Photo: Warren LeMay / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Haunted Hotel / Inn

Montvale Hotel

Spokane's oldest standing hotel, an 1899 red-brick Judge John Binkley building restored in 2005 as a 36-room boutique inn, with paranormal accounts documented in the Spokesman-Review's 2025 ghost-hunter feature.

1005 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201

Research updated June 2026

Age

All Ages

Cost

$$

Standard boutique hotel rates; lobby viewable from W 1st Ave.

Access

Limited Access

Historic three-story hotel with elevator service to upper floors; older building footprint.

Equipment

Photos OK

Lights turning on independently in Room 310Reported female spirit ('Caitlin') in Room 310 per medium's translationReported male heart-attack spirit in Room 203Reported Prohibition-era spirits in the basementReported physical contact (hair touched) in a stairwell during 2025 investigation

Per the Spokesman-Review's October 21, 2025 feature 'Paranormal activity in Spokane? What ghost hunters found in three historic downtown buildings,' medium Jennifer Von Behren and paranormal investigator Kika Morelan conducted an extended on-site investigation of the Montvale. In Room 310, Von Behren reported sensing a female spirit immediately upon entering. By her own characterization she 'translated' the spirit's name as 'Caitlin' and reported the ghost had been killed in the street outside the hotel roughly sixty years prior. HauntBound notes that this attribution comes from the medium's interpretation rather than from any independently verifiable historical record. The Spokesman-Review article documents that guests in Room 310 have reported lights turning on by themselves; the article also notes that someone died in the room within the past two years.

In Room 203, Von Behren reported a male spirit who died of a heart attack. In the basement she described two male 'drinking buddy' spirits dating to the Prohibition era, and reported that a stairwell ghost touched her hair during the investigation.

In evaluating the lore, the medium-translated identification of 'Caitlin' is single-source and unverified. The phenomena reported by ordinary hotel guests (lights, sensations of presence) are corroborated by hotel staff per the Spokesman-Review feature. The Montvale's prior uses — SRO hotel, brothel, abandoned shell — provide rich historical context for the long-circulating paranormal reputation, but the specific 2025 identifications should be treated as community lore rather than documented history.

Notable Entities

Unnamed female spirit (medium-attributed name 'Caitlin', not historically verified)Unnamed male spirit, Room 203Two unnamed male spirits, basement (Prohibition-era attribution)

Media Appearances

  • Spokesman-Review October 2025 'Paranormal activity in Spokane?' feature

Plan Your Visit

1 way to experience
Overnight Stay Booking Required

Boutique Hotel Stay

Book one of 36 rooms in Spokane's oldest hotel; Room 310 and the basement are part of the documented 2025 paranormal-investigation lore.

Duration:
12 hr
Book this experience

Sources & Further Reading

Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.

  1. 1.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montvale_Hotel
  2. 2.montvalespokane.com/history
  3. 3.properties.historicspokane.org/property/?PropertyID=1886
  4. 4.spokanehistorical.org/items/show/169
  5. 5.spokesman.com/stories/2017/may/15/then-and-now-montvale-hotel

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Montvale Hotel family-friendly?
Boutique historic hotel with paranormal reputation; family-friendly accommodations but ghost lore is medium-tier and may be unsettling for sensitive guests. Overall family fit: Moderate.
How much does it cost to visit Montvale Hotel?
Standard boutique hotel rates; lobby viewable from W 1st Ave.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, reservations are required.
Is Montvale Hotel wheelchair accessible?
Montvale Hotel has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Historic three-story hotel with elevator service to upper floors; older building footprint..