Built in 1909 as the official guesthouse of Berea College, this 110-year-old hotel's paranormal reputation earned it a 'train station for spirits' designation from a 2012 professional investigation team
100 Main Street North, Berea, KY 40403
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Hotel room rates vary by season; restaurant open to non-guests; see boonetavernhotel.com for current pricing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic hotel with updated accessibility features; flat main floor entry
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · Berea College History · Kentucky Hospitality History · Appalachian Cultural Tourism · College Labor Program
Berea College, founded in 1855 as the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, operates under a distinctive labor model in which students work in all departments of the institution as part of their education and tuition support. The Boone Tavern Hotel, opened in 1909, sits directly on the college campus at 100 Main Street North and has always been staffed in part by Berea College students working their required hours.
The hotel's location and longevity made it a fixture of central Kentucky hospitality. Over more than a century of operation, it has hosted presidents, writers, and travelers on the Appalachian arts circuit. The building itself—brick, Colonial Revival in character—has undergone renovations while retaining its historic character and NRHP-eligible structure.
The Richmond Register covered a 2012 investigation by Ghost Chasers International, a paranormal investigation organization, whose members reported what they described as 'an abundance of spirits' in the hotel and characterized it as a 'train station with spirits coming and going'—a description that circulated widely in regional paranormal tourism writing. The hotel is managed by Berea College and continues to operate as a full-service hotel and restaurant.
Sources
The Boone Tavern's paranormal reputation rests primarily on a 2012 investigation by Ghost Chasers International, documented in the Richmond Register. The team's description—'an abundance of spirits' and the 'train station' characterization—was specific enough to anchor subsequent paranormal tourism coverage of the property. The investigation team's characterization was that activity at the location was high-frequency and varied rather than tied to a single entity.
Guests over the years have reported photographing what appears to be a child's apparition on the hotel grounds. The specific child has not been identified, and no historical records of a child's death at the hotel have been located in the sources reviewed. Room 312 appears consistently in guest accounts as a room with recurring unexplained incidents—sounds, temperature variation, and the sense of presence—though the nature of these reports is typical of hotel paranormal lore rather than documented investigation findings.
The basement receives mention in multiple accounts as a secondary zone of activity. The Paranormal Traveler documentation includes staff testimony about basement incidents, though it does not specify dates or details beyond the broad category of unexplained phenomena. The hotel operates openly as both a hospitality venue and, informally, a paranormal destination—a combination that Berea College has not appeared to discourage.
The Boone Tavern Restaurant, open to guests and the public, serves as the culinary program for Berea College students. The dining room occupies the hotel's original historic spaces, and the atmosphere carries the weight of over a century of continuous operation.
Guests can book rooms at the Boone Tavern Hotel, with Room 312 and the basement corridors cited most frequently in paranormal accounts. The hotel is fully operational and managed by Berea College. Overnight stays have generated the majority of documented paranormal reports, including child apparition photographs taken on the grounds.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Hot Springs, AR
Hot Springs' flagship resort opened in 1875 and was rebuilt in its current Spanish Revival form in 1924. During Prohibition it operated openly as a retreat for organized crime figures, with Al Capone booking Suite 443 repeatedly between 1927 and 1931 while the city's political machine shielded illegal gambling and prostitution operations.
Little Rock, AR
The Capital Hotel has operated on W Markham Street since the early 1870s. Railroad magnate William Denckla substantially expanded the property in 1872, and it has served as Little Rock's leading downtown hotel through multiple eras of renovation and ownership.
Silver City, ID
The Idaho Hotel began in 1866 as a three-story building. When Silver City became the Owyhee County seat that year, part of an earlier hotel in nearby Ruby City was dismantled and hauled by oxen-pulled sleds to Silver City and reassembled. Expanded over the following decades, the hotel closed around 1942, was bought and restored beginning in 1972 by Edward Jagels, and passed to new owners in 2001. It is part of the Silver City Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.