but also for the intriguing possibility of encountering the supernatural during their stay.

Read the whole story: The Haunted Lodge at Koele: Spirits in Paradise at the Four Seasons Resort 

The Ghostly Guest of Moana Surfrider: Haunting of a Hawaiian Icon

Oahu

Haunted Hotel: The Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach is believed to be haunted by more than one ghost. // Source: Wiki

The Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort and Spa, is a luxurious and historic hotel in Waikiki, believed to be haunted by the ghost of Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, who mysteriously died there in 1905 under suspicious circumstances. After surviving a previous poisoning attempt in California, she sought a recuperative escape to Hawaii but met a tragic end shortly after her arrival. Her spirit is said to roam the hotel, often appearing in early 20th-century attire, searching for her former room, which has since been removed. Guests have reported eerie encounters, including flickering lights, cold chills, and the scent of lilies. Additionally, the hotel is purported to host other spirits, including a young girl and a soldier from World War II, adding to its reputation as one of Hawaii’s most haunted locations.

Read the whole story: The Ghostly Guest of Moana Surfrider: Haunting of a Hawaiian Icon

The Haunting History of the Blaisdell Hotel: Spirits Linger in an Old Honolulu Landmark

Oahu

Blaisdell Hotel: Old photograph when the building was still used as a hotel. Although not used as a hotel, most of the haunted ghost stories from the building comes from its time operating.

The Blaisdell Hotel, built in 1912 and now serving as a business building and the Hawai‘i Pacific University Sea Warrior Center, is noted for its haunting tales that stem from its rich history. Once a retreat for sailors during World War II, it is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a Navy man, alongside spectral appearances attributed to a tragic death of a hotel guest in the 1960s and a former owner who took his life in the basement in the 1980s over gambling debts. While many who work and visit the building may not witness these apparitions, local legend and chilling stories persist, ensuring the haunting legacy of the Blaisdell Hotel is remembered.

Read the whole story: The Haunting History of the Blaisdell Hotel: Spirits Linger in an Old Honolulu Landmark 

The Ghostly Tales of Kona Sheraton

The Island of Hawaii/Big Island

The Kona Sheraton Resort, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, has a haunting reputation rooted in its history on an ancient battleground and the destruction of sacred sites during its construction. Many guests and staff have reported eerie experiences, including sightings of ghostly children playing in the hallways and an apparition at the cliffs. Following numerous accidents and a tragic incident involving a child’s death, the hotel closed in 1988, and subsequent hauntings continued even during its abandonment. Despite the land being blessed and efforts to restore the heiau sites, the specter of its haunted past lingers as the resort reopens as OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa, leaving the question of whether paranormal activity will persist unanswered.

Read the whole story: The Ghostly Tales of Kona Sheraton: Hauntings on the Big Island on Hawaii  

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Ukategorisert

The Don CeSar Hotel Haunting: The Pink Palace on St. Pete Beach

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After building his Pink Palace on St. Pete Beach in Florida, Thomas Rowe still couldn’t get over his true love, the opera singer he met as a student. Staff at the Don CeSar Hotel claim that the two lovers were reunited in the afterlife and are still lingering at the hotel. 

Florida’s Gulf Coast isn’t all sugar-white beaches and turquoise tides. Beneath the sunshine and salt air, its shores cradle legends older than their glitzy resorts and postcard-perfect sunsets. And if there’s one place in St. Pete Beach where the past refuses to stay buried, it’s at the Don CeSar Hotel — better known to locals as The Pink Palace.

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This towering, rosy-hued monument to 1920s decadence holds more than history within its walls. It holds a love story cut short, a founder lost too soon, and the lingering spirits of those who never truly checked out.

The Pink Palace: The iconic Don CeSar Hotel, known as The Pink Palace, stands majestically on St. Pete Beach, reflecting its 1920s architectural grandeur. It is believed to be haunted by the founder, Thomas Rowe.

