Reports of voices in the Great Hall, numerous ghosts, and other weird occurrences. Share this: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) It was originally called the Auditorium Annex and it opened just in time for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and thousands of people thronged to visit the hotel. The real-life 1408 was always believed to exist on the Congress’s most haunted floor: the 12th floor of the older North Tower. The first thing we checked out was the 12th floor. Some of the coolest pics I’ve ever seen were taken here, and I’ve heard the piano play itself. Not a whole sonata or anything, just a couple of random notes, but a note or two is enough to give me the creeps. I’ve got no respect for teams who think that running around with an EMF meter and taking pictures of “orbs” is a substitute for doing your homework. They actually host a Haunted Halloween Ball at the Congress at 520 Michigan Avenue. Many memorable interviews, caucuses, and deliberations were staged here. Well, that’s a pretty decent cheat sheet if you’re googling around looking for ghost stories about the place. This comes up more than you’d think; for my filming there the other day they were doing some odd and deadly-looking chair stacking to get us seated at the right height, it was fun to point out that the guy who first said “safety first’ died in the place. The stories that one room is so haunted they had to seal it shut probably grew from the old stories about room 666 being sealed off (really, there’s an office where room 666 would be). Original Material. Lisa A. Romano Breakthrough Life Coach Inc. I’m gonna go with a HELL YES on that. YES, I did request to stay in that room but was told the whole 4th floor was closed! This one is my fault. See here. 2. Reported to be the most haunted hotel in Chicago, it was built to house the travelers attending the 1893 world's fair and also served as the hotel for the first annual Chicago ghost conference. The “Hand of Mystery.”  King himself never mentions the hotel in his intro to “1408;” he just says that it’s his attempt at the old “haunted room at the inn” story that every horror writer should try out eventually. While the Congress Plaza Hotel reigns supreme in the world of Chicago’s haunted hotels, The Drake Hotel (140 E. Walton Place) is a strong second. THE HAUNTED CONGRESS HOTEL IN CHICAGO-SEE WHAT I FOUND! Address: 100 W Main St, St. Charles, IL 60174, USA. The legend goes that the crimson-adorned woman discovered her lover (or, in some reports, her husband) with another … I am staying one floor below on the 11 th floor of the North Wing. Though different guards and front desk workers will tell you different things if you ask which room is the most haunted, the 12th Floor of the North Wing is pretty well agreed to be the spookiest one. The press at the time reported it both ways. ... Also went to the 12th floor north and nothing haunted there either but a really old hallway.. Our room 441 was huge and creepy the curtains are quite scary lol. Some people believe him to be Conway, a one-legged killer clown who in 1912 was arrested for murder just feet away from the hotel. I think that these days, every time someone calls and asks which room is the most haunted, they tell them a different room number. Here’s a basic rundown of some of the place’s “greatest hits”: The Little Boy First off is Chicago's most haunted hotel: The Congress Plaza Hotel. But in that period of time I got to know the history and ghost lore of the place pretty darned well. One of Chicago's oldest and largest hotels, The Congress is also one of the most haunted as well. They were refugees from Prague; Adele was afraid they were going to be sent back and had a nervous breakdown. 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The fire wasn’t the only life-taking force in the city back then. Room 441 is notorious as the most haunted room in the hotel, bring a oujia board. Whats people lookup in this blog: Congress Plaza Hotel Chicago Haunted 12th Floor Room 441 is said to receive more calls of the spooky variety than any other room. More. Deb June 28, 2016. Most of them appear to be the stories I’ve been telling about the place for the last several years after having gone through about five rounds of a game of “telephone.”  One could look at it as an object lesson about just how little research most web pages and TV shows do on the ghost stories they tell. The boy is supposed to haunt the 12th floor, and is presumed to be the ghost of Karel Langer, a 6 year old who was thrown out the window by his mother, Adele, along with his brother, Jan Tommy, in the late 1930s. There are occasional reports of a ghostly guy dressed up like it’s the 1920s. Disco Man One guard tells me he chased it up to the roof one time. Plenty of stories here – whispering women, humming men, phantom gunshots, and even Teddy Roosevelt (whose career died here, from a certain point of view, in 1912). The Sealed Room Step 1 : Introduction to the question " In our list of 10 of the most haunted cities to spend a weekend, we discover the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago, reported to be overflowing with ghosts. I’ve heard reports of a guy who appears and disappears looking like he just came out of a disco circa 1978, but never from a reliable source. It should come as no surprise whatsoever that the hotel is a hub of paranormal activity if you have taken a look at the hotel’s history. The author of more than 20 books, he is frequently seen on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, and more. The night before I went up, I finally got around to reading the reviews, and I was very surprised to learn that it had the reputation of being one of the most haunted hotels in America. Congress Plaza Hotel – Haunted View from 12th Floor Congress Plaza Hotel – Haunted View from 12th Floor. "...1. I got the chance to stay the night at Chicago's most haunted hotel, the Congress ... to the 12th floor … (podcast). Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler served as consultants during the building phase. Congress Plaza Hotel Chicago Haunted 12th Floor, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Electric Underfloor Heating Wifi Thermostat. Check out the new Cemetery Mixtape podcast! Inside the Gold Room at the Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Feb. 14, 2013. The Florentine Room Rumors put him in Ohio after his escape, but I’d love to imagine that he died in the Congress Hotel. Post Lollapalooza? That happened to me once, too. I do know of employees who won’t go there if they can possibly help it. And one of the best ways to connect Capone to the St. Valentine’s Day massacre was that someone called his place in Florida from the lobby of the Congress a bit before and a bit after the shooting. What is said to be on the 12th floor of this haunted hotel? The Little Boy haunts the 12th floor. When I find this out it gives the process of heading up there to visit the ice machine a whole new meaning. Peg Leg Johnny This one gets reported by guests a lot – a shadowy figure who shows up and, for some reason, scared the crap out of people. They actually host a Haunted Halloween Ball at the Congress at 520 Michigan Avenue. Visit The Shared Wall on Rent.com now! Several security guards say they’ve seen it, and several employees have felt as though they were being chased down the hall. The 12 th floor of the North Wing has been reported as the most haunted area of the hotel. Is it really the most haunted hotel room in America? (edit to add, 8/2015): HOWEVER, I did have to think of Peg Leg Johnny when I read about Conway, the One-Legged Killer Clown, who was never seen again after escaping from prison in 1925. Rates for rooms are not outrageous and you can spend as much time as you want to catch pictures of ghosts. The Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago was originally constructed in 1893. Ghosts aren’t circus monkeys. Haunted Rooms & Places in the Congress Hotel. But these virtural tours and lectures will run on the, Adam Selzer is a tour guide and Atlas Obscura field agent with 10+ years experience in Chicago and New York. "Masterful Sleuthing" - NYT Bestselling author Steve Hodel, We haven't restarted in-person tours yet, and don't plan to this year. The Congress is just up the road from the site of a murder he was linked to, so, hey, why not? On the 12th floor, there's a room so haunted that the staff won't go near it. "Comprehensive." There are stories about the adjacent kitchen area, though. The Peg Leg ghost is one of the wilder stories, but there are several first hand witnesses, which is more than you can say for a lot of better known ghosts. No evidence that anyone was ever walled up inside the place, and the wall in question isn’t nearly thick enough. Show less. By the way: My favorite “death” story there isn’t ghost related: in 1928, G. Herb Palin, the sloganeer who coined the phrase “safety first” died there. Posted by Becky at ... she through her two boys over the 12th floor balcony and then jumped herself. America’s first serial killer, Dr. H.H. Blood on wall? Located directly across the iconic Millennium Park, and sitting on Chicago’s illustrious Michigan Avenue, the Congress Plaza Hotel is covered in elegance, luxury and history. If you search "Chicago Haunted Hotel" tons of different stories and theories will come up. “The Shadow Guy” What’s great about the Congress Hotel, one of the most haunted in Chicago, is you can go there, rent a room and stay the night. He probably was there a time or two and we can connect many members of his gang to it, though; some of his gang even held a guy prisoner there, probably on his orders, for a while. - See 3,407 traveler reviews, 1,625 candid photos, and great deals for The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center at Tripadvisor. See original pics - learn ghostly secrets. The ghost of the famed Lady in Red still creeps around the hotel, nearly 100 years after her tragic death on New Year’s Eve. Unbelieving, the young man convinces the hotel’s manager to let him have the room for a night, though the previous tenants all took their own lives during their stays in it. Then there's Peg Leg Johnny, a hobo that was murdered in the hotel. I have to say meh. Without any doubt, the most haunted hotel in Chicago, IL has to be The Congress Plaza Hotel – known simply as ‘The Congress’ to locals. If you’re serious about looking for ghosts, remember what Indiana Jones said: we cannot take mythology at face value. Apparently there was a room so haunted and awful on the 12th floor, that staff had to seal it away from being used. The tunnel connecting the place to the Auditorium Theatre has been bricked off for years; one guard and I had a plan to bust into it with sledgehammers for a while. . It’s like an ancient toilet burial ground down there. But where the entrance is depends a lot on who you ask; the basement isn’t accessible to the public. 