Haunted hotel guide · Baltimore, Maryland

The Haunted Lord Baltimore Hotel: Molly, the 19th Floor and Baltimore's Grand Old Ghosts

A 1928 French Renaissance tower in downtown Baltimore with a little girl and her red ball on the 19th floor, and a hotel that runs its own ghost tours.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

4.5/5Haunted Rooms Score
1928Year opened
19th floorMost active floor

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Lord Baltimore Hotel has been receiving guests at 20 West Baltimore Street since December 30, 1928, which makes it the oldest continually operating hotel in the city, according to The Baltimore Banner. Its 22-story brick tower, capped by a copper mansard roof gone green with age, still has the gilded lobby, the Versailles-inspired ballroom and the hidden Prohibition speakeasy of its early years.

It also has one of the best-known ghost stories in Maryland. Staff and guests talk about Molly, a little girl who bounces a red ball through the halls, about a couple who keep dancing in the ballroom, and about an elevator that likes to stop on the 19th floor. Unlike many grand hotels, the Lord Baltimore embraces all of this: Poe’s Magic Theatre, based in the hotel, leads ghost tours through the building on weekend nights. It is a natural first stop on any list of haunted hotels in Maryland.

Haunted Rooms has a ghost hunt and overnight event planned at the Lord Baltimore Hotel for May 2027. Tickets are not on sale yet; watch our Maryland ghost hunts page for the listing.

Lord Baltimore Hotel at a glance

4.5/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation5
History5
Ghost hunter access3
$$ · $150 to $300Ghost tours or eventsHotel embraces its ghostsPet friendlyHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
  • Address 20 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 (corner of North Hanover Street)
  • Opened December 30, 1928; architect William Lee Stoddart; National Register of Historic Places since 1982
  • Most haunted spots The 19th floor, the elevators, the Versailles-inspired ballroom, the lobby mezzanine, the LB Tavern and a penthouse room
  • Best-known ghosts Molly and her red ball, a dancing couple in the ballroom, a quarreling trio on the mezzanine, children heard playing in the halls
  • Booking the haunted room The 19th floor is terrace and event space rather than a regular guest floor, so ask for a high floor and join the in-house ghost tour to visit the hot spots.
  • Good to know Ghost tours run most Friday and Saturday nights at 10pm (about 90 minutes, tickets from about $25, no room booking needed). Pets welcome, up to two with a combined weight of 80 lb, for a $100 fee. LB Tavern and LB Bakery on site.

Check availability

The ghosts of Lord Baltimore Hotel

Molly and the red ball

The Lord Baltimore’s signature ghost is Molly, a little girl usually described in a long cream dress and black shoes, bouncing a red ball along the corridors. Nobody claims to have seen her face clearly. People mention the dress, the shoes, or simply the sound of the ball. A long-serving food and beverage employee told The Baltimore Banner in 2023 that Molly is more mischievous than frightening.

Older accounts on this page quoted a hotel supervisor, Frank Carter, who said he had seen the girl and two adult figures with her, and some witnesses describe her crying and rocking back and forth. A painting of Molly now hangs on the 19th floor.

The 19th floor and the elevator

Staff call the 19th floor the epicenter of the activity. It holds a rooftop terrace, and the story most people hear is that the elevator travels there by itself late at night, with no one calling it. Guests have also described being touched by unseen hands in the elevator and the lobby.

Legend connects the floor to the 1929 crash, claiming Molly’s parents lost everything and the family jumped from the hotel. The Banner searched old newspapers and could not confirm that story. What the records do show is that the Depression years were dark ones here: in 1931 Gertrude Merriken shot herself in a guest room, and in 1933 Guy P. Clifton jumped from a 12th-floor window.

The dancers in the ballroom

In the grand ballroom, guests and staff describe a couple dancing beneath the chandeliers, and the crystals on those chandeliers swaying slightly when no air is moving. Many tellers believe the dancers are Molly’s parents. One version adds that they grow angry if anyone interrupts them.

The quarrel on the mezzanine

On the lobby mezzanine, guests report hearing a woman arguing with two men, said to be her husband and her lover. Others describe figures in old-fashioned clothes on the mezzanine and in the LB Tavern who disappear the moment someone points them out, which the hotel’s ghost tour host Vince Wilson told CBS News Baltimore he hears about often.

