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The Vanishing Hotel Room
A woman checks into a Paris hotel with her sick mother. She leaves briefly. When she returns, her mother is gone. The room is different. The hotel staff deny they ever existed. An urban legend—or something more?
1889
Paris, France
1+ witnesses
The Vanishing Hotel Room is a famous urban legend about a woman whose mother disappeared from a Paris hotel during the 1889 World’s Fair.
The Legend
According to the story:
- A woman traveled to Paris with her ill mother
- They checked into a hotel
- The mother fell ill; a doctor was called
- The daughter was sent across Paris for medicine
- When she returned, her mother was gone
- The hotel denied the room ever existed
- The wallpaper was different
- No record of their stay existed
Origins
The story appears in:
- Various publications from the early 1900s
- Films including “So Long at the Fair” (1950)
- Multiple novels and stories
- Urban legend compilations
Proposed Explanations in the Story
The legend includes a “solution”:
- The mother died of plague
- The hotel covered it up to avoid panic
- During the World’s Fair, this would be disastrous
- Everything was hidden overnight
Reality
Investigations show:
- No newspaper accounts from 1889
- No police records
- Likely entirely fictional
- A compelling but false story
Cultural Impact
The story has inspired:
- Multiple films
- Numerous books
- Television episodes
- Academic study of urban legends
Sources
- Urban legend research