Do Airbnb and VRBO list haunted houses and rooms to book?

One thing you can count on every Halloween season? Lists! There are lists of all kinds, including the most haunted cities, the most haunted places to visit, or the most haunted hotels to stay in. But then some sites take it a step further and list even more specific places you can rent, like rooms and entire haunted places from Airbnb and VRBO.

But is “haunted” a criteria you can search on these sites to find the haunted rooms that make these lists? Or do you have to wait for the lists to come out to track them down? Basically, how do you find haunted rooms on Airbnb and VRBO to book? (Emphasis on the boo.) Let’s unpack this issue.

How to Find Airbnb’s Haunted Listings

Finding a haunted room to book on Airbnb takes patience and diligence. Unless you know exactly what city, state and country you want to book in. Even then, be prepared to read through a bunch of room descriptions.

Airbnb’s search mode in both the app and on the computer is limited to destinations and dates. It doesn’t accommodate searching by keyword. So it’s not like you can pop in “haunted” and see what comes up.

There’s a much more efficient way to find haunted rooms that I’ll cover below. If you have time to kill, though, and don’t mind hunting, another good way to look is to have a specific city in mind. (If you don’t have travel dates, you can make them up.)

Let’s use Salem, Massachusetts, as an example. There are a lot of listings for “Private room in” and the name of either Salem or a nearby city or town. Under those general descriptions are more specific taglines, such as “Beautiful Room in a Full-Service Inn,” or ” Modern Suite, Jacuzzi, Yoga Loft.”

Focus on those taglines. Well, that and the accompanying photos.

For instance, the description under one listing read, “Harry Potter Fan School Dorm.” But honestly, the photo with it was what caught my eye and made me stop to read the description.

It wasn’t the photo, but the description with the word “haunted” that made me stop to look at another listing that read “Not Haunted Luxury Hideout.” Apparently, it’s nestled in downtown Salem, or as the host put it, “The spooooookiest place on earth.”

If you don’t have a specific destination in mind and just want to browse by category, you’ll find a plethora to choose from, including OMG! (represented by a spaceship icon), Caves, Iconic Cities, Castles, Historical Homes, and Mansions, just to name a few. (There are so many more!)

FOMO once again got the best of me. I couldn’t resist clicking the OMG! button just to see what was there this time. It always lives up to its name. In addition to some truly out-of-this-world architectural gems, you’ll find everything from Hobbit-style abodes to silos, train cars, and even covered wagons to sleep in!

I always find great places I’d like to spend the night in browsing that way, but it’s not ideal for digging up haunted gems.

How to Find VRBO’s Haunted Listings

VRBO doesn’t offer a way to search by keyword either. So, again, packed patience is a must as you browse through their listings to find both a space that suits your style as well as one that’s haunted.

Also like Airbnb, VRBO listings include a brief description/title along with a photo of the property. VRBO has plenty of categories (but none as fun as Airbnb’s OMG!). However, because I know some haunted places list their spaces under the Hotel category, I gave that one a try.

One that immediately caught my eye read, “Themed Escape Room…..Meets….A Scooby Doo Mansion!” It sounds wild and includes secret passages, trap doors, and hidden tunnels. (It’s in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in case you want to note it on your list of “Places to Take Future Jaunts” list too.)

But because it’s rather awkward —and time-consuming— to try and find haunted places on both Airbnb and VRBO, is there maybe another way to locate such listings faster? Yes!

Another Way to Find Haunted Airbnb and VRBO Listings

Trying to find spooky stays on both sites frustrates the devil out of me. There has to be an easier way, right? Would a “haunted Airbnb” or “haunted VRBO” Google search work?

Bingo!

Airbnb has a list of spooky stays you can book year-round, including “Ghost Towns,” “Haunting homes for testing your bones,” and “Other spirited stays.” Visit this link to check them out: https://www.airbnb.com/d/spookystays.

Searching that way also yielded similar results on VRBO. It put together a handy Haunted Inns list broken down by region (West, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast). Visit this link to check that one out: https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-ideas/travel-guides/vacation-ideas/haunted-inns.

Check-In

Have you ever stayed in a haunted Airbnb or VRBO?