A Glamorous Beginning Shrouded in Heartbreak

When estate mogul, Thomas Rowe opened the Don CeSar in 1928 on the beach close to St. Petersburg near Tampa, Florida, it was the epitome of Jazz Age luxury. Nicknamed The Pink Lady because of the color, it quickly became a playground for the rich and famous — from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Al Capone. 

But behind the glittering parties and ocean views lurked a tragic love story that would forever haunt the halls of this seaside palace.

As the legend goes, Rowe fell deeply in love with Lucinda de Guzman, a Spanish opera singer he met while studying architecture in London in the 1890s. She starred in Maritana, an opera where the hero was named Don César de Bazan — a name Rowe would later bestow upon his dream hotel.

Maritana: Cigar box from 1883 showing a scene from the opera Maritana. A story about a gypsy street singer in Madrid and her love affair with Charles II, the young king of Spain

In other versions they met at the opera, or Rowe took her to see it on their first date, it varies. They would meet outside the opera by a fountain, planning their life together. 

But fate was unkind. Lucinda’s family, who was of Spanish nobility, forbade the match, and the lovers were cruelly separated and their plans to marry fell apart. Rowe moved back to the U.S and married someone else, but continued to send her letters, but only one ever returned: a newspaper clipping announcing Lucinda’s death, with a simple, heart-wrenching note attached: “My beloved Don Cesar.”

Death in the Pink Palace

In 1940, just over a decade after realizing his dream, Thomas Rowe suffered a sudden, fatal heart attack in his lobby. He never left a will and the hotel was left in disrepair by his wife until the army bought it to turn it into a hospital during the war. 

Some say it was heartbreak that finally claimed him. The Don CeSar passed from his hands — but Rowe, it seems, never truly left.

By 1969, the hotel was completely abandoned and the pink paint covered with graffiti and the only guests staying were ghosts. At first they wanted to tear down the whole building, but fate would have it otherwise.  In 1973 it opened up again as a hotel after the franchise owner of Holiday Inn bought it. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels around the world

Today, staff and guests alike whisper of ghostly figures seen wandering the hotel’s sun-soaked corridors. A man in an old-fashioned linen suit and a Panama hat is often spotted strolling through the courtyard or pausing on the grand staircase or by the fountain that he built as close he could to their fountain outside the opera house. Some claim he’s seen standing beside a beautiful woman dressed in a flowing, traditional Spanish gown, her hair dark and eyes eternally searching.

Eerie Encounters in the Halls

In addition to Thomas Rowe lingering in the hotel he built, it is also believed that some of the haunting comes from the former patients as its time as a war hospital and convalescent center. 

Countless stories have emerged over the years from guests and employees who’ve had unexplained encounters at the Don CeSar. Lights flicker without reason. Footsteps echo in empty hallways. Doors open and close of their own accord.

More than one housekeeper has reported seeing the dapper man in the hat, only to watch him disappear around a corner. Others say the ghostly couple appears in the garden courtyard under the moonlight, standing hand in hand before dissolving into mist.

The Don’s Eternal Vigil

While some spirits cling to anger or unfinished business, Thomas Rowe’s ghost seems bound by love. It’s said he roams the Pink Palace not in torment, but in eternal search of the woman he lost. 

How true was the love story in the afterlife though? No playbill with Maritana mentions a woman named Lucinda. Did it even play in London in the 1890s? As it was a British opera, it does make sense he did see it when he was a student in England though. 

Although Lucinda was not on the playbill as an opera singer, the House of Guzmán is a real Castilian royal family. 

Source

According to some articles, the story wasn’t even told until its reopening and the tragic love story was a marketing strategy instead of something true. The story was apparently told in “Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America’s Inns and Hotels,” by Frances Kermeen, and when asked where she had gotten the story from, she answered from her PR contact of the hotel. 

