Atlantic Hotel, 2 S Main St, Berlin, MD 21811

Hauntings of the Atlantic Hotel

The romantic Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, Maryland is known for its Victorian-era vibes, its intuitive staff and service, and has even been featured in a famous Hollywood romcom. Another hallmark of this historic hotel is a modest guest room on its second story. Painted a lovely light-blue, and decorated with turn-of-the century charm, Room 16 is home to not one, but multiple ghosts.

Built in 1895 at the center of historic downtown Berlin, the Atlantic Hotel stands only miles from Ocean City. Once awarded the title of, “America’s Coolest Small Town”, Berlin combines the old and historic with the new and hip. But, along this coastal mainstreet, lined with coffee shops andart galleries, you can still hear whispers, and even catch glimpses of the city’s distant past. Ghost stories are a way of life in Berlin, and the Atlantic Hotel is just one of its many haunted places.

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Atlantic Hotel: Haunting of Room 16

If you ask the staff of this haunted hotel to share their ghostly experiences, there’s a good chance the tale will start and end in Room 16. Many paranormal events have taken place in this seemingly normal space, from the small and weird, to the bold and absolutely terrifying.

The Upset Guest

One such story originates from the hotel’s General Manager. As the Manager of a hotel, it is your duty to know the happenings of the hotel at all times of the day. One such duty includes knowing which guests are staying in which rooms.

So, it came as a surprise to the Manager when a young woman walked out of Room 16. She had neither seen the woman before, nor had knowledge of a guest staying in that room. It was even more of an oddity that the woman seemed upset, demanding her bathroom be stocked with more towels.

The General Manager was unsure how this mix-up occurred, but knowing that the guest is always right, she quickly made her way to retrieve fresh towels for the distressed young woman. 

In no time at all the General Manager had returned to Room 16 with an arm full of towels. She balanced the linens in one hand in order to knock with the other. But, before she could raise her arm, she realized that the door to the room was ajar.

Odd, she thought to herself. But, she knocked anyway, not wanting to intrude on the already bothered guest. After a few moments of waiting for a response that never came, she knocked once more. Again, she was met with silence.

Unsure of what was keeping the young woman so quiet, the Manager entered the room. But, as she did, it was obvious that the young woman was not there. Now realizing something was amiss, the General Manager quickly placed the towels in the bathroom, left the room and closed the door behind her.

The manager hurried back to her office, hoping to discover the young woman’s name in the daily guest log, and putting an end to the mystery. But, the information she found was not what she was expecting. No guest had been registered to Room 16 that evening, the distraught Manager had discovered. No one had checked in and none had checked out. 

The Portrait

Another encounter between staff and spirits occurred during the hotel’s renovation. For as long as anyone (living) could remember, Room 16 had always seemed to hold an odd smell. Even after a thorough sanitation, hotel staff couldn’t seem to pinpoint the cause of the faint odor. Nonetheless, the staff continued the building’s restoration, cleaning and repairing every bit of the historical space. 

One staff member chose to tackle a 19th century dresser which had resided in the hotel since the early 1900’s. The dutiful worker pulled out every single drawer in order to change the paper linings inside. It was during this task that the staff member discovered the portrait of a little girl in one of the drawers. They hadn’t noticed the picture before. Did someone place the item in the dresser when they weren’t looking? At any rate, it was a lovely, and very old picture that would look perfect hanging on the wall of Room 16. 

The very next day, that same employee returned to their work in Room 16 to notice that the mysterious smell had completely disappeared. Was this the workings of the little girl from the portrait? Was the smell her way of reminding the living that she was still there? 

The Little Girl

Perhaps the little girl from the portrait is also the same child who haunts the second floor hallway. Guests have reported the sounds of a young girl giggling in the middle of the night, oftentimes after hearing a ball bounce against their door. Numerous employees have noted the sounds of a bicycle being ridden up and down the hallway, even when no children are checked into the hotel. One front desk clerk had the terrifying experience of hearing something large being dragged across the floor of that same hallway in the dead of night. What exactly it was that was being dragged, she could not say. 

Stories say that this mischievous child once lived in Room 16, back when the room was used as a living space by hotel employees and their families. Other stories say that the young girl’s life ended in that very same room. This was a tragic yet common occurrence for children in the early 20th century. 

More Hotel Hauntings

Besides the souls who haunt Room 16, the Atlantic Hotel is also home to other active apparitions. Maintenance workers share memories of being touched, or ‘tapped’ by unseen forces. Some have had their tools gone missing, only to have them reappear in the same exact spot where they were left. Front desk clerks will often be left in the dark when their lamps are turned off for no apparent reason. 

If you are seeking small town charm and historic vibes, then head to the town of Berlin, Maryland for your next coastal getaway. If you are also seeking the thrill of a paranormal adventure, then be sure to book a night’s stay at the haunted Atlantic Hotel.