A 1926 Koreatown hotel where a woman died falling from the top floor and ghost child sightings have persisted in the corridors for decades
605 S Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Hotel room rates vary; check the hotel website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic hotel with elevator access. Interior corridors on multiple floors.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · Malcolm Lowry connection — Under the Volcano drafts · Location for 2020 horror film The Night · Koreatown neighborhood landmark
The Hotel Normandie opened in 1926 on the corner of 6th Street and Normandie Avenue, in a neighborhood then known for its streetcar access and proximity to the Wilshire corridor's early commercial development. The eight-story building was designed in a Mediterranean Revival style and served through the 1930s and 1940s as a respectable mid-range residential hotel, drawing both transient guests and long-term tenants.
British novelist Malcolm Lowry lived at the Normandie for a period in the late 1930s and reputedly worked on early drafts of Under the Volcano during his stay, though the bulk of the novel was written in British Columbia. The hotel's mid-century history included periods of occupancy typical of LA's older residential hotels — artists, musicians, workers, and the economically marginal coexisting in the same building over rotating tenancies.
The hotel fell into serious disrepair through the latter half of the 20th century and entered a protracted ownership dispute in the 2000s. Renovation work was undertaken in the early 2010s, and the Normandie has operated as an active boutique hotel since. The 2020 Iranian-American horror film The Night was shot entirely on location at the hotel, using its period corridors and lobby to create its atmosphere of entrapment.
A woman is reported to have fallen to her death from the top floor into the lobby in the hotel's earlier decades; the specific date and circumstances have not been confirmed in archived newspaper records that have been made public. The hotel is ranked among LA's most-reported haunted hotels by multiple paranormal survey sources.
Sources
The woman-in-the-lobby story is the anchor of the Normandie's paranormal reputation: a female guest or resident fell from the top floor into the lobby below, either by accident or by intent. The specific year and identity of the victim are not confirmed in public newspaper archives. The account circulates through paranormal websites and was first collected in oral form from hotel staff.
Room 215 carries the densest concentration of reports. Guests and investigators have described floating blue orbs of light in the room after dark, objects moving without explanation, and a strong temperature differential from the hallway. One recurring account describes waking to the sensation of being watched from the doorway.
The ghost child is the most unusual element of the Normandie's haunting profile. Multiple guests over several decades have reported seeing or hearing a child running through corridors late at night — footsteps, laughter, and in a few cases a brief visual impression — in a hotel where no child was a registered guest. The accounts come from unconnected sources across different decades.
Shadow figures described near the stairwells and in the basement-level utility corridors round out the most frequently cited phenomena. The hotel's long history as a residential building — decades of tenants cycling through its rooms — gives it the kind of accumulated occupancy that paranormal investigators tend to find significant. No formal investigation has been published from the current hotel management.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The hotel operates as an active lodging property. Guests staying in Room 215 — the most frequently cited site for paranormal reports, including floating blue lights and unexplained sounds — can book through the hotel directly. No dedicated paranormal investigation program is currently offered; access is through standard overnight booking.
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