18 Mystery 12th Floor Room - Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois The eighth floor has no room 873 despite the floors above and below having a room 73. The story was widely reported in the press at the time; the only real confusion is whether the driving factor behind Adele’s breakdown was fear of being sent back to Nazi rule or oppression at the hands of German Americans. Frankly, you show me a researcher who concludes that, and I’ll show you an idiot. Let’s get the big questions out of the way first. Spookier-looking than the Florentine, but there’s really not as much ghost lore behind this one. Lots and lots of gruesome stories can be traced to it, and ghost stories do circulate. Hotel Baker. Chicago Hotel Rooms & Suites Step Into Historic Settings With Modern Amenities Constructed during an era when it was common for Chicago’s elite to permanently reside in a hotel, the 871 rooms and suites at the Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center offer a grand bridge between The Windy City’s legendary past and cosmopolitan present. While I was working for her at one point I called Ursula on it, and she just said, “Well, it makes a good story.”  I don’t work for her anymore, and can’t imagine I ever will again (she’s way into Donald Trump these days), so I suppose I can say that now. Check out the new, Where Was HH Holmes? Many guests have reported sightings and weird noises on the floor. The nightmare angle might be used to explain why it scares people so much; I’ve been on plenty of ghost investigations where we see a weird shadow, and when you actually see them, the typical response is, “Oh, there goes one now!” Not the screaming hysterics one sees on TV. Here’s the thing, though. CHICAGO, IL — The iconic landmark Congress Plaza Hotel is considered the most haunted spot in Illinois. Email, "Enthralling history" - Library Journal (starred review) Given his connection to nearby buildings I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he came in to look around or have a drink when it first opened, but there’s never been any data unearthed connecting him to the place, but he wasn’t in town all that long after it was opened, and stories that he used to meet potential victims in the lobby are firmly in the realm of fiction. A few workers have told me, back as far as 2006, that they’ve seen a guy with a peg leg lurking around the south tower. R.H. Southgate was the hotel’s developer but the first section of the hotel was designed by Clinton Warren. The door was sealed and papered over. I’ve still never seen the article, though, and don’t really have much reason to think it really exists. Haunted hotels seem to be all over the news lately, and we’re seeing new reports and updates to existing stories happening almost every week. Not to make this a shameless plug, but for MUCH more detail see The Ghosts of Chicago book, which covers the place in a lot more depth. A view from the very, very haunted 12th floor at the Congress Plaza Hotel. There's a room on the 12th floor of the East Wing that is permanently sealed up due to it being so haunted that not even the cleaning staff will enter it. Chicago's Most Haunted Hotel - The Congress Plaza Hotel The Congress Plaza Hotel stands on Michigan Ave in the nation's windy city of Chicago. Covert Narcissist Signs You are Dealing with a Master Manipulator/Lisa A Romano Podcast - Duration: 26:01. Peacock Alley Disconnected equipment is said to start itself up. For a time I was able to take tour groups in here regularly, but those days are over; they’re much less free with letting groups past the lobby anymore (and refused to let the show I filmed a segment for there on Friday talk about anything to do with ghosts – they’re less open to this sort of thing now than they used to be). Just…meh. Please click those to continue reading about our ghostly encounters at the Congress Hotel. What about Room 441? ... congress hotel chicago • congress plaza chicago • Never owned the hotel and never lived there – stories that he did are confusing the place with the Metropole and the Lexington. Update (Aug. 12, 2015): We added links to the other investigation areas at the end of this post. (New band name: “Ancient Toilet Burial Ground.” I call it). One guard did tell me that he’d seen the peg leg guy here once. Several guards have stories about hearing music coming from the place. I booked a night in the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago. The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center: It's Haunted in there for sure! I also (and this is pretty critical) learned to tell when a guard was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear. Haunted Chicago. Located on South Michigan Avenue, the hotel … The story that any of them were the basis of Stephen King’s 1408 is outright fiction that Ursula Bielski invented for her article on it in one of her books – in the book she says that “some researchers have come to the conclusion” that King used the story as the basis, but didn’t say which ones or how they arrived at that conclusion! The south tower was constructed between 1902 and 1907, desig… This is another place where there have been employees occasionally who don’t like to go near the place. The Congress Plaza Hotel has played a prominent role in some of Chicago’s most important and famous political conventions.