New Orleans is a city where history and ghost stories often seem to occupy the same narrow streets.
Centuries-old buildings stand beside candlelit courtyards, wrought-iron balconies overlook the French Quarter, and hotels that have welcomed generations of travelers have accumulated plenty of stories along the way. Some involve documented historical events. Others tell of phantom children, mysterious soldiers, unexplained footsteps, spectral housekeepers, and guests who apparently never checked out.
New Orleans even has an official tourism guide devoted to its supposedly haunted hotels.
Of course, stories about ghosts and paranormal activity are folklore and personal accounts, not scientifically proven facts. The histories of the hotels below can often be documented, but claims about apparitions and supernatural activity should be enjoyed as part of New Orleans’ rich storytelling tradition.
With that in mind, here are ten of the most famously haunted hotels in New Orleans.
👻 Top 10 Haunted Hotels in New Orleans
| Rank | Hotel | Famous Haunted Legend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hotel Monteleone | Maurice Begere and mysterious activity on the 14th floor |
| 2 | Bourbon Orleans Hotel | Ghost children, a soldier, and a ballroom dancer |
| 3 | Dauphine Orleans Hotel | Spirits associated with May Baily’s Place |
| 4 | Andrew Jackson Hotel | A mischievous child spirit known as Armand |
| 5 | Audubon Cottages | The mysterious soldier of Cottage Four |
| 6 | Hotel Provincial | Apparitions and stories involving soldiers |
| 7 | Le Pavillon | Multiple reported apparitions and unexplained encounters |
| 8 | Columns | Ghost stories inside an 1883 mansion |
| 9 | Place d’Armes Hotel | Children’s laughter and mysterious apparitions |
| 10 | Omni Royal Orleans | A helpful phantom housekeeper |
🏨 1. Hotel Monteleone
Few haunted hotels in New Orleans are as famous as Hotel Monteleone.
Located on Royal Street in the French Quarter, the elegant family-owned hotel has been associated with the Monteleone family since Antonio Monteleone purchased the original property in 1886. It grew over the decades into one of the city’s best-known historic hotels.
Its paranormal reputation has grown almost as impressively.
The best-known ghost story involves Maurice Begere, a young boy who died while his family was staying at the hotel. According to the hotel’s history, his devastated parents repeatedly returned afterward.
A legend eventually developed that Maurice appeared to his mother and reassured her that he was all right. Guests have since reported seeing or hearing what they believe to be a child in the hotel.
Then there is the mysterious 14th floor.
Like many older hotels, Hotel Monteleone traditionally skips the number 13 in its floor numbering, meaning the floor labeled 14 occupies the physical position of the 13th floor. Stories associated with the area include strange footsteps, children playing, unusual elevator behavior, and doors apparently opening or closing without explanation.
The hotel has openly embraced its supernatural reputation, making Hotel Monteleone perhaps the quintessential haunted hotel in New Orleans.
💃 2. Bourbon Orleans Hotel
The Bourbon Orleans Hotel sits in the heart of the French Quarter between Bourbon and Royal streets, but its history began long before it became the hotel visitors know today.
The site was once associated with the famous Orleans Ballroom and Theatre. Later, the Sisters of the Holy Family used the property for religious and charitable purposes that included a convent, school, medical facilities, and an orphanage.
That varied past has inspired an equally varied assortment of ghosts.
Stories told by the hotel include sightings of a Confederate soldier, mysterious women and children, and unexplained footsteps running through hallways.
One of its most atmospheric legends involves the grand Orleans Ballroom.
Guests and employees have reported seeing what appears to be a solitary dancer beneath the ballroom chandelier, sometimes described as a woman quietly dancing before suddenly disappearing.
Another frequently repeated story involves children. People have reported hearing children’s laughter or footsteps and occasionally seeing the figure of a young girl seemingly chasing a ball through the corridors.
True or not, few New Orleans hotels combine genuine historic atmosphere and classic ghost lore quite like the Bourbon Orleans.
👰 3. Dauphine Orleans Hotel
The Dauphine Orleans Hotel occupies a collection of historic structures in the French Quarter, including one of the neighborhood’s particularly intriguing landmarks: May Baily’s Place.
Today it serves as the hotel’s bar, but the building has a colorful past traditionally connected with a 19th-century bordello.
