Haunted hotels · Texas
Haunted Hotels in Texas
Historic Texas hotels with published ghost stories, most of them in San Antonio, plus Austin’s Driskill, the Grand Galvez on Galveston’s seawall and the Excelsior House in Jefferson.
The short answer
There is no official ranking. The Emily Morgan and The Gunter in San Antonio are on Historic Hotels of America’s 2026 most-haunted list, and the Menger, beside the Alamo, was on its 2024 list. Outside San Antonio, Travel Texas relays stories of a girl on The Driskill’s grand staircase and two brides in its Room 525, and the Excelsior House in Jefferson tells its own story about Room 215.
Where they are
Built 1852 · Grand hotel
Omni La Mansión del Rio
The ghost story Hotel management told KSAT that staff blame "Little Jimmy," said to be a young student from the building's St. Mary's College days, for haunting the old school gymnasium, now an event space, and for repeatedly cracking one of its windows.
Where the story comes from: ksat.com
Why stay An 1852 limestone school, later a law school, turned into a hotel only in 1968 with a six-story addition over the river for HemisFair '68.
Built 1857 · B&B
The Oge House
The ghost story Ghost-tour lore holds that the owner who turned the house into an inn in 1991 saw shadowy figures and had herbs blow off kitchen shelves, and that the spirit of a young girl and an unnamed man, said to favor the Mathis Room, still visit.
Where the story comes from: ghostcitytours.com
Why stay A stone house begun as early as 1857 and enlarged by Alfred Giles for rancher and former Texas Ranger Louis Oge, on 1.5 acres overlooking the river.
Built 1858 · Inn
Excelsior House Hotel
The ghost story The hotel's own page says guests have reported unexplained noises and cold spots in Room 215, which it links to a story about Steven Spielberg. It also says some have seen a headless man on the second floor and a woman in black carrying a baby. These are presented as guest and staff stories.
Where the story comes from: theexcelsiorhouse.com
Why stay Jefferson's 1858 river-port hotel, host to Grant, Hayes and Oscar Wilde, which the hotel says is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Texas.
Built 1859 · Grand hotel
The Menger Hotel
The ghost story Guests and staff report sightings of Sallie White, a chambermaid killed by her husband whose funeral the hotel paid for, in the halls of the historic section. Lore also attaches spirits to Theodore Roosevelt and to King Ranch founder Capt. Richard King, who died in his suite in 1885.
Where the story comes from: historichotels.org
Why stay William and Mary Menger's 1859 hotel beside the Alamo, which the hotel says is the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi.
Built 1886 · Grand hotel
The Driskill
The ghost story Travel Texas reports that the grand staircase is said to be haunted by a young girl and that Room 525 reportedly holds the spirits of two brides who died on their honeymoons twenty years apart. These are reported legends.
Where the story comes from: traveltexas.com
Why stay Cattle baron Jesse Driskill's 1886 Romanesque hotel, where governors from Sul Ross to Ann Richards held their inaugural balls.
Built 1909 · Boutique hotel
The Crockett Hotel
The ghost story The hotel's assistant general manager told KSAT that strange things sometimes happen on the fourth floor, including an elevator that traveled between floors with no one pressing a button, and that staff accounts have drawn ghost hunters to the hotel.
Where the story comes from: ksat.com
Why stay A 1909 Odd Fellows lodge and hotel just east of the Alamo; Historic Hotels of America says its pool sits where Crockett's men held the palisade.
Built 1909 · Grand hotel
The Gunter Hotel
The ghost story Guests and staff have reported cold spots, flickering lights, whispers and a shadowy figure in Room 636 since the 1960s. Others describe a woman in white in the halls, phantom piano music and dark figures in the ballroom and basement after hours.
Where the story comes from: historichotels.org
Why stay A 1909 Houston Street hotel named for cattleman Jot Gunter, where bluesman Robert Johnson recorded 'Cross Road Blues' in Room 414 in 1936.
Built 1909 · Grand hotel
The St. Anthony
The ghost story Visit San Antonio relays the tale behind the hotel's Haunt bar: in the 1940s Isabella, in a red gown, waited in vain for her lover at the Anacacho Ballroom, and guests reportedly still see the "Lady in Red" wandering the halls.
Where the story comes from: visitsanantonio.com
Why stay J. Flood Walker's 1909 hotel facing Travis Park, whose two eight-story towers were joined behind a single facade in 1935.
