Film-maker Guillermo del Toro gets spooked in haunted Scotland hotel

Film director Guillermo del Toro.

His films are characterised by fantasy and horror, but Guillermo del Toro’s personal haunting experience during a hotel stay may have been stranger than fiction.

Renowned film-maker Guillermo del Toro has told fans on social media of a chilling supernatural experience during a recent stay at a hotel in Scotland.

The Mexican director, known for his love of magic, horror and monsters in iconic films such as The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth, was staying in Aberdeen, Scotland while filming the latest iteration of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein.

The 59-year-old took to social media platform X to report on the disturbances he experienced during his stay.

“Whilst in Aberdeen, I am staying in an old 1800′s hotel. I am in the Most Haunted room of it - which was vacated this morning by one of our producers. Odd electrical and physical occurrences scared her into leaving asap [sic],” he wrote.

Whilst in Aberdeen, I am staying in an old 1800’s hotel. i am in the Most Haunted room of it- which was vacated this morning by one of our producers. Odd electrical and physical occurences scared her into leaving asap. Stay tuned- if anything happens I will report.

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) August 20, 2024

Del Toro, who admittedly seeks out the “most haunted room” to stay in, later said on X the atmosphere was “oppressive” and he was “not gonna spend much more time there”.

His posts continued: “I kept [the room] but am sleeping in another room - I need six hours of sleep to have a good shooting day … something is in that room with me.”

Another update from the film-maker said: “The room has more than vibes, there is something angry and territorial there. A shred of rage.”

Many fans took to social media to express the comedic irony of a film-maker like del Toro being spooked by apparent supernatural activity.

Me on my way to rescue Guillermo del Toro from the haunted hotel https://t.co/lAJJJwfNYd pic.twitter.com/wsjSwkm8gT

— José María Luna (@JoseMLuna) August 22, 2024

“‘Too spooky for Guillermo del Toro’ is all the advertising that hotel will ever need,” wrote music blogger Scott Wilson on X.

“Too spooky for Guillermo del Toro” is all the advertising that hotel will ever need. https://t.co/mQ1UawqPRH

— scott aa wilson (@scottaawilson) August 22, 2024

Another social media user wrote: “I did not have Guillermo del Toro live tweeting his encounter with a ghost on my card but here we are.”

I did not have Guillermo del Toro live tweeting his encounter with a ghost on my 2024 card but here we are https://t.co/yUyDjxzPgD

— JMD 🌲🏡 🌲 (@jmddotfm) August 22, 2024

Del Toro’s love for ghosts and the mystique even inspired his stay at the Waitomo Caves Hotel in New Zealand while scouting locations for the Hobbit trilogy in 2009.

Someone had told him it was haunted.

“I knew this from other ghost aficionados,” del Toro whispered in an interview with AAP.

The grand Victorian-style hotel, which was built in 1908, was closed to the public but the Oscar-award winner was able to acquire special access, AAP reported.