15 Terrifying Things That Actually Happened in Hotels

Not every hotel stay goes as planned, and some take a turn into the downright bizarre. From mysterious guests and strange room changes to unexplained noises and creepy staff encounters, these stories will make you think twice before hanging the “Do Not Disturb” sign. Here are 15 unsettling hotel experiences that left people questioning what really happened.

• In my room, there was this weird full-length mirror mounted to the wall. Something felt off about it. I shined a flashlight on it and noticed it didn’t reflect correctly. Told hotel staff—they brushed it off. Days later, a guest in another room found a hidden camera behind a similar mirror. I never found out if mine had one too.

• “My girlfriend and I walked in after being gone all day, and felt something wet on the floor. The lights were out, and it was nighttime so we couldn’t tell what it was. Turn on the lights to see that the toilet was just broken. Didn’t overflow; the tank is just cracked, and water is pouring everywhere. The entire bedroom and bathroom are soaked. Go down to let them know and request money back and cancel the room for that night, they offer us another room instead. Okay, sure. Walk into the new room: someone is already staying there. The poor woman looked horrified when we walked in. Got all our cash back after that and left.” © xoriginal_usernamex / Reddit

• The front desk guy greeted me by name every time. Except... it wasn’t my name. He kept calling me “Mr. Granger” even though I corrected him several times. Finally, I asked why. He said, “You look just like him. He stayed here a lot... before he went missing.”

• I lifted the bed sheets to fix the corner and spotted a bunch of reddish-brown stains on the mattress. They looked old, dry, but definitely not just coffee. I asked the staff about it. They said it was “just rust from the bedframe.” I left the room and slept in my car.

• “A cheap Comfort Inn in Kingsville, TX. Went to use a blow dryer... pointed it towards my head and turned it on, and then an object blew out of the dryer, slapped against my forehead and bounced into the sink. Took me a moment to realize it was a live cockroach.” © rs37982 / Reddit

• There was a painting of flowers above the bed. One day I came back and it had changed to an old ship in a storm. I assumed housekeeping swapped it, but when I asked, they said they hadn’t touched anything. The flower painting returned the next morning like nothing happened.

• I was fast asleep when someone started banging on the door. Then the door clicked open. A man stepped halfway in, looked around, and said, “Wait... this isn’t my room?” The front desk had given him a key to mine. What if I hadn’t locked the latch?

• “So I fell asleep with the door locked, sleeping in the chair because the bed was broken. Woke up with three homeless guys watching tv in my room. They seemed pretty cool but it still freaked me out.” © Usually_lurks12 / Reddit

• There was a strange smell in the room—sweet, but rotten. I thought maybe the fridge had gone bad. Turns out, a bird had flown into the AC unit. They didn’t clean it. They just sprayed air freshener and acted like it was normal.

• “The bathroom locked from the outside. If you accidentally shut the door all the way, you had to have someone in the room open the door for you when you were done. If you were by yourself, you were out of luck until someone came back, or you called the front desk from the bathroom to send someone up. This was pre-mainstream cell phone usage, so you may not have had your phone on you at all times.” © cousin_geri / Reddit

• I booked a hotel on a solo trip. When I threw myself on the bed, I sensed a movement below. Thought it was the springs, but then it moved again. I checked underneath. There was a pair of eyes—a man staring straight at me. I screamed and ran to the front desk. The staff looks weirdly calm and said, “Ma’am, that is scary. I understand. But please, I ask you to calm down.”
  Like I was the problem. They just said they had no idea how he got in, offered me a refund and a free night. I called the police instead. I left that night, heart racing, barely able to breathe. Even in the new hotel, I couldn’t sleep. I kept checking under the bed, behind the curtains, inside the closet.
  I asked the hotel for compensation. They refused. I sued and won. But the money didn’t fix it. That man never said a word. Not when I found him. Not when the police took him. I still think about those eyes, watching me. And I haven’t had a peaceful night since.

• At 1:30 a.m., room service knocked and brought in a tray of food. I told them I didn’t order anything. They insisted I did, said it was under my room number. I didn’t even have a card on file. There was no charge. I didn’t touch the food.

• “I was sleeping when I heard a loud scratching noise. I turned on the light and saw a mouse with a potato chip in his mouth run out from under the bureau, across the floor and under my bed. I called the front desk and told them and they said they would send someone up there in the morning. I dressed, got my stuff and left in the middle of the night.” ©Unknown author / Reddit

• A kind older woman helped me check in late at night. She offered tea, asked about my trip, was super sweet. The next day I wanted to thank her. I described her, and the staff said, “We don’t have anyone here by that name. We’ve never had an older woman working the night shift.”

• Found a room key on my nightstand that wasn’t mine. Different floor, different room number. No one could explain where it came from. The front desk said no guest had checked out of that room recently. Out of curiosity, I checked the door; it was wide open.

Before you go, make sure to check out our next article featuring 12 true stories with twists so wild, you won’t believe they actually happened. These jaw-dropping moments are the kind that could easily break the internet, and you’ll want to read every single one.