Haunted hotel guide · Elizabethtown, Illinois

Haunted Rose Hotel, Elizabethtown: Tote in the Mirror and the Graves on the Bluff

A state-owned bed and breakfast on a bluff above the Ohio River, traditionally dated to 1812, with family graves in the yard and a former servant whose reflection is said to appear in the mirrors.

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

3.5/5Haunted Rooms Score
1812Traditional founding date
5River-view rooms

Visit hotel websiteMeet the ghosts

The Historic Rose Hotel sits on a bluff above the Ohio River in Elizabethtown, a small river town in Hardin County at the southern tip of Illinois, on the edge of the Shawnee National Forest. It is a two-story L-shaped brick building with a two-story veranda facing the water, and its oldest wing is credited to James McFarland, who ran it as a tavern and inn for river travelers. The State of Illinois owns it, it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it now runs as a five-room bed and breakfast with breakfast served in the dining room or on the veranda.

It is also one of the most storied places in southern Illinois. Enjoy Illinois, the state tourism office, says the reflection of a former servant named Tote has been spotted in the mirrors. Members of the McFarland family and guests who died at the inn are buried on the grounds, and a Carbondale paranormal group has investigated here many times. The hotel itself does not promote ghosts, so read what follows as stories and reports. For other stays, see our guide to haunted hotels in Illinois.

Rose Hotel at a glance

3.5/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History5
Ghost hunter access3
Haunted room bookable
  • Address 195 South Main Street, Elizabethtown, IL 62931
  • Opened Traditionally dated to 1812 (estimates range from 1812 to about 1830); additions about 1848 and after the Civil War; bought by the state in 1988 and reopened as a bed and breakfast in 2000
  • Most haunted spots The mirrors, the upstairs guest rooms and the grounds above the river
  • Best-known ghosts Tote, a former servant; gentle shades of former guests; members of the McFarland family
  • Booking the haunted room All five rooms (Charlotte, Elizabeth, Mammy Rose, McFarland and Sarah) can be booked by name on the hotel’s website.
  • Good to know Five rooms only, so book ahead for fall foliage and eagle season. Call (618) 287-2872 with questions.

Visit hotel website

The ghosts of The Historic Rose Hotel

Tote in the mirror

The Rose Hotel’s best-known ghost is Tote, described as a former servant at the inn. Enjoy Illinois says his reflection has been spotted in the hotel’s mirrors, and the story is the one most visitors arrive knowing.

Bruce Cline, director of the Little Egypt Ghost Society in Carbondale, told the Daily Egyptian in 2014 that on one occasion he captured the image of “Tote,” whom he called one of the ghosts that haunt the hotel. Little is published about who Tote was in life, and we have not found him in the historical record.

The graves on the grounds

The Rose Hotel has its own burials. The Daily Egyptian reported three graves in the backyard, and the late author Jim Jung wrote that James and Elizabeth McFarland, some of their children and guests who died on the property lie there.

During the renovation, excavations under the porch and in the side yard also uncovered unmarked remains. Innkeeper Becky Cook told the Daily Egyptian in 2014 that they are believed to be those of former guests and enslaved people, and that workers left them where they were found. It is a sober part of the hotel’s story and the reason many visitors feel the place is more than a pretty inn.

Shades of former guests

Jung, writing in Weird Egypt: The Case for Supernatural Geology, put it simply: considering its nearly two centuries of existence, it should surprise no one that the place is haunted. He described gentle shades of former guests rather than anything frightening.

Cline said his group ran several overnight investigations, first to look and then to try to repeat earlier results, and found something every time. Those are the group’s claims; the hotel makes none.

The gazebo above the river

The frame gazebo on the front lawn dates to 1882 and stands at the edge of the bluff. There is no ghost story tied to it, but it is where most guests end up after dark, and the Ohio River at night does the rest.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • McFarland: The suite, named for the family who built the first inn and are buried on the grounds.
  • Sarah: Named for Sarah Rose, the widow who bought the hotel in 1891 and gave it its name.
  • Charlotte: Named for Charlotte Rose Gullet, Sarah’s daughter, who inherited the hotel in 1939.
  • Elizabeth and Mammy Rose: The other two rooms. Like all five, they look out over the Ohio River.

History of The Historic Rose Hotel

The inn on the bluff has served travelers on the Ohio River since the early 1800s. Its original portion is believed to have been built by James McFarland (1776 to 1837), who had married in 1806 and settled here around 1810, and who ran the building first as a tavern and then as an inn. Its age is debated. The date most often given for the oldest wing is 1812, a 1935 county newspaper profile of Sarah Rose said 1817, and the state’s historic sites office dates the earliest surviving portion to around 1830. Either way it is among the oldest hotel buildings in Illinois, and a marker outside calls it the oldest hotel in the state still in operation.

The building grew in stages: an east addition around 1848, a veranda overlooking the river around 1866, and a rear dining room and two-story porch after the Civil War. The frame gazebo on the lawn, once called the summer house, was added in 1882. The exterior today is restored to its 1889 appearance.

Sarah Elizabeth Baker Rose, a widow born in 1851, began working at the hotel in 1884 and bought it from the McFarlan family in 1891; it has carried the Rose name since. A 1935 newspaper profile, written when she was 83 and still running it, called it probably the oldest operating hotel in Illinois. When she died in 1939 it passed to her daughter, Charlotte Rose Gullet. The Daily Egyptian described it as the longest continually operating hotel in the state before it closed in 1967; the State of Illinois bought it in 1988.

The Rose Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 1972. After a major restoration it reopened as a bed and breakfast in 2000, leased to a private operator. It is managed under the Illinois Department of Natural Resources historic sites program, and bookings go through the hotel’s own website. A 2014 article counted six guest rooms; the hotel’s website now lists five.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Book by room name on the hotel’s website. The McFarland suite is the largest.
  • Take breakfast on the veranda overlooking the river.
  • Walk out to the 1882 gazebo after dark, and check the mirrors on your way back upstairs.
  • Pair the stay with the Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest for sunset.
  • Paducah, Kentucky, is about an hour away. Our Hotel Metropolitan ghost hunt and sleepover runs there.

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.

See all Illinois ghost hunts

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown haunted?

It has a long reputation for it. The state tourism office says the reflection of a former servant named Tote has been seen in the mirrors, and a Carbondale paranormal group says it found evidence on several overnight investigations. These are stories and claims, not proven events.

Who is Tote at the Rose Hotel?

Tote is described as a former servant at the hotel whose reflection is said to appear in the mirrors. Little is known about him from historical records.

Are there graves at the Rose Hotel?

Yes. Members of the McFarland family, who built the first inn, and guests who died there are buried on the grounds. Unmarked remains were also found during the renovation.

How old is the Rose Hotel?

Its oldest part is credited to James McFarland and usually dated to 1812, although other sources say 1817 and the state’s historic sites office dates the earliest surviving portion to around 1830. It is among the oldest hotel buildings in Illinois.

Can you stay overnight at the Rose Hotel?

Yes. It is a five-room bed and breakfast with river views. Rooms are booked through the hotel’s website.

Who owns the Rose Hotel?

The State of Illinois. It is run as a bed and breakfast by a private operator.

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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