Grand Hyatt Taipei — the luxury hotel built on a Japanese-era execution ground

The Grand Hyatt Taipei, located in the Xinyi District of Taiwan's capital, is one of the city's most prestigious luxury hotels. The hotel was built on land that served as an execution ground during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), and this history has given it a significant haunted reputation. According to widespread reports, the hotel has experienced persistent supernatural phenomena since its opening. Guests have reported seeing ghostly figures in their rooms, hearing voices speaking in Japanese, and experiencing electronic disturbances — televisions turning on by themselves and alarm clocks going off at odd hours. The hotel is said to play Buddhist sutras on a continuous loop in certain areas of the building, and Taoist talismans have reportedly been placed in various locations to suppress spiritual activity. The hotel management has neither confirmed nor denied these measures. In Taiwanese culture, land where violent deaths occurred is considered spiritually polluted, and construction on such sites requires elaborate ritual purification. Some believe the Grand Hyatt's spiritual remedies were insufficient for the scale of death that occurred on the execution ground. The hotel's gleaming modernity — all glass, marble, and international luxury — contrasts starkly with the dark history beneath its foundations.