Inside haunted hotel which broke the Guinness World Record for biggest Ouija board

A haven of all things Halloween, guests staying at the Grand Midway in Pennsylvania have fled in terror with rumours rife that a child’s body was buried in the basement

When Blair Murphy spotted an old hotel being sold on eBay, the American thought it was a steal.

Little did he know it came with a much more sinister price tag.

The Grand Midway Hotel in Pennsylvania is a former coal mining hotel that’s now a permanent home – complete with an array of ghosts and the world’s biggest Ouija board.

Mysterious noises are frequently heard and apparitions seen inside the creepy property, which has been adorned with taxidermy heads and unsettling portraits of ghosts.

And while it may not be a hotel first and foremost, those brave enough can pay $150 (£124) a night for a spooky sleepover. If you can make it through the night, that is.

Many end up leaving the hotel early for unexplained reasons.

“I could recall countless ghost encounter stories from folks who have stayed the night here,” Blair told Guinness World Records.

“It’s actually been a fascinating place to live.”

For those who do make it to the bedroom, however, there’s a choice of eight to sleep in.

All of which are themed, from a vampire room leading to a secret room of coffins, to a magician’s room which can only be entered by pushing through a secret bookcase.

Scariest of all the suites is the canopy room, decked out in austere Victorian-style décor and containing a creepy life-sized doll.

A goth’s dream, provided you’re not put off by the numerous reports of apparitions and guests being touched by unknown entities.

Most terrifying of all though is the basement. Once where exploited coal miners were forced to sleep top-to-toe, rumours are rife of a child’s body having once being buried down there.

Only one brave soul have ever slept down there since Blair took over.

Grand Midway’s eccentricities don’t end inside, however. Venture outside and you’ll find the world’s largest ouija board emblazoned on the third floor roof.

Taking weeks to finish, the 21.01m² (1,302.54ft²) board was created by Blair and then-girlfriend Camille Zamboni during a lull in paranormal activity at the property and has since claimed the Guinness World Record for the largest in the world.

While another board has reportedly since been created beating Grand Midway’s in size, this one currently still retains the official world record.

Complete with a giant planchette, players can use the board to attempt to contact the dead.

The irony of this one being that the original creator of the Ouija board, William Fuld, died after falling from a third-floor building.

After finishing the board, Camille said the couple began noticing strange occurrences and in one chilling event, they awoke one night to hear her son screaming – despite the fact he was not staying there that night.

“It seemed to kick things up into an entirely new level of paranormal activity,” she said.

“We were seeing floating people and hearing voices and even the hotel pets were flipping out and reacting to unseen forces. Our dreams were pretty wild.”

This hasn’t put off Blair, though, who admits he loves the supernatural goings on at his home. He has since doubled up on his efforts, creating the world’s largest tarot card, too.

Blair collaborated with painter Terrence Kauffman in 2017 to create the 6.42m (21ft 1in) long, 4.87m (16ft) wide card, which is now suspended from the ceiling of the first-floor library.

They both chose The Universe card from the Thoth Deck which symbolises positivity and satisfaction. It represents good fortune and reward for one getting out of life what someone has worked hard for.

Fancy staying here? You still can. Although Blair warns budding ghost hunters not to forget to pack their charger.

“Very often guests claim their camera batteries drain within an hour of entering the hotel, due to ghosts,” he added.