20 W Circular St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Hauntings of Batcheller Mansion Inn

An upstate New York inn, the iconic Batcheller Mansion is a staple haunt of Saratoga Springs. The building was originally built by George Batcheller in 1873. Even now, he and his family are rumored to walk the halls of this three-floor mansion-turned-bed and breakfast.

Inside, the ghost of George Batcheller has been recorded saying, “Come find me.” And employees have had experiences of walking in on random conversations between spirits, hearing knocking when no one is there, and seeing cabinet doors open on their own. One employee even had an experience in which he heard a ghost greet him by name while he was sorting laundry. Reportedly, the 1998 landscaping crew spotted the family staring at them from the windows.

Many guests have reported the feeling of a peculiar presence, ghostly orbs, gusts of air, and moving objects. Through the years, ghostly activity has been most commonly cited in the Amelia Le Saux, Queen Maria Pia, and Kate Batcheller rooms. Spirits have also been seen on the grand staircase.

Book a Room

Batcheller Mansion History

The Batcheller Mansion was first built in 1873, overlooking Congress Park in historic Saratoga Springs. With three floors, eleven bedrooms, steam-vapor furnaces, and the entire building being illuminated by gas light, the architectural plans were so unique that they were copyrighted.

George Batcheller was an impressive man with a great legacy in American history. Although he was related to Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, he charted his own legacy as a Civil War soldier, member of the New York State Assembly, judge, Minister to Portugal, and President of the Universal Postal Congress. And all the while, his house was used as the setting for hosting U.S. Presidents, European royalty, foreign dignitaries, and celebrities. Besides holding important diplomatic positions, George Batcheller married Catherine Cook, the daughter of the state’s comptroller, and he had one daughter who survived infancy, Kate.

Eight years after her father passed away in 1908, Kate Batcheller sold the home. Later, between 1966 and 1973, it sat empty and became a magnet for theft and other destruction. In 1973, the house was renovated and by 1994, it became the inn that it is today. Since then, Batcheller Mansion Inn has been called the “Crown Jewel” of Saratoga Springs, and it has been featured on HGTV’s Front Door Series for its Victorian architecture. It was also the basis for Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort, and it was used as a filming location for the cinematic thriller, “The Skeptic.”

Book a Room