The Elms Hotel is made of stone, and that is not an accident. Twice the hotel burned on this ground in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in 1898 and again in 1910, and no one died either time. So in 1912 they built it out of native Missouri limestone, steel, and reinforced concrete, a resort meant never to burn again. It never has. But the people who work there will tell you it was never entirely empty, either.
The town grew up around springs believed to heal, and the Elms grew up around the people who came to take the waters. Jack Dempsey stayed here. Harry S. Truman slept here on election night in 1948 and woke to news of his unexpected victory. During Prohibition the hotel is said to have run as a speakeasy, and local lore insists Al Capone held all-night gambling parties under armed guard. From that lore comes the hotel’s most famous ghost: a gambler in the basement lap pool, said by some to have been killed by the mob, though no record names him. On the third floor, a maid in a 1920s uniform is said to watch over the housekeepers. A distressed woman reportedly wanders the halls searching for her child.
The Elms is open today, a Destination by Hyatt with a spa, guest rooms, and a nightly 9 p.m. paranormal tour you can join at the front desk. SyFy’s Ghost Hunters came in July 2013. The legends remain unproven. But some guests still report a clanging in the hallways at 1:30 in the morning.
Story Source: www.elmshotelandspa.com
Address: 401 Regent Street, Excelsior Springs, Missouri 64024
Accessibility Rating: Open to All — Freely accessible to the public with no advance requirement. Includes hotels, restaurants, bars, and public historic sites where visitors may walk in without prior booking.
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What Others Have Experienced
During an EVP session in the lap pool area, a visitor’s recording captured a repeated phrase connected to a man allegedly shot on the grounds—something their ghost tour guide confirmed was tied to a real killing there. The unexplained playback, caught in front of witnesses, left the group unsettled long after the session ended.
— from hauntedplaces.org
Near a stone pillar by the lap pool, a visitor glimpsed what appeared to be a shadowy arm extending from nothing. Later, in the Al Capone suite, a paranormal trigger device lit up and seemed to respond to direct questions about whether Capone’s associates had been responsible for a death at the hotel.
— from hauntedplaces.org
A guest came away from their stay convinced that something beyond atmosphere was at work in the hotel—a personal encounter left them certain of a genuine presence. The complimentary haunted history tour offered by the property added historical depth that made the experience feel grounded and real.
— from TripAdvisor
Late one night a guest felt something exhale warmly across the back of her neck, though her husband was standing across the room at the time. Just past eleven o’clock she noticed the faint sensation of what she could only describe as butterfly wings brushing her cheek—again, with her husband fully turned away.
— from signalhorizon.com
After taking the hotel’s ghost tour and sitting down to dinner, a guest returned to their room only to find the night was far from over—unexplained paranormal activity followed them back and continued for the remainder of the evening.
— from TripAdvisor
