Legend has it that a former owner went mad and killed his wife and children in the hotel. Some say the apparitions of various members of the family have been seen around the grounds in the night.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 15 Appledore Ln
Natural Bridge, VA 24578
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 37.62993115235891, -79.54439508042606
- County:
- Rockbridge County, Virginia
- Nearest Towns:
- Glasgow, VA (5.2 mi.)
Buchanan, VA (10.3 mi.)
Lexington, VA (12.0 mi.)
Big Island, VA (12.1 mi.)
Buena Vista, VA (12.7 mi.)
East Lexington, VA (13.0 mi.)
Iron Gate, VA (17.8 mi.)
Montvale, VA (19.8 mi.)
Clifton Forge, VA (20.0 mi.)
Fincastle, VA (20.3 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://www.naturalbridgeva.com/hotel.php
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Comments (10)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
I was there around 10 yrs. ago. I arrived, just passing through… late. Around 3am. The desk clerk was nice and only charged me $65 since it was so late. I can’t remember what room I was in.
I woke up after a couple of hours. It was still dark so not before dawn. I’ve had paranormal experiences before and am sensitive to it. It was one of those rare moments where one finds oneself abruptly 100% aware and completely awake. There was a presence in the room with me. It was invasive but not hostile or anythingl like that. I was still too afraid to move or open my eyes. It was difficult to go back to sleep. I was glad to get out of there asap in the morning. A few yrs. after I called them and asked if there were any hauntings there and the person who answered said no.
If you have more information or would share some stories about it, I would love to hear them to see if there are similarities or to understand my experience better.
I was thinking about this place and decided to look it up back in 1999 I stay at this hotel and had the same experience as you did, I stayed in one of the rooms off to the side of the main entrance to the hotel along the oft side of the main entrance, I had arrived in the late evening on my way driving to Washington DC and needed a place to stay I didn’t know anything about the hotel until I looked it up a couple of years later online, and it had always stuck in the back of my mind and today I was taking to a client of mine about all the traveling I had done and the subject of this place came up and I decided to look it up again so I saw your comment and just wanted to say you were not the only one .
My sister and I stayed here with her two kids recently. Upon arrival I had this strange feeling about the hotel and I found myself feeling constant chills around me as soon as I entered our room. I immediately began researching its history and its potential spirit presence. Throughout my research the same stories surfaced with such consistency, I was convinced that it was haunted. I decided not to tell my sister at first, fearing it would frighten her children. Eventually we were startled by a sound that resembled the hotel room door handle shaking. It was very loud and very distinct. After that experience I decided to inform my sister of the research I had done in regards to the hauntings within the hotel. After that we continually heard the same sounds by the door as if someone was attempting to enter the room, but had no success. Our sleep that night was seriously disturbed as we continually heard this sound all night. While I heard what sounded like muffled voices through the walls all night, I also awoke to the sounds of what resembled clanking silverware. My sister’s overnight experience was very different, she consistently heard footsteps above our room all night. In the morning she confided this information with me, she was actually angry that the people staying above us were so loud all night. However, at this moment I reminded my sister that we were on the top floor and that there were no rooms above us. With this knowledge she contacted the front desk and was assured that there were no guest rooms above us, leaving her to believe she had heard disembodied footsteps. Lastly, I must mention that my sister and I have always been sensitive to paranormal experiences, therefore we attempted to investigate with minor ghost hunting apps. While my sister was packing our cooler for our journey home I had a ghost radar open, the app had told me several words that proved familiarity with the area, but the most striking word to come through was the word “ice” . At that exact moment my sister had been pouring ice in the cooler, leaving us stunned. I also want to mention that the app constantly said the word “plan” and “planned”, the final time it said this, it was followed by the word smoke. This struck me as odd seeing as the hotel burned down in 1963 with no known cause of the fire. I want to end this statement by reminding readers that we were visiting the hotel during the off season and there were probably about five other guests within the main inn at the time.
