History Main / HellHotel

* The Bates Motel from ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', which is overseen by Norman Bates.

* ComicBook/GhostRider'': In ''ComicBook/GhostRider2022'', Johnny wanders across one in Issue #2 and decides to work there for a bit to earn money for his ongoing travel expenses. He soon discovers that the innkeeper is secretly an evil man who kidnaps his own tenants, offering them as sacrifices to a nightmarish demon living in the mines hidden deep within the premises in exchange for the demon's stash of priceless gemstones. In the end, Ghost Rider makes the innkeeper and his demonic patron pay dearly for their crimes, then burns their wretched motel to the ground for added measure.

* ''ComicBook/GhostRider2022'': Johnny wanders across one in Issue #2 and decides to work there for a bit to earn money for his ongoing travel expenses. He soon discovers that the innkeeper is secretly an evil man who kidnaps his own tenants, offering them as sacrifices to a nightmarish demon living in the mines hidden deep within the premises in exchange for the demon's stash of priceless gemstones. In the end, Ghost Rider makes the innkeeper and his demonic patron pay dearly for their crimes, then burns their wretched motel to the ground for added measure.

* One StoryArc in ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' involved a Hell Hotel, caused by the residents of an Apartment Complex being freed of personal restraint by [[spoiler:The Violator]].

* The Hyperion Hotel on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' was abandoned and haunted for several decades by a demon that fed off people's fear. Later a vampire and other assorted beings killed the demon and took control of the hotel themselves -- but since [[UrbanFantasy they're the heroes]], it probably doesn't count anymore.

* The ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Paradise" had a small roadside motel which was run by a serial rapist and killer, who would trap patrons in their room and psychologically and physically torture them before beating them to death.

* In the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Check In and Check Out", the team investigates multiple deadly incidents linked together by one specific room in a motel. [[spoiler:It turns out that the air freshener dispenser in the bathroom of that room has been set up by the motel owner to dose the guests in that room with LSD so he can watch them tear each other apart.]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' has a few instances with scary but harmless ones, and then the Tomibiki High kids encounter a real one when Mendo, Ataru and Ten get love messages in a bottle asking them to rendezvous at a hotel in Cockle Inlet. Despite being warned by locals that it's haunted by the evil ghosts of an old woman, a giant man and a beautiful girl (they're actually evil clam fairies), the guys still go - dragging Lum and Shinobu along with them. This being ''Urusei Yatsura'' the "ghosts" were lucky to [[VillainsWantMercy escape with their lives]] though it took a bit of begging.

* ''Hotell'' is a mini-series by John Lees (of ''ComicBook/{{Sink}}'' and ''ComicBook/AndThenEmilyWasGone'' fame) centered around the "Pierrot Courts Hotel", a motel by the side of Route 66 where every guest is forced to confront their demons -- figurative or literal, when not both. Creepy nightmares, serial killers, ghosts, hallucinations and a Pierrot painting that moves when you're not looking are among the many treats awaiting the lost souls that end up in this bizarre place. And no need trying to look for it, because no motel by the name of Pierrot Courts actually exists on Route 66... Guests don't find the hotel, the hotel ''finds them''. [[spoiler: And then arrives the eclipse, when the real owner of the motel makes a visit.]]
** Its sequel, ''Hotell Volume 2'', makes the place even creepier. [[spoiler: There's an ancient Lovecraftian temple underneath, the place can give people dangerous supernatural powers, and apparently it is sentient and feeding off people's negative emotions]]. Though it is nuanced, as [[spoiler: it is also made clear that the place has "rules" and that if you manage to fight your literal/figurative demons, you are free to leave with a better appreciation of life.]] If not... Let's just say there's a reason the motel needs someone to "clean up" behind the guests.

* One StoryArc in ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' involved a Hell Hotel, caused by the residents of an Apartment Complex being freed of personal restraint by [[spoiler: The Violator]].

* ''Film/HellHouseLLC'' is set in the fictional Abaddon Hotel which is rumored to be this and is converted into a haunted house attraction. In the sequel ''Film/HellHouseLLCIITheAbaddonHotel'', it's definitely gotten worse [[spoiler: and is revealed there's a portal to Hell in the basement.]]

* ''Film/MotelHell'', where [[spoiler: stranded travelers are rendered mute, 'planted' up to their necks in a garden behind the motel, then processed into smoked meats.]]

* The Bramford Apartment Complex in ''Film/RosemarysBaby'', is not particularly frightening on its own. It does become scary when you learn that [[spoiler: almost every one of its residents worships Satan and the Antichrist.]]

** ''Literature/TheShining'': The Overlook Hotel, a remote hotel in the mountains plagued by evil ghosts. King describes the place as follows: "This inhuman place makes human monsters." It's actually a pretty normal hotel for most of the year- the trouble comes when it shuts down for the winter, leaving a single caretaker family snowed in for months.

* The ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' series has the Lotus Hotel and Casino, a modernized version of [[LotusEaterMachine the Island of the Lotus Eaters]] from ''Literature/TheOdyssey''. People go in, get sucked into the awesome food and activities, and lose all track of time[[note]][[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Sound familiar?]][[/note]] - when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover finally escape, they discover that [[YearOutsideHourInside what seemed like a few hours to them was in fact five days outside.]] Most people aren't that lucky, and they end up trapped for years.

* The Hyperion Hotel on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' was abandoned and haunted for several decades by a demon that fed off people's fear. Later a vampire and other assorted beings killed the demon and took control of the hotel themselves - but since [[UrbanFantasy they're the heroes]], it probably doesn't count anymore.

