Our Room 311 Ghost Tour
Check out our Room 311 Ghost Tour to get Halloween Boos on!
For Halloween this year I wanted to do something a little different and share our trip we took a few months ago that had a creepy little twist and a great ghost story with LIVE pictures! This year for our anniversary we decided to take a quick road trip to Chattanooga, and we stayed in the historic Read House. This is where our Room 311 Ghost Tour all began.
The Read House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the longest continuously operating hotel in the southeast. This hotel has seen The Civil War, the Great Depression, epidemics and floods while remaining a beautiful part of downtown Chattanooga today. Originally built in 1847 as The Crutchfeild House, it was a vital part of the civil war and glimpses of these soldiers are said to still be seen in the silver ballroom, which was once part of the hospital. 
However, the most haunted room of all is the infamous Room 311. Believed to be haunted by the ghost of Annalisa Netherly, a guest who was allegedly beheaded in the bathtub by a jealous lover in 1927. Over the years, many guests have reported paranormal activity in the room, including unexplained noises, flickering lights, running water, and shadowy figures. You can even stay in this room around Halloween if you dare! However we were told no one has ever made it through the night, they always change rooms.
You may notice a manual lock on the door which requires the use of a physical key, just like hotel guests would have used in 1927, is still used. Our tour guide told our little group of 4, it was to keep Annalisa safely inside the room. While Room 311 was restored to its original 1920s state during the hotel’s latest renovation, many of the original elements from Annalisa Netherly’s time remain, including an AM radio that does not work, the vintage clawfoot tub, an original pull chain toilet, antique furnishings, and distressed hardwood floors, just like it would have been in the early twentieth century and no television.
You can see the radio directly behind the wife, of the other couple on the tour with us. This picture is also significant since she is also wearing a green dress. I will add that I was wearing a royal blue dress, because in later photos and video you will see a blonde woman in a black dress, which was not on the tour with us in the mirror. I believe this is Annalisa! It has been said that guests that have stayed in Room 311 have felt Annalisa’s presence, and some say they have even seen her, like I actually did!
The room is beautiful for the time period, and completely on point with the time with vintage furniture, carnival glass, antique rotary phones and crystal doorknobs, every detail evokes a sense of having stepped through the looking glass and going back in time. When you walk in you will notice that it is 10-15 degrees cooler than the rest of the hotel. Now it might just be for an overall effect to add to the creepiness. It could be that a ghost is living in this space, I really cannot say. I just know that the room was very cold for a late July day.
In the more simply decorated bedroom, I have to say I personally love the eye-catching artwork above the bed. It was a floating piece that moved from the breeze of the ceiling fan, which gave it a very ethereal ghostly feel. It was a picture of a black dress, with white linen hanging over the top in an outline, it was haunting in its own way and perfect for the room. The very black dress you are going to see again on the Annalisa, which is why the artist that made this piece for the room is brilliant.
The bathroom is where the murder is said to have taken place. While there are several versions of the story, the one the hotel has accepted, is Annalisa was, “getting around” or cheating on her husband. Her husband took exception to her behavior and ended her life in the bathtub.” Now there are variations of: he slit her throat, beheaded her, etc… However here is the bathtub, so you be judge.
While I was in this room taking a few pictures after the other couple and my husband had left. I noticed a shadowy figure out of the corner of eye, across the room. I should say this is usually how most of my ghost stories start, it’s always out of the corner of my eye, never directly, always in my peripheral vision. So, I quickly took a photo, which I have done several times in the past and have caught several ghosts or spirits before. 
As I exited the bathroom, I asked the tour guide if any one had ever seen a woman in black in the mirror before and he turned as white as a sheet. Apparently, a college of his had seen such a woman and he had a photo of her on his phone, but he had never actually been in the room with Annalisa before. At this point I could see his discomfort as he started to move us out of the room quickly. 
We had dinner reservations, so I did not really think too much about it and he hustled us out of the room. I mentioned that I have regularly seen ghosts on ghost tours, and apologized if it made the other couple or him uncomfortable. It was just something that happens pretty regularly, and I am kind of used to it, but I do realize that it can catch others off guard. 
As we headed off to dinner to celebrate our 26th Anniversary, I pulled out my phone to look at my photos a little bit closer when I realized that I indeed, had captured Annalisa Netherly while snapping those pictures. However, to my surprise I noticed a really cool thing, the photo was a LIVE, this translucent figure moves! So check out this short clip video here: Video of the Room 311 Ghost JENRON DESIGNS which I happily offered to share with to nice people at the front desk of The Read House for their collection, after dinner and my creme brulee’ of course.
Did you Know Al Capone also Stayed in The 311 Room?
Another fun tidbit about Room 311 is the fact that this room also housed Al Capone, while traveling through the city on his way to Chicago from Atlanta for his federal tax evasion trial. 
They had to secure the windows in the room with rebar to stop him from escaping, a feature The Read House reinstalled during the renovation to give guests an authentic feel of the space during that time. As legend has it, Annalisa didn’t like Capone’s cigar smoke one bit and she hates all men that smoke in her room or the smell of smoke.
