Would you stay in a hotel that you knew had the reputation of being haunted? I would in a heartbeat...I might not sleep at all, but I would do it for the experience. Then again...my full name IS Stephen King and I do love a good haunting. I've actually spent the night in a couple of haunted houses...once with Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on the TV show "The Munsters"....but that's a story for another time.

USA Today has a series of "10 Best" lists that are voted on by readers and one of the categories this year is "The 10 Best Haunted Hotels" and two hotels in New York made the list.

Number one on the list? The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. It was the inspiration for Stephen King's book "The Shining". He actually stayed at the hotel before he wrote the book. The movie, which King hated, by the way, wasn't filmed at the Stanley Hotel at all. They filmed at another big hotel in Oregon. However, they did use the Stanely for the filming of "The Shining" miniseries that was written and produced by Stephen King. I've been there and it's got a creepy vibe, but it's also a beautiful hotel that has used the movie to become a haunted attraction. I don't how much haunting is going on there, but they sure can make money disappear into thin air. You can stay at the Stanley Hotel for about $300.

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So, back to the two hotels from New York that are on the list.

Number four on the list is The Fainting Goat Island Inn, in Nichols, NY.

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This former railroad hotel was built in the late 1800s. It looks like a pretty normal-looking farmhouse, but guests have reported numerous ghostly encounters, like being woken in the night by voices or seeing two women sitting for tea in the Fainting Room. Other guests report hearing footsteps on a staircase that doesn’t exist or finding a child-sized chair next to the bed in the Nubian Room. You can book a room for about $110 if you're not afraid of ghosts...or fainting goats.

Number seven on the list is the Hotel Saranac in Saranac, NY.

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This historic Adirondack hotel dates back to the roaring 20s. It's built on the grounds of a former local high school. According to local legend, the spirit of Howard Littell, the school’s superintendent, still roams the property. I assume looking for truant children. Other sightings include a young girl on the fourth floor, ghostly singing on the sixth floor, and mysterious scratching sounds on the third floor. You can stay at Hotel Saranac for about $114 if you dare.

Here are the entire top ten haunted hotels from USA Today.

  1. Union Station Hotel - Nashville, TN
  2. The Marshall House - Savannah, Ga.
  3. Fainting Goat Island Inn - Nichols N.Y.
  4. The Mizpah Hotel - Tonopah, Nev.
  5. Emily Morgan Hotel - San Antonio, TX
  6. Hotel Sorrento - Seattle, WA
  7. Hotel Saranac - Saranac Lake, N.Y.
  8. The Stanley Hotel - Estes Park, Colo.
  9. La Fonda on the Plaza - Santa Fe
  10. 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa - Eureka Springs, Ark.

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