The hotel\u2019s history<\/a> stretches back to 1741, when Bethlehem\u2019s first building stood on the site. The current hotel opened in 1922, carrying the city\u2019s long history into an era of elegant interiors, overnight guests and, according to some accounts, a few visitors who never quite checked out.<\/p>\n According to the hotel\u2019s account, a couple staying in Room 932 awoke to find a man standing at the foot of their bed. He reportedly asked, \u201cWhy are you in my room?\u201d When they turned on the light, he disappeared.<\/p>\n I have questions. First, who is this man, and why does he seem to think you\u2019re the one who doesn\u2019t belong there? Second, how exactly are you supposed to go back to sleep after that?<\/p>\n Other guests have reported flashing lamps, unusual reflections and papers moving across desks. Then there\u2019s Mrs. Brong, a former landlady said to appear in period clothing without shoes or stockings around the kitchen and restaurant.<\/p>\n A ghost wandering around a restaurant is one thing. A ghost who looks like she\u2019s checking up on the staff is another. I\u2019d probably be more concerned about getting in her way than asking for a table.<\/p>\n Hotel Bethlehem employee Emma Deehan has heard about the building\u2019s reputation, too. While talking with a coworker recently, Deehan learned that her coworker believes the wood room in the basement feels \u201coff.\u201d<\/p>\n Deehan hasn\u2019t experienced anything paranormal herself, but her coworker\u2019s description adds another layer to the hotel\u2019s reputation. Not every encounter involves an apparition at the foot of a bed or a figure disappearing into thin air. Sometimes, it\u2019s simply a room that leaves someone feeling uneasy, even if they can\u2019t explain why.<\/p>\n Some employees and guests say they\u2019ve felt the haunt, while others write the stories off as nonsense. The hotel offers ghost tours, giving visitors a chance to explore its history and reported hauntings before deciding for themselves what to believe.<\/p>\n You can read the hotel\u2019s accounts of its reported spirits on its official website<\/a>. Room 932 is reportedly one of the hotel\u2019s most requested rooms.<\/p>\n I\u2019d be curious enough to book it. But if someone asked me why I was in their room at 2 a.m., I suspect I\u2019d suddenly remember every other hotel in Bethlehem.<\/p>\n Imagine asking a stranger for directions and getting an answer that makes absolutely no sense unless you\u2019ve accidentally traveled back about 250 years.<\/p>\n That is essentially the premise of one of the Sun Inn\u2019s best-known ghost stories.<\/p>\n Construction of the Sun Inn began in 1758, and it opened to travelers in 1760. The inn welcomed travelers in colonial Bethlehem, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Today, its historic rooms offer plenty to explore even if you aren\u2019t particularly interested in the paranormal. But the stories associated with the building give visitors another reason to pay attention.<\/p>\n In an account posted to Haunted Places<\/a>, a visitor named Chris Rickerhauser described entering the inn one night to use a phone to call a cab. He said a woman wearing 18th-century clothing approached him. When he explained that he needed a payphone, she seemed confused and suggested he find a coach around the corner.<\/p>\n Not a taxi. Not a ride-share. A coach.<\/p>\n At the time, Rickerhauser apparently had no reason to think the encounter was unusual. It was only when he returned weeks later and described the woman to a waitress that the story took a strange turn. According to his account, the waitress told him there was a payphone nearby but no woman matching his description.<\/p>\n Of all the details in this story, the coach is the one I\u2019d have trouble forgetting. The woman reportedly wasn\u2019t floating through a wall or disappearing into thin air. She was simply trying to help a stranger get somewhere, apparently unaware that several centuries had passed her by.<\/p>\n Maybe there was an ordinary explanation. But I\u2019d still have a few follow-up questions for the waitress.<\/p>\n The inn has other stories, too. Another visitor described seeing the shadow of a dog downstairs while alone on the way to the bathroom. During an overnight paranormal investigation described by Bethlehem Patch in 2011, a participant reported hearing what sounded like a little girl whispering and giggling. Investigators later reviewed recordings they believed contained a child\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n None of those reports establishes that anything supernatural happened. Still, the Sun Inn\u2019s stories have a way of making ordinary details seem a little less ordinary. A sound from the next room? A shadow passing across the floor? Suddenly, you\u2019re listening much more carefully.<\/p>\n The inn offers seasonal ghost and spirit tours, so you can explore the property while hearing about its history and paranormal lore. Check the official tour page<\/a> for current dates.<\/p>\n I\u2019d happily return for the history alone. But if a woman in colonial clothing offered to help me find a coach, I\u2019d probably ask a few questions before following her anywhere.<\/p>\n 3. George Taylor House, Catasauqua<\/p>\n At the George Taylor House, the ghost stories come with a Revolutionary-era backdrop.<\/p>\n Built in 1768, the house belonged to George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Its history alone makes it worth a visit. But the property has also attracted paranormal investigators, including the team from television\u2019s Ghost Hunters.<\/p>\n One of the house\u2019s most talked-about stories involves a woman in 18th-century clothing reportedly seen in a window of the summer kitchen. Apparently, the curtains now remain closed.<\/p>\n Which is a perfectly reasonable way to handle a supposedly haunted window, I suppose. If people keep reporting a mysterious woman behind the glass, why not close the curtains and let everyone get on with their day?<\/p>\n Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean visitors have stopped wondering what\u2019s on the other side.