How we check
Every ghost story on Ghostly Hotels comes from sources we name and link. We report stories as stories: we can't prove a haunting, and we don't pretend to.
How we find the hotels
We search Google Maps for haunted and historic hotels in each city, then read every "haunted hotels in" article we can find for that city and count how many independent articles name each hotel.
Who gets listed
A hotel is listed only when at least three independent sources tell a named ghost story about it: newspapers and magazines, local TV, books, ghost tour companies, history sites, or the hotel itself. Booking sites, review sites and social media posts do not count, and two pages from the same publisher count once.
Our build re-opens every source page and checks that the quote we use is really there. A source whose quote we can't find is dropped, and a hotel that falls below three sources is not published. Across the 24 hotels listed today that leaves 139 checked sources.
Room numbers
We print a room number only when a source ties that room to a ghost story, in words we can quote. That gives 21 rooms so far, all on the haunted rooms page. Hotels rarely guarantee a room: ask when you book and again at check-in.
The lanterns
The 1 to 5 lanterns show how well documented a ghost story is: 3 independent sources give 2 lanterns, 4 give 3, 5 or 6 give 4, and 7 or more give 5. They measure the record, not whether ghosts exist.
Everything else on a hotel page
History and dates come from history sources such as the Texas State Historical Association, Wikipedia and the National Register of Historic Places. Ratings and addresses come from Google Maps. Places nearby come from OpenStreetMap. Walking times assume streets add a quarter to the straight-line distance.
How we earn money
"See prices" buttons go through Stay22 to booking sites such as Booking.com, Expedia or Hotels.com. If you book, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Hotels cannot pay to be listed or to change what we write. Affiliate disclosure.