The building that houses the inn was an old high school, and some say the ghostly students return to their old stomping grounds. According to reports, the inn still houses the student lockers and class photos in the hallways, and in these hallways witnesses have heard unexplained runnning footsteps, laughter and slamming doors. The lights also have been known to turn on and off on their own.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 100 Central Avenue
Benham, KY 40807
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 36.9628863, -82.95120530000003
- County:
- Harlan County, Kentucky
- Nearest Towns:
- Benham, KY (0.2 mi.)
Lynch, KY (1.6 mi.)
Cumberland, KY (2.3 mi.)
Keokee, VA (7.6 mi.)
Appalachia, VA (10.1 mi.)
Big Stone Gap, VA (11.8 mi.)
Blackey, KY (12.3 mi.)
Saint Charles, VA (12.6 mi.)
Whitesburg, KY (12.7 mi.)
Dryden, VA (12.8 mi.)
Contact Information
- Telephone:
- (606) 848-3000
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Comments (17)
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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 gre up in Cumberland, Ky along with my large family. My Mom and her siblings went to school at Benham Grade school. That school was turned into the Benham School house Inn. As listed on your page I’ve experienced everything listed & more. Except on tonight’s visit I actually accidentally have evidence of the supernatural happenings.
I was taking lots of pictures when I suddenly noticed several images with a face looking image in them. Though this was kinda freaky in itself there turned out to be something much crazier as we took more photos in attempt to debunk the initial face we saw. The image we caught during our debunking process was absolutely unexplainable & supernatural!
The new image we cause was a very distinct women with long stringy dar hair and tons of facial details. There were only 3 of us in the room with all of us behind the camera and we looked nothing like this girl. Also, we couldn’t had been projected to the top of the window & partially on the ceiling. Not to mention you can also see strait through her!
Any way you could share the photo?
Do you still have the evidence to support your claim? If you do please email me a copy of the photo.
I experienced the sound of a book being dropped on the floor. The loud sound woke me up out of a solid sleep, and there was no doubt what the sound was. I’ve stayed there 3 or 4 different times, but this is the only incident I’ve experienced.
Ok, so, it was coming a typhoon, lol, and we were trying to get the group shot on the steps of the Methodist Church beside the Inn. So I was trying to get my settings on my camera set so I took a random shot of the group walking towards me…REMEMBER, there is NO landing on this third floor! It is a balcony with a chandalier hanging down overlooking the second floor landing, so no one could possible be standing there…Maybe it’s just matrixing, maybe reflection of dirty windows…Decide for yourselves. btw…just minutes before this, we had a discussion about if it was haunted or not…maybe she wanted to prove a point…
Is that the library? We were there and there was a figure sitting on the couch in the small library in the stairwell..
I stayed with my family at the Benham School house Inn a few years back. I couldn’t sleep so I went out to the hallway to read a book so as not to wake my family.
I was sitting in a couch on the 1st floor that was located by the stairwell. Throughout the course of a few hours, I distinctly heard the sound of a locker on the 2nd floor opening and latching again. This occurred several times.
This was during the hours of 2-4am. There was nobody else in the hallways.
We stayed here in February 2016. We stayed in the second room on the first floor.
My husband and I both had battery-operated toothbrushes with us. I got mine out and brushed my teeth before bed, but then we had to run out to the store. When we came back we thought someone had been in the room, because my toothbrush was turned on and in the floor. I put it back on the sink and went to take a bath. After about 10 minutes it came on again. I turned it off again and we joked about a ghost.
That doggone toothbrush came on 3 more times that night, after we went to bed! Finally, about 2:30 I got fed up, so I got it and put it in bed with me. It came on once more and when I turned it off I slid it under my pillow and it didn’t come on again. But the next morning, when my husband got his toothbrush out of his bag and went into the bathroom his toothbrush turned on while he was in the shower!
I suspect the ghost had never seen an electric toothbrush and was interested in it. I had the distinct feeling it was female, and we didn’t feel any malevolence from her.
Once we returned home, neither toothbrush came on by itself.
My husband & niece had 1room downstairs &dad had room next door. I went out to smoke & 3 times my dad’s door was open he is elderly & couldn’t get up to do it. All nite I heard running upstairs & lockers open/closing. Never said w word next morning shocked to hear dad talk about noise. Definitely something there.
We visited recently with a group. We were in a room on the second floor. Around 2:00am we were awakened by the slamming of lockers and doors out in the hall. Very eerie and unnerving. At breakfast a couple that was down the hall heard the same things.
I enjoyed my stay and will return. I am skeptical about ghost and anything that rattles or squeaks at night. However my first night here, I had the pleasure of meeting a ghost child. She was a beautiful child with long dark pig tails tied with light blue ribbons to match her dress. She was sitting in the corner of my room with a book in her lap reading contently. I called her Samantha, I don’t know why, it seemed fitting for a such a beautiful child. If you see Samantha don’t be afraid. She likes to read, so before you end your stay leave her something to read or read to her. I told her I would be back to visit one day.
I didn’t know the school house history prior to arriving. We stayed one night Aug. 2017. I have never experienced what I experienced that night. When we first initially arrived I was viewing all the pictures on the wall with my dad. We then saw the side door sensors go off and then heard the door lock. There was nothing there that would explain why the sensors were triggered. Our room was on the first floor 1937 by the stair case. I was exhausted after a long day and fell asleep at approximately 11pm. I was awakened by the sound of paper crackling next to my bed and foot steps. I woke up my husband to have him hear what I was hearing and the sound was gone. This is the first experience of the supernatural I’ve ever had. I decided to research and found others with similar experiences like mine. This school house is said to be built on top of a graveyard with human remains.
I worked at the Benham Inn for a couple months on work study in the summer of 2016 right before Travis bought it from Southeast. A coworker and I were up on the second floor cleaning rooms one day and we had a stay over in the honeymoon suite. Well we went in and they had everything turned off. The air, the tv, lights, everything. We made the bed and my friend put clean towels in the bathroom while I got the trash. Well, we finished and as we were walking out of the room the tv turned on all by itself. We were both right there together and neither one of us near enough to even touch the tv. We were at the door of the room when it came on. We both looked at each other, eyes big as saucers when I slammed the door shut behind us. We stood there for a minute and listened to the muffled noise from the tv through the door. It was the only experience I had in my 2 months working there and one I will not soon forget!
Oh my!!yes i have pics and a story to tell!
would love to see the pics, im going there in march
We went there and did some exploring. We saw a figure sitting in the small library in the stairwell.
I never see anything in these pics.