Doherty Hotel – Haunted Hotel in Clare, Michigan

The Doherty Hotel stands as a fading monument to Clare’s lumber boom era, its elegant 1920s facade hiding decades of tragedy, violence, and restless spirits trapped within its walls. Once the finest accommodation in central Michigan, this historic hotel has descended into darkness and decay, becoming a paranormal hotspot where guests and investigators encounter aggressive entities, residual hauntings, and unexplained phenomena that have driven even experienced ghost hunters to flee in terror.

Historical Background

Year Built: 1924

Original Purpose: Luxury hotel catering to lumber barons, business travelers, and wealthy tourists during Michigan’s timber industry boom

Significant Events: The hotel’s grand ballroom witnessed a murder-suicide in 1929 when a wealthy lumber executive shot his mistress before turning the gun on himself after financial ruin in the stock market crash. In 1936, a fire on the third floor killed five guests who were trapped in their rooms, with survivors reporting that exit doors had been mysteriously locked from the outside. During Prohibition, the hotel’s basement served as a speakeasy and illegal gambling den, where at least two men were allegedly murdered over gambling debts and their bodies hidden in the building’s walls. The hotel closed permanently in 2008 after years of decline, financial troubles, and persistent complaints from guests about disturbing paranormal activity that management could no longer dismiss.

Paranormal Activity Summary

The most commonly reported phenomena include disembodied voices having full conversations in empty rooms, phantom footsteps running through hallways, and doors slamming violently throughout the building with no natural cause. Visitors experience sudden extreme temperature drops of 30-40 degrees, unexplained touches and shoves from unseen entities, and the overwhelming sensation of being watched by hostile presences.

Shadow figures are seen throughout the building, particularly tall masculine shapes that appear in doorways and at the ends of hallways, watching visitors before retreating into darkness. Electronic equipment experiences severe malfunctions including complete battery drainage, cameras refusing to function in specific rooms, and audio recorders capturing voices and sounds inaudible to human ears in real-time.

Ghost Stories & Reports

The Lumber Baron and His Mistress: The spirits of John Hartley, a timber magnate, and his lover Catherine Mills who died in the 1929 murder-suicide are trapped in an eternal loop of violence in the ballroom. Witnesses report hearing a woman’s terrified screams followed by two gunshots, seeing apparitions of a well-dressed couple arguing violently before the woman collapses in a pool of phantom blood, and feeling the overwhelming emotions of rage, betrayal, and despair that permeate the space where their lives ended.

The ballroom’s energy is so intense that many visitors experience physical symptoms including chest pain, difficulty breathing, and sudden uncontrollable crying. Investigators have captured dozens of EVPs in this location including Catherine’s voice pleading “Don’t do this, John” and Hartley’s response “You’ve ruined everything,” replaying their final moments endlessly.

The Fire Victims: The third-floor hallway where five guests burned to death in 1936 is home to some of the most disturbing hauntings in the hotel. Visitors smell acrid smoke despite no fire source, see glowing orange light emanating from under doors of empty rooms, and hear people screaming for help and pounding on doors desperately trying to escape, followed by the horrifying sounds of people burning alive and begging for mercy.

The spirits of the fire victims appear as charred, blackened figures stumbling through the hallway with their arms outstretched, and those who encounter them report being overwhelmed by the sensation of extreme heat, choking on phantom smoke, and experiencing the victims’ final moments of terror. Room 313, where a mother and her two young children died, generates the most heartbreaking encounters, with guests reporting hearing children crying “Mama, it’s too hot” and seeing the apparition of a woman trying frantically to open a door that won’t budge.

The Gambling Den Murders: The basement speakeasy area harbors violent, aggressive entities believed to be the spirits of men murdered over gambling debts during Prohibition. These entities are hostile toward visitors, with numerous reports of physical attacks including being scratched, punched, and violently pushed, particularly targeting male investigators who show any interest in the area.

EVP recordings from the basement contain threatening messages telling people to “pay up,” “get out before you’re next,” and “you’re marked now.” Investigators have captured thermal imaging showing multiple figures surrounding visitors in attack formations, and several people have reported feeling hands around their throats attempting to strangle them, with bruises and marks appearing on their necks matching the sensation.

The Lady in the Red Dress: A elegant female spirit in a 1920s red evening gown appears throughout the hotel but particularly on the grand staircase and in the lobby. Unlike the violent entities elsewhere in the building, she seems sad and lost, asking people “Have you seen my husband?” and wandering the halls as if searching for someone who never arrives.

Witnesses describe her as breathtakingly beautiful but translucent, with hollow eyes that convey profound loneliness. Those who encounter her report feeling overwhelming sadness that lingers for hours or even days after the sighting, and some investigators believe she may be a woman who died waiting for a lover who abandoned her or perished before he could reach her.

