The Read House Hotel

Established in 1872, the Read House has endured the Civil War, cholera and yellow fever outbreaks, and over 150 years of Chattanooga history. Room 311 is so infamous that guests can specifically request a stay in the haunted chamber.

The Read House Hotel has occupied a prominent corner of downtown Chattanooga since the 1870s, though its site has been a gathering place -- and a place of death -- for much longer. The original structure on the property was the Crutchfield House, built in 1847 by Samuel Crutchfield near the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad's Union Station. During the Civil War, the building was commandeered as a military hospital where Union and Confederate soldiers alike suffered and died. The Crutchfield House burned in 1867, and Dr. John T. Read purchased the land and opened a new hotel in 1872. The current ten-story building, featuring 400 rooms at an original rate of $2.50 per night, was completed in 1926 -- just one year before the event that would define the hotel's reputation forever.

In 1927, a young woman named Annalisa Netherly was found dead in the bathtub of Room 311. She had been murdered -- her throat slashed open and her head nearly severed from her body. The circumstances remain disputed. The most widely told version holds that she was killed by a jealous lover who discovered her infidelities. Another version suggests she took her own life after a devastating heartbreak. What is agreed upon is that Netherly had been staying in Room 311 for an extended period, and that no one was ever held accountable for her death. Her background remains a mystery.

Since her death, the spirit of Annalisa Netherly has made Room 311 one of the most infamous haunted hotel rooms in the American South. She harbors a particular animosity toward men, especially those who smoke. Male guests have reported being pinched, shoved, and physically touched by unseen hands. Drawers open and close on their own. Lights flicker without electrical explanation. The sound of running water emanates from the bathroom when no taps are turned on. Shadowy figures materialize in the corners of the room and vanish when approached. An overwhelming feeling of being watched settles over guests, and some have checked out before the night is over, unable to endure the atmosphere.

The paranormal activity extends beyond Room 311. Lights on the entire third floor have been reported fluctuating without cause. Pets brought into the hotel have been observed barking or staring fixedly at the door to Room 311 from the hallway, refusing to approach. Staff members who work late shifts report cold spots and the sensation of being followed through the corridors.

Room 311's history took another dark turn when the notorious gangster Al Capone was housed there during his federal trial. Security bars were installed on the windows to prevent his escape -- bars that remained visible until renovations removed them in 2004. Whether Capone encountered Netherly's ghost during his stay is unrecorded, but the legend holds that Annalisa particularly despised his cigar smoke.

The hotel has since restored Room 311 to its original 1920s appearance, complete with the vintage clawfoot bathtub where Netherly died, an AM radio, and a manual door lock requiring a physical key. The room is available for overnight stays during October weekends at a rate of $666 per night. Tours are offered upon request. The Read House has also been shaped by Chattanooga's devastating cholera outbreak of 1873 and the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, which decimated half the city's population and sent another 8,000 fleeing. Whether from war, plague, or murder, the hotel has absorbed more than a century of suffering -- and Room 311 appears to be where that suffering concentrates most intensely.