You have to be pretty intrepid to want to live in a haunted house. But even for those who may not want to live in them, haunted places are still awfully interesting to visit, and for travelers adventurous enough to want to learn about history from some of its original cast of characters, America’s haunted hotels are an invaluable resource.

Ghost accommodations
If the dead, like the living, are more comfortable in numbers, then it makes perfect sense that you’d find more of them around a historic battlefield. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the neighborhood of the Alamo. San Antonio is considered by many to be the most haunted city in Texas, and the Menger Hotel, located next to the Alamo mission itself, is one of its most haunted hostelries. Opened in 1859, the Menger and its inhabitants postdate the famous 1836 battle, but its illustrious roster of guests—some of whom have stuck around—are straight from the pages of history. Several U.S. presidents have stayed at the Menger, including Teddy Roosevelt, who recruited many of his Rough Riders in the hotel’s bar.

The Menger’s ghost list features an astonishing 32 different apparitions—and that doesn’t even count the unexplained bumps, voices, and transported objects. A bespectacled lady sometimes sits in the lobby, disappearing when spoken to, and a military figure thought by some to be T.R. himself occasionally appears in the bar. Several guests have reported visitors to their rooms, particularly to the King Suite, whose occupant, the late Capt. Richard King, enters through a door that was plastered over years ago. The most common sighting, however, is of chambermaid Sallie White, who was murdered in 1876, but still shows up to work.

Another hotel influenced by a famous nearby battlefield is the Gettysburg Hotel in Gettysburg, Pa. Established as Scott’s Tavern in 1797, it was known as the McClellan House by 1863 when it was swept up in one of the battles of the Civil War. Rebuilt in the 1890s as the Hotel Gettysburg, it offered plush surroundings and fine service throughout the early 20th century, before closing its doors in 1964.

The hotel was carefully restored and has been open since 1991 as the Best Western Gettysburg Hotel. But even though little of its Civil War structure remains, the hotel still hosts an eyewitness to the great struggle: a Civil War nurse named Rachel. She has made her presence known with a cold breeze, or by moving items in guest rooms. But the—luckier?—guests have heard her tell stories and occasionally voice complaints about the wounded soldiers under her care.

Death checks in
Sometimes a spirit will appear in a place where a person has met a sudden or tragic death—such as at the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, which has hosted the unfortunate Kate Morgan since her suicide in November 1892. The Del, built in 1888, prides itself on the distinction of its guest list, which has included Thomas Edison, Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), and 10 U.S. presidents.

But its strangest guest is its permanent one. Kate Morgan, the story goes, checked into the hotel on Nov. 24, 1892, apparently following a quarrel with her husband, a notorious gambler. Five days later, she was found dead on the grounds of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and a “beautiful stranger” has been wandering the Del ever since. She has been seen in the halls and on the grounds, and many strange events have been attributed to her influence: sudden changes in temperature, rattling doorknobs, and a stream of flying merchandise in the hotel gift shop.

Another site of a tragic demise is the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Ark., which has been haunted since early in its construction by a stonemason who fell to his death on the site of what would eventually become Room 218. In the intervening years, he has been joined by many additional otherworldly visitors. Opened in 1886 for the benefit of the exclusive “Carriage Set” of wealthy tourists, the Crescent set itself up as “America’s most luxurious resort hotel,” complete with luxury surroundings, a full stable, and therapeutic spa waters. In the 1930s the building would serve a stint as a so-called “cancer hospital,” run by quack doctor Norman Baker, a former vaudevillian with no medical training whose extravagant promises of a cure defrauded hundreds of desperate patients.

Today, the unfortunate stonemason of Room 218 is the most venerable member of a long and colorful ghost list. Visitors to Room 218 have seen spectral hands in the bathroom mirror and heard overhead the screams of the stonemason’s last fall. Several apparitions from “Doctor” Baker’s cancer hospital have made themselves known, including, some say, Baker himself.

Are these spine-chilling stories true? You’ll have to decide for yourself. In the end, people who don’t believe in ghosts tend not to see them. But whether you’re searching for spirits or probing the past, or just looking for a relaxing vacation, America’s historic haunted hotels offer an opportunity to learn about some fascinating local history in a gracious environment from some instructors uniquely qualified to keep the past . . . er, alive.

Kathy Monahan wrote about the Pack Horse Library Project in the January/February 2006 issue of the magazine.