Built 1911 · Resort
Grand Galvez
The ghost story Travel Texas reports the hotel is said to be haunted by the 'Lovelorn Lady', a bride whose life was cut short after her fiancé died. It is told as local lore.
Where the story comes from: traveltexas.com
Why stay The 1911 Hotel Galvez on Galveston's seawall, financed by local businessmen to revive the island after the 1900 hurricane.
Built 1924 · Boutique hotel
The Emily Morgan Hotel
The ghost story Per reports HHA attributes to the hotel's management, the seventh, ninth and fourteenth floors, once the psychiatric ward, surgery level and waiting area/morgue, are the most haunted. Guests report a hospital smell, doors opening on their own and apparitions of nurses pushing gurneys.
Where the story comes from: historichotels.org
Why stay A 1924 Gothic Revival medical tower on Alamo Plaza with gargoyles depicting ailments, now on Historic Hotels of America's 2026 most-haunted list.
Built 1929 · Grand hotel
Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk
The ghost story Ghost-tour lore holds that a security guard's ghost still patrols the old Alamo National Bank vault, now a restaurant, that a phantom elevator operator rides the lifts, and that the 13th floor is the building's most active.
Where the story comes from: ghostcitytours.com
Why stay The 24-story 1929 Alamo National Bank tower by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, with free hot breakfast; some rooms are in a newer addition.
Our rules
How we report ghost stories
We list a ghost story only when it has been published, by the hotel, a historic-hotel organization, a tour company or the press, and we link to where it comes from. We report what guests, staff and storytellers say; we don’t claim any building is haunted. The history is checked separately, the same way as every inn on this site: the year it was built, its historic credential, and that it takes bookings today.
After dark
Ghost tours in Texas
Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.
Questions travelers ask
What is the most haunted hotel in Texas?
There is no official ranking. The Emily Morgan and The Gunter in San Antonio are on Historic Hotels of America’s 2026 most-haunted list, and the Menger was on its 2024 list. We report each story as lore, with its source.
Is The Driskill haunted?
That’s its reputation. Travel Texas reports that the grand staircase is said to be haunted by a young girl and that Room 525 reportedly holds the spirits of two brides who died on their honeymoons twenty years apart. These are reported legends.
Is the Hotel Galvez haunted?
Travel Texas reports that the hotel, now the Grand Galvez, is said to be haunted by the ‘Lovelorn Lady’, a bride whose life was cut short after her fiancé died. It is told as local lore.
Where are most of Texas’s haunted hotels?
In San Antonio, around Alamo Plaza and the River Walk: the Menger, the Emily Morgan, the Gunter, the Crockett, the St. Anthony and others. See our San Antonio haunted hotels page for each story.
Keep exploring
How we chose these inns
Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.
Sources (42)
- Omni La Mansión del Rio: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The Crockett Hotel: www.ksat.com
- Omni La Mansión del Rio: www.historichotels.org
- Omni La Mansión del Rio: www.tshaonline.org
- The Oge House: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The Oge House: ghostcitytours.com
- The Oge House: www.nobleinns.com
- The Oge House: www.tshaonline.org
- Excelsior House Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- Excelsior House Hotel: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- Excelsior House Hotel: theexcelsiorhouse.com
- Excelsior House Hotel: theexcelsiorhouse.com
- The Menger Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Menger Hotel: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The Menger Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Menger Hotel: www.mengerhotel.com
- The Driskill: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The Driskill: npgallery.nps.gov
- Grand Galvez: www.traveltexas.com
- The Driskill: driskillhotel.com
- The Driskill: driskillhotel.com
- The Crockett Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Crockett Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- The Crockett Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Crockett Hotel: www.crocketthotel.com
- The Gunter Hotel: npgallery.nps.gov
- The Emily Morgan Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Gunter Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Gunter Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The St. Anthony: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The St. Anthony: npgallery.nps.gov
- The St. Anthony: www.visitsanantonio.com
- The St. Anthony: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- Grand Galvez: www.grandgalvez.com
- Grand Galvez: npgallery.nps.gov
- Grand Galvez: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- The Emily Morgan Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- The Emily Morgan Hotel: www.emilymorganhotel.com
- The Emily Morgan Hotel: www.historichotels.org
- Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk: atlas.thc.texas.gov
- Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk: npgallery.nps.gov
- Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk: ghostcitytours.com
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