The Congress Hotel, Chicago

History

The Congress Hotel in Chicago was built in 1893 and was originally called the Auditorium Annex when it opened to house the visitors to the World’s Colombian Exposition.

The hotel has seen many owners over its time, all adding new features to keep up with the times. It now has over 1000 guest rooms and has housed some of Americas most famous, including several presidents as well as a list of Hollywood celebrities.

Hauntings

The building is very well known for its ghosts, and some claim that one of the paranormal inhabitants is that of Al Capone himself, who actually owned the hotel for a while and used it as his headquarters. The ballroom of the building is one area which seems to experience the most activity, objects being moved and noises, including footsteps, doors slamming and talking are commonly reported, upon inspection however, no one is there.

The hotel also seems to experience a large number of unexplainable cold spots, it is believed that cold spots usually accompany spirits and only normally happen in specific areas. The hotel however, seems to experience them throughout all floors and rooms at random.

One thing the hotel is known for is poltergeist activity, objects being moved through out the building, usually at night is a very common thing, various members of staff and guests alike have reported objects being thrown at them but have seen no one do so. Who the ghosts are that inhabit this hotel however, seems to forever remain unknown.

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