<\/p>\n Other reported experiences have taken place inside the house. During a paranormal investigation described by Lehigh Valley Press<\/a> in 2022, volunteer Rob Hess said he was climbing the attic stairs when he felt someone grab his arm. He turned around, he said, but nobody was there. He also described a cold sensation and pins and needles across his face.<\/p>\n Another investigator, Anthony Grothaus, reported seeing a dark shadow move across the basement ceiling, blocking the beams of a laser grid used during the investigation.<\/p>\n There are plenty of possible explanations for unusual sensations and shifting shadows, and those accounts alone can\u2019t establish what happened. Still, the image of someone climbing a flight of old stairs, feeling a hand on their arm and turning to find nobody behind them is difficult to shake.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, I headed to Sleepy Cat Urban Winery to watch the premiere screening of the George Taylor House episode of \u201cGhost Encounters.<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n Yes, based on what I saw in the episode, I\u2019m convinced that house is haunted. But watching the investigation wasn\u2019t what first made me uneasy about the place.<\/p>\n I\u2019d visited the house on the Fourth of July, on a bright, sunny day when the last thing you\u2019d expect to feel is the atmosphere of a horror movie. Even then, something about being inside felt strange. I couldn\u2019t shake the sense of a presence in the walls, despite the sunshine outside.<\/p>\n Was it the house\u2019s age, its history or the stories I\u2019d heard about it? I can\u2019t say. I didn\u2019t see a ghost, and I can\u2019t prove that anything supernatural was happening. But I remember how the place felt, and watching the episode only made me think about that visit differently.<\/p>\n That\u2019s part of what makes places like this so fascinating. You can read about reported encounters, watch investigators search for evidence and still find yourself wondering what you\u2019d experience if you stood alone in the same room.<\/p>\n The house\u2019s history is fascinating regardless of what you believe about ghosts. But if you visit, you might find yourself paying a little more attention to the windows and staircases than you otherwise would.<\/p>\n And if somebody suddenly grabs your arm on the way to the attic? Well, let\u2019s hope it\u2019s a very much alive tour guide.<\/p>\n Jim Thorpe doesn\u2019t exactly need help looking spooky.<\/p>\n The historic town\u2019s winding streets and Victorian architecture are atmospheric enough during the day. As the light fades, windows turn dark, doorways recede into shadow and buildings that looked perfectly ordinary a few hours earlier begin to look like they might have a few stories of their own.<\/p>\n Enter the Jim Thorpe Rotary\u2019s seasonal ghost walks.<\/p>\n The tours cover about a mile through the historic village, led by a costumed storyteller carrying a lantern. Rather than relying on jump scares, guides share local legends and stories about the people connected to the town\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Picture gathering with a group of other curious visitors as the guide begins a story. The lantern illuminates the immediate surroundings, while the buildings behind the storyteller remain in shadow. As the details emerge, you can look toward the very places the stories describe.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a different way to learn local history. Instead of reading about an old building from across a room, you\u2019re standing on the street outside it, looking at its windows and doorways while someone tells you what supposedly happened there.<\/p>\n And unlike investigating a supposedly haunted basement by yourself at midnight, you have a guide, a group and a reasonably good excuse to blame any strange noises on someone else.<\/p>\n Visitor reviews describe the tours as entertaining and informative, with guides who bring the stories to life. The paranormal encounters themselves remain part of local lore rather than established fact.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve spent time in Jim Thorpe, and I\u2019d return for a tour simply to learn more about the town. Hearing the stories in the places they\u2019re attached to seems much more interesting than reading them alone at home.<\/p>\n![\"Hotel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793105768_723_TMC-L-hotebethlehem-0708-059-2.jpg\")
Hotel Bethlehem hosts a number of spirits. (Oliver Lois Economidis\/The Morning Call)
\n2. Sun Inn, Bethlehem<\/p>\n![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TMC-L-GeorgeTaylorHouse03-1.jpg\")
Thomas Paine, played by Charles Adami of the Bachmann Players, performs onstage next to a town crier played by Tim Bernier, also of the Bachmann Players, during America 250 celebrations at the George Taylor House on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Catasauqua. Taylor was one of four Founding Fathers honored with a Liberty Legacy Garden by America250PA, the others being Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. (Jon Chiu\/The Morning Call)
\n4. Jim Thorpe Ghost Walks, Jim Thorpe<\/p>\n
![\"JIM](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TMC-L-jimthorpe_3bf226.jpg\")
The former Carbon County Prison now called The Old Jail Museum on Broadway in Jim Thorpe. It is a two story structure constructed of hand- cut stone and set into the side of a mountain. It was completed in 1871 at a cost of more than 27,000. Some hangings took place in the jail. (ED KOSKEY JR.\/The Morning Call)![\"Bethlehem\u00be\u00c9\u00ac\u00a2\u00be\u00a2'\u00c4\u00d6\u00ac\u00a8\u00be\u00a2'\u00c4\u00db\u00ac\u00a2s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TMC-L-sayremansion_8073cf.jpg\")
Bethlehem’s Sayre Mansion, built in 1858. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)![\"Exterior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TMC-L-LibraryFunding09-1.jpg\")
Exterior of the Easton Area Public Library is seen Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Easton. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)