Today, St. Pete Beach thrives as a laid-back, sun-drenched getaway. But as dusk falls and the Gulf sun sinks beneath the horizon, the Pink Palace casts long shadows across the sand. It’s in those moments that guests swear the past comes alive — a timeless echo of love, loss, and unending devotion.

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Florida’s Fairy-Tale “Pink Palace” Hides A Chilling Secret

Seeks Ghosts: Haunted Don CeSar Hotel

The Don CeSar – Wikipedia

The Lost Love of Thomas Rowe – The Gabber Newspaper

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Ukategorisert

The Ghostly Tales of Kona Sheraton: Hauntings on the Big Island on Hawaii

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Thought to be struck by an ancient curse because they didn’t respect the holy locations around the hotel when building, the Kona Sheraton Resort was believed to be haunted from the start. Strange occurrences and unexplained accidents and injuries plagued the Big Island hotel for years. After making amends, can they now invite guest back?

On the coastline of the Big Island in Hawaii, Keauhou Bay sits glittering. It is here we find the Kona Sheraton, a luxurious resort that offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and a relaxing tropical escape. However, behind its serene facade, the Kona Sheraton hides a darker, more mysterious side. 

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For years, guests and staff alike have shared eerie stories of paranormal encounters, making this hotel one of the most haunted locations on the Big Island. Some even go as far to say that the hotel holds a curse from more ancient times.

Kailua Kona

A Haunted History for the Kona Sheraton

The Kona Sheraton or the Kona Surf hotel, as it was once known as, has undergone multiple transformations and renovations throughout its history. It opened in 1974 and has ever since been deemed haunted.

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Despite its changing exterior and updated amenities, one thing has remained constant—the ghostly tales that have haunted the hotel for decades. The resort stands on an ancient Hawaiian battleground, a site where many warriors are said to have lost their lives in brutal conflicts and that the very land is cursed because of it. 

The Keawehala Pond

When constructing the hotel, the developers destroyed the Keawehala Pond where people believed two twin sisters with powers lived close to the Mākole‘ā Heiau. This was a women’s heiau named after ali‘i wahine Mākole‘ā at Keauhou.

According to the lore, the twins protected the pond and kept the water clear and fresh. They were also said to be able to change into 30-foot lizards people called mo’o wahine or “beings from deified fetuses”. 

The Mo’o: Mele Murals in Waimea depicting the moʻowahine of Kohākohau stream. //Source

Most of the Mo’o were female and amphibious creatures living in ponds around the Hawaiian islands and were often said to have power of water as well as weather. It was said that when a mo’o died, the body of the lizard, gecko or even human shaped creatures became petrified and one with the landscape.

According to lore, the Mo’o Twins were also said to reside in the nearby Punawai Spring.

The Haunted Remains of the Heiaus

As well as destroying the pond, the nearby heiaus temples were filled with concrete, glass and disturbed by the construction, thought to anger the spirits. For a long time, it looked like a pile of rocks without meaning, but this has luckily changed as there have been restoration done to the holy site in the last decades. 

At the site there is a temple known as luakini, a place for human sacrifices according to the stories. The structure was built of volcanic rocks and stood 7-feet high. The luakini was called Ke’eku Heiau and is thought to date back to the early 1400s after carbon dating it.

Ke’eku Heiau

This was where the Maui chief, Kamalalawalu was sacrificed to the war God Ku around the 16th century after he invaded the place and lost. He was the first-born son of Kiha-a-Pi‘ilani, Kamalalawalu succeeded his father as mo‘i (king) of Maui. Some say that he was impaled on the heiau and eleven days went by before he died, and then taken to a nearby flat rock and butchered. Some say that the body was then towed to sea behind a canoe as shark food. It is said that his spirit as well as many others are still lingering in the place. 

As well as the king himself, it is said that his two big dogs died and were buried under the heiau luakini platform as well, howling and roaming around, searching for the underworld as well as their master. 