The madam, the handprint and the flying bottles

The Lord Baltimore opened during Prohibition and still has a speakeasy hidden behind a mirrored wall off the Versailles room, said to be haunted by a madam who once ran a brothel. Upstairs, a handprint in one penthouse room reportedly shows through every new coat of paint and wallpaper. Staff also describe knocking, objects falling and elbows being nudged, and one front desk clerk told the Banner he watched three beer bottles fly across a bar.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The 19th floor: The most active floor by every account, with the rooftop terrace and the painting of Molly. Visit it on the ghost tour.
  • The elevators: Where the elevator heads for the 19th floor on its own and guests report being touched.
  • The ballroom: Home of the dancing couple and the swaying chandeliers; often used on ghost tours and ghost hunts.
  • The lobby mezzanine and LB Tavern: The quarreling trio and figures in period clothing. Easy to sit in with a drink.
  • High-floor guest rooms: Your best bet for an overnight stay close to the action; guests have reported nightmares and the feeling of someone in the room.

History of Lord Baltimore Hotel

The Lord Baltimore Hotel replaced the Hotel Carswell, which had gone up on the site after the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. Designed by William Lee Stoddart in a red brick French Renaissance style, it opened on December 30, 1928, with more than 800 people at the celebration. It was built over a steel frame and topped with the copper mansard roof that is still a landmark of the skyline.

Its guest list over the years included Amelia Earhart, Babe Ruth and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The hotel also has a place in civil rights history. In 1958, after the Baltimore City Council failed to pass an ordinance ending segregation in public accommodations, the Lord Baltimore voluntarily dropped its restrictive guest policies.

The postwar decades were rocky. After a series of ownership changes and a bankruptcy the hotel closed, and in 1983 a partnership led by developer Saul Perlmutter bought it and renovated it, reopening on December 30, 1985. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In the 1990s it ran as the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore, then briefly as the Hilton Baltimore and Towers after a 1997 sale, before Carlson restored the Radisson name in 2001.

In 2013 Rubell Hotels of Miami, run by the art-collecting Rubell family, bought the hotel for $10 million. They dropped the chain flag, remodeled every guest room, restored the public spaces and reopened it in 2014 as an independent hotel. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, and its lobby with its painted floral ceiling, the ballroom and the speakeasy look much as they did in the late 1920s.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Book the in-house ghost tour run by Poe’s Magic Theatre. Tours start at 10pm most Fridays and Saturdays, last about 90 minutes and are open to non-guests, but the route depends on which rooms are free that night.
  • Look out for the hotel’s ghost-themed packages around Halloween, which have bundled a stay with ghost tour and magic show tickets.
  • Ask for a room on a high floor. The 19th floor itself is terrace and event space, not a guest floor.
  • Have a drink in the LB Tavern or on the mezzanine late in the evening, two of the places where period figures are reported.
  • If you travel with a dog, the hotel takes up to two pets with a combined weight of 80 lb for a $100 cleaning fee.

Ghost hunting at the Lord Baltimore Hotel

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.

See all Maryland ghost hunts

More haunted hotels nearby

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 Lord Baltimore Hotel haunted?

It is one of Maryland’s best-known haunted hotels. Staff and guests report a little girl called Molly with a red ball, an elevator that goes to the 19th floor by itself, a dancing couple in the ballroom and voices on the mezzanine. These are reported experiences rather than proof, and the hotel embraces them with its own ghost tours.

What is the most haunted floor of the Lord Baltimore Hotel?

The 19th floor. Staff call it the center of the activity, it holds a painting of Molly, and the elevator is said to head there on its own late at night. It is terrace and event space rather than a guest floor, so the ghost tour is the way to see it.

Who is Molly at the Lord Baltimore Hotel?

Molly is the hotel’s best-known ghost, a little girl in a pale dress who bounces a red ball. Legend says her family died after losing their fortune in the 1929 crash, but newspaper searches by The Baltimore Banner have not confirmed that story.

Does the Lord Baltimore Hotel offer ghost tours?

Yes. Poe’s Magic Theatre, based in the hotel, runs ghost tours most Friday and Saturday nights at 10pm. They last about 90 minutes, tickets start around $25 and you do not need to be a hotel guest.

Did people jump from the Lord Baltimore Hotel during the Depression?

Popular accounts say many people died by jumping from the hotel after the 1929 crash. The records confirm some tragedies, including Guy P. Clifton’s fall from a 12th-floor window in 1933, but the larger numbers in the legend are not documented.

Does Haunted Rooms run ghost hunts at the Lord Baltimore Hotel?

A Haunted Rooms ghost hunt and overnight event at the Lord Baltimore Hotel is planned for May 2027. Tickets are not on sale yet. Keep an eye on our Maryland ghost hunts page for the listing.

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.

Get new haunted hotel guides by email

New guides, haunted hotel picks and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

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.

Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.