I stayed here in 1990 and was around 12 years old. I never had any prior knowledge to this hotel. Upon entering I told my father I believe it was haunted. I never had any experience before and I am not sensitive to spirits. I was trying to go to sleep and was laying down. I heard metal clanking or metal chains – that’s the first impression. It was brief and stopped. But that memory has remained with me. Just this past month I was talking with a friend about it and decided to look it up online, and found all these reports! From 1990 to 2020 I never once looked up this hotel and astonished to find haunting stories! Pretty much seals the conclusion I wasn’t imagining.
What room did you guys stay in?
We were in room 329. There were two double beds. We were in the one closest to the bathroom (away from the window). The bed was shaking as if someone was hitting the headboard. You couldn’t hear anything, and it was not a regular vibration, however it was constant for the duration of our stay. We did not know about the hauntings and just figured it was something on the floor, wall, AC unit. However, it continued to vibrate as if someone was hitting it when the AC was off and no one was in the bathroom. So we moved to the other bed (near the window), which was NOT moving. We mentioned it at the front desk the next am, but did not get any strange reaction or mention of ghosts. It wasn’t until we got home that a friend looked up hauntings. I do NOT believe I ghosts, nor do I have an affinity to hear/see/feel them — so this was VERY out of the ordinary for me !!!!
I just got back yesterday from our one night stay on Sat 8/18/18 and the first thing was as I was walking from my car in the front of the hotel to my room I saw a dark figure in the under section of the front of the hotel where there are only windows. Then that same night as i lay there trying to fall asleep I heard someone whisper “Cathy…look at me” I sat up and looked around but everyone in the room was asleep and no movement noticed. So I closed my eyes and brushed it off and again I heard the same thing. I sat up again and again the room was quiet and still. I’ve had these type of experiences before so while it didn’t actually keep me awake, I wondered who it could have been. I don’t know anything about this place so I will do some research. It was definitely female and felt like it could have been a child or adolescent from the way it was saying “Look at me” “look at me” as a child would want to show you something they can do. I was in room 360 on the third floor.
I stayed there about 15 yrs ago in a room between 316-319. I don’t remember the exact number. Over a two day stay, there were quite a few times when I felt strongly that there was a man sitting in the chair in the corner, watching the bed. I’m a skeptic by nature, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of a presence.
My husband and I stayed there about 7 years ago while we were dating. I didn’t know the history myself even though we live in Rockbridge County and honestly would have never believed it anyway. We were laying in bed watching Yellowstone and the television started changing channels and then a drop box popped up on the screen with a drop down menu and it moved down to make a selection and then another drop box appeared on the screen and again it moved down to make another selection and then it changed the channel. He thought I had changed the channel and I was wondering why he changed the channel since he knew I was watching it. We then realized that we were laying in the middle of a king size bed and the remote was on the nightstand on my side. I was confused and he then jokingly said “you know it’s rumored this hotel is haunted”. I can’t really explain the television fiasco but I know I have never had that happen.
I used to bartend at the hotel bar at NB. Of course, stories of ghosts were shared between pretty much every employee there. The place was fairly creepy, especially at night. I never expected to have my own experience but sure enough, I had a very distinct one. I was the last person in the dining room/kitchen area closing up the bar for the night. It was after midnight so everyone had gone home other than the night clerk at the desk. I began vacuuming the floors, and other small tasks when the silverware drawer, which was quite heavy and hard to open, was pulled completely out. I went over, and closed it back.. it took quite a bit of effort to slide it. I went back to vacuuming and as I turned around, the drawer was open again. I was on edge at this point and just ready to leave. So I grabbed my stuff, and headed out into the main dining room area. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this black mist dart around the walls, moving very quickly towards the kitchen. There are pressure plates and automatic doors to enter the kitchen from the dining room. And sure enough, the kitchen door swung inward as the black mist reached it. To this day, I have never experienced anything else like that. But without a doubt, whatever that was.. I can only assume was paranormal.