The Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is one of the most iconic hotels on the strip—and supposedly one of the most haunted.
Back in the 1990s, there were grand plans to make Vegas a new Disney-type destination, full of ornate themed resorts and fun activities for children. The Luxor Hotel and Casino, an Ancient Egyptian themed hotel that’s shaped like a giant obsidian pyramid with a beam of light coming out of the top, was a strange and fascinating example of Vegas’ ’90s family-friendly ambitions. But all that changed in the early 2000s, when Vegas changed tack.
This week is a look at the history of the hotel, from its construction and grand opening to its current de-themed state, plus some initial thoughts on why people might believe the hotel is cursed.
Highlights include:
• A ill-fated pyramid hotel project that was planned for the site next to the Luxor
• Mysterious dead links
• A light that’s visible from space
• Special elevators that go sideways and up to bring people to their rooms
• Ancient alien 3D movies
• Authentic reproductions of Ancient Egyptian artifacts
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Sources consulted RE: The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
Articles RE: The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
Wright, Gordon. “Pyramidal shape pushes the envelope.” Building Design & Construction, vol. 35, no. 8, Aug. 1994, p. 36+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A15687724/AONE?u=nypl&sid=AONE&xid=710afd9f. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
Hartinger, Brent. “Is it real or is it just really cool.” Omni, vol. 17, no. 3, Dec. 1994, p. 35. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A15986878/AONE?u=nypl&sid=AONE&xid=5abe0e0d. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
Websites RE: The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
- The Making of Luxor Las Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwB14kIEI2A
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Las_Vegas_casinos_that_never_opened#Xanadu
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_Las_Vegas
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur_Hotel_and_Casino
- https://excalibur.mgmresorts.com/en.html
- https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7203118/anniversary-tupac-shakur-murder-shot-dead-las-vegas/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur#Death
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettin’_Jiggy_wit_It
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mirage
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island_Hotel_and_Casin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream_Meadowlands
- https://gaming.unlv.edu/Xanadu/then.html
- http://digital.library.unlv.edu/skyline/hotel/xanadu
- https://viewfinder.expedia.com/most-amazing-hotels-never-built/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanadu
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubla_Khan
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela
- https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/luxor-implosion/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200831185429/https://vitalvegas.com/rumor-mill-demolition-could-be-in-the-cards-for-luxor/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20161226060524/
- http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/luxors-floor-under-review
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200912074529/
- https://www.casino.org/news/luxor-las-vegas-demolition-rumors-spread-insiders-say-days-numbered/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sands_Hotel_and_Casino
- http://onlinenevada.org/articles/luxor-hotel
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_G._Bennett_(gaming_executive)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20190803113506/https://www.casino.org/blog/deaths-in-luxor/
- https://www.reference.com/history/many-people-died-building-empire-state-building-48bddec3439ab036
- https://www.forconstructionpros.com/blogs/construction-toolbox/blog/12096401/looking-back-on-the-worlds-deadliest-construction-projects
- https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/vegas-attraction-bodies-adds-covid-exhibit-titanic-back-online-2140592/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodies:_The_Exhibition
- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5637687
- https://www.ktnv.com/positivelylv/now-open-titanic-the-artifact-exhibition-and-bodies-the-exhibition-at-luxor-hotel-and-casino
- https://luxor.mgmresorts.com/en/entertainment/titanic.html
- https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/861169/las-vegas-shooting-mandalay-bay-resort-luxor-hotel-bomb-threat
- https://www.inquisitr.com/4531623/las-vegas-shooting-conspiracy-theories-surface-illuminati-area-51-luxor/
- https://illuminatiwatcher.com/las-vegas-shooting-stephen-paddock-illuminati-conspiracy-theories/
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/famous-waypoints-aviation-luxor-sky-beam/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d111709-Reviews-Luxor_Hotel_Casino-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html
- http://www.becksghosthunters.com/2019/01/the-luxor-in-las-vegas-is-haunted-what.html
- https://vegasghosts.com/luxor-dark-pyramid-vegas/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Providence
- https://www.vegasbright.com/2016/03/29/luxors-questionable-origins-the-crookedness-of-an-era-gone-by/
- https://www.bestofvegas.com/articles/haunted-hotels-in-las-vegas/
- https://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/nv/las-vegas/articles/luxor-las-vegas
- https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/sep/26/woman-commits-suicide-inside-luxor/
- https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/08/high-rollers-and-high-strangeness-the-haunted-casinos-of-las-vegas/
- http://hauntedhoneymoon.com/hauntedplaces/luxor.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3sZKKrfkEo
- https://www.hauntedrooms.com/nevada/las-vegas/haunted-places/haunted-hotels
- https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/nevada/articles/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-las-vegas-luxor-hotel/
- http://www.hauntedpoker.com/true-hauntings/luxor-las-vegas-haunted.html
- https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/las-vegas/haunted-houses-in-las-vegas-nevada-halloween
- https://vitalvegas.com/rumor-mill-demolition-could-be-in-the-cards-for-luxor/
- https://vitalvegas.com/insider-secrets-really-really-dont-want-know-las-vegas/
- http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=128
- https://amyscrypt.com/haunted-places-las-vegas-nevada/
- https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/luxor-boat-ride/
- http://www.vegastripping.com/news/blog/4282/luxor-sinks/
- https://ballenvegas.com/haunted-vegas/
- https://www.bestuscasinos.org/news/las-vegas-luxor-may-soon-demolished/
- http://www.city-data.com/forum/las-vegas/1668131-luxor-haunted-2.html
- https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7203118/anniversary-tupac-shakur-murder-shot-dead-las-vegas/
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/with-prices-down-24200-per-room-nyc-hotels-set-for-more-pain/ar-BB19RI8Z
- https://www.thepierreny.com/
- https://luxor.mgmresorts.com/en.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3sZKKrfkEo
- https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/lightning-bolt-strikes-las-vegas-2071605
- https://www.lasvegasinsideout.com/luxor-hotel-after-opening-in-1993/
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-17-tr-46901-story.html
- http://www.lvstriphistory.com/ie/luxor.htm
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-13-fi-12815-story.html
Listen to the Ouija board series:
- Ouija Boards Part 1 – Planchette and Automatic Writing
- Helen Peters and Ouida / Invention (Ouija Boards Part 2)
- William Fuld (Ouija Boards Part 3)
- 19th Century Ouija Board Stories / Early Ouijamania (Ouija Boards Part 4)
- Victorian Egyptomania (Ouija Boards Part 5)
- Ouija after World War I (Ouija Boards Part 6)
- 1920s Ouijamania (Ouija Boards Part 7)
- More 1920s Ouija Board Stories (Ouija Boards Part 8)
- Kill Daddy: The Turley Ouija Board Murder (Ouija Boards Part 9)
Don’t miss our past episodes:
- The Renwick Ruin:
- Playing the Ghost in 19th Century Australia
- Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel:
- Quinta da Regaleira Symbolism: The Occult Mysteries of a Portugese Palace and Garden
- Thomas Edison’s Spirit Telegraph
- The Cult of Santa Muerte, aka Saint Death
- The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
- Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
- New York City Potter’s Fields
- Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
- Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
- Ancient Egyptian Tomb Raider and Wizard Setne
- Se-Osiris, Ancient Egyptian Wizard
- The Book of Thoth and the First Egyptologist
