Est. 1916 · Cape May Historic Architecture · New Jersey Hospitality History
Cape May is the oldest seaside resort in the United States, its Victorian architecture largely preserved through a series of historical designation decisions that began in the 1970s. The Hotel Macomber, open since 1916, predates many of those designations and has its own unbroken operating history.
Sarah Davis built the hotel and served as its owner through the difficult decades of the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1920s, her young daughter Cannell contracted encephalitis from a mosquito bite and died. The disease's transmission mechanism was well understood by then, but treatment options were limited. Cannell was a child when she died.
Sarah Davis died by suicide inside the hotel in the 1930s. The timing is generally placed after her daughter's death, though the relationship between the two events is a matter of family history rather than documented record. The hotel continued operating after her death.
The building is the last historic landmark structure erected in Cape May during the Victorian era according to local accounts. It sits steps from the beach on Beach Avenue and has accumulated more than a century of guest history within its walls. The hotel has been described in New Jersey paranormal circles as the state's most haunted hotel.
Sources
- https://www.capemay.com/blog/2011/08/the-ghosts-of-the-hotel-macomber/
- https://www.hauntedrooms.com/new-jersey/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/historic-hotel-macomber
- https://hotelmacomber.com
ApparitionsLights flickeringObject movementPhantom soundsCold spots
Room 10 is where the most documented accounts originate. Irene Wright visited the Hotel Macomber for years, always requesting the same room, developing a close relationship with the previous owner's child. After her death, the accounts from Room 10 began: televisions switching on without input, lights activating and extinguishing, objects moved from where guests left them. The activity is consistently described as stronger when children are present in the room.
The kitchen tells a different story. A former employee — a woman, according to the accounts — choked to death on food while working in the building. Her presence is described as occupying the kitchen area generally and concentrating in the walk-in storage room. The accounts involve sound rather than visual apparitions.
The basement has its own resident. Named the Growler by those familiar with the hotel's reputation, this presence is distinguished by auditory phenomena: groaning, knocking, and sounds that suggest someone engaged in a building project. Paranormal investigators who have visited the hotel have reported experiences including chandelier movement, cold rooms, and physical vibrations.
The historical tragedies of the building — Sarah Davis's suicide, the death of her daughter Cannell — are rarely cited in the active haunting accounts, which instead center on the kitchen employee and Irene Wright. This disconnect between the most dramatic historical facts and the most reported phenomena is itself a peculiarity of the Macomber's reputation.
Notable Entities
Irene Wright (The Trunk Lady)The GrowlerSarah DavisCannell Davis
