Guillermo del Toro has said that he was spooked by the “haunted” Aberdeen Hotel while shooting Frankenstein.

It’s a place where the Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro—known for his mastery of supernatural horror—has found himself unnerved following a stay in

The director, currently in Scotland working on the Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein, told of how he had experienced an unsettling time in what is reputed to be the most haunted room of the hotel.

In a series of social media posts, del Toro shared some creepy experiences while staying in the room, which another crew member had abandoned due to strange occurrences. There wasn’t anything visibly or audibly supernatural that the director reported, but an “oppressive vibe” and a feeling of anger, like the room was angry. The director, from Pan’s Labyrinth to The Shape of Water, doesn’t usually flinch from a bit of the supernatural, but this unsettled him.

It is not a secret that haunted places fascinate Del Toro, and he loves to rent a reputedly haunted room. Taking to his social media, he attests that although he has experienced supernatural phenomena only once in his life, he hopes to make the Aberdeen stay count. He returned to share that a producer on his film had vacated the room after unsettling electrical and physical disturbances.

Although the Mexican filmmaker did not find any concrete supernatural evidence, he said there was an “anggy” and “territorial” atmosphere in that room, which was good enough reason for him to limit his time in that room. He even did documents of how he tried to detect electronic voice phenomena using his phone, but he didn’t find any clear paranormal activity.

Filming of del Toro’s Frankenstein adaptation—which is based at a hotel near the Dunecht Estate—also features Jacob Elordi as The Monster and Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein. Elsewhere, the supporting cast includes Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth. Other filming is due to happen at Glasgow Cathedral.

One paranormal investigator with Highland Paranormal shared that often, hotels have supernatural elements because of all the people who have been there. Liam Shand said that he himself had experienced several spooky occurrences, but admitted that oppressive and angry vibes were not as common, although they did happen.

Though del Toro said he was shaken, he has not given up on his project, as he expressed admiration for Scotland and felt an affinity towards it because of his Irish roots. He has recently expressed his love for Scotland over social media, touting a personal relationship with the country that is unrelated to family ties.

In conclusion, Guillermo del Toro did not come out with any concrete supernatural evidence in the Aberdeen, but it was the oppressive atmosphere and other chilling experiences that made him think again about the reputation of the haunted room.  Now, with his work back on Frankenstein, this experience puts in an element of surprise in his Scottish filming adventure.

About The Author

Ama Oprah

See author's posts