Title: The Haunted Hotel

General Information about Item: Urban legend surrounding the history of the famous Biltmore Hotel in Miami, Florida. Commissioned in 1926 by the land developer, George Merrick, the Biltmore’s guests included the rich and famous alongside infamous mobsters like Al Capone. During WWII, the resort was transformed into a military hospital and was then abandoned for several years. There have been several reports of paranormal activity at the site, including the story from the following informant.

Genre and Sub Genre:

• Genre: Horror story
• Subgenre: Urban legend

Language: English
Country where Item is from: The United States 
Informant Data: Cecilia Perez is a senior at Gulliver Preparatory in Miami, Florida. She is 17 years old and will graduate in the spring. She is one of three sisters and her family is of Cuban descent.
Contextual Data: Cecilia first heard this story while on a “ghost tour” of the Biltmore when she was 7 years old. She said that the Biltmore frequently hosted such tours on Halloween, and she distinctly remembers going trick-or-treating in the surrounding neighborhood following the tour.
Item: Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Early on, Miami was the center of a lot of mob activity. Many of the gangsters ended up staying at the Biltmore, actually. One night, there was a very loud party going on on the 13th floor of the hotel. Word got around that the celebration was being hosted by Al Capone and a couple of his cronies. A rival gang caught wind of their location and stormed the hotel. They demanded the room number and made their way upstairs.

After breaking down the door, the gangsters mobsters opened fire on the partygoers. Capone was shocked and fled the scene. There were several injuries and one fatality. Thomas “Fatty” Walsh, a close confidante of Capone’s, was killed in the crossfire by another gangster. Walsh swore that he would have his revenge someday, somehow. Today, Walsh continues to wander the halls of the Biltmore Hotel, menacing guests. He moves their luggage, unplugs their appliances, and has even been known to stand over them as they sleep. Many believe that Walsh will continue to haunt the hotel until he completes his “unfinished business.”

Informant’s Comments: Cecilia recalls being very frightened by the story. She wanted to leave immediately and never wanted to return to the Biltmore again.

Collector’s Comments: Growing up in Miami, I too, had heard of ghost sightings at the Biltmore. While I had not heard of this story in particular, my father had told a similar one. As a teenager, he and his friends snuck into the Biltmore. He claims to have seen the ghost of a soldier in uniform. The Biltmore, as I previously mentioned, was converted to a military hospital during WWII. When my father and his friends visited, there was still old, abandoned medical equipment lying around. Insert Collector’s Comments Here

Collector’s Name: Sarah Perez

Tags/Keywords: