Est. 1901 · Premier Quaker-founded Pocono resort (1901-1990), grown to 400+ rooms on ~1,000 acres · Featured in MTV's 'Fear' (2000), which amplified largely fabricated 'haunting' claims · Demolished 2016-17 after an arson fire and decades of abandonment; only a stone arch remains
The Inn at Buck Hill Falls opened in 1901 in Barrett Township, Monroe County, in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, founded by a group of Philadelphia Quakers. What began as a modest wooden lodge of roughly 18-20 rooms expanded over the decades into one of the premier resorts of the Poconos, eventually boasting more than 400 rooms across some 1,000 acres, complete with a golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, and bridle trails.
Changing vacation tastes, mounting financial trouble, and a series of fires brought the inn's run to an end; it closed in October 1990. The vast empty structure stood abandoned for a quarter century, becoming a magnet for urban explorers and the subject of escalating ghost lore. In July 2003 it suffered a fire ruled arson. By 2016-17, Buck Hill Falls residents raised roughly $2 million to demolish the dangerous ruin, and the great hotel was reduced to a grassy field with a single surviving stone arch left as a memorial.
The inn's afterlife in popular culture was shaped heavily by MTV's reality series 'Fear,' which used the decaying resort in a 2000 episode and promoted lurid claims — including '73 murders,' a maid's suicide, and a room built on ley lines. Subsequent writers have noted there is no evidence for the 73 murders; the documented record points to economic decline, not supernatural scandal, as the reason for the inn's demise.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Hill_Falls,_Pennsylvania
- https://sometimes-interesting.com/abandoned-poconos-legend-buck-hill-inn/
- https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/buck-hill-inn-demolition-underway/523-1bbca333-f560-497c-b16b-c182de4cbd8f
Apparitions and shadow figures in the former corridors and ballroomsDisembodied voices and footstepsCold spotsMedia-fabricated '73 murders' and ley-line claims (debunked)
As the abandoned inn decayed, it earned a reputation as one of the Poconos' premier haunted ruins. Urban explorers and paranormal enthusiasts reported apparitions in the long corridors and ballrooms, disembodied voices, footsteps, and cold spots, and the building's sheer scale and silence amplified its eerie reputation. The Shadowlands index added specific claims such as activity in a basement men's room and a 'Room 62' where a woman supposedly killed herself before her wedding.
Much of the popular 'haunted' mythology, however, traces to MTV's reality show 'Fear,' which filmed an episode at the inn around 2000 and broadcast dramatic backstory — most notoriously a claim of '73 murders,' along with a maid's suicide and a guest room built atop ley lines. As detailed by Sometimes Interesting and other researchers, there is no evidence for the 73 murders or for a paranormal exodus; financial records and contemporaneous reporting attribute the inn's closure to economic decline, not ghosts.
HauntBound presents Buck Hill Inn as a genuinely atmospheric lost landmark whose hauntings are largely a media-amplified legend. The specific Shadowlands details (Room 62, the basement) are uncorroborated. The site is now demolished and on private community land.
Notable Entities
The 'maid' of MTV's Fear lore (unverified)Reported 'Room 62' woman (uncorroborated Shadowlands claim)
Aerial survey · USDA NAIP
