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Paranormal enthusiasts, ghost hunters, or people who simply love elegant old hotels, need to look no further than Rutherford County's very own Lake Lure Inn for an enchanting, and possibly spooky experience.
The hotel, which turns 100 years old next year, opened around the same time that the Lake Lure dam was completed and the Town of Lake Lure was officially incorporated. The hotel itself has a rich history, and has been visited by presidents, movie stars, writers, and many who seek an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the beauty of a lakeside hotel in the mountains of North Carolina.
In the 1970s, the Lake Lure Inn entered a period of decline, but underwent extensive renovations from 2003-2005, and is again undergoing improvements under new ownership-Ridgeline Investments (the company also owns other hotels).
Over the past decades, the Lake Lure Inn has become known as more than just a beautiful Mediterranean-style hotel with a red tile roof. It is known as one of the "most haunted" hotels in North Carolina.
There are multiple first-hand accounts of employees and hotel guests who have described hearing strange unexplained noises, and claim to have even seen apparitions. These accounts didn't just happen many years ago. There are contemporary accounts of ghostly encounters, from the past six months.
One young man (Tom, not his real name), who works the front desk, has worked at the hotel for less than a year. He describes himself as more of a "skeptic" when it comes to the paranormal. He is typically working in the late afternoon and evening hours.
"On more than one occasion, I have personally heard what sounds like a group of children, running down the hall on the upper floor," Tom said. "I heard this when I know, for a fact, that there were not children up there."
Perhaps equally startling to Tom, is that on multiple occasions, during his shift, there have been guests hurriedly leaving the hotel in the evening hours. This happens after they have already checked in for the night.
"We just can't stay here," they say, according to Tom. "It's not feeling right."
"They cut their stay short, because something made them afraid," he added.
Hotel staff also hear knocks, or other sounds they can't explain. There have been reports in the lobby, of the sound of a few piano keys being brushed, when there is no one near the piano.
While staff and guests say paranormal activity happens in all areas of the hotel, many say the third floor is the most haunted. There are two rooms in particular, where guests report feeling odd, or say that furniture in the rooms have been moved in the middle of the night. Electronic devices often don't work properly in these rooms, and the television may turn on and off on its own.
Some say shadowy apparitions appear and then immediately vanish more frequently in these rooms. And some have seen a female ghost dressed in a long white dress.
A painting of a young woman, hanging in the hallway, is sometimes found in the morning, having been mysteriously removed and sitting in the floor facing the opposite wall. This has happened more than once.
About a year ago, in October 2025, a woman named Julie began work at the hotel.
"I was asked before I was hired, if I was aware of the reputation of the hotel as being haunted," she said recently. "...because I would sometimes be the only one working in the evening hours. I said I was aware of that, and would be ok with it."
Julie said at that time, she was not necessarily a believer in ghosts, or the paranormal.
"But I definitely am now," she said.
She also has seen guests leave the property before they had originally intended, because they at least felt "unease," and at times claimed to have seen, heard, or felt things that they could not explain. Julie had a personal experience in her first days on the job.
She was sitting in the guest registration area, and began to feel strange, when suddenly her right side, in particular her right arm "...became freezing cold."
Julie said she then attempted to immediately call her husband, using the telephone landline, but the call was repeatedly dropped and for a while she was unable to complete the call.
Looking back, she laughs and says "I guess it didn't want me to tell anyone."
This past spring, Julie says a group of paranormal investigators were staying at the hotel, hoping to gather evidence of hauntings.
"Shortly after they arrived, one of them was carrying some sort of electronic device that supposedly picks up words that we may not be able to hear," Julie explained. "We were walking up the stairs, and the device was taking readings, and suddenly it showed my last name."
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Asked if these events caused her to be fearful, Julie responded "Well, if I were that afraid, I wouldn't be here."
"Many people come here, knowing the hotel's haunted reputation. Many enjoy that. Some think it's interesting, but don't really believe it, until they spend the night here," Julie said.
Many guests have a perfectly normal experience, according to Julie, with no paranormal experiences. But a lot of them do.
Patrick Bryant, who once worked as the official hotel ambassador from 2009 to 2022, still has vivid memories of personal paranormal experiences, and recalls those of hotel guests.
Patrick once snapped a photo in the main dining room where a wedding reception was about to take place. He took several photos, he says with a cheap camera, of an ice sculpture. He later discovered that in one of the images, a "ghost child" can be seen on the left side of the photo.
The photo was posted online, and went viral. It drew much attention, and was even featured in some television newscasts.
Patrick says he is open to the paranormal, and that at the hotel, paranormal activity is more likely when there are fewer people in the building.
"This is an old hotel. There will naturally be sounds of squeaky boards or old nails," Patrick explained. "But in the lobby, when the music is turned off, and the main lights are turned out, there is truly a different feeling. You can feel the energy changing."
He still can recall instances when he would hear his name called in a low soft voice, or a whisper. He remembers times when he would be tapped on the shoulder, when no one was around. Other staff and guests have also reported this.
On multiple occasions, Patrick would hear, in the main dining room, strange noises like the sound of silverware tapping on a champagne glass as if calling attention to others in preparation for a toast.
One of the more disturbing accounts of paranormal activity is of a former employee, years ago, who was in the basement of the hotel where a spa was located. The employee was in the reception area, when he turned to his side and saw a man dressed in a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. This full body ghost, said to the employee in a forceful voice, "Get out, Sparky!"
Even with its reputation as a paranormal hotspot, visitors continue to visit the Lake Lure Inn. They come for the beauty, the history, the bucolic setting in the mountains. During the fall, and the weeks surrounding Halloween, a few more come who are interested in experiencing an authentic spooky night in a haunted hotel. They are often not disappointed.