Not surprisingly, plenty of ghost stories have followed.
Guests and staff have reported strange noises, unexplained movement, televisions behaving unexpectedly, and apparitions appearing briefly before vanishing.
May Baily’s Place itself is at the center of much of the property’s supernatural folklore.
One of the most enduring tales is that of a heartbroken woman sometimes described as a phantom bride. Versions of the story vary considerably, which is why it is best regarded as folklore rather than confirmed history.
Regardless of whether any spirits remain, the intimate courtyards, historic buildings, balconies, and shadowy corners of the Dauphine Orleans create exactly the atmosphere visitors expect from a haunted French Quarter hotel.
👦 4. Andrew Jackson Hotel
The Andrew Jackson Hotel is located on Royal Street inside a picturesque collection of Creole-style buildings.
Its name honors Andrew Jackson, the military commander who led American forces to victory at the Battle of New Orleans before later becoming president.
Despite the presidential name, the hotel’s best-known supernatural resident is reportedly a child.
Ghost stories associated with the property frequently mention a young boy named Armand. Guests have reported hearing children’s laughter, footsteps, or playful disturbances that local folklore attributes to him.
Other stories involve inexplicable noises and objects moving without an obvious cause.
Some versions of the hotel’s legends tie these child spirits to an earlier school or orphanage said to have stood in the area. The details vary among retellings, however, so those elements should not be confused with firmly established historical fact.
The Andrew Jackson Hotel has nevertheless leaned into its haunted reputation, and Room 208 has become particularly associated with reports of paranormal activity.
For travelers who want a small French Quarter hotel with plenty of ghostly personality, this is one of New Orleans’ classic choices.
🎵 5. Audubon Cottages
The Audubon Cottages offer something quite different from the city’s larger haunted hotels.
Hidden behind walls on Dauphine Street, the property consists of private historic cottages surrounded by courtyards and gardens.
The cottages take their name from naturalist and artist John James Audubon, who lived in New Orleans during part of his career, although the exact extent of his association with individual buildings has been interpreted differently over the years.
The property’s most famous supernatural story centers on Cottage Four.
According to hotel lore, a soldier has been encountered there. Some guests describe hearing mysterious music or whistling, while others claim to have glimpsed a man dressed in military clothing.
The supposed soldier is sometimes described as a friendly rather than frightening presence.
The story has become sufficiently well known that the Audubon Cottages itself acknowledges Cottage Four’s haunted reputation.
Whether the mysterious music comes from a ghost or something more ordinary, spending the night in an old New Orleans cottage behind a secluded courtyard sounds appropriately spooky.
🪖 6. Hotel Provincial
Located on Chartres Street in the French Quarter, Hotel Provincial occupies a series of historic buildings surrounding peaceful courtyards.
Parts of the property have roots stretching deep into New Orleans history.
One section of the site once served as a medicinal herb garden associated with a nearby military hospital, and some of the buildings date to the early 19th century.
Military history has also become central to the hotel’s ghost lore.
Visitors have reported strange figures believed to resemble soldiers, along with unexplained noises and fleeting apparitions.
Some particularly dramatic versions of the legend describe scenes involving wounded soldiers that seemingly appear and then vanish. As with most haunted-hotel stories, these accounts should be treated as paranormal folklore rather than verified events.
Still, it is easy to understand why the Hotel Provincial inspires ghost stories.
Its courtyards, narrow passageways, historic architecture, and proximity to some of the oldest sections of New Orleans give the property an atmosphere that feels far removed from an ordinary modern hotel.
🔔 7. Le Pavillon
Just outside the French Quarter stands Le Pavillon, a grand historic hotel with an appropriately theatrical setting for a ghost story.
The building opened in 1907 as the New Hotel Denechaud. It later became the Hotel DeSoto before being renamed Le Pavillon in 1970.
Its elegant interiors and long hotel history have helped produce an impressive collection of supernatural tales.
Unlike hotels with one famous resident ghost, Le Pavillon has been associated with several different apparitions.
Stories include mysterious people appearing in guest rooms or hallways, objects moving, strange sounds, and unexplained activity after dark.
One recurring legend involves a young woman whose name varies depending on the version of the story. That inconsistency is a useful reminder of how easily ghost stories can evolve as they are repeated from one storyteller to another.
