HOW TO SURVIVE THE NIGHT IN A REAL HAUNTED HOTEL
If you were planning to make a super scary film about a young couple trapped in a creepy hotel for the night, to ensure the film was really soaked in dread, you’d film it an ACTUAL haunted hotel, right? That’s exactly what the makers of the new horror chiller THE NIGHT did - the film was shot on location in downtown Los Angeles, at the real-life Hotel Normandie - that is believed to have had ghostly residents over the years! For those inclined to be sceptical about such things, here are some accounts from YouTubers, travel writers and the like, who have booked into the Normandie for the night… and lived to tell the tale...
A sleepless night at the Normandie
Popular YouTube ghost hunters Corey Scherer and Aaron Doh paid a visit to the Normandie and picked up some very strange vibes indeed. “Apparently, all of the rooms are haunted,” says a nervous-looking Corey before they go in for the night. “People have seen figures walking around, they’ve heard footsteps, doors slamming - so we decided to get a room!” Things get immediately creepy when the boys can’t get into their room - and when they do, there’s a welcome note on the bed for someone else. Then the doorknob starts squeaking. At 3am it’s time to get out the K2 (ghost hunting gadget) and dousing rods. Aaron says “I got chills!” You’ll get chills too...
Do not disturb!
On the website Haunted Rooms, the Normandie comes in at number 3 on a list of The 7 Most Haunted Hotels in Los Angeles (after The Chateau Marmont and The Pierpont Inn). The site claims visitors to the hotel “have been unable to sleep because of an unknown, or unsettling, feeling they get while in their hotel room”; as well as seeing shadowy figures. It sounds very similar to what happens in THE NIGHT. Goosebumps all round!
Ghosts… or just squeaking floorboards?
YouTubers The Royal Dorks went to Koreatown in Los Angeles, for a bit of sightseeing and… to visit the allegedly haunted Hotel Normandie. By all accounts the floors and stairs creaked ominously - mainly because they are made of wood and the hotel was built in the 1920s.
Seems like a nice place...
Blogger Minnie Chan spent the weekend in Los Angeles in 2018, and, made a last minute booking stayed at the Normandie, which she had never heard of… and despite being charmed by the beautifully furnished lobby area, became ‘a tiny bit creeped out’ when she went up to her room. “The hallways are long and seemingly never-ending. I kept imagining scenes from The Shining, and expecting those twins in blue dresses to pop out any second.” Thinking her room felt a bit eerie, Minnie decided to google the hotel… and wished she hadn’t.
Is anybody there?
In this clip posted by The Haunted Travel Channel this month, the participants attempt to communicate with spirits in one of the Normandie hotel rooms (Number 321) by holding a seance… it’s suitably eerie, like a real life version of Host. Watch if you dare!
What do you mean there are TWO haunted Hotel Normandies!
Typical, isn’t it - they build one hotel called the Hotel Normandie that ghosts like to frequent, and someone goes and builds another one and that one gets a reputation for being haunted as well! The second Hotel Normandie was in Puerto Rico, in the Carribean, a beautiful art deco building that opened for business in 1940s, and now lies abandoned.
Visitors to the derelict building are said to have seen a ghostly child running around, and the spirit of a woman who threw herself to her death from the top floor into the hotel lobby.
We ain’t afraid of no ghosts!
It looks like being ‘haunted’ might not actually be bad for business. The hotel currently has a 4.5 ‘Excellent’ rating on Tripadvisor. Meanwhile, the official website plays up the hotel’s “rich history and classic Los Angeles character”, saying it showcases “the elegance of Hollywood’s golden age”. The hotel is pet friendly, you can do rooftop yoga, and it is in the middle of hip Koreatown. No mention of ghosts, so maybe it’s all just… wait… what was that creaking noise…?
If all this talk of the ghostly hotel has piqued your interest, be sure to keep an eye out for the THE NIGHT, that was filmed there, when it is released on digital platforms (iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Sky, Virgin, Google/YouTube, BT, Playstation, Microsoft, Chili, IFI@Home) on 2nd April