The Malevolent Presence in Room 237: This specific room houses what multiple paranormal investigators have identified as an inhuman entity – something that was never human and feeds on fear and suffering. Visitors to this room experience immediate terror, violent nausea, aggressive physical attacks, and many report seeing a tall shadow figure with glowing red eyes that radiates pure malevolence.

Equipment malfunctions are most severe in this room, investigators experience severe psychological distress, and at least seven people have been physically injured by this entity including being thrown against walls, having heavy furniture moved to block their exit, and being bitten hard enough to leave marks. Demonologists who have investigated believe this entity may have been attached to an object brought into the hotel or summoned through occult activities conducted in the room decades ago.

Most Haunted Spot Inside

The Third-Floor Hallway Outside Room 313: This narrow corridor where the 1936 fire victims died screaming is universally identified as the most terrifying location in the entire hotel. The temperature remains perpetually cold regardless of season, the walls still show scorch marks that cannot be painted over or removed, and visitors report being physically unable to breathe as if smoke is filling their lungs despite clear air, with many collapsing from panic attacks and the overwhelming sensation of burning alive, experiencing the victims’ final agonizing moments through some form of psychic imprint that forces witnesses to relive the tragedy, leaving them traumatized and refusing to ever return to the location.

Can You Visit?

Open to the Public? No – the building is abandoned, condemned, and legally off-limits to all visitors

Entry Fee: Not applicable – the property is closed and trespassing is illegal

Tour Availability: No official tours are offered due to the building’s dangerous condition and active legal restrictions. The property owner has explicitly prohibited access, and several paranormal investigation groups that obtained controversial permission in the past have had their access revoked after incidents involving injuries and severe psychological distress to investigators.

Photography Allowed? Technically no – all access to the property constitutes criminal trespass

Visiting Hours: The property is not open for visitation; security cameras monitor the perimeter and local police actively patrol the area

Best Time to Visit

While all visits constitute illegal trespassing, paranormal investigators who have breached the property report that activity peaks dramatically during late October through early December and on the specific anniversary dates of the hotel’s tragedies. The 1929 murder-suicide anniversary in October produces the most violent manifestations in the ballroom, while the March anniversary of the 1936 fire generates the most intense activity on the third floor, with phenomena escalating between midnight and 4:00 AM when most deaths at the hotel historically occurred, though law enforcement emphasizes that any entry is illegal regardless of date or time.

First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports

A maintenance worker hired to assess the building for potential renovation in 2010 lasted only two hours before fleeing and refusing to return even when offered triple pay. He reported being followed by footsteps, having his name shouted by an unseen voice, watching a door open and slam shut repeatedly while he stood ten feet away, and finally being violently pushed down a flight of stairs by what he described as “hands I couldn’t see but definitely felt,” resulting in a fractured wrist and severe psychological trauma.

In 2014, a group of five urban explorers entered illegally and documented their experience on video before uploading it to YouTube, where it gained over 2 million views before being removed at the property owner’s request. The footage shows doors opening on their own, shadow figures moving through hallways, and captures the moment one explorer was allegedly scratched across the face by an invisible entity, with three parallel marks appearing on camera while he screamed in pain.

A paranormal investigation team that obtained questionable permission in 2016 had their investigation cut short when their lead investigator experienced what he described as “demonic oppression” in Room 237. He reported feeling an entity enter his body, experiencing temporary paralysis, speaking in a voice that wasn’t his own, and having no memory of ten minutes during which his team members watched him threaten them in a guttural language none of them recognized, requiring intervention from a priest who was on standby.

Local Legends & Myths

The Suicide Curse: Local legend claims that anyone who spends the night alone in the ballroom will be driven to take their own life within one year, overcome by the same despair that consumed John Hartley. While no confirmed suicides have been directly linked to this curse, at least four people who stayed overnight in the ballroom (during the hotel’s operational years) later died by suicide, fueling belief in the legend.

The Hidden Bodies: Persistent rumors claim that the bodies of at least three murdered men from the Prohibition-era gambling operation remain hidden within the hotel’s walls. Ghost hunters report EVPs of voices saying “find us,” “we’re still here,” and “trapped in the walls,” and several investigators claim their EMF detectors show hot spots behind specific wall sections in the basement that could indicate human remains.

The Devil’s Doorway: Room 237 is believed by some to contain a “portal” or “doorway” to a darker realm, with local occult practitioners warning that the entity inhabiting the room isn’t merely a ghost but something far more dangerous. The legend states that a satanic ritual was performed in that room in the 1970s, opening a gateway that was never properly closed, allowing demonic forces to enter and remain.