This blood-soaked history may explain the strange, supernatural occurrences reported by those who stay and work at the hotel.

Paranormal Activity Rooted in History

Given the hotel’s location on an ancient battleground, it is not surprising that the Kona Sheraton is a hotspot for paranormal activity. The restless spirits of warriors who perished in fierce battles, their souls still wandering in search of peace, are said to roam the grounds. 

The tragic history of the land seems to seep into every corner of the resort, with visitors and staff experiencing unexplained phenomena, from flickering lights to sudden drops in temperature and even a sense of being watched.

Ghostly Children in the Hallways

One of the most common complaints from guests involves the sound of little girls playing noisily in the hallways late at night. Frustrated by the sounds of laughter, giggles, and tiny footsteps echoing through the halls, guests frequently call down to security, demanding that the children be quieted. However, the hotel guards can only offer an apology and an explanation that chills guests to the bone—the children are ghosts.

These spectral children are said to be seen fleetingly, dressed in old-fashioned clothing, their faces partially obscured by the dim lighting of the hallway. They vanish around corners and dissolve into thin air when approached. Despite numerous sightings, their origins remain a mystery, but many believe they could be spirits of children from a bygone era who met a tragic fate on the grounds long before the hotel was built.

The Cliffside Specter

Another ghostly presence frequently spotted at the Kona Sheraton is the apparition of a figure standing at the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Staff members report seeing a shadowy silhouette lingering near the edge, as if contemplating the deep blue waters below. The figure disappears the moment one looks away or tries to approach, leaving no trace behind. Some believe this could be the spirit of a warrior or a former guest, eternally bound to the cliffs where they may have met their end.

Lava Rocks in Kailua Kona

The cliffs themselves, with their dramatic drop-offs and sweeping views, hold a deep spiritual significance in Hawaiian culture. Some speculate that the spirit could be one of the many who lost their lives on these cliffs in ancient times or perhaps a ghost still drawn to the natural beauty and solemnity of the place.

The Accidents at the Kona Sheraton

Throughout its time as a hotel, the spirits are said to have been behind more than one accident. Construction workers experienced strange things and accidents that gave them concussions, fractured bones and hurt them. People started to blame spirits. 

The hotel staff were attacked by trays and dishes shattering towards them by an unseen force and the doors kept slamming behind them, almost like a warning. According to former employees, most of them left because of the hauntings. 

The worst thing that happened was when an 8-foot wooden ki’i fell over and killed a 4 year old child in August 1986 according to the ghost tours that had this as one of their stops. 

All of this contributed to the hotel’s reputation and the hotel closed in 1988. But even though the hotel closed down and was abandoned, there were still things happening according to the security staff. 

The Following Haunting

For years it was abandoned and boarded up, the former resort now covered in graffiti. In 2002 when people started to think the only way to deal with it was to demolish it.

Security guards hired to watch the property when the 462-room hotel closed in 1988 were frightened at night, said Joe Castelli, who lives at the neighboring Keauhou Kona Tennis and Racquet Club.

“They told me that they would see lights up there and hear Hawaiians singing and talking,” Castelli said. “…But when they got there, they didn’t find anything. So they said they just didn’t go anymore.”
Source

In addition, the haunting seemed to move as well to the Keauhou Beach Hotel next door. The former hotels are both demolished now, first the Kona Lagoon Hotel in 2004, then the Keauhou Beach Hotel in 2019. But what happened to the haunting then?

Today the area has been reclaimed and the site is now called Kahalu’u Ma Kai. Kahuna priests have blessed the land and the heiaus have been restored and recreated back in 2007. Only teachers and students can see the place today, and if these measures have had any effect is still to be seen.  

A Chilling Invitation

The Kona Sheraton on the Big Island may have offered luxury and relaxation, and perhaps it will do so again. After it reopened as OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa, it remains to see if the land is now content after the blessings or if the haunting will continue as a new business takes over the land yet again. 