Le Pavillon therefore offers visitors two different kinds of history: the documented story of an early-20th-century New Orleans hotel and the far less certain supernatural history that has grown around it.
🏛️ 8. Columns
For haunted accommodations outside the French Quarter, Columns provides a very different New Orleans experience.
The striking mansion on St. Charles Avenue was constructed in 1883 as a private residence.
Over the years, it served several purposes, including use as a boarding house, before eventually becoming a hotel in the 20th century.
The building’s elaborate Victorian design makes it one of the most distinctive historic properties along the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line.
It has also accumulated its share of ghost stories.
Visitors and paranormal storytellers have described strange figures, unexplained sounds, and other unusual encounters inside the historic mansion.
The supernatural traditions surrounding Columns are not as extensively documented by the property as those at places such as Hotel Monteleone or the Bourbon Orleans. Nevertheless, the hotel has appeared in guides to haunted New Orleans for years.
The combination of towering columns, period architecture, old staircases, and more than a century of history certainly gives the property plenty of Gothic atmosphere.
👻 9. Place d’Armes Hotel
The Place d’Armes Hotel sits just a short walk from Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral.
Its collection of historic French Quarter buildings surrounds beautiful courtyards hidden behind the street.
Although claims about exactly how old every portion of the property is sometimes become exaggerated, several of its historic buildings date to the 19th century.
The hotel is also associated with several persistent ghost stories.
Visitors have reportedly heard children laughing or playing even when no children were nearby.
Other stories describe furniture or objects apparently moving on their own.
One particularly memorable legend involves an older bearded man dressed in old-fashioned clothing who is said to appear suddenly before disappearing just as quickly.
Another story tells of a young girl searching for her grandmother.
Some versions of the hotel’s mythology connect the child ghosts with a school fire. The historical evidence surrounding that story is uncertain, so it is better considered part of New Orleans’ evolving supernatural folklore than established history.
Even without a ghost encounter, Place d’Armes offers the kind of quiet courtyard and historic French Quarter setting that can feel especially eerie once the streets grow quiet at night.
🧹 10. Omni Royal Orleans
At the corner of Royal and St. Louis streets stands the Omni Royal Orleans, a luxury hotel on a site with a long hospitality tradition.
The property’s hotel history is linked with the famous St. Louis Hotel, which opened during the 19th century and became one of the important hotels of antebellum New Orleans.
The modern Omni Royal Orleans continues that tradition from its prominent French Quarter location.
It also has its own collection of supernatural legends.
Perhaps the most charming involves a phantom housekeeper who apparently remains devoted to her work.
Guests have claimed that belongings were mysteriously straightened, doors were knocked upon, water faucets behaved strangely, or beds appeared to have been attended to by an unseen employee.
Some versions of the tale even suggest that sleeping guests have felt someone gently tucking them into bed.
Other stories describe mysterious figures appearing in corridors or disappearing around corners.
There is no evidence proving a ghostly employee is still reporting for duty, of course. But as haunted-hotel legends go, having a helpful phantom housekeeper might be preferable to some of the alternatives.
🌙 Why Does New Orleans Have So Many Haunted Hotel Stories?
New Orleans has several qualities that make it particularly fertile territory for ghost stories.
The city has an exceptionally long and complicated history involving French, Spanish, African, Caribbean, Indigenous, and American influences.
Fires, hurricanes, epidemics, wars, slavery, immigration, religious traditions, and generations of ordinary family life have all shaped the city.
Many New Orleans hotels also occupy buildings or sites that had completely different purposes in earlier centuries.
A single property might previously have served as a mansion, theater, convent, boarding house, hospital, school, or commercial building.
Add New Orleans’ famous storytelling traditions, spiritual beliefs, historic cemeteries, elaborate architecture, and fascination with the supernatural, and ghost legends almost seem inevitable.
That does not mean every spooky story is historically accurate.
In fact, some of the city’s most popular paranormal tales have changed substantially over time. Dates move, names change, and dramatic details get added during repeated retellings.
That is why the best haunted history keeps documented history and supernatural folklore clearly separated.
Both can be fascinating without pretending they are the same thing.
