Entry No. 29 — the Anchorage file — filed under: poltergeist
Hotel Captain Cook - Haunted Women's Restroom
This downtown hotel carries one of Anchorage's most specific ghost legends: a woman who died by suicide in a second-floor women's-restroom stall in 1972, blamed for banging stall doors and flickering lights. The story goes that staff eventually bolted the stall shut.
The story
When former Alaska governor Wally Hickel built the Hotel Captain Cook in 1965 to anchor downtown Anchorage after the devastating 1964 earthquake, he intended to create high-end luxury complete with nautical themes and British colonial brass. But among the three rising towers, the property acquired a stranger, darker claim to local fame. The story centers on a young woman who died by suicide inside a women's restroom stall in 1972, shortly after Tower Two opened. Ever since, staff and guests have reported an angry, territorial presence in that room, blamed for slamming stall doors, flickering lights, and sudden drops in temperature.
You didn't hear it from us, but management's long-term solution wasn't an exorcism—it was hardware. To handle endless complaints of unexplained banging and oppressive atmospheric shifts, the hotel had the stall door permanently bolted shut to its metal frame. While casual local retellings sometimes misplace the room on the second floor, ghost tour guides and hotel insiders know the real spot sits down on the lower level of Tower Two. Local lore even claims hotel staff drop by to quietly acknowledge the presence, keeping a cautious truce with Anchorage's most famous poltergeist.
Whether you consider the legend real tragic history or downtown urban myth, the physical evidence is undeniable. You are looking at a functioning luxury hotel restroom with one stall taken permanently out of service, deadbolted shut from the outside. It remains a remarkably concrete, mundane artifact of an Alaskan ghost story—a high-end hotel catering to dignitaries and oil executives that keeps a single bathroom stall locked tight against whatever is inside.
What it's like
You are stepping into a working luxury hotel, so act accordingly. Skip the main elevators, take the stairs down to the lower level of Tower Two, and look for the public women's restroom signs. Inside, walk past the polished counter mirrors to the far end: the tell is the very last stall on the left, which is bolted flush to the metal partition rather than latched. Keep your visit quick, quiet, and in groups of one or two—it remains an active restroom for hotel patrons. If you prefer an official escort, sign up for a Ghost Tours of Anchorage summer walk (running roughly June into early September) which includes a stop here, then head twenty floors up to the Crow's Nest atop Tower Three for a drink overlooking Cook Inlet to shake off the chill.
The move: Have a drink up at the Crow's Nest for the city-and-inlet view, then dare each other to go find the bolted-shut stall on the second floor and report back.
📍 Before you go Despite retellings that put it upstairs, the local ghost-tour operator and firsthand accounts place the restroom on the lower level of Tower Two — head down from the main lobby, and the bolted last stall on the left is the tell. It is a working restroom in a working luxury hotel, so go quietly, in ones and twos, and remember it is the women's room. If you would rather have an escort, Anchorage's downtown ghost tours run on a summer pattern (roughly June into early September, most evenings) and include the hotel. The Crow's Nest sits twenty floors up atop Tower Three for the before-or-after drink, and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is a short walk away.
- 📍 Downtown Anchorage
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 939 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Last Blue Whale (a.k.a. the "Whale Drowns Men" statue) — Just a block away, this three-story bronze sculpture depicting a whale flipping whaling boats and drowning sailors offers another hit of Anchorage's dark public art.
- Anchorage Lightspeed Planet Walk (the hunt for Pluto) — Pick up the downtown starting point of this scale-model solar system walk right outside the hotel after checking out the lower level.
- Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery (the unmarked-graves Pioneer Cemetery) — Walk nine blocks east to visit Anchorage's 1915 Pioneer Cemetery, where thousands of early residents lie in unmarked graves.
- Candlelight Concerts at 49th State Brewing (Heritage Theater) — Pair your hotel ghost search with a live string quartet performance surrounded by flickering LED candles two blocks away at 49th State Brewing.
Good to know
Where is the haunted restroom located in the hotel?
Despite stories that place it upstairs on the second floor, firsthand accounts and ghost tours locate the bathroom on the lower level (basement) of Tower Two. Head down from the main lobby and look for the last stall on the left in the women's room.
Why is the stall bolted shut?
According to local legend, after a woman died by suicide in the stall in 1972, guests and staff reported poltergeist activity, including slammed doors and swinging locks. Hotel management eventually bolted the stall door permanently shut to lock it off.
Can non-guests enter the hotel to see the restroom?
Yes, but remember it is a working restroom inside an operating luxury hotel. Go quietly, in ones or twos, respect hotel guests, and do not cause a disruption.
Does Anchorage offer guided tours that visit the hotel?
Ghost Tours of Anchorage runs evening walking tours during the summer season (roughly June through early September) that routinely stop at the Hotel Captain Cook.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: frightfind.com · hauntjaunts.net · alaskasnewssource.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-09