Haunted hotel guide · Greenfield, Iowa
The Haunted Hotel Greenfield, Iowa: A Restored 1920 Hotel and Its Restroom Ghost
A small-town hotel on the square, rescued and restored a century after it opened, with one of the oddest ghost stories in Iowa.
Hotel Greenfield is the three-story brick hotel with the columned entrance on the town square in Greenfield, the seat of Adair County, about an hour west of Des Moines. It was built in 1920 by local boosters who wanted a proper hotel for their town, slipped into decline after the 1970s, and was bought and restored from 2010 by ADCO Enterprises, who turned it into a boutique hotel with around 20 rooms, two suites, a lounge and an event space. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its ghost story is not about a creaking staircase or a tragic bride. It is about the restrooms. Guests who used the restrooms by the hotel’s restaurant and lounge have described an uncomfortable feeling, lights switching off on their own and, most memorably, a woman who opens a stall door and then disappears. It is one of the lighter stories on our list of haunted hotels in Iowa, and the hotel itself does not advertise it.
Hotel Greenfield at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 110 East Iowa Street, Greenfield, IA 50849
- Opened 1920; restored from 2010 by ADCO Enterprises
- Most haunted spots The restrooms by the restaurant and lounge
- Best-known ghosts A woman who opens a restroom stall door and vanishes
- Booking the haunted room There is no haunted guest room. Book any room; the stories are downstairs. Phone (641) 221-0034.
- Good to know Around 20 rooms, including suites with kitchenettes. No elevator, so ask for a lower floor if stairs are a problem.
The ghosts of Hotel Greenfield
The woman in the restroom
The best-known story at Hotel Greenfield goes like this: a guest is in the restroom, a stall door opens, a woman steps out, and then she is simply not there. Some versions say the door opens with nobody behind it at all. The story has been repeated in Iowa ghost roundups for years, though nobody has given the woman a name or linked her to a known person.
It is worth saying that the restaurant and lounge sit partly in the old newspaper building next door, which was joined to the hotel during the 2010s restoration, so the story may belong to either building.
Lights that switch themselves off
Alongside the vanishing woman, guests report lights in the restrooms switching off by themselves and a strong, uneasy feeling of not being alone. Old buildings, new wiring and motion-sensor lights can all play tricks, and we would not read too much into the lights on their own. But the feeling of being watched in the same small space comes up again and again.
Upstairs
We found no well-sourced reports of activity in the guest rooms. If you want a night in a room with a ghost story attached, Hotel Greenfield is not that place; it is a comfortable, restored small-town hotel with a strange tale downstairs.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The restaurant and lounge restrooms: The heart of the story: the vanishing woman and the lights.
- The lobby: The restored 1920 public rooms are the best place to get a feel for the hotel’s first century.
- The suites: Two suites with kitchenettes are in the former newspaper building added to the hotel during the restoration.
History of Hotel Greenfield
Greenfield was settled in the 1850s and became the seat of Adair County. By the end of World War I its old Commercial Hotel on the square was no longer good enough, and local boosters raised $65,000 to replace it. Newton Construction Co. built the new three-story brick hotel in 1920 to a Classical Revival design by architect William Gordon.
For decades it was where traveling salesmen, visitors and wedding parties stayed in Greenfield. As in many Iowa towns, the interstates and motels drew trade away, and by the 1970s the hotel was dated and fading.
In 2010 ADCO Enterprises bought the building and restored it, at the same time adding the neighboring Adair County Democrat and Adair County Free Press newspaper building to house the restaurant, lounge and two suites. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2011, and in 2014 it was included in the Greenfield Public Square Historic District. Today it runs as a boutique hotel with around 20 rooms and an event space.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book by phone on (641) 221-0034 or through the usual travel sites. We could not confirm an official hotel website, so check details when you book.
- Have a drink in the lounge, then make a trip to the restroom part of the evening.
- There is no elevator. If stairs are a problem, ask for a ground-floor room.
- Greenfield’s town square, a historic district in its own right, is a fine place for an evening walk.
- Haunted Rooms has run ghost hunts at Malvern Manor in southwest Iowa and at Farrar Elementary near Des Moines. Check the listings for new dates.
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Klondike Hotel, Manilla: an 1897 railroad hotel rented for overnight investigations
- Villisca Axe Murder House: about an hour southwest
- Hotel Ottumwa, Ottumwa: a 1917 hotel with a lady in white, now closed
- Haunted places in Iowa: more of the state’s ghost stories
- Haunted hotels in Iowa
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 Greenfield haunted?
Guests have reported a woman who opens a restroom stall door and vanishes, lights switching off by themselves and an uneasy feeling in the restrooms by the restaurant and lounge. The stories are not documented, and the hotel does not promote them.
When was Hotel Greenfield built?
It was built in 1920 to a design by architect William Gordon, replacing the Commercial Hotel on the same site.
Is Hotel Greenfield on the National Register of Historic Places?
Yes. It was listed in November 2011 and is also part of the Greenfield Public Square Historic District.
Is there a haunted room at Hotel Greenfield?
No. The stories are tied to the restrooms by the restaurant and lounge, not to a guest room.
How far is Greenfield from Des Moines?
Greenfield is in Adair County, about an hour’s drive west and south of Des Moines.
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.
- Wikipedia: Hotel Greenfield
- Greater Des Moines Partnership: Hotel Greenfield
- Hotel Scoop: Central Iowa's boutique Hotel Greenfield
- Only In Your State: Historic Hotel Greenfield
- Only In Your State: Haunted hotels in Iowa
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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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