Haunted hotel guide · Lexington, Kentucky
The Haunted Campbell House, Lexington: The Stairs and the Third Floor
A white-columned 1951 motor inn on South Broadway, now a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, with one of the darkest ghost stories in Lexington attached to it.
The Campbell House is one of Lexington’s best-known hotels: a white-columned landmark on South Broadway, a short drive from downtown, the University of Kentucky and Keeneland. It opened in 1951 as the Campbell House Motor Inn, has hosted Lexington’s weddings, dinners and conventions for more than 70 years, and since 2015 has been part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, with rooms decorated in a modern equestrian style and a bourbon bar on site.
It also has a ghost story that has been passed around for years, about two women who are said to have died violently on the property. This guide sets out that story, what we could and could not verify, and how to plan a stay if you want to test it yourself.
The Campbell House at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 1375 South Broadway, Lexington, KY 40504
- Opened 1951 as the Campbell House Motor Inn (construction began in 1949); joined Hilton’s Curio Collection in 2015
- Most haunted spots The main staircase and the third-floor guest rooms
- Best-known ghosts Two women said to have died on the property; some tellers add a lady in a yellow trench coat
- Booking the haunted room No named haunted room. Ask for the third floor; not guaranteed
- Good to know The hotel does not tell or promote this story, and we found no record of the deaths
The ghosts of the Campbell House
The woman on the stairs
The best-known version of the story says a woman was stabbed to death on the hotel’s stairs. Guests who repeat it say a stain appears on the stair carpet where she died, and that it comes back even after the carpet is cleaned or replaced.
It is a vivid story, and a common one: returning bloodstains turn up in haunted-house tales all over the country. We searched for a record of a killing at the Campbell House and found nothing, so treat this as local lore.
The third floor
The second half of the story concerns a woman said to have been shot in a third-floor guest room. Guests say doors on the third floor open and slam by themselves, sometimes late at night when the corridor is empty. Again, we could not find any report of a shooting at the hotel.
Other sightings
Not every story is about the two women. The Paranormal Deep Dive podcast describes guest accounts of apparitions and voices, including a figure it calls the lady in the yellow trench coat. Online haunted-place directories add cold spots and lights and doors that move on their own, but they cite no sources and name no tragedy.
None of this has a record behind it. The podcast itself frames the hotel’s alleged murders as a question of where history ends and legend begins.
Why the story lasts
Any hotel that has hosted events for 70 years collects stories, and a grand columned building on a main road is an easy place to set one. The Campbell House does not talk about ghosts, and its staff are not a source for this one. If you hear it from a local, ask where they first heard it; that is often the most interesting part.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The main staircase: Where the stain story is set. It is public space, so you can look for yourself.
- Third-floor rooms: The floor tied to the slamming doors. Request it when you book and again at check-in.
- The Rackhouse Tavern: The hotel’s bar and restaurant, with regional food and a long bourbon list. A good place to ask whether anyone has heard the story.
History of The Campbell House Lexington, Curio Collection by Hilton
Work on the Campbell House began in 1949 at the junction of Harrodsburg and Mason Headley Roads, on the road into Lexington from the southwest, and it opened in 1951 as the Campbell House Motor Inn. Photos in the Kentucky Photo Archive show a fireproof, two-story brick building laid out in an H shape, with 130 air-conditioned rooms, each with a radio and telephone, and a dining room seating 300. It opened in a boom year for Lexington hotels.
The inn grew with the city. A pool and dining room were added in the early 1970s, and in 1979 new guest rooms, a fine-dining restaurant and a lounge called the Barrel Room followed. The hotel came through a fire in 1986. For decades it was one of Lexington’s main places for weddings, banquets and conventions, and the hotel says it has hosted world leaders as well as horse people and wedding parties.
In 2015 owner Rockbridge Capital finished a renovation of more than $10 million and reopened it as The Campbell House Lexington, Curio Collection by Hilton, with about 250 rooms and suites at the time. The rooms have a modern equestrian theme, with nods to horse farm fencing and architecture that suit a city famous for Thoroughbreds.
Today the hotel has more than 25,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The Rackhouse Tavern serves local food and a long bourbon list, and the hotel, a sponsor of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, offers tastings of bourbons distilled just for it.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a third-floor room when you book if you want to test the story, and confirm at check-in.
- Look at the main staircase late in the evening when the lobby is quiet.
- Keeneland’s spring and fall race meets fill Lexington hotels fast. Book early for April and October.
- Pair your stay with a drive to Bardstown, about an hour west, for the Old Talbott Tavern and Jailer’s Inn, two of Kentucky’s best-known haunted stays.
- Remember the hotel itself does not promote ghost stories; ask staff politely rather than expecting tales.
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.
- Thomas House Hotel Ghost Hunt and Sleepover: Spend the night investigating a reputedly haunted 1890 hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee.
- Hotel Metropolitan Ghost Hunt and Sleepover: Our own Kentucky event: a guided investigation and sleepover at the historic Hotel Metropolitan in Paducah.
- Old Moore County Jail and Funeral Home Ghost Hunt: An old jail and a former funeral home in Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of Jack Daniel’s.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Haunted places in Lexington: more ghost stories around the city
- Old Talbott Tavern, Bardstown: a 1779 inn with Jesse James stories, about an hour west
- Jailer's Inn, Bardstown: sleep in the old Nelson County Jail
- Haunted hotels in Kentucky: every haunted stay in the state
- Haunted hotels in Kentucky
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 Campbell House in Lexington haunted?
It has a well-known local ghost story about two women said to have died on the property, with reports of a returning stain on the stairs and slamming doors on the third floor. We could not find any record of those deaths.
What floor is haunted at the Campbell House?
The third floor is the one named in the story, along with the main staircase.
Can you book a haunted room at the Campbell House?
There is no named haunted room. You can request the third floor, but the hotel cannot guarantee it and does not promote ghost stories.
When was the Campbell House in Lexington built?
Construction began in 1949 and it opened in 1951 as the Campbell House Motor Inn. It joined Hilton’s Curio Collection after a renovation in 2015.
What are the most haunted hotels near Lexington?
The Old Talbott Tavern and Jailer’s Inn in Bardstown are about an hour away, and Louisville’s Seelbach Hilton is about 80 miles west.
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.
- The Campbell House Lexington: About
- The Campbell House Lexington: official site
- Hospitality Net: Curio Collection opens the historic Campbell House Lexington (2015)
- Kentucky Photo Archive: Campbell House Inn (1951)
- Paranormal Deep Dive: What secrets lurk within the Campbell House of Lexington?
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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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