Did you know that the room that Stephen King based his short story, 1408, is rumored to be based on a room in a Boston hotel?
While on a work trip, I was spookily surprised to learn that fact while I was staying in that very hotel!
Let’s dive in!
Room 303 in the Omni Parker Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts
When researching, I learned that The Omni Parker House Hotel is considered to be one of the most haunted hotels. There are stories of strange shadows and sounds throughout the hotel, including seeing a man that is rumored to be the founder, Harvey Parker, trying to make sure his guests are having a nice stay, and the voices and laughter of children in the halls. There is also record of elevators stopping on the third floor without any buttons having been pushed.
In the image below, I just had to share what the lobby of the hotel looked like. As you can see, I visited in December so it was decked out to prepare for the holidays. This lobby is so beautiful! From the ornate details on the wood, the intricate lighting fixtures, the design of the carpet, and all the small details like the lights above the elevators and the golden elevator doors, everything looks so wonderful!
I have to admit, I thought that my team was just pulling my leg when they told me that Stephen King supposedly based a story on one of the rooms. I should have known better, this team is far too kind to joke about something like that!
So what did I do that evening when I was reading through articles about that fact? I immediately downloaded an audiobook of Blood and Smoke by Stephen King so I could jump right to 1408 and start listening. I tweeted: I am downloading the audio book to visit the story again. I’m either in for a treat, or about to royally scare myself! We shall see!
I didn’t get the chance to listen to the full story in my downtime at the hotel, but I got about halfway! The spookiness of listening to Stephen King read his own story while under the roof where the inspiration came from was a wild experience!
The next day, I had to go pop by the room.
Of course, room 303 is not open to the public. I’ve read online that the space has been set aside as a storage area as the activity in the room got to be too much. There are stories of noises, shadows, and even a bathtub where the water turns on randomly!
The room is set at the end of a little hallway. That made the whole history of it that much more spooky to me. If it has been a room in the middle of one of the long hallways, I could chalk up some of the noises and such to echoes throughout the halls. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Whether or not the rumors are true, this was a wicked cool experience!
Thanks for reading!
If you know more about whether or not this rumor is true, feel free to comment below! I would also love to hear any stories you may have if you’ve stayed at this hotel!
Click here to visit the Ghosts and Gravestones website to learn more about the Omni Parker Hotel!
So creepy! If I’m ever in Boston again, I might have to check the place out!!
For sure!! 🙂
The picture of the lobby looks very similar to the one in 1408. I read that someone representing King denied the story was based on Room 303. I would love to stay there, but not alone. If you haven’t seen the movie it is very good. I’ve had experiences with spirits all my life starting as a child. I think I attract them! I am 70 and have been living with a spirit for years now. Banging, objects disappearing and reappearing, pages of a family Bible turned. No apparitions because I told it that it could stay as long as it didn’t show itself to me. 🙃Take care!
I read that too! I’ve also heard that that story is actually based on The Mount Washington Hotel, but who knows. It would be awesome to have an answer! 🙂 Either way, both hotels have wild haunting tales!
Oh my gosh! I hope all of that is fun and not stressful for you! <3
Ok I just ran across this article. My husband was staying there back in 2010. He was in a room that had a terrible view and he went down to see if he could switch rooms. They said that they could. When he was handing them his key card the person at the front desk looked surprised and said under his breath. Oh that is the haunted room you should not have been given that room anyway. At that point my husband said oh in that case I will keep it. They let him keep it. I would have never said that. I researched it and called him to lethim that I would think twice about staying in that room. He not only kept it he ended up watching a scary movie. This is what happened through the night. The sink in the bathroom turned on. The light in the closet had a bare bulb with a string to pull to turn it on and that turned on through the night. He is a lot braver than I am. He still has the key with the sleeve. The sleeve has #303 written on it.
Oh my gosh! That is so spooky!!! Thank you for sharing!
Actually I think it’s room 1403 because the Harvey Parker suite is 1402. What would be 1403 has no number on it and if you down every floor they have a 203,303, 403 etc. The would be “1403 room” has a normal door with no number on it or key access to it.
303 is an active room which I saw and they are actively using it. It actually had a do not disturb tag on it today went I went by it.
I found this post while looking for more info after a recent walking tour of Boston.
When we were near the Omni Parker – the guide related a story about leading a ghost tour and the group was in the hotel lobby and he was talking about the link to the Stephen King story and a guy on the tour was arguing with him about the location of the hotel and saying it definitely wasn’t the Omni Parker.
It got a bit heated and apparently a voice came out of nowhere and said words along the lines of “the man is an idiot…listen to the tour guide.” with that the guide turned around and there was Stephen King and his wife. The guide went on to say that King and his wife often dined at the Omni Parker when in town for a Red Sox game.
Maybe the guide made up the story to entertain the tour group or maybe it actually happened. Who knows?
Ooooh! How interesting! Even if it was just a story, it’s a fun one!! Thanks for stopping by!
I just came across this post after talking to my brother about our trip to Boston from Ireland a few years ago and we completely forgot about our stay at the Omni Parker Hotel. It was nearly 10 years ago and my parents were visiting Boston. We joined last minute so never looked into Hotels as they reserved the rooms for us. When we got there, my mom wasn’t happy with how high up she was on the floor plan so asked could they change. They gave her the room key for 303. Nothing mentioned of its haunted history. My brother and myself were a few floors higher. The very last night I asked my parents how did they enjoy their stay overall- all fantastic apart from the lack of sleep, blaming each other for the slightest. Snoring etc.. My father mentioned that the lights in the room, closet and bathroom would randomly turn on at night and he swore he thought the bath was running but when he got to the bathroom the tap was off and just dripping. My mother who is a heavy sleeper woke up with a fright when she saw a well dressed man standing at the end of the bed. Assumed it was her dreams and went back to sleep. The last night in the Hotel I read up a bit about its history and I was spooked. Couldn’t go down the hall to my brother so rung him from the room phone. I was shook. My parents are no nonsense type of folks but I still waited to tell them once they were on the plane home. They went dead quiet. Such a fascinating and beautiful hotel.
Woah!!! Thank you for sharing!! How spooky!