10 Scary Real-Life Hotels That Could Work for 'American Horror Story: Hotel'

FX’s anthology series American Horror Story has scared the pants off of us out in a variety of locations: a haunted L.A. house, a Massachusetts insane asylum, a New Orleans coven, and a Florida freak show. For Season 5, the action will shift to a hotel, and it could be the show’s scariest setting yet.

We know the American Horror Story: Hotel cast includes newcomer Lady Gaga as a bloodsucking countess and owner of the mysterious Hotel Cortez, with AHS veterans Kathy Bates, Matt Bomer, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Wes Bentley, Angela Bassett, Chloë Sevigny, and Denis O’Hare (just to name a few) all making a return to the horror franchise. A Ten Commandments Killer and an Addiction Demon will also roam the hotel’s halls.

Related: ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’ Cast On- and Offscreen

But we don’t know much about the Hotel Cortez yet; the trailers haven’t showed us much, although we do know the murderous hotel will be located in Los Angeles. We also know that creator Ryan Murphy loves to work real-life details into his AHS tales, and when it comes to Hotel, he and the writers didn’t have to look far for inspiration. Plenty of real-life hotels have terrifying histories and spooky vibes that would be right at home on American Horror Story. We’ve narrowed it down to ten scary real-life hotels that may have helped inspire American Horror Story: Hotel. They all have three things in common: They’re all still in operation; they’re in the United States (after all, the show isn’t called Scottish Horror Story); and they have such spooky reputations, that Motel 6’s Tom Bodett would leave all the lights on for you.

American Horror Story: Hotel premieres Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. on FX.