Crescent Hotel — 'the most haunted hotel in America,' Eureka Springs, Arkansas

The 1886 Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, markets itself as 'America's Most Haunted Hotel' — and the claim has considerable support. The building has served as a luxury resort, a women's college, and most infamously, as a hospital and 'cancer cure' facility operated by Norman Baker, a charlatan who was eventually convicted of mail fraud. Baker's 'patients' were subjected to bizarre treatments, and many died in the building. Bodies were reportedly stored in the basement, and some were found dumped in the surrounding woods. The hotel's ghost stories are extensive. The most frequently reported apparition is Michael, an Irish stonemason who fell to his death from the roof during the hotel's construction in 1885. His ghost appears in Room 218, where guests describe seeing a bearded man in work clothes who vanishes into the wall. Other reported ghosts include a nurse pushing a gurney through the corridors, a woman in Victorian dress who sits in the lobby, and a cat that appears in the gardens. The basement morgue from the Baker era is considered the most active area — visitors describe overwhelming nausea, cold spots, and shadow figures. The hotel was featured on Ghost Hunters, whose investigation recorded significant evidence. The hotel offers nightly ghost tours that have become one of Eureka Springs' top tourist attractions.