Haunted hotel guide · Bardstown, Kentucky
The Haunted Jailer's Inn, Bardstown: Sleep in Kentucky's Oldest Jail
For nearly two centuries this was the Nelson County Jail. Now you can sleep in a cell, and guests say not every former inmate has checked out.
Jailer’s Inn is one of the strangest places to stay in Kentucky. From 1797 until 1987, prisoners from Nelson County were held on this spot in the middle of Bardstown, and when the jail finally closed it was the oldest operating jail complex in the state. Two years later it reopened as a family-run bed and breakfast, and you can now book a room with the old prisoner bunks still in place.
With 30-inch stone walls, an upstairs dungeon and almost two hundred years of hard history, it is no surprise that guests and staff report footsteps, crying and voices. It is right next door to the Old Talbott Tavern, which makes this little block of Bardstown one of the best haunted overnights in the South.
Jailer's Inn at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 111 West Stephen Foster Avenue, Bardstown, KY 40004
- Built Front building 1819, back jail 1874; the site held prisoners from 1797 to 1987
- Most haunted spots The Jail Cell room, the upstairs dungeon cells and the walled courtyard
- Best-known ghosts Former inmates, including a condemned man named Martin Hill
- Booking the haunted room The Jail Cell room is one of the inn’s named rooms; book it directly by phone or online
- Good to know The inn also runs daytime tours of the historic jail, so you can see the old cells even if you are not staying
The ghosts of Jailer's Inn
Footsteps, crying and piano music
Since the jail became a bed and breakfast, the most common report has been footsteps echoing through rooms and halls that are empty. Guests and staff have also described the sound of someone crying, voices with nobody attached, and, oddly for a jail, piano music.
Martin Hill
The one ghost with a name is Martin Hill, a prisoner said to have died in agony while awaiting execution for the murder of his wife. Some guests believe he is the presence felt in the older cells. As with most jail legends, the story is better known than the paperwork behind it.
A hand in the night
A guest review published on the inn’s own website, from 2016, tells of a wife who felt a hand rest on her forehead in the night while her husband slept beside her. It is the kind of small, personal story that keeps people coming back.
What the psychic said
A psychic who spent a night in the jail is said to have reported that most of the spirits here are peaceful. The Travel Channel once ranked the old jail among the ten most haunted places in the United States.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The Jail Cell room: A guest room made from the cells, with original prisoner bunks. The room to book if you want the full experience.
- The 1819 Room: Named for the year the stone front building was finished.
- The upstairs dungeon: The front building’s upper floor held the most violent prisoners in two cells behind 30-inch limestone walls.
- The courtyard: The space inside the tall stone wall built around the 1874 jail, named by guests as one of the most active spots.
History of Jailer's Inn Bed and Breakfast
Bardstown, one of Kentucky’s oldest towns, kept its prisoners on this site from 1797. The stone front building that guests see today was finished in 1819, and records say John Rogers, the architect of the town’s St. Joseph Cathedral, did carpentry on it. Its walls of native limestone are about 30 inches thick, and its upper floor held two cells and what was known as the upstairs dungeon.
In 1874 the county built a new jail behind the old one, surrounded by a tall stone wall, and the original building became the jailer’s residence. The complex is a mix of Federal and Italianate styles and is a contributing property in the Bardstown Historic District.
Remarkably, the old jail was still in use when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, the only early stone jail in Kentucky still operating. Later that year the county moved out, and the building was sold at public auction.
Paul, Challen and Fran McCoy bought it and opened it as a bed and breakfast in 1989. Today Jailer’s Inn has a handful of themed rooms, from the Colonial Room and Garden Room to the Jail Cell, and offers daily tours of the historic jail.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book the Jail Cell room early; it is the reason most people come. Call the inn if you cannot see it online.
- Take the daytime jail tour first so you know the layout before dark.
- Spend some time in the walled courtyard late in the evening.
- Walk next door for dinner and a bourbon at the Old Talbott Tavern, which has ghost stories of its own.
- Bardstown fills up during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in September, so book well ahead for that week.
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, about two and a half hours south.
- 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
- Old Talbott Tavern, Bardstown: next door: Jesse James and the Lady in White
- Seelbach Hilton, Louisville: the Blue Lady, an hour north
- Haunted hotels in Louisville: the best haunted stays in the city
- 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 Jailer's Inn haunted?
Guests and staff have reported footsteps in empty halls, crying, voices and piano music since it opened as a B&B in 1989, and the Travel Channel once ranked the old jail among America’s ten most haunted places.
Can you sleep in a jail cell at Jailer's Inn?
Yes. The Jail Cell room keeps the original prisoner bunks and can be booked like any other room.
How old is the Jailer's Inn building?
The site held prisoners from 1797. The stone front building dates to 1819 and the back jail to 1874. It stopped being a jail in 1987.
Who haunts Jailer's Inn?
Most stories are about unnamed former inmates. The one named ghost is Martin Hill, said to have died while awaiting execution for killing his wife.
Is Jailer's Inn near the Talbott Tavern?
Right next door. Both are on West Stephen Foster Avenue in downtown Bardstown.
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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