The Nottingham Road Hotel in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Picture: Website
While ghost tours have long been a staple of travel in Europe and America, South Africa is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for these thrilling and eerie excursions.
Known as dark tourism or haunted tourism, this unique travel industry segment draws in adventurous individuals eager to explore locations steeped in death, tragedy and the supernatural.
Take, for example, the Nottingham Road Hotel nestled in the picturesque KwaZulu-Natal region, established in the 1890s.
This historic establishment not only offers captivating stories of the area's past but is also quickly developing a reputation as a haven for ghostly encounters.
According to hotel owner Clive Vos, there’s a resident ghost named Charlotte who has become an integral part of the hotel's haunted lore.
In a recent interview with SABC, which has since transformed into a viral TikTok sensation, Vos recounted the tragic tale of Charlotte.
“Our friendly visitor is a lady by the name of Charlotte, and folklore says that she fell in love with a soldier who was headed to the Anglo Boer War,” he revealed with an air of intrigue.
The love story took a tragic turn when Charlotte's lover perished on the battlefields of Ladysmith, which led to her ill-fated leap from the hotel's second storey, resulting in her own death.
@rybrox2 Apparently Notties Hotel in KZN Midlands Is Haunted, Inesipoki thats called Charlotte the Ghost" 🇿🇦 #kwazulu #kzntiktok #dubane ♬ original sound - Gordon Bandile Ramaphosa
“So we’ve now inherited Charlotte, and she has been seen all over the hotel and various rooms,” Vos explained.
Notably, room 10 has gained a reputation for its unsettling activities, attracting the attention of Ghost Hunters International.
The stories of Charlotte's lingering presence include strange occurrences such as hot water taps turning on by themselves in the dead of night and the sounds of a poorly played piano echoing through the halls to wake unsuspecting guests.
Moreover, Vos revealed that Charlotte is not the only spirit wandering the hotel’s corridors.
He mentioned a less amiable gentleman ghost, whose presence is felt subtly yet unnervingly, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the establishment's already captivating ghostly narrative.
The TikTok clip quickly sparked a lively conversation among users sharing their own ghostly encounters.
One user, @karlizedaniellelourens, remarked: “There is a male ghost there too they don’t talk about that’s not so friendly. I got pulled off a bed there in the middle of the night.”
Another user, @loudjay6, humorously stated: “After hearing all that, I’m adding that hotel to my ‘Places never to go’ list.”
While @ms_bonie shared her more relaxed perspective: “I slept in that room once, and I slept like a baby!”
As more adventurers look to explore the macabre, the Nottingham Road Hotel stands as a testament to the power of storytelling and the allure of the supernatural.
Ghost tourism not only provides a thrill but connects travellers to the historical fabric of a region, reminding all who venture into its realms that some stories never truly leave us.