This historic hotel was built directly on the railroad in the late nineteenth century, and is believed to be haunted by many apparitions. People walking through the alley adjacent to the hotel have seen the ghostly figure of a man in a white shirt standing on the railroad tracks, who vanishes suddenly. The other apparition mainly seen in is a railway engineer in period clothing walking through the hotel lobby. Staff at this historic hotel refuse to work alone on the upper floors due to reports of a menacing shadowy apparition and a transparent lady in white.
(Submitted by Callum Swift)
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 699 Main Avenue
Durango, CO 81301
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 37.2710732, -107.88180999999997
- County:
- La Plata County, Colorado
- Nearest Towns:
- Durango, CO (0.3 mi.)
Bayfield, CO (15.9 mi.)
Ignacio, CO (17.4 mi.)
Mancos, CO (23.0 mi.)
Cedar Hill, NM (23.1 mi.)
Young Place, NM (27.7 mi.)
La Plata, NM (29.1 mi.)
Rico, CO (30.3 mi.)
Arboles, CO (30.5 mi.)
Aztec, NM (31.6 mi.)
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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.
me and my girlfriend broke into the old biulding called the clkins school house it is one of the oldest buildings in cortez it was a hopital first then a jr high my buddy tyce and i went in ther the first time completly empty the a week later there was an old school chair desk tyce and i freaked out when we turned around it got thrown at us never went in there agine
Back in June of 2008, my mom and I booked a trip to Durango to ride the old historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through the San Juan Mountains, and booked 2 nights at the Historic Strater Hotel. We both booked premium rooms number 322 and 323 which were the largest rooms on the third floor, and over looked Main Street, and 322 being a corner room which also overlooked the railroad crossing. On our first night, we had a long day from flying in from San Francisco, and after eating at a nice restaurant, Ken & Sue’s, we were both looking forward to a good nice sleep. My mom got a good night sleep in room number 322, but me, not so much. I heard disembodied voices going on in the corridor outside of my room. I then looked out in the corridor, and no one was there. I then opened up my window and looked out on to Main Street, and it was quiet. I then try to go to sleep and the voices happened again, and this time they happened outside of my room in the corridor, and it sounded like a banquet was going on of some sort, but anyways, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. The next morning I asked my mom if she heard anything from her room 322, and she said she heard nothing and got a good night sleep. I then told the front desk, and they said, “Yes by the way, the 3rd floor is haunted and room 323 is haunted, so the sounds of disembodied voices out in the corridor from only room 323 is quite normal. You’re not the first to complain about it, and you won’t be the last.” The exact same thing happened the second night. I don’t know if it was just me who have heard those voices who’ve stayed at the hotel in room 323, or if others have within the past 5 years, but I certainly heard those voices, and no living being was in the corridor or out on Main Street when I heard them. In all honesty it was a little scary, but it was more annoying than scary.
I stayed there last night. Room 304. I was in bed and the fan came on in the bathroom. I got up turned the bathroom light on and turned off the fan with the switch. It was creepy. I also heard a lot of commotion going on around me but assumed it was actual people around. Now not so sure. The place does lend itself to the haunted vibe for sure.
My 9 yr old daughter and I were staying at the Strater Hotel in room #108. While my daughter and I were playing a game, we noticed that the bathroom light flickered on and off several times while no other electronic devices seemed to be doing this (suggestive of a power outage). The bathroom light then turned on and off slowly several times. When I was falling asleep, I heard the strange sound of a a large amount of water hitting the floor. I awoke and checked the floor for water being poured on the floor. I checked the floor for water and didn’t notice anything until I looked over at the sofa and noticed a shadow of what appeared to be a girl of apx. 9-12 years of age. My daughter reported that she later woke up in the night to use the restroom and saw a little girl’s with pigtails and a white dress walking up to the end of the bed. She said that the girl sat at the end of the bed.
My wife and I and our daughter recently stayed at the Strater and though we didn’t hear anything, my wife and I took a selfie in the lobby with a mirror behind us and she wasn’t in the reflection. We keep looking at the picture trying to figure out how, but cannot.
Summer of 2018. I was driving from Sedona, Arizona to visit a friend in Canon City, Colorado. I got pulled over by police in Durango because I ran over a curb. They thought I was drunk. I told them I was just very, very tired. . The policeman told me to follow him to a hotel as all motels and hotels were booked for the night due to a biker rally in town that weekend. The only hotel that had vacancies was the Slater. I had never heard of the place before. The policeman walked me into the hotel and told the clerk to check me in. I ‘felt’ something unusual and had shivers up and down my spine. I do not remember my room number. I was taken up an old-fashioned elevator to my floor. I walked into my room. I was very, very tired, but suddenly wide awake. There was a heaviness in the room, and I felt like I was being watched, so much so that I laid down on the bed and would not take my clothes off. I had pajamas in my suitcase. Something was in the room with me all night long. I was so tired but did not sleep a wink. I rested with the light on and my eyes open all night long!