Built in 1863, the Old Shelby Hotel, formerly known as the Dannemora Hotel was located next to the Shelby Iron Works. The hotel was a popular weekend destination for the public, but the employees of the Iron Works also used it as a boarding house. It was the first hotel in Alabama that could offer electricity and internal plumbing to its guests.
The Union Army destroyed the Shelby Iron Works in a raid in 1865 (considering they were supplying iron to the Confederate Navy). The hotel survived but burned down a few decades later, in 1898. By that time, the Iron Works reopened and were quickly capitalizing on the growing industrial demand. The owners rebuilt the hotel in 1900 on the original brick foundation. The new hotel was called the New Dannemora Hotel and later renamed the Shelby Hotel.
The last owners of the Shelby Hotel were Mr. and Mrs. Rummel. They operated the hotel from 1956 until its closing in the 1970s. It is Mrs. Rummel who is supposedly haunting the old Shelby Hotel. Some passersby have smelled her cooking, perhaps still prepping meals even in the afterlife, and some have even claimed to have heard her voice.
Unfortunately, on May 26, 2019, the old Shelby Hotel burned to the ground in what was likely arson. The once beautiful and renowned old Shelby Hotel sadly is no more.
Real Haunted Houses
Previously in this series:
- Real Haunted Houses: Franklin Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: Villesca Axe Murder House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Sallie House
- Real Haunted Houses: LaLaurie House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Bell Witch Farm
- Real Haunted Houses: Ann Starrett Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Sturdivant Hall
- Real Haunted Houses: Whaley House
- Real Haunted Houses: House of Seven Gables
- Real Haunted Houses: Woodruff Fontaine House
- Real Haunted Houses: Cedar Grove Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Sauer Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: The Pink Palace
- Real Haunted Houses: House of Death
- Real Haunted Houses: Joshua Ward House
- Real Haunted Houses: The Lemp Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Los Feliz Murder Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Winchester Mystery House
- Real Haunted Houses: Bliss Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Croke-Patterson Mansion
- Real Haunted Houses: Thornewood Castle
- Real Haunted Houses: Drish House
Enjoyed this article? Read Fractured!
When Piper discovers an old antique mirror on the attic of her new home, she has no idea what terror she unlocked.
Eerie shadows lurking in the night and estranged voices crying out for help are only the beginning. As Piper’s world comes crumbling down, she realizes everything that she believed was imaginary, might have been real all along.
Something is very wrong with that mirror. And if she doesn’t find out what, the mirror might end up killing her.
With some help of old and new friends, Piper tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. One thing is for certain: the mirror preys on the guilty. But what exactly is she guilty of?
Release Date: September 16, 2013
Format: eBook and Paperback 
Price: $3.99 for eBook and $13.99 for Paperback
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