* The video for "The Kill" by [[Music/ThirtySecondsToMars 30 Seconds to Mars]] is a direct homage to ''The Shining''--specifically, Kubrick's film version. In the video, the band members wander the corridors of an otherwise deserted hotel, encountering various ghostly inhabitants before respectively coming face-to-face with [[spoiler: their own evil, tuxedoed dopplegangers]].

** On a related note, Music/CledusTJudd's parody of this song, "Motel Californie." The titular motel really is an awful place, in serious disrepair and filthy, but it gets worse near the end when he's trying to get clean linens and [[spoiler: finds the proprietor stabbed to death.]]

* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' version 2 had one of these. It became one of the bloodiest places in the game - no fewer than ''fifteen'' students met their ends somewhere within it. Escapades taking place there included (and were not limited to): murder (duh), castration, evisceration, and ''necrophilia''. The V2 hotel was ''not'' a fun place.

* Hell in ''Theatre/NoExit'' is a hotel. [[InvertedTrope A rather normal looking hotel, at that]]. Except that roommates are specifically chosen to drive each other crazy, and they're locked in there forever. [[spoiler: But not really. The door isn't locked, but ''nobody'' has the strength of character necessary to leave, even when the door just pops open at the end]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', "Fear Factory," featured a space-station version that was a lot like a mysterious mansion, with the butler and being invited to dinner.

* Inverted in ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'', which is a literal [[HellOfATime hell hotel]] meant to [[AscendedDemon reform the damned]].

* Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's WidgetSeries ''Solstrom'' had an often-humorous version of this as the setting for an episode, "Howling Winds". An aging hotel is suddenly transformed into a HauntedCastle-esque one with a vampire waiter, an ogre bellboy, etc. -- but a pair of newlyweds on their honeymoon, being SickeninglySweethearts, don't notice what's happened until it's far too late. Meanwhile, the confused owner tries to conduct business as usual despite the fact that he's slowly turning into a wolfman. Even Death takes a holiday here!

* ''VideoGame/HauntedHotel'' is a {{hidden object game}} series that runs on this trope. Each game takes place in a HellHotel which is usually either abandoned, haunted, or both, and the protagonists have to survive. Some of the locations also appear in the CrisisCrossover spinoff series ''VideoGame/DetectivesUnited''.

* ''VideoGame/HauntedHotel'' is a hidden object game series where each game takes place in a abandoned/haunted hotel and the protagonists have to survive.

-->'''[REDACTED]:''' This is your wake up call! ''Prepare to die!''

* Frank Herbert's short story "Gambling Device."

While hotels are certainly disturbing by themselves, it gets even worse when they're NOT what a hotel should look like (dirty, disorganized, etc.).

* ''VideoGame/{{Propagation}}: Paradise Hotel'' is set in one infested by zombies and assorted monsters, including a fearsome maneater called the Brute who stalks the vents.

* "Hotel California", by The Music/{{Eagles}}. The "Hotel" is apparently an allegory for the Southern California music industry of the mid-Seventies, or drug addiction, or who knows, just Southern California. On the surface, the song describes the tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish luxury hotel that, at first, appeared inviting and tempting. This is an example where the hotel [[AmbiguousSituation may or may not actually be Hell.]]

** On a related note, Cledus T. Judd's parody of this song, "Motel Californie." The titular motel really is an awful place, in serious disrepair and filthy, but it gets worse near the end when he's trying to get clean linens and [[spoiler: finds the proprietor stabbed to death.]]

Sometimes characters in a series aren't completely stupid. They know something is wrong with this hotel — maybe the guy at the front desk is [[UncannyValley more than a touch creepy]], or they've overheard the townspeople talk about how they [[TownWithADarkSecret hate outsiders]], or that the hotel is supposed to be almost fully booked but [[EverybodysDeadDave no one is around]].

* The Pickman Hotel in ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''. The place is firmly placed within the UncannyValley even before [[spoiler:its clerk turns into a monster and butchers her husband.]]

* ''Film/Cadaver2020'': The hotel in which most of the movie is set is one where large numbers of people are invited for dinner and an unconventional show, wherein the actors move about the hotel with the guests following the ones they find most interesting. [[spoiler:In truth, it's all a trap, where the guests are dropped into catacombs beneath the rooms, where they're then grabbed by large people in white suits who kill them, and [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies make them into food. Most of the actors may not have been aware of this, and are revolted when they find out.]]

** In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', the Threed hotel briefly becomes one of these when Ness and Paula are LuredIntoATrap and get sent to confined area.

* ''Hotell'' is a mini-series by John Lees (Of ComicBook/Sink and ComicBook/AndThenEmilyWasGone fame) centered around the "Pierrot Courts Hotel", a motel by the side of Road 66 where every guest is forced to confront their demons - figurative or literal, when not both. Creepy nightmares, serial killers, ghosts, hallucinations and a Pierrot painting that moves when you're not looking are among the many treats awaiting the lost souls that end up in this bizarre place. And no need trying to look for it, because no motel by the name of Pierrot Courts actually exists on Road 66... Guests don't find the hotel, the hotel ''finds them''. [[spoiler: And then arrives the eclipse, when the real owner of the motel makes a visit.]]
** Its sequel, ''Hotell Volume 2'', makes the place even creepier... [[spoiler: there's an ancient Lovecraftian temple underneath, the place can give people dangerous supernatural powers, and apparently it is sentient and feeding of people's negative emotions]]. Though it is nuanced, as [[spoiler: It is also made clear that the place has "rules" and that if you manage to fight your literal/figurative demons, you are free to leave with a better appreciation of life.]] If not... Let's just say there's a reason the motel needs someone to "clean up" behind the guests.

* The Innsmouth hotel in ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth''. Not only is the hotel falling apart and owned by a [[TheCorruption decidedly creepy host]], but Jack has a [[spoiler:surprise 'wake-up call' by the town's residents and has to escape.]]