Hotels and 3 Popular Urban Legends

Hotels lend themselves to mystery. The congregation of so many strangers is bound to lead to some strange rumors and myths.

Perhaps there has always been a bit of mystery surrounding hotels. After all, if you have any belief whatsoever in the spiritual, you have to think that some kind of energy is left behind by the many thousands of people who have shared a single room. Even without the ethereal, the congregation of so many strangers is bound to lead to some strange rumors and theories. People like to hear things that seem true, even if they aren't. A wise man once said, "If that isn't true, then it should be." So it goes with many urban legends.

Key Cards Have Guests' Personal Information

For those that were around when hotels made the switch from physical keys to sliding cards, it was a weird adjustment. It should have come as no surprise that a prominent urban legend would arise from the switch. The legend states that these cards are encoded with personal information for the particular guest who takes it. If these cards are stolen or compromised, your personal information could be, too. It is, of course, not true in the least. Your key card has no personal information stored on it, as confirmed by many in the industry.

Hotel California is About Satanism

The lyrics, the atmosphere, and even the album cover led many in the 70s to suspect something sinister was afoot on the Eagles classic "Hotel California". The most prominent urban legend—unsurprisingly, given the country's climate at the time—was that it was an ode to Satan. In particular, it was supposed to be about Aleister Crowley, one of the most infamous practitioners of the dark arts. According to the band, however, it is a song about greed in Southern California and the trappings of success. Not as titillating maybe, but it nonetheless conforms more easily to the lyrics.

Gideons Leave Money in the Bibles

It is not certain where or why this urban legend sprung up. While it is almost a certainty that someone somewhere found some money in their hotel's Bible, the Gideons did not leave it there. Rather, the Gideons leave the Bibles themselves, in what has become a common staple in bedside dressers in hotels the world over. While you certainly are not hurting anything by flipping through the pages on the off chance that there might be a $100 bill tucked away, you stand just as good a chance of finding it anywhere else in your room. Nonetheless, this certainly falls into the category of "If it isn't true, it should be."

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