The Elms Hotel & Spa - Excelsior Springs, MO

Step into timeless elegance—and maybe into the afterlife’s waiting room—at The Elms Hotel & Spa, where over a century of history lingers in every hallway.

Hotel History

First opened in 1912 and famed for its mineral springs and grand architecture, The Elms has hosted presidents, celebrities, and perhaps… a few guests who never checked out. Beneath its polished charm lies a legacy of mystery—two devastating fires, Prohibition-era speakeasies, and countless whispered encounters with the unknown.

Descend to the hotel’s historic lap pool, a speakeasy-turned-hot spot for paranormal activity, where ghostly splashes and shadowy figures are often reported after dark. Stroll the third-floor corridors, where a phantom maid is said to continue her nightly rounds. Even the ballroom and grand lobby hum with strange energies—cold spots, echoes, and fleeting figures caught out of the corner of the eye.

Haunted Hot Spots & Paranormal Activity

• Lap pool / basement (former speakeasy area): Frequent focus of reports. Witnesses have described mysterious splashing when the pool is empty, apparitions tied to the hotel’s Prohibition-era gambling/speakeasy past, and stories about a gambler or gangster who was supposedly killed during that era. Investigators on TV and locals have repeatedly pointed to the pool area as a center of activity.

• Third floor / housekeeping corridors (the “maid” sightings): Multiple accounts describe a female apparition in a 1920s maid’s uniform — seen by both staff and guests — sometimes described as checking halls or tending to rooms. Local articles and hotel materials commonly mention this figure.

• Ballroom / public spaces / lobby: Guests and employees have reported cold spots, shadow figures, footsteps, and occasional unexplained noises in large common areas of the property. The hotel’s long event history (big parties, fires, famous visitors) often factors into the lore around these areas.

• Hallways and guest rooms: Reports include sudden cold spots, EMF/energy spikes noted by investigators, impressions in beds, and sightings of a “man in white” or shadow figures in corridors and rooms.

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Reported Paranormal Activity

• Visual sightings (maid, man in white, tall apparition) and shadow figures.

• Auditory phenomena — disembodied voices, footsteps, unexplained knocks.

• Physical sensations — cold spots, being touched or pushed (staff/guest reports).

• Object movement / poltergeist-type behavior (local stories reference thrown items, hair-pulled at the pool).

• Instrument readings taken by investigators (EMF/temperature/EVP anomalies were reported during TV investigations).

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