The 15 Most Haunted Hotels in New Orleans for Seeing Ghosts

So you’re planning a trip to the Big Easy, and you’re looking for the most haunted hotels in New Orleans, you’re in the right place! New Orleans is known for its inclusive, laidback culture and bottomless drinks, but it is also one of the most haunted cities in America. 

Whether you’re looking for haunted hotels in the French Quarter or Garden District, there are plenty of ghosts in NOLA.

These are the most haunted hotels in New Orleans, Louisiana:

Bourbon Orleans

Is the Bourbon Orleans haunted? Those who have stayed there certainly think so! 

The beautiful Bourbon Orleans, sitting pretty in the center of the French Quarter, originally opened in 1815 as The Orleans Theatre but burned down the next year. 

It was later transformed into St. Mary’s Academy, an orphan asylum and a school for African American girls, and then sold to the Bourbon Kings Hotel Corporation in 1964, which built the Bourbon Orleans. 

• The Man: A Confederate soldier known as “The Man” is seen dragging his sword down the halls of the 3rd and 6th floors in a tattered, bloody uniform. 
• 6th floor: An undead little girl is seen rolling and chasing her ball down the corridors, which tends to freak people out.
• The Eternal Stain: Because the original ballroom was the site of various bloody fights between men in the quest for female attention, hotel staff report a persistent bloodstain reappearing on the carpet despite efforts to clean it. 
• Other hauntings include women and girls who died of yellow fever in the late 19th century, a lonely dancing ghost, and a nun in Room 664 who committed suicide.

Hotel Monteleone

The Hotel Monteleone was once a favorite among literary greats like Hemingway and Faulkner, who wrote The Sound and the Fury while staying there. 

In 2003, the International Society of Paranormal Research held an overnight investigation to determine just how haunted the Hotel Monteleone was. They determined the 14th floor to be teeming with paranormal activity, and previous guests agreed. 

• Maurice: A wealthy couple and their young son Maurice loved the Hotel Monteleone because it was so close to the French Opera House on Bourbon Street. While they went to the opera, Maurice stayed at the hotel with his nanny. One evening, he developed a fever and was not able to be revived after a convulsion. Maurice’s parents returned year after year in hopes of seeing Maurice’s spirit, which they did. Recent guests of the hotel also claim to have seen him pranking guests on the 14th floor! 
• Dirty Gras: Once, during a Mardi Gras celebration, a male entity wearing only a feathered mask appeared in front of a couple in their room. 

The Cornstalk Hotel

Another iconic haunted hotel New Orleans is known for, The Cornstalk Hotel, was originally built in 1816 as a home for Judge Francois Xavier-Martin, a Supreme Court justice.

The property that currently houses The Cornstalk Hotel has seen several fires and has been rebuilt many times. 

The iconic cornstalk fence surrounding the property is said to have strong paranormal energy itself, but if you stick around long enough, you may catch glances of a woman in a lace-collared black dress who stands near the windows on the side of the property. 

Previous hotel guests have also reported hearing children laughing throughout the hotel and finding photos on their cameras from when they were sleeping. 

Andrew Jackson Hotel

The Andrew Jackson Hotel was made famous for finding then-General Jackson in contempt of court in 1815, back when the property operated as a US Federal Courthouse. 

Before that, it was a boy’s orphanage, which burned down in 1774. The property is now haunted by the spirits of 5 young boys who died in this fire. 

Little Armond stays near Room 208 and loves to play pranks on guests, tapping on their shoulders or misplacing their things. Staff have also reported feeling watched, possibly by the ghost of a housekeeper who straightens towels, fluffs pillows, and rearranges furniture to her liking. 

It makes sense that one of the most haunted hotels in New Orleans would have a ghost housekeeper!

Dauphine Orleans

The plot of land that currently houses the Dauphine Orleans in the French Quarter was once a legal brothel run by Madam May Baily.

In 1969, it was transformed into the Harmann Guest Rooms, the main Dauphine Orleans building, and The Bordello Studio. The bar was named after May herself and serves kickass craft cocktails.

These are the top haunts here:

• May Baily’s sister Millie: Poor Millie’s fiance was shot on the day of their wedding. Millie still mills about waiting for a wedding that will never happen.
• Eldridge: a man dressed in a Confederate uniform is seen standing near the pool. 
• May Baily’s: The bar is often considered the most haunted part of the hotel, with reports of glasses shooting from the bar, noises echoing through the corridors, and even a levitating stool!

Omni Royal

In 1838, the Onmi Royal building was a significant slave trade hub known throughout the South, so clearly, it’s one of the most haunted hotels in New Orleans these days. 

When the hotel burned to the ground, it was rebuilt by a New Orleans bank, likely because it was such an important location for the slave trade. 

Destroyed by a hurricane in 1915, The Omni remained in ruins until the ’60s. These days, the hotel is haunted by a housekeeper spirit who glides through the hallways, banging on doors and tucking unexpected guests into bed. 

Groans can be heard in the corridors, and those who have listened to them report feeling deeply sad afterward. This could be due to the sheer amount of human suffering that this building has seen in its time as a slave trade center.

