Ti Westcan do it all. He writes, directs, edits, produces, and can tell one hell of a ghost story. Many know him today for his work withX,Pearl, and the upcomingMaXXXine, but West has been around for some time now andindie film buffs have been praising his work for years. One of his films,The Innkeepers, was inspired by an experience he and his cast and crew had while on set. The ghost story was inspired by the hotel that they all stayed in while filmingThe House Of The Devil. The name of that hotel is the Yankee Pedlar Inn, and it is located in the town of Torrington, Connecticut. As a horror fan, I just want to know why it is always Connecticut that is super haunted?? Seriously, what’s in the water there? If you’re a ghost hunter or a fan of visiting spooky places, you might want to add this Inn to your list of places to explore.
The Innkeeperstells the story of Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) as they spend their days and nights hunting paranormal activity at their workplace. Claire and Luke work at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a once incredibly lavish and beguiling place for New England tourists and residents to stay. Nowadays, the hotel has been slowly forgotten and stories circulate about hauntings and urban legends of the Inn. Claire and Luke get a little more than they bargained for as they awaken a very unwanted and malevolent spirit while searching the dusty corners of their workplace. If you love horror films and haunts, you’ll be yelling at the screen for the leads to mind their own business and will be frustrated when they open that creepy door anyway.The Innkeepersis a slow-burn haunted house story with a 1980s nostalgic feel that we can generally expect from West. The movie doesn’t have consistent scares, but the ones that do happen will stick with you. Appearing to have taken some influence fromThe Shining,The Innkeepershas similar long, dark shots and its limited amount of characters overall incites an empty and alone feeling.
Ti West And Crew Experienced Weird Phenomenon on the Set of ‘The House of the Devil’
While West and crew were filming forThe House Of The Devil, they stayed at the Inn. What they experienced there offered him inspiration forThe Innkeepers. After long days of filming forHouse, the crew wasn’t able to relax and rest their heads so easily. West gave aninterview with IndieWirewhere he recounted some of the things that the crew experienced. West is a self-proclaimed skeptic, but he mentioned that while he was there, he saw a TV turn on and off, doors would close, and the lights in his room would consistently burn out. The cast and crew would consistently have very vivid dreams, which is strange in a collective group.
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The main room that West used as the most haunted room inThe Innkeepersalso ended up being the most haunted in the real hotel. West says he wasn’t aware of that fact at the time and chose to use the room because it was the biggest for the shot he wanted. Whether it’s coincidence or fate, it’s a little strange that West was drawn to the most haunted room in the real building. When returning to Yankee Pedlar Inn for the filming ofThe Innkeepers, West noted the dreams he was having when he stayed before came back. Sara Paxton was convinced that there was someone in the room with her on more than one occasion. The haunting vibe was alive (or dead) and well for the cast and crew, and that spooky air lent itself to create a true masterpiece of a ghost story.
What’s The Real Story Behind ‘The Innkeepers’?
The Yankee Pedlar Innwas built in 1891 in downtown Torrington. The original owner, Alice Conley, has been rumored to have died in the hotel in 1910. Her death supposedly happened in room 353, where the majority of paranormal experiences have come from, including weird smells and apparitions. Many guests have reported seeing different apparitions, the original owner’s rocking chair moving in the lobby, and lights flickering on and off. Just like West and crew, many have reported vivid dreams and some have even said that they felt someone climb into bed with them. The hotel is currently closed, and it has been since 2015. Originally, it was shut down for seven to nine months for renovations, but it appears that what was needed was more extensive than they originally thought. Before The Yankee Pedlar Inn closed down, a group of paranormal investigators namedGlory Haunt Hounds hosted an overnight experienceinside the hotel. The New York-based crew invited guests to join them to learn about the history of the Inn and its haunting as well as have a special showing of, you guessed it,The Innkeepers! While the town of Torrington is alive and bustling nowadays, The Yankee Pedlar Inn still remains boarded up and looks incredibly mysterious being the only building not open for business. It doesn’t appear that the hotel will reopen any time soon, so if you want to visit, you might only get to do so from the outside.
The dark, slow-moving, and almost melancholic feel ofThe Innkeepersis vastly different from the brightly colored, bloody, and sometimes ironically comedic of theXtrilogy, but they always invoke a feeling of nostalgia. Ti West is able to capture the feel of the 1970s and 1980s with his films, which give you the feeling that you’re watching them on VHS after driving down to your local video store and scouring the shelves for something new and horrific. With elevated horror on the rise and slasher films being resurrected from ’90s death, the haunted house story is far and few between nowadays.The Innkeepersshould be at the top of your list if you want to feel slightly uncomfortable any time you stay at another hotel.
The Innkeepersis currently streaming on Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and Pluto TV.
