The Omni Shoreham Hotel on Calvert Street NW in Washington, D.C., is a grand 1930s hotel that has hosted every inaugural ball since its opening. The hotel's most famous ghost resides in Suite 870, known as the Ghost Suite. Henry Doherty, a wealthy oil magnate, lived in the suite with his family, and his adopted daughter and a housekeeper both died there under circumstances that remain debated. Since then, guests in Suite 870 and nearby rooms have reported hearing a woman's voice whispering, feeling the bed sheets being pulled off during the night, and seeing the apparition of a woman in a dark dress standing in the corner of the room. The television and lights reportedly turn on and off by themselves, and the temperature in the suite drops inexplicably. Some guests have reported waking to find their personal items arranged in a pattern on the nightstand. The hotel has acknowledged the haunting over the years, and Suite 870 has been rented to guests who specifically request the paranormal experience. The Shoreham's sprawling grounds along Rock Creek Park add to its atmospheric quality, and the combination of political history, glamour, and ghosts makes it one of Washington's most distinctive haunted locations.
