Haunted Hospitality: How Ghost Stories Became American Tourism

From whispered folklore to five-star frights… how we turned the dead into a destination.

There was a time when ghost stories were told in whispers.

Passed down over firelight. Scribbled in journals. Meant to scare you quiet.

But today?

They’re printed on mugs.

Projected in guided tours.

Booked through hotel apps with “spirit activity guaranteed.”

Welcome to the age of Haunted Hospitality, where the paranormal isn’t just a presence… it’s a product.

👻 From Campfire to Capitalism

Ghost stories have haunted American culture for centuries—from Native American spirit lore to Southern Gothic tales of restless soldiers and weeping women. But they remained local, fragile, and intimate… until the 1800s.

Enter Spiritualism.

The 19th century saw the rise of séances, table-rapping mediums, and spirit photography. Suddenly, the afterlife wasn’t just feared—it was a source of fascination. And no one understood that better than P.T. Barnum.

P.T. Barnum: The First Paranormal Promoter

Known for his freak shows and fabrications, Barnum saw an opportunity in the ghost craze. He filled his museum with staged hauntings, actors posing as possessed, and even a “ghost-in-a-box” illusion. It was all fake, of course. But audiences didn’t come for truth.

They came for the thrill.

Barnum proved what modern tourism knows well:

Fear is profitable.

🖤 The Victorian Death Aesthetic

The obsession didn’t end with Barnum.

In the Victorian era, death became a fashion statement:

• Postmortem photography of children and spouses

• Intricate hair jewelry woven from the deceased

• Mourning guides dictating how long to wear black

To grieve was to perform. And to remember was to brand.

Grief became commerce. A look. A vibe.

Sound familiar?

Today’s haunted merch—from Salem spell kits to Stanley Hotel shot glasses—owes its existence to this 19th-century grief economy.

🏨 The Haunted Hotel Blueprint

No place captures the turn from fear to feature better than The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Built in the early 1900s, the Stanley was a quiet luxury getaway—until 1974, when Stephen King stayed the night. Alone with his wife in the massive, creaking hotel, he dreamt of a boy chased by a demonic hose in the halls.

That nightmare became The Shining.

The Shining became legend.

And the Stanley became a full-blown haunted destination.

Today it offers:

• Ghost tours

• Haunted room packages

• Paranormal investigation weekends

It didn’t hide the haunting.

It monetized it.

And other cities followed:

• Savannah, Georgia, rebranded itself as America’s Most Haunted City

• New Orleans added vampire lore to its voodoo roots

• Salem, Massachusetts, turned witch trial trauma into a seasonal cash cow

💸 Selling the Dead

Here’s the irony:

Most ghost stories come from real pain.

• A child who died in a fire

• A woman abandoned and grieving

• A wrongly executed man

Their stories are now:

• Told with jump scares

• Branded on t-shirts

• Marketed as “chilling fun”

That doesn’t mean it’s all exploitation.

Some cities do it well—with care, context, and respect.

But others?

They’ve turned haunting into hustle.

And ghosts into gimmicks.

But isn’t that just as American as apple pie?

Want the Full Story?

To hear the full tale narrated with chilling, historical detail, listen to Morbid Morsel #10: ‘Selling The Supernatural’ now streaming on the Morbid History podcast.

🦴 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

🔪 Follow @MorbidHistoryPod on Instagram & TikTok for more spine-tingling history.

📜 Subscribe today—and get ready to sink your teeth into the past.