Mob legends, a deadly fire, and an ancient curse are just some of the stories behind these allegedly haunted Las Vegas Strip hotels.
Gather around the glow of your computer screen, boys and girls. It’s time to tell some spooky Las Vegas Strip hotel ghost stories.
With a history of violent mob murders and thousands of hotel rooms hiding dark secrets, Sin City has its share of stories about hauntings and other paranormal scares. The Las Vegas Strip alone has been the site of a deadly hotel fire, construction accidents, possible mob hits, and maybe even an ancient curse.
From an Egyptian pyramid on the south end to a family-friendly circus on the north end, here are five of the most haunted hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.
Luxor
3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Maybe it’s an ancient curse, maybe it’s ghosts. Either way, many people believe that Las Vegas’ own Egyptian-esque pyramid, the Luxor, is incredibly haunted.
Some of these hauntings are attributed to workers who died during its construction in 1993. There are also rumors that the hotel was built on a popular burial site used by the mob. Others say the hotel’s theme attracted King Tut’s wrath and the curse of Egypt’s pyramids.
One former staff member who worked at a restaurant overlooking the hotel lobby wrote on the Subreddit r/Ghoststories: “There were many times, late at night, that I would see shadow figures merging in and out of a wall near the kitchen.”
Former Luxor guests, who posted about a paranormal experience on the r/vegas subreddit, describe everything from waking up “to the feeling someone sitting on their legs” to blown fuses and blinding lights.
Some ghost-tour sites also link the Luxor’s reputation to tragic deaths at the hotel over the years.
Flamingo
3555 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Next time you’re roaming the garden near the pink flamingos at the Flamingo Hotel, you may find yourself face to face with the ghost of a notorious mobster. Though he didn’t die at the Flamingo, Bugsy Siegel was pivotal in opening the hotel in 1946, and it’s said he still haunts the grounds.
“Siegel’s ghost lingers possibly because the Flamingo brought him to his death, or possibly because he never lived to see how successful his project would end up being,” according to the Vegas Ghosts website.
When he’s not hanging out by his garden memorial, you might find his ghostly figure at the foot of your bed, opening and closing doors, or whispering eerily—especially if you stay in the Presidential Suite.
One California couple who stayed at the Flamingo wrote on Tripadvisor that their entire first night was filled with frightening experiences, so much so that they ended up changing rooms: “I saw a man figure in our room gliding past our bed at 1:30 a.m., the remote dropped to the floor, but when we turned on the light, it was on the table,” one of the guests wrote. “The bathroom door opened and closed every hour from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. … we heard tools dropping in the venting system.”
Planet Hollywood
3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Originally a small hotel called Tallyho, then King’s Crown, and then the Arabian-themed Aladdin for many years, Planet Hollywood opened in 2007 after a major transformation. Over the years, there have been additions, implosions, and tons of renovations, but certain buildings, including the PH Live theater, remain.
The current Panorama Suite on the 7th floor is often cited as the hotel’s most haunted spot. Guests have reported everything from whispers and footsteps to someone, or something, trying to open the room door.
A Redditor on r/Ghoststories had an unsettling encounter when he repeatedly heard the sound of “someone putting the key card in the slot followed by trying the handle.” When he opened the door, no one was there, but he heard someone whispering. This sequence of events happened again, and he also reported hearing something being dragged across the floor.
Pamela Russell writes on the Haunted Places hotel booking websites that it isn’t just the 7th floor that’s overrun with spirits. “I just stayed in a room on the 10th … I’ve never been so scared, without anywhere to run. I thought I was going to die. I was convinced ‘someone’ was getting in my room.”
Horseshoe
3645 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
The hotel and casino, now known as Horseshoe Las Vegas, spent several years as Bally’s, but was once the original MGM Grand. The most recent iteration came in 2022 and is a tribute to the former downtown Las Vegas haunt, Binion’s Horseshoe (now Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel).
The Horseshoe’s ghosts are sometimes traced to a horrific fire at the MGM in 1980 that killed 85 people (and injured more than 700). It started with an electrical fault inside a wall at The Deli, a restaurant off the casino floor, turning the hotel into a death trap. With no alarm to warn guests, toxic black smoke swept through the air ducts and into stairwells and elevator shafts. Of the 85 victims, those who didn’t die from smoke inhalation succumbed to their burns, while one died after jumping from their room’s balcony.
Despite updates to the structure and its name, part of the tower where most of the victims lost their lives still stands as part of the hotel. Some think it’s haunted by victims of the deadly blaze, with guests reporting strange shadows and noises in the hallways, especially on the upper floors where most people died.
Per Ghost City Tours: “A woman once called the front desk, hysterical after seeing a pair of disembodied feet floating in her room. Other guests have claimed to see figures appear and then disappear in an instant in the hallways. Guests have also seen shadowy figures lying on their beds … There have been several reports of groups of transparent people roaming through the casino for a few seconds, then disappearing.”
According to a guest on TripAdvisor, people booking rooms at Horseshoe are so worried about hauntings that the hotel has a special booking code for guests who don’t want a room on the 18th floor or above (where most guests died).
Circus Circus
2880 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
A family-friendly hotel with trapeze acts, carnival games, and an indoor amusement park, Circus Circus has a nefarious history that includes mob hits, murder-suicides, and other mayhem. Ghost hunters, guests, and staff have reported paranormal activity, including odd sounds, moving objects, and roaming spirits.
According to Ghost City Tours, Circus Circus is haunted by the ghosts of guests who were slain at the hotel as recently as 2018. However, most of the property’s paranormal activity is tied to mob activity in the 1970s and 1980s. The casino opened in 1968, and the hotel in 1972.
A frequently repeated Circus Circus ghost tale is the murder-suicide of a young boy and his mother in Room 123. Guests have reported hearing loud screams from that room, as well as a child begging for help, while others claim the words “Help Me” appear in the condensation on the bathroom mirrors.
A Redditor shared his paranormal experience at Circus Circus in Las Vegas on the r/Paranormal subreddit about 5 years ago. Along with noticing “a darker energy” when he returned to the hotel room in the evening, he writes: “Around 2:45 am I was abruptly woken up by my blankets being yanked up over my legs, and there was a shadowy figure—I thought it was my friend playing a prank on me. I immediately turned my bedside light on and saw my friend was sleeping.”
Ghost hunters from the YouTube channel Barrier Beyond investigated the paranormal activity at Circus Circus two years ago with radio equipment and picked up phrases such as “there is an afterlife,” “get back,” and “leave,” as well as what appears to be an unexplainable figure near the bed.