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References:

The Most Haunted Hotels in Hawaii | Haunted Rooms America

The Cursed Kona Lagoon Hotel 

Kona Lagoon Hotel may be torn down | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii’s Newspaper

Haunted Hawaii-Ghosts, Spirits, Night Marchers and more – 365 Kona 

Moʻo – Wikipedia

Ka Po‘e Mo‘o Akua: Hawaiian Reptilian Water Deities 9780824891091 – DOKUMEN.PUB

Hapaiali’i and Ke’eku Heiau, Big Island

King Kamalalawalu | Lovingthebigisland’s Weblog 

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The Haunting History of the Blaisdell Hotel: Spirits Linger in an Old Honolulu Landmark

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In the former hotel, now turned into a business building, the old Blaisdell Hotel is said to be haunted by more than one ghost. From former guests who died staying at the hotel to navy ghosts and another residing in the basement. 

The Blaisdell Hotel, built in 1912, is one of the oldest hotels in Hawai‘i, a relic from an era when Honolulu was a bustling hub for sailors, travelers, and adventurers. While it no longer serves as a hotel, the building now houses businesses and serves as the Hawai‘i Pacific University Sea Warrior Center.

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Despite its modern-day use, the Blaisdell Hotel is steeped in history—and ghostly legends that continue to haunt its hallways.

Blaisdell Hotel: Old photograph when the building was still used as a hotel. Although not used as a hotel, most of the haunted ghost stories from the building comes from its time operating.

Echoes of the Past: A Haunted Navy Man

During World War II, the Blaisdell Hotel was a popular spot for sailors seeking rest and relaxation. But some say that not all who checked in ever left. The third floor of the building is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a Navy man. Visitors and workers in the building have reported feeling a strange presence, a cold draft in otherwise warm hallways, and the inexplicable sensation of being watched. Some claim to have seen the ghostly figure of the sailor, clad in a crisp Navy uniform, wandering the halls as if still searching for something—or someone—long gone.

The Tragic Leap at the Blaisdell Hotel

The hotel’s dark history doesn’t end there. Javier Fombellida, a former elevator operator at the Blaisdell, recounts an unsettling tale he’s heard from tenants over the years. As he himself said in an interview:

“Sometimes I see … things, but I don’t believe in ghosts,” he says. “I always say it’s a shadow, or the light, or somebody’s probably there. Sometimes I want to see something, to make me a believer, you know?”
Source

According to local legend, a hotel guest once jumped out of a window on one of the upper floors, plummeting to her death. According to some sources, it is said this happened in the 1960s.

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While Fombellida himself hasn’t seen anything, the tenants tell stories of a little girl or a Hawaiian man appearing in the hallways, their figures fleeting and ghostly. Whether these apparitions are connected to the tragic jumper or other spirits that haunt the building remains a mystery.

The Haunted Building: Javier Fombellida operated the elevator at Blaisdell for years and has plenty of stories to tell. // Source: Images by John Hook/Fluxhawaii

Perhaps the most chilling story associated with the Blaisdell Hotel is the tale of a former owner in the 1980s who, stricken by despair, hanged himself in the building’s basement. According to the stories, he had a huge gambling debt. Fombellida has ventured into the basement and the legend is that the rope used in the tragic event remains intact. 

A Place Where Spirits Roam

Today, the Blaisdell Hotel stands as a piece of Honolulu’s history, a building that has seen countless lives pass through its doors. Yet, it seems that some of those lives never truly left. The ghosts of the past continue to make their presence known, haunting the building’s hallways, stairwells, and basement. Whether it’s the Navy man on the third floor, the tragic figure of the jumper, or the specter of the former owner, the Blaisdell Hotel is a place where the line between the living and the dead is blurred.

