The Biltmore Hotel Hauntings

During the 1920s, Thomas “Fatty” Walsh was a notable underworld figure from New York who ran most of his operations out of Florida. He was a frequent guest at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and often ran a speakeasy and casino out of his 13th-floor suite. On March 4, 1929, Fatty got into a fight with the hotel manager, Eddie Wilson, who pulled out a gun and shot Fatty to death in the middle of the casino. Wilson was never charged with the murder, and corrupt law enforcement officials allegedly helped him escape to Cuba. The Biltmore Hotel still exists in Coral Gables today and is recognized as a historic landmark. However, perhaps because his murder went unpunished, the ghost of Fatty Walsh is believed to haunt the establishment.Over the years, there have been numerous incidents where the hotel’s elevator has taken guests to the 13th floor for unexplained reasons. Since Fatty Walsh was known as a ladies man, his ghost apparently loves to target attractive women. On one occasion, a couple was attempting to ride the elevator to the fourth floor but were taken against their will to the 13th instead. When the woman stepped out, the door slammed shut and the elevator took her male companion back down to the lobby. The woman would report hearing unexplained sounds and smelling cigar smoke in a supposedly empty suite. Believe it or not, Fatty’s spirit is even believed to have targeted President Bill Clinton! During one of his trips, the president was staying in a 13th-floor suite and was planning to watch a football game. However, his television kept malfunctioning, and even though the staff could not find anything wrong with the TV, it just kept turning on and off by itself.