Lafitte Guest House

While the current building has stood since 1849, it didn’t become a hotel until the 20th century. In 1816, Pierre Lafitte purchased the home for his wife and 7 children, and the entity is said to haunt Room 21 along with her daughter, who died from an unknown illness. 

Today, the Lafitte Guest House is known for weird stuff, such as lights turning on and off without reason, objects going missing, and the sound of things being dragged across what should be an empty room upstairs. 

A young girl who slipped and fell down the stairs sometime in the 19th century has been seen walking up the staircase but not making her way back down. 

Maison de Ville

The Maison de Ville has a history of attracting famous faces.

Delphine Macarty, half-sister of Madame LaLaurie (yes, that one), called the property home shortly after the news about her sister was made public. Other famous visitors include Antoine Peychaud, the first to create cocktail bitters, and Tennessee Williams, who wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire” right in Room 9. 

The property was converted into a tiny boutique hotel filled in 1944; hauntings have been reported ever since:

• Cottage 4: This specific cottage in the Maison de Ville is known for hosting the ghost of a soldier in the 1940s uniform who insists on playing a country music radio station. An investigator caught the spirit’s raspy voice saying, “I need to leave.” He’s also been caught on camera wearing his medals of honor.
• The Wet Walkers: guests have also reported sightings of men and women dressed in vintage clothing leaving wet footprints behind in the room. 

Hotel St. Pierre

Built by Gabriel Peyroux in 1781, the Hotel St. Pierre consists of beautifully restored French Colonial cottages.

Unlike other haunted hotels in New Orleans, Hotel St. Pierre was not destroyed in either of the great fires in the 18th century. 

The bordering lot was the site of the world’s first jazz museum. Although that is now housed in the Louisiana State Museum, many of the artifacts stayed in the lobby of Hotel St. Pierre. 

Since being converted to a hotel in the 20th century, guests have reported various ghostly encounters, such as heavy footsteps in an above room even though it was empty and a man in his mid-forties standing at the front entrance. 

Lamothe House Hotel

The Lamothe House Hotel is one of the most haunted hotels New Orleans is known for; it’s the perfect place for spirits and entities to thrive. Guests have seen the ghost of a mystery woman in red materializing from a room. When approached, she disappears just as quickly as she appeared.

A woman, thought to be the kid’s mother, is seen floating down the hallways looking for them. Guests also regularly capture faces in photos taken throughout the hotel, so make sure you snap a ton of pictures during your stay!

Le Richelieu

Although new by New Orleans standards, Le Richelieu is quite haunted—one of the most haunted hotels in New Orleans, in fact.

Legends say that the land on which the hotel sits was used for public executions, and the ghosts of Spanish soldiers are often seen on the property in their uniforms. They tend to stick close to the small bar and pool, but it isn’t uncommon to see them anywhere in the hotel. A former employee named Ellen is known to adjust bed sheets while guests are gone and rearrange their belongings. 

Hotel Provincial

What used to hold a Civil War Hospital for Confederate soldiers is now the plot of land on which Hotel Provincial sits. The 500 building is extra creepy with guests reporting beds randomly rocking while nothing else in the room moves and bloody soldiers groaning in agonizing pain. 

While many of the haunted hotels in New Orleans are known for having ghosts and spirits, the Hotel Provincial’s are a bit bloody. Mysterious blood stains will sometimes appear on the bedding in random rooms and throughout the floors, and the second-floor elevator is also rumored to reveal a bloody Civil War hospital scene.

Place de’ Ames

The Place d’Armes has a tragic past dating back to the 1700s when a large fire killed several young students and a teacher. Footsteps and children’s laughter are heard, and guests have seen a little girl asking for her grandma before evaporating into thin air. 

Besides that, an elderly man dressed in period clothing is seen nodding at passing guests. Locals think he may have been a school headmaster around the time of the fire. 

The Haunted Hotel NOLA

Built in 1829, The Haunted Hotel NOLA has a horrifying history.

Beginning in 1918, a serial killer called the Axeman of New Orleans went on a murdering spree in the city, slaughtering 6 and injuring 6 others in only a year.

The Axeman was never found or identified, but The Haunted Hotel has been tied to him ever since. Not long ago, a bloody ax was found hidden in the attic and is now displayed in the lobby.

The Pontchartrain Hotel

Perhaps one of the top haunted hotels New Orleans is known for, The Pontchartrain Hotel is also one of the most haunted hotels in the Garden District. Originally a residential apartment, this hotel has over 25 hauntings related to the 1929 fire.

One sister, in a jealous rage, tried to kill the other sister by setting fire to their apartment. The fire also killed a sleeping husband and wife on the floor below. The married couple now haunts the ninth floor near the ice machine. After returning to a ninth-floor room after getting ice, guests have felt ghostly hands touching their shoulder or back.

Famous New Orleans pianist Tuts Washington continues to play the piano downstairs in The Bayou Bar, where he regularly performed in the 1960s. When the piano rings out from The Bayou Bar has closed, it stirs up the other hauntings. A man in a tuxedo, with a woman on each arm, strolls down the hallway and disappears near the lounge below. 

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