Haunted hotel guide · Ocean City, New Jersey
The Haunted Flanders Hotel, Ocean City, NJ: Emily, the Lady in White
A 1923 Spanish Mission landmark on the Ocean City boardwalk, and home to Emily, a barefoot young woman in white who is said to sing in the halls.
The Flanders is the grande dame of Ocean City: a white Spanish Mission Revival hotel with red tile accents and curving parapets, standing over the boardwalk at 11th Street since 1923. Today it is an all-suite hotel, with suites that have private bedrooms and full kitchens, the largest heated outdoor pool in town, a spa, Emily’s Ocean Room restaurant and ballrooms that host weddings and pageants. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009.
It is also, by reputation, the most haunted hotel at the Jersey Shore, thanks to one cheerful ghost. Emily, the Lady in White, has been described by guests and staff for decades, and a portrait painted from their descriptions hangs on the second floor. Here is her story, the other figures reported in the building, and the history that left it with so many tales.
The Flanders at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 719 East 11th Street, Ocean City, NJ 08226. Phone 1-609-399-1000
- Opened July 23, 1923; a condominium suite hotel since 1997
- Most haunted spots The lobby and the second and fourth floors; the lower-level passages beneath the hotel
- Best-known ghosts Emily, the Lady in White; a red-haired young woman, a small child and a middle-aged man
- Booking the haunted room No single haunted room. Ask for a suite on the second or fourth floor
- Good to know All suites with kitchens; heated outdoor pool, fitness center, salon and spa, restaurant; on the boardwalk
The ghosts of the Flanders Hotel
Emily, the Lady in White
Emily is described as a young woman in her early twenties with long dark hair, barefoot and dressed in white. She is the happiest ghost on the Shore: guests and staff say they have heard her laughing and singing and seen her dancing in the lobby and along the corridors, especially on the second and fourth floors. She is also blamed for unscrewed light bulbs, doors that swing open, locks that turn by themselves and a figure that walks into a wall and is gone.
Nobody knows who she was. The story told on Ocean City ghost tours is that she was waiting for a sweetheart who went to fight in World War I and never came home, which would fit a hotel named for the battlefields of Flanders. There is no record that identifies her, so treat that as the legend that has grown around her.
Emily's portrait
On the second floor hangs a portrait of Emily, painted by an artist working from the descriptions of staff and guests who said they had seen her. The hotel’s restaurant also carries her name, Emily’s Ocean Room. It makes the Flanders one of the few hotels where you can see what the ghost is supposed to look like before you go looking for her.
The other guests
Emily is not alone in the stories. Older accounts describe a young red-haired woman, called Marilynn or Maryann, as well as a small child and a middle-aged man, and guests say they hear disembodied laughter in different parts of the building. These are much less detailed than Emily’s story and are usually told as passing sightings.
The tunnels and the mob rumor
Beneath the hotel are lower-level passages that older guides call catacombs, and local rumor says they were used for meetings by bootleggers or mobsters from Atlantic City during Prohibition. Ocean City was a dry town, which gives the story some appeal, but we found no record of any such meetings, so treat it as a rumor that adds to the atmosphere rather than history.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The lobby: Where Emily is most often said to dance and sing.
- Second floor: Home to Emily’s portrait and one of her favorite floors.
- Fourth floor: The other floor where guests describe her, along with doors and lights acting on their own.
History of The Flanders Hotel
After World War I, Ocean City’s Chamber of Commerce pushed for a grand new hotel. In 1922 its committee became the Ocean Front Hotel Corporation, a group of 24 local businessmen who sold stock to residents. They named the hotel the Flanders to honor the Allied troops who fought in the Battle of Flanders in Belgium. Older versions of this guide said it was named after a cemetery; the hotel’s own history ties the name to the battle.
Architect Vivian B. Smith, born in Ocean City in 1886 and the designer of its City Hall and Music Pier, drew the Spanish Mission Revival building, and D.A. McClelland Co. of Philadelphia built it in concrete and steel. It opened on July 23, 1923, not quite finished, with 232 rooms, managed by hotelman J. Howard Slocum. Advertised as fireproof, it proved it in 1927, when a fire destroyed nearly every boardwalk structure but the Flanders. In 1929 Slocum added three saltwater pools and the hotel hosted the National Marbles Tournament.
The Depression hurt the hotel, and it was sold to Atlantic City banker and lawyer Elwood Kirkman, who ran it for decades. After his death in 1993 his daughter Carol K. Parks put it up for sale, and it closed on May 8, 1995. James Dwyer bought it in January 1996 and spent about $12 million converting it into 95 condominium suites, reopening on Labor Day weekend 1997.
The early 2000s were rough, with management troubles, bank takeovers, lawsuits and suspicious fires, until the owners formed the Flanders Condominium Association in 2005 and repaired the exterior and pool deck. Penthouses and the Lanai Suites followed, and on November 20, 2009 the Flanders was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It celebrated its centennial in 2023.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a suite on the second or fourth floor, the floors where Emily is most often reported.
- Find Emily’s portrait on the second floor, then eat at Emily’s Ocean Room.
- Suites have full kitchens, which makes the Flanders a good base for families and longer stays.
- Ocean City is a dry town: there is no alcohol sold, so plan accordingly.
- Take a drive south to Cape May for a night at the Hotel Macomber, about 40 minutes away.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Fort Mifflin Ghost Hunt, Philadelphia: Investigate the Revolutionary War fort on the Delaware River, just across from South Jersey.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Hotel Macomber, Cape May: Room 10 and the Trunk Lady, 40 minutes south
- The Southern Mansion, Cape May: An 1863 villa and Ester Mercur
- Surf City Hotel, Long Beach Island: Shipwreck ghosts an hour north
- All haunted hotels in New Jersey: The full state guide
- Haunted hotels in New Jersey
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Flanders Hotel in Ocean City haunted?
It has a long reputation. Guests and staff describe Emily, the Lady in White, a young barefoot woman who sings, dances, unscrews light bulbs and plays with locks, mainly in the lobby and on the second and fourth floors.
Who is Emily at the Flanders Hotel?
Nobody knows. Ghost tours say she waited for a sweetheart who died in World War I, but there is no record identifying her. A portrait painted from witness descriptions hangs on the second floor.
Why is it called the Flanders Hotel?
It was named in honor of the Allied troops who fought in the Battle of Flanders in Belgium during World War I.
When did the Flanders Hotel open?
On July 23, 1923. It was converted to condominium suites and reopened in 1997, and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Does the Flanders Hotel have a pool?
Yes, a heated outdoor pool the hotel describes as the largest in Ocean City, plus a fitness center and spa.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- The Flanders Hotel: official site
- The Flanders Hotel: history
- Wikipedia: The Flanders Hotel
- NJ Family: Haunted Hotels in NJ
- Garden State News: The most haunted hotels and rooms in New Jersey
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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