'Europe's most ghost-populated' hotels: where you can book a night for Halloween

Five establishments that advertise their own ghosts

Just in time for Halloween Euronews has compiled a selection of European hotels and pubs, which openly talk about the ghosts living in them and invite guests to spend a night alongside them. What makes this selection special is that most of the stories are confirmed not by journalists but by the establishments themselves and official tourism organizations: the legends appear on the websites of Visit York, the Norwegian tourism authority, and on the hotels' own pages.

United Kingdom: a pub with Lady Peckett and a guesthouse with twenty spirits

The first two addresses are in the United Kingdom. The Golden Fleece pub on Pavement in York claims the title of the most ghost-filled establishment in the city — and York, by its own account, is one of the most 'haunted' cities in Europe. According to Visit York, its guests include Lady Alice Peckett, the wife of the pub's owner in the early 18th century, and a British airman who fell out of one of the establishment's windows in 1944; visitors are offered not only a pint but also a night's stay in one of the rooms.

Dublin, Norway and Sweden: ghosts with a backstory

At the five-star Shelbourne in Dublin, according to the Irish Mirror, the spirit of seven-year-old Mary Masters, who died of cholera in 1791, is said to reside; she is reportedly seen two or three times a week, and actress Lily Collins spoke of an encounter with the ghost while filming 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'. At Norway's Hotel Union Øye, according to the legend cited by the Norwegian tourism authority, the weeping of a maid named Linda can be heard in the 'Blue Room'; she drowned herself after the suicide of her beloved — an officer of Emperor Wilhelm. And at the Swedish manor of Toftaholm Herrgård, according to the description on the manor's own website, there appeared a 'gentle, delicate ghost' of a servant named Mats, who hanged himself in one of the guest rooms after the daughter of the count, with whom he was in love, married another man; guests reportedly saw him behind female guests — sometimes he places a hand on their shoulder.

What is important to keep in mind

All the stories described are legends and accounts that the establishments and tourism organizations themselves use in their promotion; there is no confirmation of the existence of ghosts anywhere in this selection, and the Euronews author himself notes that he would prefer to steer clear of such hotels. The practical point of the piece is different: all five establishments are genuinely operating and taking guests, and their 'paranormal' reputation is part of their official positioning — from the pub in York to the five-star hotel in Dublin.