Excalibur Hotel Haunted
This huge hotel is a popular Las Vegas Strip destination and for years, many many years, people have been reporting signs of paranormal activity on the hotels 10th floor-from sudden chills while walking down floorway corridors to feelings of being closely followed. The final destination on this list of the most haunted places in Las Vegas contains what is. As the ghost story goes, the 10th floor of Excalibur is said to be haunted. While walking its halls, claims of being followed by an unseen specter have been told. Guests have an eerie feeling and are then able to hear a whispering voice, so close behind them that they can feel the breath on their necks.
With such a gaudy architecture resonating throughout the Las Vegas Strip, it’s hard to make anything really stand out in the City of Sin. A few have managed it, such as the Eiffel Tower at Paris, the magnificent fountains of the Bellagio, and of course the mammoth bastion of the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, with its steepled turrets and moated castle walls. Guests have said it’s creepy, others say it feels haunted, some even say the slots are cursed, but what’s really going on here?
The Excalibur Las Vegas first opened its doors in 1990. Not too surprising, the structural design was conceived by Circus Circus Enterprises, once more capitalizing on the popular “themed resort” movement has swept Las Vegas and other tourist meccas over the years. At that time, it was the largest hotel in the entire world by sum of accommodations, more than 4,000 all told.
In 2005, MGM Resorts International took over. Since then, so much of the King Arthur motif has been extricated. In the old days, an immense, animated figure of Merlin the Wizard stood upon the center turret, welcoming guests with intermittent chatter. That has since been replaced by a figure advertising one of the hotels restaurants, Dick’s Last Resort. The medieval statues, the archaic tapestries; four years of renovations and they are gone. Only a few murals remain of its former glory.
The Excalibur is one of few hotels that does not have a seedy background associated with organized crime and mafia outfits, then again it was only established in 1990 and just because it hasn’t been publicized doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. However, we certainly can’t link the ghosts of Excalibur to mob hits, as is probable in some older haunted Vegas casinos and hotels.
Excalibur Hotel Haunted
The purported paranormal activity at Excalibur Casino isn’t very prominent, which leads this writer to view it with some skepticism, but I’ll relate the tale anyhow. As the ghost story goes, the 10th floor of Excalibur is said to be haunted. While walking its halls, claims of being followed by an unseen specter have been told. Guests have an eerie feeling and are then able to hear a whispering voice, so close behind them that they can feel the breath on their necks.
Another guest of the hotel who chose not to reveal the room number in which they were in simply said that the room was “dark and gave out a haunted feeling”. They could not explain the feeling and had no preternatural experiences in the Excalibur aside from this uncanny sensation.
Last but not least, the urban legend known as the Megabucks Curse has supposedly befallen the Excalibur Casino as well. It all started when a cocktail waitress at the Desert Inn won the first ever Megabucks Jackpot worth $34.9 million and then got into a tragic car accident only a few weeks later that left her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Tales of a curse started immediately, and when the Excalibur Casino paid out the largest ever Megabucks Jackpot of $39.7 million in March of 2003, rumors erupted that the anonymous winner had met a tragic death; everything from a fatal overdose to a plane crash, even a gang fight on the streets of LA. In reality, he is alive and doing well, according to a spokesperson for the Megabucks creators. The same fictitious concoctions have been said of hence winners, like an elderly lady who won and supposedly died of a heart attack on the spot. Outside of the original winner’s tragic fate, none of these stories are true.
With all the excitement, glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, the rich and famous — and the not so rich and famous — are regular visitors. Some, however, keep coming back even after they’re dead. Considering its decidedly colorful — and often shady — history, it’s no surprise that Las Vegas is home to several haunted hot spots:
The Flamingo
Back in the heyday of the mafia, famous gangsters literally flocked to Las Vegas. Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, in particular, saw the potential of this gambling mecca, and persuaded his mafia bosses to invest in the most luxurious hotel and casino the area had ever seen. The cost to build The Flamingo ended up being more than three times the original estimate, and despite a glamorous grand opening, the casino was a flop.
The Flamingo started to turn a nice profit just a few months later, but the Crime Syndicate never forgave Bugsy for embezzling its money to build it. While relaxing in his Beverly Hills home on the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy was shot once in the head and four times in the body.
Though much of the original Flamingo he helped to build is no longer in existence, Bugsy's ghost is said to remain, haunting the Presidential Suite, where he resided while in the city. Sightings have also been reported by the pool, in the wedding chapel, and around the Bugsy Monument in The Flamingo’s rose garden. Take a midnight stroll around The Flamingo if you dare, but remember, if you happen to encounter this ghostly gangster, be sure to address him as “Mr. Siegel.”
Excalibur Hotel Map
Excalibur Hotel Las Vegas
This huge hotel is a popular Las Vegas Strip destination and for years, many many years, people have been reporting signs of paranormal activity on the hotels 10th floor--from sudden chills while walking down floorway corridors to feelings of being closely followed to having the sensation of a person's breath on their neck. Others have reported repeated phone calls with nobody on the line and alarm clocks that never go off.
Hilton
Excalibur Hotel Restaurants
No doubt you've heard the phrase, 'Elvis has left the building.' At the Las Vegas Hilton, The King never left. Apparently during the late 60s and early 70s, Presley performed often at The International, a hotel-casino that once stood at its current location on Paradise Road. The King is said to hang out around the backstage elevators of the Hilton, perhaps waiting to go onstage just one more time. If you're lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of his flowing white cape, glitzy belt buckle and full side-burns.
Bally's
Excalibur Hotel Review
On the corner of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard, where Bally’s now stands, the MGM once had a glamorous hotel and casino. On November 21, 1980, it burned to the ground. It was a horrific, tragic event, with some guest jumping to their death when rescue ladders could not reach their upper floor windows. A total of 84 people died that day, making it the second largest hotel fire in terms of lives lost United States history.
Like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, a new hotel-casino was erected at the site of this devastating tragedy. And though Bally's is owned and operated by a different company, and none of the original MGM remains, the spirits of the people who died so tragically in 1980 are said to still linger. Try a tour of Bally's hotel corridors at night; you may run into some ghostly guests who have never quite checked out.
The Luxor Hotel
Unlike any other building in the world, The Luxor boasts a 350-foot pyramid complete with a sky beam that can be seen from 250 miles away. There is a belief that pyramids are great centers of power and regeneration and the source of many secret properties; however, according to some reports, The Luxor’s pyramid has wrought bad luck on the entire Vegas valley.
One construction worker died during the construction of the pyramid, several others were injured and still others flat-out refused to work on the site. A number of people have inexplicably jumped to their death from the inside balconies of the pyramid. When the Luxor was just about complete, the Vegas World Sky Towers (now the Stratosphere) caught fire mysteriously, and suffered serious damage. The bad luck of the Luxor is blamed. The only way to lift the curse on the city is to place the appropriate artificial eye at the capstone of the pyramid. As of yet, the eye is not in place, so the curse of the Luxor is said to remain.
The Tropicana
On the way into the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, visitors are greeted by a huge Tiki mask. The face is said to be cursed or somehow haunted. There have been reports of a strange, purple colored cloud of smoke that shows up in developed photographs that people take of the mask. Some people have even reported getting a strange and terrible purple rash after touching the mask. If you visit the Tropicana, be sure to keep your hands in your pockets, but snap a photo and see if you ,too, see the ghostly purple haze.
Now that you know a little about some of the Neon City’s more transparent residents, keep an eye out and your camera handy: You never know just who you might run into late at night on the Las Vegas Strip. Check out more up-to-the-minute Las Vegas Halloween activites.