Is the hotel where So Cold the River was filmed really haunted?

The haunted hotel’s magnificent dome beckoned to me the moment I spotted it in the trailer for So Cold the River. The first thing I wanted to know was, “Is that a real place? If so, where was this movie filmed?”

The second thing I wanted to know was whether the new horror thriller was based on a true story or a book. (Turns out, in a way sort of both. The book is inspired by a real place, which it’s also set in, but it’s not based on real events.)

I immediately set to task researching the movie’s origin story and filming location. I pretty much only had to watch the trailer to find out it’s based on a book of the same name by Michael Koryta.

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But what about where it was filmed? Was it in an actual hotel somewhere? And if so, did it have a haunted story of its own?

A Jaunt to Hotel Ruins Inspired So Cold the River

In an All Things Considered interview about his book in 2010, Koryta explained how a real-life visit to the then-ruins of the West Baden Springs Hotel made quite an impression on him once upon a time.

He was only 8 years old, but he could sense the grandeur of the place that had once been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. That sparked his interest in both the hotel’s origin story as well as its demise. Eventually, he found a way to work the setting into one of his books.

But Koryta doesn’t consider So Cold the River a haunted hotel story. As he put in the All Things Considered interview, “It’s more about the water and towns themselves.”

In real life, French Lick and West Baden both had grand hotels that competed with one another at the end of the 1800s. Both hotels boasted that the natural mineral waters found in the area could cure a multitude of ailments. French Lick sold Pluto Water, which apparently had a red devil as part of its trademark, per Wikipedia.

The book (and the movie too it seems) includes the mineral waters, and even the potent Pluto Water, in its storyline. As an essential component, I might add.

Preservation to restore the resorts started in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. In 2006, The French Lick Springs Hotel and French Lick Resort Casino opened. Then, 75 years after it closed, the West Baden Springs Hotel reopened in 2007.

And now 15 years later, the West Baden Springs Hotel is starring in a movie based on a book it inspired.

So Cold the River Filmed at West Baden Springs Hotel

So Cold the River was filmed on location in French Lick, Indiana, where there are not one but two hotels.

The one where that fabulous dome is located belongs to the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden Springs, Indiana. The other is the French Lick Springs Hotel. Both are AAA Four-Diamond historic hotels. 

Here’s one of the resort’s Tweets that shows the magnificent restored domed atrium that guests enjoy today:

Sunny days in the atrium just hit different ??? pic.twitter.com/bqZsb3LjTg

— French Lick Resort (@FL_Resort) March 9, 2022

And here’s a Tweet from Pigasus Pictures showing it filled with extras during the filming of So Cold the River in a very The Shining-esque nod:

We’ll see you all again in one week.@PaulShoulberg’s @socoldtheriver returns for its WORLD PREMIERE at the historic @FL_Resort.
Two years ago, Over 600 Hoosiers came out to help us fill the dome that inspired the @mjkoryta bestselling novel. #FilmTwitter pic.twitter.com/8YJYh3q2TO

— Pigasus Pictures (@PigasusPictures) March 19, 2022

Not only does the West Baden Springs Hotel’s fabulous dome look stunning in pictures, it blows people away in real life. According to the French Lick Resort blog, it even wowed the Hollywood stars who came to film there.

So that answers that. Yes, the place that serves as the haunted hotel setting for the movie is a real place. A hotel even. But is it also actually haunted?

French Lick Resort Ghost Stories

One of the French Lick Resort’s hotels is known for its restless spirits but it’s not the West Baden Springs Hotel. It’s not far from its equally luxurious sister property, though, the French Lick Springs Hotel, which some consider one of the Hoosier state’s most haunted hotels.

According to sites like Historic Hotels of America, Only in Your State, and Haunted Rooms, you might see the ghost of a bellboy from bygone times. Allegedly people only realize this though after seeing his photo hanging on the wall. At first, they believe he’s just another employee.

But the more common ghost that both staff and guests alike report encountering is one of the hotel’s former owners, Thomas Taggart. He’s been seen as a full-bodied apparition, but he allegedly also makes his presence known via cigar smoke. People often report smelling it even though no one’s smoking.

As far as the hotel’s hot spot, the sixth floor is often credited as the most active. Taggart’s ghost has been reported on the sixth floor and near the service elevators. The bell boy has been reported in various locations around the hotel.

Other paranormal activity that both guests and staff have reported experiencing include hearing disembodied voices. Staff has also reported receiving phone calls from unoccupied guest rooms.

So Cold the River Trailer

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Visit https://www.frenchlick.com.

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Have you ever been to French Lick, Indiana? (And, if so, did you see that magnificent dome at the West Baden Springs Hotel? I’m now obsessed with taking a jaunt up that way to stay there and see it for myself!)