For those who work or visit the Blaisdell Hotel today, the stories serve as a chilling reminder that history is never truly in the past. The spirits of those who once walked its halls still linger, their stories woven into the very fabric of the building. And while not everyone may see or hear these ghosts, the eerie tales continue to be passed down, ensuring that the haunting history of the Blaisdell Hotel is never forgotten.

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Haunted history | Honolulu Star-Advertiser 

5 Haunted Downtown Honolulu Hotspots

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The Gray Man of Pawleys Island: The Phantom Who Warns of Storms

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Right before horrible hurricanes, there is supposedly the ghost appearing to warn people to leave the island. Nicknamed The Gray Man of Pawleys Island, many attribute sightings of him to that their homes were spared from the destructive winds. 

Beneath the swaying Spanish moss and salt-laden winds of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a ghostly figure walks the shore — a silent sentinel wrapped in gray. Locals call him The Gray Man of Pawleys Island, a spectral presence who appears in the dead calm before a storm, his arrival as ominous as the thunderheads gathering on the horizon.

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A tiny, unassuming barrier island with a history as old and restless as the tides themselves, Pawleys Island is no stranger to storms. But when this ghostly figure emerges from the mist, wise islanders know to gather their families, pack their belongings, and head inland — for when the Gray Man appears, disaster is sure to follow.

Ghost Lore at Pawleys Islands: A serene beach scene at Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where the legendary The Gray Man of Pawleys Island is said to appear before storms to warn the locals.

The Legend Behind the Phantom

The tale of The Gray Man of Pawleys Island stretches back centuries, winding through the tangled history of colonial plantations, shipwrecks, and violent coastal tempests. Like all good ghost stories, there are several versions of his origin, though each ends in tragedy.

The most popular telling speaks of a young sailor, racing home to his beloved on horseback after a long voyage at sea. It is said that it was around 1822 and that he was coming from Charleston. Impatient to reach her side, he took a shortcut through the marshes of Pawleys Island, where both horse and rider became hopelessly mired in quicksand. Neither survived the night. 

The Marches of Pawleys Island: A tranquil pier stretches over the marshes of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, under an ominous sky. Is this where the ghost of the Gray Man comes from?

In some versions, he was a young master travelling with his manservant. His servant had to watch in horror as both his master and horse disappeared into the quicksand and had to be the one relaying the news to his girlfriend. 

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Ever since, his mournful spirit has wandered the shore, doomed to walk the beaches he longed to see in life.

Some say that his girlfriend mourned for ages after his passing. She used to take long walks on the beach they used to stroll on together before he died. It is said that one day while she was walking he appeared for the first time, warning her about an oncoming storm. Since then, he has repeated it for others walking the beach. 

The Ghost of George Pawley

Some locals, however, insist the Gray Man is none other than George Pawley, the island’s namesake, whose own stormy fate was lost to history. He was a prominent rice planter and original owner of the, although records show that he would have been a child when the first sighting occurred. Born in 1819, Charles Jeannerette Weston, was the original owner of the house on Pawleys Island now known as the Pelican Inn. 

He died of tuberculosis during the civil war and warns people about the weather as he once warned his neighbors about the risks of the oncoming war they would go through. 

Others claim he was a victim of one of the island’s devastating hurricanes in the early 19th century, one of many souls claimed by the Atlantic’s fury.

The Pelican Inn Ghost

Still another version of The Gray Man of Pawleys Island legend exists. Mrs. Eileen Weaver, owner of Pelican Inn, has encountered the Grey Man multiple times, whom she believes is someone from a nineteenth-century photograph. Her first sighting was during bread-making in the kitchen. She saw a woman with French features, dressed in a grey-and-white checkered dress with pearl buttons, observing them.

The Pelican Inn: a historic site in Pawleys Island, known for its ghostly encounters and connections to The Gray Man of Pawleys Island legend.

This spirit became a regular presence at Pelican Inn, with guests occasionally mistaking her for a living person. Mrs. Weaver also had an encounter with the Grey Man, dressed in period attire.

