1873 Sierra Nevada railroad hotel where a murdered prostitute in red and a girl killed on the fourth floor are among Truckee's most-reported ghost accounts
10007 Bridge St, Truckee, CA 96161
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Room rates approximately $79–$229 per night. 28 European-style rooms (shared baths) and 8 American rooms (private baths with claw-foot tubs). 4 family rooms sleep up to 5.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story historic hotel in downtown Truckee; no elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1873 · Transcontinental railroad era lodging · Historic downtown Truckee anchor property · Sierra Nevada Victorian commercial architecture
Truckee grew as a railroad town after the Central Pacific's transcontinental line reached the Sierra Nevada in 1868, and by 1873 the settlement had enough commercial traffic to support a purpose-built hotel on Bridge Street. The American House, as it was first called, served railroad workers, timber operators, and travelers crossing the mountains via Donner Pass.
The building passed through several names — including the Whitney House — over the following century. In 1976 it was renamed the Truckee Hotel, taking the identity of the downtown district it anchors. A significant exterior renovation in 1992 updated the facade while retaining the building's period appearance. A subsequent interior remodeling updated rooms without stripping the Victorian-era bones of the structure.
The hotel operates 36 rooms across two categories: 28 European-style rooms with shared hallway baths and 8 American rooms with private baths equipped with claw-foot tubs. Four family rooms can accommodate up to five guests. Continental breakfast is served daily from 7 to 10 in the morning, and the hotel is 100 percent non-smoking with no pets.
The hotel sits at the center of downtown Truckee, within walking distance of the Amtrak station and approximately six miles from Donner Memorial State Park. The town's October Historical Haunted Tour, a fundraiser for local arts programming, consistently includes the Truckee Hotel as one of its stops.
Sources
The Truckee Hotel's most persistent ghost story involves a woman known locally as the Lady in Red. She is described as wearing a red gown and is believed in local lore to have been a sex worker killed at the hotel after a client discovered her with another man. Reports of her presence — described as a poltergeist-level haunting involving a sense of being watched or followed — have circulated in Truckee for generations, predating any modern ghost-tour promotion.
The second major account centers on the hotel's fourth floor. A girl is said to have been kidnapped and murdered in a bathtub in one of the fourth-floor rooms by her abductor. This spirit is described by accounts as the 'most commonly seen and heard' of the hotel's reported entities.
In November 2009, a paranormal investigation team documented what they described as the sounds of an unhappy child — characterized as shrieking — coming from the fourth-floor hallway when no living children were present. Hotel management confirmed no guests with children occupied that floor during the investigation. The team also recorded an EVP in a room where a resident had lived for 40 years: a man's voice saying 'Get out…GO.' Multiple additional EVP recordings were made, with investigation leaders noting that 90 percent of their evidence was still under review at publication.
Physical contact during the investigation — the group leader reported being touched on the head and poked in the ribs — was attributed to spirit response to verbal requests for contact.
The Truckee Historical Haunted Tour, an annual October fundraiser, consistently features the Truckee Hotel as a stop, contextualizing the Lady in Red within the history of the town's vice economy during the railroad and timber eras.
Notable Entities
Book one of 36 rooms in this 1873 Sierra railroad hotel. The Lady in Red haunting is associated with the building broadly; reports of a child on the fourth floor concentrate there. Continental breakfast included 7–10 am. Located in historic downtown Truckee near six ski areas.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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