For decades, guests and staffs of Hotel Monteleone have reported paranormal happening in the century old hotel. In fact, Hotel Monteleone joined the ranks of several famous haunted hotels across the country—including Omni Homestead Resort, 1886 Crescent Hotel, and Emily Morgan San Antonio Hotel to be one of 2021 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Most Haunted Hotels.
Some of the haunted activities include doors opening and closing at will, sight of a white mist in the hotel rooms, and manifestation of ghostly figures in the common area. Others claimed to have seen the spirit of the man who helped build the grandfather clock in the hotel lobby. According to Historic Hotels of America, the spirit of a chambermaid known as Mrs. Clean also roams around the hotel, cleaning up the mess that guests have made. During an electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) session, the team made contact with the entity who responded that she was picking up after housekeeping to ensure that the high standards of Hotel Monteleone are kept even after her death.
The most famous ghost in Hotel Monteleone is none other than Maurice Begere, a toddler who passed away in room 1462 on the 14th floor (which is actually the hotel’s 13th floor). Maurice reportedly developed a high fever in the middle of the night and died after a violent convulsion.
Troutknocker @ Tripadvisor
Distraught by the death of her young son, Maurice’s mother Jacques returned to the hotel shortly after his death. Maurice eventually appeared in room 1462 and told his mother, ” Mommy, don’t cry. I’m fine.” Today, several guests staying on the 14th floor claimed to have seen the spirit of Maurice wandering along the hallway and running towards them before vanishing into thin air.
In one incident, a couple was spending their anniversary night at Hotel Monteleone. While taking the hotel’s elevator, it mysteriously stopped on the 14th floor. As the door opens, a chilling scene is revealed: the translucent figure of a child playing along the hallway. The child ran towards the elevator and disappeared into thin air before reaching it. Nonetheless, the couple were terrified by the scene and checked out of the hotel on the same night.
Haunted History of Hotel Monteleone
Constructed in 1886 by Antonio Monteleone, the historic Hotel Monteleone was built to be one of the finest hotel in the city of New Orleans. Antonio was a nobleman who had build a successful shoe factory in Sicily. Spurred by the “Land of Opportunity” dream, Antonio travelled to the United States and settled in New Orleans. The businessman kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey in the country by opening up a cobbler shop on Royal Street, one of the city’s business stretch of land.
In 1886, Antonio purchased the 64-bed Commercial Hotel off the corner of Royal and Iberville Street. It did not take long before the cobbler-turned-hotelier expanded his real estate business when he acquired the neighbouring properties. The hotel underwent several expansion projects over the 20th century. More notably, in 1908, the hotel tripled its existing capacity with the addition of 300 more rooms to its building. This comes amidst the Panic of 1907 financial crisis when the United States suffered a short-lived financial crisis caused by the collapse of several highly-leveraged speculative investments amongst banks. In the same year, Commercial hotel was renamed to Hotel Monteleone.
Throughout the early 20th century, the luxurious Hotel Monteleone was a favourite hangout spot among local writers and luminaries. Some of the notable guests who have stayed at the hotel include novelist Ernest Hemingway, playwright Tennessee Williams, journalist Lyle Saxon, and writer William Faulkner. More recent guests are John Grisham, Anne Rice, and Stephen Ambrose. For decades, writer Truman Capote had claimed that he was born in the hotel. This is untrue as his mother, then a guest in the hotel, was able to catch a ride to a nearby hospital.
In 1913, Antonio Monteleone succumbed to an illness and passed away. The hotel was transferred to his son Frank Monteleone, who went on to make Hotel Monteleone a role-model in the industry. In 1954, Frank demolished the original building to make way for a new, and taller addition. The new building included more guest rooms, ballrooms, dining hall and the famous Carousel Bar. Over the course of the hotel’s 136 years of history, over five generations of the Monteleone family have weathered the storm and dedicated their life towards the preservation of Hotel Monteleone.
At present, Hotel Monteleone boasts over 522 guests rooms, 26 meeting and reception rooms, a luxurious spa center, and an award-winning restaurant. The hotel is also one of the few historic hotels in the United States that have been family-owned since its founding.
Is Hotel Monteleone Haunted?
The numerous reports of paranormal activities by both guests and staffs of Hotel Monteleone have made it almost a certainty that Hotel Monteleone is haunted. In fact, the official website of Hotel Monteleone have labelled the hotel as one of the premier haunted hotels in the city of New Orleans.
Over the years, guests of the hotel have claimed that the building is haunted by supernatural forces. This sparked a huge interest among local thrill seekers and paranormal investigators. In March of 2003, the International Society of Paranormal Research launched an investigations into the reported hauntings at Hotel Monteleone. During the investigation, the team made contact with 12 spirits including former employees, a man named William “Red” Wildemere, and a toddler named Maurice Begere.
