Both The Lafayette and the city of Marietta are of significant historical importance. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent settlement of the new United States in the territory Northwest of the River Ohio.

The Lafayette Hotel draws its name from the visit in 1825 of the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution. A plaque near the Hotel marks the spot where Lafayette came ashore in Marietta and today the locals boast that the first tourist to visit Marietta was Marquis de Lafayette.

The Bellevue Hotel was built in 1892 where The Lafayette Hotel stands today. It was 4 stories tall, had 55 steam heated rooms, a bar, a call bell system in every room and advertised hot and cold baths. The rate at the time was $2-$3 per night! The Bellevue was destroyed by fire on April 26, 1916 and pictures of the fire are on display by the Lafayette's Gunroom Restaurant. After the fire, the hotel was rebuilt by a Marietta businessmen, opened on July 1, 1918 and renamed as the Lafayette Hotel.

Various rooms within the hotel hold interesting artifacts that all come together to tell a fascinating, historical story

The stories and claims documented for this hotel are vast and encompass most of the building, but the main focus of the activity centers on the third floor. This is the floor where most of the recorded deaths have occurred and the previous owner used to live.

Employees have even reported that they do not like to go to this floor due to exploding lightbulbs and items moving by themselves while they are in this area; however, this floor is very popular with paranormal investigators who like to check in and try to communicate with the spirits that remain in the building.

Not only has the apparition of S.D. Hoag (the former owner and manager of the hotel) been seen and experienced on the third floor; the spirit also frequents the gun room restaurant on the second floor and in the bar area where it is said he would frequent when he was alive and used to play pranks on people.

One employee working in the gun room restaurant reported that she came into the room one morning to get ready for breakfast and noticed a man sitting in a corner booth. Thinking that it was a guest who had awakened early and was just sitting there awaiting breakfast, when she turned on the lights and looked back at the prospective customer, he disappeared. This was believed to be the spirit of Mr. Hoag..

A woman in a white dress and a tall man in a brown suit have also been reported to lurk in the halls up on the third floor only to vanish once they turn a corner. The identities of these two spirits is currently unknown.

Another employee had reported that many people have asked to stay on the third floor due to the paranormal activity. Guests who check in to the third, fifth, and second floors, respectively, are most likely to experience something. One of her favorite stories is of a woman and her daughter. The woman checked in to the hotel and decided to go for coffee with her daughter at Jeremiah’s Coffee House down the street, only to come back and find the Holy Bible in their room opened up to the book of Jeremiah when they returned.

Patrons have reported many different occurrences including; hearing footsteps in the hallways, items being moved around, and the feeling of being watched, Missing items, suitcases turned upside-down and emptied shampoo bottles. There are reports also of dark mists and shadows being seen in the bar and restaurant, as well as those reporting hearing someone whisper in their ear as they are walking down the hallway. The hotel elevator has even been known to travel up and down by itself even to the sixth floor that requires a special key to access.

There are also reports of the apparition of a woman dressed in period clothing and wearing a white sachet who has been seen moving through tables and the bar, almost as if pacing side to side from the restaurant to the lobby. She has become known as the woman in white. The name of this spirit is unknown, but since the Gun Room was once the women's sitting room of the Bellevue Hotel, perhaps she took a page out of Mr. Hoag’s book and has just decided to return to one of her favorite locations during her life.

There are also those who have stayed in the hotel who have reported that their door handles have been rattled during the middle of the night. These occurrences have frequently been reported to staff, only for them to attribute these anomalies to Mr. Hoag just looking after the place and having a little fun.

Guests have even complained so much about odd reflections in a mirror that was on the third floor that the hotel finally had to relocate the mirror to the hotel lobby. They have said that when they looked into the mirror, they would see a man standing behind them thought to be Mr. Hoag and when they turned from the mirror to look behind them, he was gone.

There are also the reports of a little boy spirit who likes to play pranks on those using the women's bathroom in the basement. The spirit has been known to lock the door and turn off the lights on those using the facilities. Employees do not like to use the bathroom in the basement. "The paranormal stories are endless," claim employees, though they never felt anything negative in the hotel and claims that the ghosts are just "a little bit mischievous." While they have quite a few guests come to stay in the hotel specifically because it is haunted, there are few instances where guests leave due to paranormal activity.

Employees have said they’ve experienced anything from “full body apparitions and things being moved or thrown” to hearing their names being called though no one was there.

The Lafayette even has a paranormal group that visits the hotel on a regular basis to investigate.