Haunted hotel guide · Berea, Kentucky

Haunted Boone Tavern Hotel, Berea: Timmy in the Basement and a 1909 Inn

Berea College built Boone Tavern in 1909 with bricks its own students made. More than a century on, staff tell of a boy’s voice in the basement, and ghost hunters say the old inn is busier than it looks.

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

2.2/5Haunted Rooms Score
1909Year opened
63Guest rooms

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

Boone Tavern is the historic hotel of Berea, a small college town at the edge of the Appalachian foothills, about 40 miles south of Lexington. Berea College built it, still owns it and still staffs it partly with students, and its dining room has been known for Southern cooking since Duncan Hines listed it in the 1930s. Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford and Calvin and Grace Coolidge all stayed here.

Its ghost story is a gentle one. Staff have long spoken of a boy’s voice in the basement, ghost hunters who held a weekend here in 2012 said they found the building full of activity, and nobody describes anything frightening. This guide explains what is reported, how far it can be taken, and how to plan a stay.

Boone Tavern at a glance

2.2/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation2
History4
Ghost hunter access1
$$ · $150 to $300
  • Address 100 Main Street, Berea, KY 40403, on College Square
  • Opened 1909, built by Berea College; on the National Register of Historic Places since January 1996
  • Most haunted spots The basement and the older corridors
  • Best-known ghosts A boy staff call Timmy, heard in the basement, and a doctor said to watch over him
  • Booking the haunted room No named haunted room; the basement is not guest space
  • Good to know The hotel does not promote ghost stories. It is a quiet, family-friendly historic inn

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The ghosts of Boone Tavern

Timmy in the basement

The one ghost at Boone Tavern with a name is a boy called Timmy. When Patti Starr of Ghost Chasers International brought about 40 people for a ghost hunting weekend in April 2012, hotel staff told the group, as the Richmond Register reported, that the voice of a boy named Timmy had been heard in the basement over the years.

Starr’s group also claimed contact on an earlier visit with a doctor who had tried to save Timmy’s life and who promised to look after him. No record of a boy dying at or near the hotel has been published, so treat Timmy and his doctor as a story told by staff and ghost hunters.

"Like a train station with spirits"

During that 2012 weekend the group reported many “vortexes” around the building, most of them in the basement and some on the first and second floors. Starr described Boone Tavern as like a train station with spirits coming and going. In a darkened area at the back of the lobby, the group says a faint voice answered a greeting with “Hey.”

These are ghost hunters’ claims made with their own equipment, not independent findings, but they are the most detailed published account of the hotel’s haunting.

The basement and the corridors

Every telling comes back to the basement. OnlyInYourState notes that witnesses say it has frequent paranormal occurrences, and that none of the spirits at Boone Tavern seem to be malicious. It is a working service area, not guest space, so most of these stories come from people who have worked in the building.

Some guests add footsteps and small sounds in the older corridors at night. It is a 1909 building with a lot of wood, so creaks are part of the charm; decide for yourself what you hear.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • Guest rooms: 63 rooms today, up from 25 when the hotel opened. Ask for a room in the original 1909 building.
  • The basement: Where Timmy’s voice is said to be heard, but it is staff space. Ask politely what people have heard down there.
  • The back of the lobby: Where the 2012 ghost hunters say a faint voice said “Hey.” It is public space, so you can sit quietly here late in the evening.
  • The dining room: The historic restaurant, now Crafted at Boone Tavern, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner after a 2025 refresh of the dining room and bar. Try the spoonbread.

History of Boone Tavern Hotel

Berea College was founded in 1855 by John Gregg Fee, on land granted by Cassius Marcellus Clay, as the first college in the South to be both coeducational and racially integrated. By the early 1900s so many visitors were coming to see it that the college president, William G. Frost, and his wife were hosting more than 300 guests in a single summer at their own house. Mrs. Frost (the hotel calls her Nellie, Historic Hotels of America calls her Eleanor) pushed for the college to build a guest house, and Boone Tavern was the result.

Construction began in 1907 and the hotel opened in 1909 with 25 guest rooms. J. Cleaveland Cady of the New York firm Cady & See designed it in the Colonial Revival style, and the college’s Woodwork Department built it using bricks made by students in the college brickyard; Wikipedia puts the original cost at about $20,000. It was named for Daniel Boone, and “tavern” was used in its old sense of an inn for travelers. Students have worked in the hotel from the start.

The dining room made the hotel’s name. Duncan Hines listed it in his guidebooks in the 1930s, and Richard T. Hougen, who ran the hotel from 1940 for 35 years, turned it into one of Kentucky’s best-known restaurants and published three cookbooks. Spoonbread became its signature dish, and Berea still holds an annual Spoonbread Festival. Guests over the years have included Eleanor Roosevelt, Calvin and Grace Coolidge, Henry Ford, Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama.

Boone Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1996 and has been a member of Historic Hotels of America since 1994. A major renovation planned in 2008 and finished around 2009, which the hotel now puts at $11 million, replaced the kitchen, restored the dining room skylights and added rooms; in 2010 it became the first LEED-certified hotel in Kentucky, at Gold level. It has 63 rooms today. Berea College still owns and runs it, and students working here earn money toward their books, room and board.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Eat in the dining room and order the spoonbread.
  • Ask for a room in the original 1909 building rather than a newer space.
  • Browse the student craft shops and galleries across College Square, and take a free campus tour.
  • Ask staff, kindly, whether they have heard Timmy in the basement. Do not expect access to it.
  • Lexington is about 40 miles north if you want to add the Campbell House, and Bardstown’s haunted inns are under two hours west.

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.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Boone Tavern in Berea haunted?

It has a quiet local reputation. Staff have told of a boy’s voice, a ghost they call Timmy, in the basement, and a ghost hunting group that stayed in 2012 said the building was very active. The hotel itself does not promote ghost stories.

Where is Boone Tavern haunted?

The basement is the main hotspot in the stories, followed by the back of the lobby and the older corridors on the first and second floors.

Who owns Boone Tavern?

Berea College, which built it in 1909. Students make up part of the staff.

Who has stayed at Boone Tavern?

Guests have included Eleanor Roosevelt, Calvin and Grace Coolidge, Henry Ford, Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama.

Why is it called a tavern?

It is named for Daniel Boone, and “tavern” was used in its old meaning of an inn for travelers, not a bar.

Who is the ghost at Boone Tavern?

Staff speak of a young boy called Timmy, heard in the basement. Ghost hunters add a doctor said to have tried to save him. No historical record of either has been found.

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.

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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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