Haunted hotel guide · Dearborn, Michigan
The Haunted Henry Hotel, Dearborn: The Story of Suite 418
A modern art-filled hotel in Dearborn with one small, persistent ghost story: a suite where doors open and lights flicker with no one there.
The Henry, Autograph Collection is a 308-room Marriott hotel at Fairlane in Dearborn, a few minutes from The Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village. It was the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn until 2010, when Greenwood Hospitality bought it and made it the Midwest’s first Autograph Collection hotel. Today it is known for its contemporary art, its TRIA restaurant and an easy drive to downtown Detroit and the airport.
It is not a historic building, and its haunting is modest. But one story has stuck to it for years: guests in Suite 418 describe doors opening and closing by themselves and lights switching on and off. Patch listed it among Dearborn’s haunted places in 2013, and older accounts go further. This short guide sets out what is reported, how much weight to give it and the more historic haunted places a stay here puts within reach. For the full list see our guide to haunted hotels in Michigan.
The Henry at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address Fairlane Plaza, 300 Town Center Drive, Dearborn, MI 48126
- Opened Late 20th century as the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn; rebranded as The Henry, Autograph Collection, in 2010
- Most haunted spots Suite 418
- Best-known ghosts An unseen presence, sometimes described as a man, who opens doors and plays with the lights
- Booking the haunted room Suite 418 is not sold separately. Book a suite and call the hotel to ask for 418.
- Good to know 308 rooms, an indoor pool and hot tub, TRIA restaurant and free self-parking. Dogs welcome: up to two per room, 40 lbs each, $75 per stay.
The ghosts of The Henry, Autograph Collection
Suite 418
Almost every account of the hotel comes back to one suite. In October 2013 Patch reported that guests staying in Suite 418 saw doors open and close on their own and lights flicker on and off again and again.
Older versions of the story, repeated on haunted-hotel lists online, are more specific. They describe French doors in the suite swinging open by themselves, then rattling after guests had locked them. We have not found a first-hand source for those details.
Who is it?
Nobody has put a name to the presence in 418. Some tellings call it a man, but there is no tragedy, death or historic figure attached to the room, and the hotel itself does not talk about a ghost.
Has it stopped?
Some people say the activity faded after the hotel stopped being a Ritz-Carlton and became The Henry. Others still count it among Michigan’s haunted hotels. With only a handful of published accounts, the honest answer is that this is a small local story, best enjoyed as a bonus on a trip to Dearborn rather than the reason for one.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Suite 418: The suite in every version of the story, with its French doors and flickering lights. Ask for it by number when you book a suite.
- Other fourth-floor rooms: If 418 is taken, a room on the same floor keeps you close to the story.
History of The Henry, Autograph Collection
Dearborn is Henry Ford’s hometown, and the area around the hotel is shaped by Ford history. Ford built his Fair Lane estate here, and in 1929 he opened the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, now The Henry Ford, which Wikipedia describes as the largest indoor and outdoor history museum complex in the United States.
Fairlane Town Center, the shopping mall next to the hotel, opened in 1976. The hotel opened in the late 20th century as the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, a 308-room luxury hotel, and in August 1998 Host Marriott bought it for about $65 million. The reports of Suite 418 date from the Ritz-Carlton years.
In June 2010 Greenwood Hospitality bought the hotel for an investment client and announced that it would become The Henry, the first Autograph Collection hotel in the Midwest, with a rotating program of contemporary art. Art is still its calling card, in the lobby and the rooms, along with TRIA, its American restaurant.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Call the hotel after booking a suite and ask for Suite 418 by number; there is no way to reserve it online.
- Spend a day at The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village, where former tour guides have told Patch that the Noah Webster house is haunted.
- Use the hotel as a base for Detroit’s haunted places, such as the Detroit Masonic Temple, about 20 minutes away.
- Bring the dog: the hotel takes dogs up to 40 lbs for a fee.
- For a more historic haunted stay, add a night in Marshall or Kalamazoo, about 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.
- Mortuary Manor Ghost Hunt, Toledo, Ohio: Investigate a former funeral home just south of the Michigan line with the Haunted Rooms team.
- Ringling House Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Baraboo, WI: Investigate Charles Ringling’s 1901 mansion, then stay the night.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Detroit Masonic Temple: Detroit’s most famous haunted building
- The National House Inn, Marshall: Michigan’s oldest operating inn, on I-94 west
- Henderson Castle, Kalamazoo: an 1895 castle with a Lady in White
- Haunted places in Detroit: more ghost stories across the city
- Haunted hotels in Michigan
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 Henry hotel in Dearborn haunted?
It has a small ghost story. Guests in Suite 418 have reported doors opening and closing and lights flickering, and Patch included it among Dearborn’s haunted places in 2013.
What happens in Suite 418 at The Henry?
Guests describe doors and French doors opening by themselves, locked doors rattling and lights turning on and off with no one near the switch.
Was The Henry a Ritz-Carlton?
Yes. It was formerly the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn and is now The Henry, Autograph Collection, a Marriott hotel.
Is The Henry close to The Henry Ford museum?
Yes. It is a few minutes’ drive from The Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village.
Does The Henry allow pets?
Yes, dogs only: up to two per room, 40 lbs each, with a $75 fee per stay.
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.
- Patch: 5 haunted places in Dearborn (2013)
- Marriott: The Henry, Autograph Collection
- The Henry (official site)
- DBusiness: Iconic Dearborn hotel becomes the Midwest's first Autograph by Marriott property (2010)
- Hotel Online: The 308-room Ritz-Carlton Dearborn sold to Host Marriott (1998)
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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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