🕯️ Tips for Staying in a Haunted Hotel
If you are hoping for a supernatural experience during your visit to New Orleans, a few simple tips can make the stay more enjoyable.
Ask about the hotel’s history. Staff members may know which rooms, hallways, or buildings are associated with the property’s best-known ghost stories.
Ask before exploring. Historic hotels are still operating businesses. Guest-only areas, private courtyards, maintenance spaces, and occupied rooms should always remain off-limits unless you have permission.
Consider a ghost tour. New Orleans has numerous walking tours that combine city history with legends and paranormal stories.
Keep an open mind—but a skeptical one. Old buildings make noises. Plumbing rattles. Floors creak. Elevators malfunction. Other guests walk through hallways at strange hours.
Then again, if you hear a child laughing outside your room at three in the morning and discover the hallway is completely empty, you are free to draw your own conclusions.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous haunted hotel in New Orleans?
Hotel Monteleone is probably the city’s most famous haunted hotel. Its best-known supernatural stories involve young Maurice Begere, mysterious activity on the floor labeled 14, strange elevators, footsteps, and childlike apparitions.
Which New Orleans hotel is said to have ghost children?
Several New Orleans hotels have stories involving child spirits, but the Bourbon Orleans Hotel is particularly famous for them. Guests have reported hearing children’s laughter and footsteps or seeing what appears to be a young girl.
What is the most haunted room in New Orleans?
There is no objective way to determine which hotel room is genuinely the “most haunted.” However, Room 208 at the Andrew Jackson Hotel and Cottage Four at Audubon Cottages are among the accommodations most closely associated with specific paranormal legends.
Is the Bourbon Orleans Hotel really haunted?
The Bourbon Orleans openly acknowledges its haunted reputation, and stories of unusual encounters have been told by visitors and employees. There is no scientific proof that the hotel contains ghosts.
Is Hotel Monteleone haunted?
Hotel Monteleone has embraced numerous ghost stories associated with the property, especially the legend of Maurice Begere. Whether those experiences have paranormal explanations remains a matter of personal belief.
Can you actually stay in these haunted hotels?
Yes. The properties on this list operate as hotels or lodging establishments, although availability, room access, ownership, amenities, and reservation policies can change. Check directly with the property when planning a trip.
Are New Orleans ghost stories historically accurate?
Some are based around real buildings, people, or historical events, while others contain details that cannot be independently confirmed.
Ghost stories also change as they are retold.
For that reason, documented history and paranormal folklore should be considered separately rather than assuming every element of a popular haunted story is factual.
🎃 Final Thoughts
New Orleans may be America’s perfect city for a haunted hotel.
It has centuries of history, atmospheric architecture, narrow French Quarter streets, secluded courtyards, elaborate balconies, and enough legends to keep ghost hunters occupied for years.
At Hotel Monteleone, you might listen for the footsteps of a little boy.
At the Bourbon Orleans, you could wonder whether someone is still dancing alone beneath the ballroom chandelier.
In Cottage Four at Audubon Cottages, perhaps you will hear an unexplained whistle.
And at the Omni Royal Orleans, you might wake up to discover that an exceptionally dedicated housekeeper has already straightened your room.
Are any of those experiences really caused by ghosts?
No one can say for certain.
But when midnight arrives and the French Quarter finally grows a little quieter, even the most skeptical traveler may find it difficult not to wonder what—or who—might still be wandering through the halls.
🔗 Related Articles
- Top 10 Haunted Places in New Orleans
- The Top 10 Most Haunted Hotels in America
- Haunted Places and Halloween History
- Top 10 Haunted Places in Ohio
- Top 10 Most Haunted Places in Indiana
📚 Sources
- New Orleans & Company — Haunted Hotels
- Hotel Monteleone — Our Story
- Bourbon Orleans Hotel — Our History
- Dauphine Orleans Hotel — Haunted History
- Andrew Jackson Hotel — About Us
- Andrew Jackson Hotel — Haunted Happenings
- Audubon Cottages — About the Cottages
- Audubon Cottages — Frequently Asked Questions
- Hotel Provincial — History
- Le Pavillon — Official Website
- Columns — About
- Place d’Armes Hotel — Official Website
- Omni Royal Orleans — Hotel History
- Ghost City Tours — Haunted Hotels of New Orleans