GIRL this is CRAZY! OMG that video it legit the scariest thing I have ever seen, like the hair on neck stood up! I mean she is translucent and everything! I can not believe you caught her in a live photo like that, no wonder the tour guide freaked out I mean holy cow! What a great Halloween story now I want to hear more of your ghost stories, you have to share more.
WOW!!!! I have seen ghost photos before but never a live one like this, that is insane! Does it freak you out when you see them? I would freak out it I saw that for sure. You said it was cold in the room did it get super cold when she showed up like see your breath? Ihave so many questions I just gotta know the answers too now.
I am totally into ghost and ghost hunters and follow a lot of these things on TV. It is bizarre that you caught an image on a basic iphone live when these people can not even do it high end equipment. Not to mention that that other have done it before you as well. I think this entity might want to photographed and seen. Either that or all the TV stuff is just fake to make money, which is sad to think about; but also a real possibility.
Hey Ginny yes the room was cold for July, as in I think maybe the hotel keeps it colder; but no I did not see my breath and did not notice an extreme temperature drop before I saw the figure. To be honest it is like seeing a shadow out of the corner of your eye. It reminds me of curtains blowing in the breeze on summer day of trees blowing in the breeze, just a quick whisp and it is gone. If you are not paying attention you probably miss it.
I completely agree, I have captured several pictures of ghost over the years on film and digital without even trying. This was just the first live photo because of the type of phone I have and I gladly gave the footage to the hotel for free. Also sharing it here gains me nothing other than sharing my experience as a fun story. I am sure with technology these days things like this could easily be faked which is why it fun to show people the file on my phone and swipe up to show the unaltered history screen below. Their faces are priceless when I do that 🙂
I have to say I normally a huge skeptic when it comes to these type of things, but these pictures have me re thinking my stance. While I know AI pictures can easily be created these days a LIVE iphone picture is a harder to fake especially since you can show the history of the photo in details. Good job friend.
I might have to admit that I like to go on ghost tours and might be a hobby hunter myself. I have never been able to capture anything quite like this in photos or have ever really seen them either. It has not swayed me to stop looking, but I am not sure why I have not been able to see or catch them. Any tips?
This was very well written and I enjoyed the background on the hotel and it’s guests or should I say occupants. The ghost photo’s are pretty spectacular to say the least and the perfect way to frame a ghost story these days.
This is a great read, we have been to Chattanooga so many times and never stayed in the Read House but I will make it point to stay there next time, what a great find. I have to say this is one reasons I love to read your travel pieces you have great taste and stay at some the best places.
WOW, I have never actually seen a ghost before and these pictures are amazing! If I did not know you I would think they were fakes, but I know better since I have heard a few of the other stories from over the years my ghost whispering friend.
Hi Joseph I am not sure I have any tips on how to see them, but I will say that the other couple on the tour with us, the husband was also a avid hunter as well. Funny enough she did not appear until he left the room and showed up for me. Legend has it that she hated men, especially men that smoked; so I am not sure if that has anything to do with with your ability to see female ghost, which is usually what I have been able to see. The few male ghost I have run across are quite scary/evil to be honest, and not ones I would want to be left alone in a room or home with for any amount of time.
I am a big time ghost hunter so this article fascinates me along with all of your photos. I have so many question on how you see them, and how often? How long have you been doing it? Is it something you want to continue doing? It seems like it is more of a hobby which is why I ask, verses a career or money making scheme.
Hi Bea, to be honest I really do not talk about it much and I have never written about it before this would be a first. So I guess a hobby would be a good classification if you need me put it into a category. As far how long, well I first noticed it in my twenties and it became very apparent when I was working at a haunted wedding venue as I could hear and see many of the “ghosts”. It has continued off and on ever since, and I have no control over the when or where to be honest; so if someone would like to “train me up”, that would be great.
Wow as her name sake I had to read this story and it gave me chills from head to toe. That photo is also legit cool, I have seen a few very similar to this where they are in mirrors, I think that is where they like to hide.
Love this entire article about the hotel the history and your experience it is amazing.
Holy cow look at that ghost! I have never seen anything like that before, what an amazing photo you got and the story to go with it. I bet the people with were like wtf? I know I would be, but I have never seen a ghost before.
Wow just wow I am speechless on this entire story. You have so many fun tales to tell, you should really write a book, but I guess that is sort of what you are doing one blog at time.
so not to be stalkery but the first thing my husband said was it was AI generated so he check your meta file, only to find it was REAL and a legit file unaltered. You should really make money off of this.
Irene I do not mind at all. To be honest I am happy to have confirmation of the video especially with AI fakes going around now, so I get it. It is really more impressive when I show people to LIVE photo on my phone with that same meta file as the swipe up file to prove it is not a fake. Which is what freaked out the hotel staff and guests on the tour with us, also they were in the room with us at the time. I have actually catch many other ghost on camera previous to this one, so I have several other eye witnesses to these occurrences.