Beware! The 10 Creepiest Horror Movie Hotels
Ever since Psycho (1960), hotel horror movies have been a mainstay of the horror genre. I don’t think this subgenre’s popularity is a mystery. Let’s face it – hotels and motels are inherently creepy. When we’re staying in these places, we’re out of our comfort zones, staying in a room (and sleeping in a bed), that’s been previously occupied by countless strangers.
Horror movie hotels can be divided into two broad categories: hauntings and human psychos. Numerous real-life hotels have reputations for being haunted, so it’s no surprise that there’s lots of haunted hotel movies. But there’s also plenty of films about human psychos like Norman Bates, who stalk their unexpecting victims when they’re at their most vulnerable.
Of course, it wouldn’t be too narrow to strictly focus solely on hotels. Motels – and in recent years airbnbs – are also prime horror movie material. Here are the top ten creepiest horror movie hotels (and motels and airbnbs).
10. The Motel Hello in Motel Hell
Beware of Motel Hello (the “o” in the neon sign has gone out, making the name appear to be Motel Hell). If you’re not careful, you could become part of the dinner menu! You might even find yourself planted in the garden.
Farmer Vincent (Rory Calhoun) makes the best sausages around! Do you know what his secret ingredient is? Here’s a hint: it’s the same one that the Sawyers use in the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Motel Hell is a demented horror comedy that satirizes motel horror movies and the original TCM.
9. The Airbnb in Superhost
This airbnb is located in a beautiful woodsy area, but, trust me, it’s not worth a visit. The owner is a total nutcase who will stab you in the back (and the front) the first chance she gets!
Claire (Sara Canning) and Teddy (Osric Chau) are travel vloggers who cohost a struggling Youtube channel. They journey to a mountainside vacation home and meet their “superhost”, the eccentric Rebecca (Gracie Gilliam), who is in charge of taking care of their household needs. Of course, it turns that Rebecca is an unhinged psycho who has assumed a false identity.
8. The Dolphin Hotel in 1408
You’ll probably survive your visit to The Dolphin as long as you stay away from room number 1408. It’s so bizarre and terrifying that no one has survived inside it for more than an hour!
Nobody, not even seasoned paranormal investigators or hardened skeptics, can handle the ghosts, visions, and terrifying emotional turmoil that is waiting for them inside this cursed room.
1408 is an adaption of one of Stephen King’s creepiest short stories. Mike (John Cusack) is an author who investigates and debunks paranormal phenomena. He disregards warnings about the room’s deadly history and stays inside, triggering a series of terrifying events that push him to the limit.
7. The Yankee Pedlar Inn in The Innkeepers
The Yankee Pedlar Inn has a well deserved reputation for being haunted. The dark, eerie basement is especially unwelcoming. The living residents aren’t much help, either. The two person staff seems more interested in ghost hunting than assisting guests. Don’t even bother asking them for extra towels!
Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healey), work at the inn. Both are interested in investigating the hotel’s alleged paranormal phenomena.
The Yankee Pedlar is on the verge of closing permanently. The duo hopes to find ghostly evidence before closing the doors for the last time. They are especially fascinated by the ghost of Madeline, a young woman who hung herself in the hotel and supposedly haunts the basement.
6. The Pinewood Motel in Vacancy
You can forget about having any privacy at The Pinewood Motel. The motel owner is a total creep who’s installed hidden cameras in the rooms! Avoid playing any videotapes that you find on the grounds. There’s a good chance they’ll be snuff movies. If you’re not careful, you’ll become the unwitting star of a snuff film yourself!
David (Luke Wilson) and Amy (Kate Beckinsale) are a married couple on the verge of separation. Their car breaks down in a remote area, and they seek refuge inside a motel managed by Mason (Frank Whaley). After uncovering hidden cameras in their room and watching a disturbing tape, the couple tries to escape, but they discover that Mason is part of a wider conspiracy.
5. The Slovakian Hostel in Hostel
Tourists should stay as far away as possible from this hostel, which has a disturbingly extensive history of guest disappearances. Naive college students should especially steer clear. You wouldn’t believe the number of young folks who are never seen again after staying here!
Hostel was one of the infamous torture porn horror films of the early 2000s. What it lacks in intelligence and memorable characters it compensates for in sheer barbaric savagery. Like Vacancy, the villains here are a group of psychos involved in a conspiracy of kidnapping, torture, and murder.
4. The Airbnb in Barbarian
Beware of this Airbnb located in an impoverished area near Detroit! Not only is there a strong chance that you’ll be double booked with a stranger, but there’s also dark hidden passageways hidden on the grounds. You never know who, or what, might be lurking inside!
Barbarian, the directorial debut of Zach Cregger, stars Georgina Campbell as Tess, a young woman who travels to the area for an important job interview. A mysterious man, Keith (Bill Skarsgard), is already staying at the home, claiming that there’s been an accidental double booking.
What starts off as a seeming simple premise turns into a surprisingly weird and eerie journey thanks to Cregger’s twisty screenplay.
3. Bates Motel in the Psycho franchise
This simple, out of the way motel offers dated amenities and an inconvenient location far away from the nearest highway. The manager seems nice enough, but he’s a bit fidgety and eccentric. And don’t even get me started on his mom. It’s impossible to get a hold of her. Talk about an absentee owner. Even the showers are hazardous! All things considered, you’ll be safer sleeping in your car on the side of the road.
The Bates Motel, pictured above in A&E’s eponymous television series, is the archetype for all motel horror movies. It’s best known as the stomping grounds for Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) . The Bates Motel has been featured in six movies: Psycho I through IV, the obscure 1987 TV movie Bates Motel, and the 1998 Psycho remake.
2. The Carmichael Manor in Hellhouse LLC Origins: the Carmichael Manor
Good luck getting a good night’s sleep at The Carmichael Manor! If the weird banging noises and shadowy figures weren’t enough to keep you awake, the hotel’s bizarre collection of creepy clown status certainly will!
Few modern hotel horror movies can muster the tension of Hellhouse LLC: The Carmichael Manor. Margot (Bridget Rose Perotta), an internet true crime investigator, is fascinated by The Carmichael Manor. decides to stay overnight at the manor with her girlfriend and brother. A series of gradually escalating eerie occurences disturb and terrify the trio
1. the Overlook Hotel in the shining
Located deep within the Rocky Mountains, The Overlook Hotel has numerous disturbing issues, including a bloody elevator, creepy twin girls who appear out of nowhere, and a deranged lady who enjoys using guests’ bathtubs.
I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anybody. What else could possibly top a list of creepy horror movie hotels? Even after over four decades, nothing has surpassed The Overlook Hotel for sheer terror. It is haunted by some of the scariest ghosts in horror movie history.
Stanley Kubrick adapted Stephen King’s novel for the screen. Hotel horror movies have never been the same since. Stephen King wasn’t impressed by this adaption, but, to many people, this is the king of hotel horror movies.
