Monica Reed

Photo: shutterstock

If you are a man and smoke…you might rethink a stay at the Read House Hotel, room 311 in Chattanooga!

The spookiest time of the year is here!  One of America’s most haunted hotel rooms is just 3 1/2 hours down I-24.  The room has just reopened after a $28 million makeover.

The Read House Hotel opened on New Year’s Day in 1872 and over the years, many famous people stayed there, including Winston Churchill and Oprah Winfrey. Even Al Capone stayed there in the 1930s during his federal trial. Oddly enough, he stayed in the haunted room 311 where iron bars were added to the window so he couldn’t escape (the bars were removed in 2004 during renovations).

The Read House in Chattanooga, Tennessee has Room 311, probably the most haunted room in Chattanooga!  Room 311 has a bloody and haunting past.

The legend goes, Annalisa Netherly and her husband stayed at the hotel at some point in the 1920s. While some say she was a prostitute and others argue that point, she was cheating on her husband when he caught her with another man in their hotel room. One day, the hotel staff found that Annalisa had been murdered as her dead body was lying in the bathtub, her throat slit wide open.

There is, however, another version of the story where they were a happy couple staying at the hotel until Annalisa’s husband started cheating on her and she ended up dying in room 311 from a broken heart.

The spirit is said to hate men, particularly those who smoke.

Over the years, many guests have reported paranormal activity in the room!  Unexplained noises, running water, flickering lights, and of course, shadowy figures.

The Read House recently went through a complete renovation.  Room 311 has been restored to its 1920s glory.  Room 311 contains no modern amenities.

Room 311 looks and feels like Annalisa’s room in the 1920s.  Picture this….an AM radio that does not work, a vintage claw foot tub, an original pull chain toilet, antique furnishings and distressed hardwood floors, just like it would have been in the early twentieth century.

A stay in the room will set you back $666 for the package, which includes an overnight stay, valet parking, a decanter of gin, breakfast and $100 dining credit at the hotel’s Bridgeman’s Chophouse restaurant. For those less enthused by sleeping spooky, the hotel offers free daily tours of the room.

Check these stories out

Trying to contact Annalisa Netherly

Local Lore and Gore

Pics of Room 311

 

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