Two Hot Springs sites rank among Arkansas's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Hot Springs sites rank among Arkansas's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, including the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa at #1. The index ranks 62 Arkansas sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa ranks #1. Hot Springs operated as an "open city" during Prohibition, permitting gambling and organized crime for a cut of the proceeds, and Al Capone booked Suite 443 there repeatedly between 1927 and 1931. Six separate published accounts describe activity there. Guests in Suite 443 report the smell of cigars in a non-smoking room, a doorknob that moves late at night, and lights switching on after being confirmed off. None of these phenomena have been reproduced under controlled conditions, though the reports span many guests over many years.

Malco Theatre ranks #4. The 1910 Princess Theatre burned on Christmas Eve 1935, and the rebuilt Art Deco theater reopened as the Malco in 1936. Five separate published accounts describe activity there. Travel Channel's "Portals to Hell" investigators documented disembodied voices and unexplained banging in the theater in 2022. The 1880s disappearing-act legend is not corroborated in historical newspaper archives and is treated as legend rather than fact.

Statewide, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #2.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, 239 Central Ave., Hot Springs, is a working hotel open year-round; its lobby and public areas are open to visitors during business hours.Malco Theatre, 817 Central Ave., Hot Springs, hosts regular magic shows; see the theater's schedule for showtimes.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/arkansas/The fact sheet, with Hot Springs numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/arkansas/Venue contact: arlingtonhotel.com and historicmalcotheatre.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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