Paranormal Investigations & Findings

Mid-Michigan Paranormal Investigators conducted a three-night investigation in 2011 (with disputed permission), documenting over 300 unexplained phenomena including full-bodied apparitions captured on multiple cameras simultaneously, objects moving across rooms in real-time, and team members being physically attacked. Their lead investigator suffered three broken ribs after being thrown against a wall by an unseen force in the basement, and their findings were so disturbing that the team dissolved shortly after, with several members refusing to ever participate in paranormal investigation again.

Renowned demonologist Father Michael Brennan investigated the hotel in 2013 and concluded that at least two inhuman entities inhabit the property alongside numerous human spirits, creating what he called “a perfect storm of paranormal activity.” He performed blessing rituals in multiple locations but reported that the entities were so powerful they actively resisted his efforts, causing religious objects to be thrown across rooms and him to experience physical illness during the cleansing attempts, ultimately declaring the hotel “spiritually infested beyond redemption without full-scale exorcism.”

Thermal imaging specialist Dr. Sarah Chen analyzed hours of footage from multiple investigations between 2009-2015, identifying consistent patterns of unexplained heat signatures that matched human forms in locations where no living people were present. Her analysis revealed that certain areas, particularly Room 237 and the third-floor hallway, showed temperature anomalies that violated known laws of thermodynamics, with cold spots reaching -15°F in rooms where ambient temperature was 70°F, and heat signatures appearing and disappearing instantaneously in ways that suggest intelligent manipulation of environmental energy.

Ghost Adventures attempted to investigate the hotel in 2017 but were denied access by property owners after preliminary negotiations revealed the extent of documented injuries and psychological trauma experienced by previous investigators. The show’s producers cited liability concerns, marking one of the few times the series declined a reportedly haunted location due to safety considerations.

Safety Warnings & Legal Restrictions

Trespassing at the Doherty Hotel is prosecuted as criminal trespass with mandatory minimum fines of $1,500 and up to 93 days in jail for first offense. The property owner and Clare Police Department have zero-tolerance enforcement, with over 80 arrests since 2010, and security cameras with motion sensors alert authorities immediately when the perimeter is breached.

The building is structurally unsound with collapsing ceilings, rotted flooring, exposed electrical wiring, asbestos contamination, black mold throughout, and sections at imminent risk of collapse. At least nine trespassers have required emergency medical treatment for injuries including falls through floors, exposure to toxic materials, cuts from broken glass and rusty metal, and one near-fatality when a staircase collapsed under an urban explorer in 2015.

Beyond physical dangers, the documented psychological and paranormal threats are severe – multiple visitors have experienced lasting trauma, required counseling for PTSD symptoms after encounters in the hotel, and at least three have reported being “followed home” by negative entities. Mental health professionals in the area have treated several patients whose psychological distress they attribute to experiences in the hotel, and paranormal experts universally warn that the entities present are dangerous and should not be engaged.

The basement speakeasy area contains standing water contaminated with unknown chemicals, structural supports that are failing, and a history of visitors becoming disoriented and lost despite the relatively small space. Two separate incidents involved trespassers requiring rescue after becoming trapped when exit routes collapsed, and one person experienced carbon monoxide poisoning from a still-active but damaged HVAC system.

Cursed or Haunted Objects

The Ballroom Mirror: A massive ornate mirror that hung in the ballroom and witnessed the 1929 murder-suicide was removed during an estate sale in 2009 and is allegedly cursed with violent energy. The mirror’s three subsequent owners have all experienced relationship destruction, financial ruin, and unexplained violence in their homes, with one couple divorcing after the husband attacked his wife in an uncharacteristic rage while standing in front of the mirror, claiming “something made me do it.”

Hartley’s Revolver: The gun used in the murder-suicide, which was kept as evidence and later sold to a private collector, is said to emanate cold energy and cause overwhelming suicidal ideation in anyone who touches it. The current owner keeps it locked in a safe and refuses to handle it after experiencing vivid intrusive thoughts about shooting himself during the two hours he held the weapon while photographing it for authentication.

Room 237’s Bed Frame: The iron bed frame from the cursed room, removed during a renovation attempt in the 1990s, allegedly causes violent nightmares and sleep paralysis to anyone who sleeps on it. It has changed ownership seven times in 25 years, with each owner desperate to sell it after experiencing night terrors featuring the red-eyed shadow entity that stalks the room, and one owner claimed to wake up with unexplained scratches and bruises after sleeping in the bed for a single night.

The Speakeasy Poker Table: A table from the illegal basement gambling operation, identified by initials carved into its surface, is believed to carry the rage and violence of the murders that occurred around it. Its owner, a Clare antique dealer, reported that objects on the table would fly off violently, the table would shake as if someone were pounding on it in anger, and customers would become uncharacteristically aggressive and hostile when near it, ultimately leading him to destroy the table by burning it after his shop experienced a series of violent altercations he couldn’t explain.