Haunted hotel guide · Tucson, Arizona
The Haunted Hotel Congress, Tucson: Room 242, Vince and the Dillinger Fire
The hotel where the Dillinger gang was flushed out by a fire in 1934 now lists its haunted rooms on its own website, and you can book them.
Hotel Congress has been the social center of downtown Tucson for more than a century. It opened in 1919, by its own count, across from the train depot for passengers on the Southern Pacific line, and it still runs a full house downstairs: the Cup Cafe, Tiger’s Tap Room (open since 1919), the Lounge, the Century Room and the Club Congress music venue. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the most openly haunted hotels in Arizona.
Few hotels are as upfront about their ghosts. Hotel Congress has a Haunted Rooms page that names four rooms and the spirits linked to each, takes reservations for them and runs seasonal 30-minute Haunted Hotel Tours that end in a seance room. Add the night in January 1934 when a basement fire forced the John Dillinger gang out into the street, and it is easy to see why the hotel draws both history buffs and ghost hunters.
Hotel Congress at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 311 E Congress St, Tucson, AZ 85701, across from the historic train depot
- Opened 1918 to 1919; owned by Richard and Shana Oseran since 1985
- Most haunted spots Rooms 242, 220, 214 and 212 on the second floor, and the lobby staircase
- Best-known ghosts The woman in the white dress, Vince the veteran, a Victorian gentleman and the locksmith’s apprentice
- Booking the haunted room Contact the hotel directly to reserve Rooms 242, 220, 214 or 212. They are listed on its Haunted Rooms page.
- Good to know There is no elevator: you climb one flight of stairs to the rooms. Club Congress hosts live music, so expect noise on show nights.
The ghosts of Hotel Congress
Room 242: the woman in the white dress
The hotel’s most famous room belongs to a young woman who, according to the hotel, was on an extended stay, was struggling and talked about wanting the voices to stop. Staff and guests called the authorities, but she took her own life in the room. Older versions of the story say she shot herself during a standoff with police; we could not find a record that names her or dates her death, so treat the details as hotel lore.
Guests in Room 242 describe a heavy atmosphere, a woman in a long white dress sitting on the edge of the bed watching them sleep, and the feeling of someone lying beside them. A hotel guide told KGUN 9 in 2023 that ghost hunters book the room constantly.
Room 220: Vince, the tricky veteran
Vince was a World War II veteran who moved into Room 220 in 1965 and lived there until his death in 2001. He kept to a set breakfast routine and was known for walking off with the restaurant’s butter knives, which he used as screwdrivers for odd jobs around the building.
Staff and guests still find butter knives in strange places around the hotel. Guests in his old room also report the door locking and unlocking on its own and their belongings being moved. Staff describe him as playful rather than frightening.
Room 214: the Victorian gentleman
A dignified man in a seersucker suit, sometimes wearing a top hat, is said to wander the second floor. People on the plaza below have reported seeing him standing at the window of Room 214 on nights when the room was empty.
The hotel describes him as friendly, and he is one of the stops on its haunted tour.
Room 212: the locksmith's apprentice
In Room 212 the story is all about the door. Guests lock it for the night and find it standing open, sometimes more than once. Others leave it open and watch it close. Staff report the same thing.
Nobody knows who the apprentice was. The name is the hotel’s own nickname for whoever keeps playing with the lock.
The lady on the staircase and other stories
The hotel’s tour also tells of a lace-shrouded lady on the lobby staircase. Older write-ups mention a woman in black who leaves a scent of roses, two children playing in the halls and a well-dressed gangster. The owners have said that their ghosts look like solid people until you look straight at them.
One thing the hotel does not claim is a Dillinger ghost. For all the fame of 1934, nobody seriously says the gangster came back.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Room 242: One double bed, sleeps two. The woman in the white dress. The room most ghost hunters ask for.
- Room 220: Two doubles, sleeps four. Vince’s home for 36 years, and the room for groups.
- Room 214: One king, sleeps two. The Victorian gentleman at the window over the plaza.
- Room 212: One king, sleeps two. The door that will not stay locked.
History of Hotel Congress
Hotel Congress was built for the railroad. It opened across from Tucson’s Southern Pacific depot at the end of 1918, and the hotel dates itself to 1919, the year its Tap Room opened. Inside were guest rooms, a cafe, a beauty shop, a barber and a bar. The Tap Room kept going through Prohibition and reopened as a proper bar after repeal in 1933.
On January 22, 1934 a fire broke out in the basement and spread to the third floor, where members of the John Dillinger gang were staying under false names. The desk clerk warned them through the switchboard and they climbed out on fire ladders. At their request two firemen went back for their luggage, and the firemen worked out who they were. Within days the gang, Dillinger included, was captured in Tucson without a shot fired. Dillinger was sent to jail in Crown Point, Indiana, escaped and was shot dead in Chicago later that year.
The fire destroyed the elevator, which was never replaced, and Tucson architect Roy Place rebuilt the upper floor in its original style. The hotel went from 80 rooms to about 40 when it was rebuilt, and much of its 1930s look survives today.
Richard and Shana Oseran bought the hotel in 1985 and opened Club Congress the same year. In 1994 they started Dillinger Days, an annual event marking the gang’s capture. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, and its haunted rooms and tours have become part of the downtown Tucson calendar.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Call or email the hotel to reserve a specific haunted room; the online booking engine sells room types, not numbers.
- Take the Haunted Hotel Tour first. In fall 2025 it ran on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons for $15; check the hotel’s calendar for current dates.
- Ask for a weekday if you want to sleep: Club Congress and the plaza stage can be loud on weekend nights.
- Ask about Dillinger Days, the hotel’s yearly event marking the 1934 capture.
- See our guide to haunted places in Tucson for more to do after dark.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Haunted places in Tucson: more Tucson ghost stories
- Haunted hotels in Tombstone: about 70 miles southeast
- Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee: Julia Lowell’s Room 315, our full guide
- Hotel San Carlos, Phoenix: Leone Jensen and the seventh floor
- Haunted hotels in Arizona
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 Hotel Congress haunted?
The hotel says so itself. It lists four haunted rooms on its website, runs seasonal ghost tours, and guests and staff have reported apparitions, moving objects and doors that open themselves for years.
What is the most haunted room at Hotel Congress?
Room 242, linked to a woman in a white dress who is said to sit on the edge of the bed. Rooms 220, 214 and 212 are also sold as haunted rooms.
Can you book the haunted rooms at Hotel Congress?
Yes. Contact the hotel to reserve Rooms 242, 220, 214 or 212.
Who is Vince at Hotel Congress?
A World War II veteran who lived in Room 220 from 1965 until his death in 2001 and fixed things with the restaurant’s butter knives. Staff still find butter knives around the hotel.
What happened with John Dillinger at Hotel Congress?
In January 1934 a fire forced the Dillinger gang out of their third-floor rooms. Firemen who fetched their luggage worked out who they were, and the gang was captured in Tucson within days.
Does Hotel Congress have an elevator?
No. The 1934 fire destroyed it and it was never replaced, so you climb one flight of stairs to the rooms.
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.
- Hotel Congress (official site)
- Haunted Rooms (Hotel Congress)
- History (Hotel Congress)
- Haunted Hotel Tours (Hotel Congress)
- A different type of chill: touring haunted Hotel Congress (KGUN 9, 2023)
- Hotel Congress (Wikipedia)
- Hotel Congress: enigmatic Room 242 (Michael Kleen)
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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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