Mrs. Weaver’s daughter recounted a story about her sister-in-law, Gayle, who, while cleaning, felt tugs at her shirt tail. After realizing it couldn’t be anyone else, she suspected a spirit was present.

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Mrs. Weaver shared these experiences with historian Julian Stevenson Bolick, identifying photographs of a woman and a man resembling the spirits in her home. The pictures were of Mr. and Mrs. Mazyck, relatives of the original owners, the Westons, who inherited and operated the inn. Mrs. Weaver believes Mr. Mazyck’s spirit is the Grey Man.

A Harbinger of Hurricanes

While his backstory might vary, his purpose is chillingly consistent: to warn the living of approaching storms. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. The Gray Man’s appearances have become a spectral tradition in Pawleys Island folklore. One fisherman spotted the Grey Man in Murrells Inlet, a coastal town about 10 miles north of Pawleys Island.

Those who claim to have seen him describe a figure clothed entirely in gray, with an otherworldly stillness. He appears suddenly along the dunes or walking the tideline, sometimes speaking in a voice muffled by the wind — other times, offering only a solemn gaze before vanishing like mist.

The Ghost of the Gray Man: A year after the 200th anniversary of the Gray Man legend, he was spotted on Litchfield Beach during Idalia on August 30, 2023. The picture was taken during the early hours of Tropical Storm Idalia’s impacts. The photo was captured at 7:12 p.m. and appears to show a shadowy gray figure walking along the surf and dunes

His appearances are always followed by disaster.

In 1954, residents reported seeing The Gray Man of Pawleys Island mere hours before Hurricane Hazel unleashed its fury on the Carolina coast, leveling homes and taking lives.

In 1989, just days before the catastrophic arrival of Hurricane Hugo, witnesses claimed to have encountered the Gray Man, prompting some to evacuate while the skies were still deceptively calm. Residents Jim and Clara Moore were interviewed about these sightings on Unsolved Mysteries that aired in 1990. They told in their interview:

“You see so many people walking on the beach at that time of day. That particular afternoon we only saw the one, and he was coming directly toward us. When I got within speaking distance, I raised my hand to say ‘hi’ or ‘beautiful evening’ and he disappeared.”

As recently as September 2018, his shadow was spotted once again ahead of Hurricane Florence, sending seasoned locals scrambling to higher ground. The latest reports of him was in 2022 when Hurricane Ian closed in. 

The Gray Man of Pawleys Island With a Kind Streak

Oddly enough, the Gray Man’s warnings come with a peculiar side effect. In nearly every account, homes whose occupants have heeded his warning are spared the worst of the storm’s wrath. In a region battered by hurricanes for generations, this chilling coincidence has only deepened the legend.

One family recounted in local lore claims their home was left untouched by Hugo’s catastrophic winds and storm surge after a man in gray appeared at their door and urged them to flee. When they returned days later, their neighbors’ homes lay in splinters, while theirs stood unscathed — not a single window shattered.

The Lingering Spirit of the Lowcountry

To this day, Pawleys Island remains a place where the line between the living and the dead is paper-thin. It’s a land of antebellum ruins, restless marshes, and whispers carried on the tide. The Gray Man of Pawleys Island is perhaps its most famous specter, a reminder of the sea’s merciless power and the thin veil between this world and the next.

Ken Lane/Flickr

Visitors and locals alike know to keep a wary eye on the shoreline when the weather turns heavy. Because should you glimpse a figure cloaked in gray where no one should be — silent, watchful, and impossibly still — it might be time to pack up and run.

After all, when The Gray Man of Pawleys Island walks, the storm is never far behind.

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References:

The Gray Man (ghost) – Wikipedia

The Grey Man – Legendary Ghost of Pawleys Island

Hurricanes, history and hauntings – USC News & Events | University of South Carolina

Tales of The Grey Man – James W. Smith Vacation Rentals