The Historic Jefferson Hotel: The World’s Most Haunted Hotel (?)

Is the Historic Jefferson Hotel one of the most haunted hotels in America? It’s para-friendly new owners think so and are on a quest to make it one of the most recognized haunted hotels in the world. They’ve even trademarked the moniker “the World’s Most Haunted Hotel.”

Recently, The Marshall News Messenger published an article about new attractions and events being added to the Historic Jefferson Hotel. Among them is a Paratorium.

However, before I get to everything the new owners are doing to make this a destination to die for if spooky stays are your thing, let’s learn a little about the hotel’s history, its new lease on life, and the plans for turning it into a para-friendly place to hunt ghosts .

The Hotel’s History

The building in downtown Jefferson, Texas, didn’t start out as a hotel. It was built circa 1851 as a cotton warehouse.

Decades later it would be used as a brothel, and during the Prohibition Era it became The Crystal Palace, a speakeasy.

But for about 100 years it did operate as a hotel, and now thanks to new owners, it’s back up and running as one again. One that embraces its haunted legacy.

The Historic Jefferson Hotel’s New Lease on Life

The hotel had sat vacant for two years before its new owners, Jeromy and Pam Jones, acquired it. After renovating and updating the property, they reopened it as the Historic Jefferson Hotel in late 2020.

Yes, during the pandemic. They’re not letting that stop them from hosting both visitors and events, which we’ll get to.

The Jones’ have opted to match the interior decorations to the hotel’s Victorian exterior. There are antiques in every room as well as throughout the hotel. Some of these are not your typical antiques either, but ones that appeared in movies, such as this creepy looking doll which was allegedly a prop in the horror movie, The Funhouse:

The Rooms

What’s really neat is what they’ve done with the rooms. There are 20 of them ranging in price from $150 to $260 and each is decorated with its own unique decor.

Some are just known by their room number, like Room 0 (a 294 sq ft downstairs room with two queen beds) or Room 11 (a 253 sq ft upstairs room with one queen bed).

However, eight are themed with names, like Room 7, Magic Showcase Theater (261 sq ft upstairs room with 1 king bed) that features their Carnival antiques, or Room 19 Haunted Bride (a 201 sq ft upstairs room with a full bed) with a bed thought to be haunted by the ghost of a bride who hung herself on the bed after being jilted at the altar.

Not all of the named rooms are spooky-themed. In addition to the Honeymoon Suite, there’s also the Nautical Room, Pride House, and Model Train Exhibit room.

However, the one many might deem the spookiest is Room 14, Dolls N Stuff. Its description is great: “We have introduced the room with a variety of our antique dolls, so if you’re afraid of dolls you might choose another room.”

Even better, it’s one of the smaller rooms at 181 sq ft so you can really cozy up with the many dolls on display in there!

In addition to their hotel rooms, their Crystal Palace Ballroom is an entertainment space.

Putting the Hotel in the Spotlight

How do you get the word out about “the World’s Most Haunted Hotel?” The Jones’ understand it’s all about publicity and visibility.

In just the short time they’ve been open, even with the pandemic and all, they’ve already hosted events and had high-profile guests and visitors.

For instance, a crew from Travel Channel’s Hotel Paranormal came to film an episode in September 2020.

To kick off the New Year in haunted style, they hosted an event for charity with special guests Chris and Mike from the Tennessee Wraith Chasers.

But they’ve got even more planned for 2021…

The Paratorium